Today, climate-related processes and problems are referred to as Global
Change by nearly everyone including scientists, politicians, and
economists; citizens worldwide are anxious about the often ob- served
disorientation of our environment under the influence of man. Better
information on the Earth's natural systems and their possible
alterations is necessary. The topic itself is so wide that sound scien-
tific descriptions of it as a whole are rare. For the non-specialist
infor- mation from relevant fields is not easy to obtain; and often, the
pro- gnostic models presented are contradictory and even for specialists
difficult to evaluate. Therefore, this book on Climate, Earth Processes
and Earth History by Richard Huggett fills an important gap. It
discusses the great, climate-related areas of the Earth's environment.
The atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the sediments as products of weathering
and geomorphic processes, the relief as landforms and soils, and the
biosphere are thoroughly treated as the prominent sub- systems which are
greatly affected by climate. These subsystems not only control the
visual and internal aspects of our landscapes, but they are themselves
especially influenced by climatic changes which can be due to either
changes in the natural system or anthropogenic changes. Thus, our
landscapes will be subject to significant altera- tions, if climatic
variations exceed certain thresholds. The plan for the present book by
Richard Huggett was originally discussed in regard to the Springer
Series on Physical Environment.