The Earth is a beautiful and wondrous planet, but also frustratingly
complex and, at times, violent: much of what has made it livable can
also cause catastrophe. Volcanic eruptions create land and produce
fertile, nutrient-rich soil, but they can also bury forests, fields, and
entire towns under ash, mud, lava, and debris. The very forces that
create and recycle Earth's crust also spawn destructive earthquakes and
tsunamis. Water and wind bring and spread life, but in hurricanes they
can leave devastation in their wake. And while it is the planet's warmth
that enables life to thrive, rapidly increasing temperatures are causing
sea levels to rise and weather events to become more extreme.
Today, we know more than ever before about the powerful forces that can
cause catastrophe, but significant questions remain. Why can't we better
predict some natural disasters? What do scientists know about them
already? What do they wish they knew? In Dangerous Earth, marine
scientist and science communicator Ellen Prager explores the science of
investigating volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, landslides,
rip currents, and--maybe the most perilous hazard of all--climate
change. Each chapter considers a specific hazard, begins with a
game-changing historical event (like the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens
or the landfall and impacts of Hurricane Harvey), and highlights what
remains unknown about these dynamic phenomena. Along the way, we hear
from scientists trying to read Earth's warning signs, pass its messages
along to the rest of us, and prevent catastrophic loss.
A sweeping tour of some of the most awesome forces on our planet--many
tragic, yet nonetheless awe-inspiring--Dangerous Earth is an
illuminating journey through the undiscovered, unresolved, and in some
cases unimagined mysteries that continue to frustrate and fascinate the
world's leading scientists: the "wish-we-knews" that ignite both our
curiosity and global change.
