Sustainable Energy and Environment An Earth System Approach

Here is a comprehensive introductory discussion of Earth, energy, and the environment in an integrated manner that will lead to an appreciation of our complex planet. The book looks at Earth from the perspective of a livable planet and elaborates on the surface and subsurface processes and the various energy cycles where energy is transformed and stored in the planet?s various spheres. The chapters discuss the interactions between the different parts of Earth?how energy is exchanged between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and geosphere, and how they impact the environment in which we live.

Part 1: Earth 1. Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition 2. Minerals and Rock-Forming Processes 3. Earth’s Energy Balance and Climate 4. Mass Extinctions on Earth Part 2: Energy 5. Energy and Electricity 6. Unconventional Fossil Fuels 7. Coal Seam Gas: Evaluation, Extraction and Environmental Issues 8. Minerals as Sources of Energy 9. Harvesting Energy from Wind Part 3: The Environment 10. Environmental Impacts of Fossil Fuels 11. Geospatial Technology Applications in Environmental Disaster Management 12. Environmental Impacts of Renewable Energy 13. Geological Influence on Surface Water Quality

Sandeep Narayan Kundu, PhD, is a geoscientist with over 20 years of experience in industry and academia alike. He currently serves as an adjunct faculty at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore, and also works fulltime for Fugro Singapore Marine. Dr. Kundu has worked in various capacities in the energy exploration industry in the geoscience domain at multinational organizations. He also researched at Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany; the Institute of Geoinformatics, Muenster, Germany; Indian Institute of Technology; and the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. Dr. Kundu is a recipient of the prestigious British Council Fellowship and the Junior Research Fellowship in Earth Sciences.

Muhammad Nawaz, PhD, is a geomorphologist with expertise in geographic information systems, decision support systems, and environmental science. Dr. Nawaz is a Netherlands Fellowship Programme fellow and currently works in the Faculty at the Department of Geography of the National University of Singapore. Since 1993, Dr. Nawaz has served at several different universities, including Punjab University in Pakistan and on the Faculty of Geoinformation Science and Earth Observation at the University of Twente in the Netherlands. Prior to that, Dr. Nawaz worked as a Lecturer at the Environment Science eLearning at Charles Darwin University, Australia, and as Associate Head/Assistant Professor at the GIS Centre, University of the Punjab, Pakistan.