The Hazardous Earth is intended to provide students with readable and comprehensive accounts of natural geologic hazards, along with the geologic processes behind them and what can be done to minimize their effects. Providing readers with in-depth, first hand knowledge of naturally hazardous processes, each volume in this exciting set offers vivid accounts of historic disasters and events that have shaped human history. Illustrated throughout with black-and-white photographs and line illustrations, these straightforward books also feature sidebars, tables, and further resources to help students with their research. Asteroids and Meteorites: Asteroids and Meteorites examines the many craters on Earth that have formed as a result of meteorites or asteroids crashing into the planet, excavating huge holes and wreaking widespread destruction on the landscape. Readers will gain an understanding of the origin of asteroids, meteorites, and comets, including where they are located in the solar system and different models for their origin. Coverage also includes the physical processes that occur during the impact of these objects with the Earth along with the specific hazards associated with large and small impacts such as earthquakes, giant tsunamis, and global firestorms. Climate Change: Climate Change examines different aspects of this topic, including the causes of climate change on different time scales, the human-induced climate changes over the past 200 years, and the effect that climate change has on the environment. Climate Change discusses the past and present-day desert and glacial climate zones on the Earth and offers a glimpse into the future. Earthquakes: Earthquakes focuses on the furious power of nature unleashed and the massive devastation that is often a result of the relentless forces that build up within the Earth. Presenting the main ideas of plate tectonics, this comprehensive and insightful reference provides readers with an understanding of how, why, and where most earthquakes occur. Floods: Floods examines the processes that control the development and flow in stream and river systems and discusses how and when these processes become hazardous. Examples of flooding and other river disasters are presented throughout this accessible book. The merits of building on—versus preserving—floodplains are also discussed. Landslides: Landslides examines the physical characteristics of the regolith, as well as the consequences when regolith moves—either slowly or more suddenly in landslides and avalanches. This comprehensive resource also examines the formation of soil from regolith and underlying bedrock. The Coast: The Coast focuses on the characteristic landforms and environments found in the coastal zone as well as the processes that form these landforms. Coverage also includes the many coastal hazards that threaten our environment, including cliff erosion from wave and storm action, the hazards associated with powerful tides, and the consequences of long-shore sediment transport. Tsunamis: Tsunamis discusses the many aspects of the generation, movement, and effects of tsunamis. Helpful analysis of the triggering mechanisms for tsunamis, the physics and historical effects, the various warning systems, and individual cases of tsunamis around the world are provided in this informative book. Volcanoes: Volcanoes examines the different types of volcanic eruptions—starting with an introduction to volcanoes, volcanic landforms, and plate tectonics, followed by a detailed description of the various characteristics of magma that lead to differences in eruption style.