Environmental Sciences

0Citations
Citations of this article
820Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.
Get full text

Abstract

The environmental sciences are engaged in a remarkable effort of interdisciplinary cooperation and integration. Some long-running international scientific programs, notably the World Climate Research Programme and the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, play an important role therein. The origin of the environmental sciences is discussed, in particular physical geography and meteorology in the work of Alexander von Humboldt. The development of ecology during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is traced through the work of Charles Darwin, and its historical bifurcation in evolutionary and systems approaches. The current focus on data is examined on the basis of the Long Term Ecological Research Network, and its precursor, the Grassland Biome study in the United States, 1968-76. The history of meteorology is discussed from the work of Vilhelm Bjerkness in Sweden to the development of the General Circulation Models, which form the basis of present studies of global warming and the 'human fingerprint.' Climate skepticism and geoengineering form two extreme but widely discussed attitudes toward global warming, in society and academia.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Kwa, C. (2015). Environmental Sciences. In International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences: Second Edition (pp. 791–795). Elsevier Inc. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.85048-5

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free