CONTENTS
PART I
Water in the Universe from the Big Bang to the Appearance of Man
FROM HYDROGEN TO OXYGEN, AND ALL THE REST
WATER IN THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM
SAVING THE WATER AT THE BIRTH OF THE PLANETS
PRIMORDIAL WATERS—FROM INSIDE THE EARTH OR FROM OUTSIDE?
A LIVING SOLID EARTH: OCEANS, SEA-FLOOR SPREADING, CONTINENTAL DRIFT, EARTHQUAKES, AND VOLCANOES
3. ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF LIFE
WHERE AND WHEN DID LIFE APPEAR?
LIFE WITHOUT THE SUN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA
THE INVENTION OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND THE CONQUEST OF DRY LAND
CLIMBING UP AN EVOLUTIONARY LADDER?
THE PRECESSION OF THE EQUINOXES
WATER BUDGETS: CLOUDS, RAIN, AND SNOW
WATER BUDGETS: EVAPORATION, CONDENSATION, AND LATENT HEAT
ENERGY BUDGETS AND THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT
THE TROPICAL FURNACE AND THE HADLEY CIRCULATION
EAST WINDS, WEST WINDS, AND THE GYRATIONS OF THE OCEANS
EAST-WEST: EL NIÑO, LA NIÑA, AND THE PACIFIC BASIN
FORESEEABLE ACCIDENTS, OR SURPRISES?
9. CLOUDS, RAIN, AND ANGRY SKIES
FROM FAIR-WEATHER CUMULUS TO CUMULONIMBUS: CONVECTION AND PRECIPITATION
CYCLONES AND CONVECTIVE CLOUD SYSTEMS
TROPICAL CYCLONES: HURRICANES AND TYPHOONS
10. EARTH’S WATER, BETWEEN SKY AND SEA
VEGETATION, EVAPOTRANSPIRATION, AND THE SOIL
INFILTRATION AND UNDERGROUND WATER
WATER ON THE CONTINENTAL SCALE
PART III
Water in Human History, Past and Future
11. WATER AND MAN’S RISE TO CIVILIZATION
12. PROBLEMS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
WATER MANAGEMENT: COOPERATION OR CONFLICT?
WATER BETWEEN ISRAEL AND THE ARABS
13. BUTTERFLIES AND HUMANS IN A WARMING GREENHOUSE
FROM THE TWENTIETH TO THE 21ST CENTURY