Category: Global Systems Science

Chapter 3 { Ozone Contents } When the Earth was unprotected by the ozone layer, the full strength of the Sun’s ultraviolet energy prevented living things from existing outside of the protection of water.  After the ozone layer formed, life was able to evolve on land. Although the ozone absorbed most of the Sun’s ultraviolet […]

Chapter 2 { Ozone Contents } In order to understand the mystery of why ozone over the South Pole was being destroyed, it is necessary to learn more about ozone and other chemicals that affect it. This will be the subject of Chapters 2, 3, and 4. We’ll return to the mystery in Chapter 5. […]

Chapter 1 { Ozone Contents } Something strange is happening… There is the possibility of danger… Unknown forces are at work, but there are clues … These are the elements of a mystery, a mystery that cries out for investigation. Solving mysteries is exciting, and it is at the core of what the scientific endeavor is […]

OZONE is a success story about how people around the globe are cooperating to solve a serious environmental problem. See Overview. Contents Chapter Titles Investigations Stay Current 1. Strange Happenings Chapter 1 2. Ozone in Nature 2.1 Sun’s Spectrum Chapter 2 3. The Danger of UV to Living Things 3.1 Melanoma Increasing3.2 Sunscreens3.3 Sunglasses3.4 Effect […]

{ Life and Climate Contents } { All GSS Books }

Staying current for Chapter 13 { Life and Climate Contents } 2023-03-16. Tonga Eruption May Temporarily Push Earth Closer to 1.5°C of Warming. [https://eos.org/articles/tonga-eruption-may-temporarily-push-earth-closer-to-1-5c-of-warming] By J. Besl, Eos/AGU. Excerpt: The underwater eruption of Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha‘apai sent megatons of water vapor into the stratosphere, contributing to an increase in global warming over the next 5 […]

Staying current for Chapter 12 { Life and Climate Contents } 2025-08-29. Stalagmites reveal devastating droughts that helped spur Maya breakdown. By Taylor Mitchell Brown, Science. Excerpt: About 1200 years ago, social strife and upheaval shook the Maya world. Sites across southern Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala saw their populations dwindle. …Scientists have long puzzled over […]

Staying current for Chapter 11 { Life and Climate Contents } 2025-06-18. When Humans Learned to Live Everywhere. By Carl Zimmer, The New York Times. Excerpt: Our closest living relatives — chimpanzees and bonobos — are confined to a belt of Central African forests. But humans have spread across every continent, even remote islands. Our […]

Staying current for Chapter 10 { Life and Climate Contents } 2025-08-04. Cave Deposits Reveal a Permafrost-Free Arctic. By Kaja Šeruga, Eos/AGU. Excerpt: About 15% of the land area in the Northern Hemisphere is currently covered by perennially frozen soil known as permafrost. But that has not always been the case. As global temperatures fluctuated in Earth’s […]

Staying current for Chapter 9 { Life and Climate Contents } 2025-05-15. An Ancient Warming Event May Have Lasted Longer Than We Thought. By Rebecca Owen, Eos/AGU. Excerpt: Fifty-six million years ago, during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), global temperatures rose by more than 5°C over 100,000 or more years. Between 3,000 and 20,000 petagrams of carbon […]