Introduction
Earth System: History and Natural Variability theme is a component of Encyclopedia of Natural Resources Policy and Management, in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias.
The Theme on Earth System: History and Natural Variability with contributions from distinguished experts in the field, presents a description of the cosmic environment around our planet influencing the Earth in a number of ways through variation of solar energy or meteorite impacts. The structure of the Earth and its rocks, waters and atmosphere is described. The Theme focuses on geological and evolutionary processes through the history of Earth's epochs and biomes since the Early Earth to the Quaternary. The unifying processes between the Earth's life and its rocks, waters and atmosphere are global natural cycles of carbon, sulfur and other elements that connect and influence the rate of geological processes, climate change, biological evolution and human economy.
These five volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, managers, and decision makers and NGOs.
Editor(s) Biography
Vaclav Cilek is a senior researcher at the Institute of Geology, Academy of Science of Czech Republic in Prague. From 1970 to 1974 he studied at the Mining Institute in Pribram. He then joined the Department of Economic Geology at Charles University in Prague, where he studied the uranium deposits of the Czech Republic. In 1980 he went to the Institute of Geology of the former Czechoslovak Academy of Science and was asked to cooperate in the Interkosmos Programme, which was primarily involved in the study of lunar rocks brought back by Russian satellites. He spent much of his free time in caving and karst research and the study of karst infillings finally brought him in 1990 to Quaternary geology. He is principally interested in environmental changes and climatic oscillations in the Holocene and in several of the last glacial cycles. V. Cilek teaches courses on what he calls “Cultural geology.” He is the author of about 120 papers, and has participated in about twelve books including two textbooks concerning mostly environmental topics such as atmosphere protection and landscape evolution
