The Earth is a beautiful and wondrous planet, but also frustratingly complex and, at times, violent: much of what has made it livable can also cause catastrophe. Volcanic eruptions create land and produce fertile, nutrient-rich soil, but they can also bury forests, fields, and entire towns under ash, mud, lava, and debris. The very forces that create and recycle Earthโs crust also spawn destructive earthquakes and tsunamis. Water and wind bring and spread life, but in hurricanes they can leave devastation in their wake. And while it is the planetโs warmth that enables life to thrive, rapidly increasing temperatures are causing sea levels to rise and weather events to become more extreme.
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Today, we know more than ever before about the powerful forces that can cause catastrophe, but significant questions remain. Why canโt we better predict some natural disasters? What do scientists know about them already? What do they wish they knew? In Dangerous Earth, marine scientist and science communicator Ellen Prager explores the science of investigating volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, landslides, rip currents, andโmaybe the most perilous hazard of allโclimate change. Each chapter considers a specific hazard, begins with a game-changing historical event (like the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens or the landfall and impacts of Hurricane Harvey), and highlightsย what remains unknown about these dynamic phenomena. Along the way, we hear from scientists trying to read Earthโs warning signs, pass its messages along to the rest of us, and prevent catastrophic loss.
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A sweeping tour of some of the most awesome forces on our planetโmany tragic, yet nonetheless awe-inspiringโDangerous Earth is an illuminating journey through the undiscovered, unresolved, and in some cases unimagined mysteries that continue to frustrate and fascinate the worldโs leading scientists: the โwish-we-knewsโ that ignite both our curiosity and global change.
