This volume concentrates on research information on the beneficial effects of nitrates and their fate in the environment. Adopting an integrated approach it covers the agricultural, environmental and medical aspects of this emotive topic. In addition, there is an extensive description of the biochemistry of nitrates in plants, animals and humans including the positive aspects as well as the hazards.

This book discusses how aquatic microbial communities develop interactive metabolic coordination both within and between species to optimize their energetics. It explains that microbial community structuration often includes functional stratification among a multitude of organisms that variously exist either suspended in the water, lodged in sediments, or bound to one another as biofilms on solid surfaces. The authors describe techniques that can be used for preparing and distributing microbiologically safe drinking water, which presents the challenge of successfully removing the pathogenic members of the aquatic microbial community and then safely delivering that water to consumers. Drinking water distribution systems have their own microbial ecology, which we must both understand and control in order to maintain the safety of the water supply. Since studying aquatic microorganisms often entails identifying them, the book also discusses techniques for successfully isolating and cultivating bacteria. As such, it appeals to microbiologists, microbial ecologists and water quality scientists.

This unique volume offers an up-to-date overview of all the main aspects of groundwater in the Nile Delta and its fringes, as well as latest research findings. The themes covered include: * Nile Delta aquifer formation and its characteristics * The use of the groundwater in the Nile Delta and its implications * Sedimentology and hydrogeophysical characteristics * Groundwater investigations and aquifer characterization using current direct resistivity and induced polarization * Groundwater contamination and degradation * Saltwater intrusion and its control * Delineation of groundwater flow and seawater intrusion using various techniques, including one-dimensional subsurface temperature profiles, geoelectrical resistivity, and integrated subsurface thermal regime and hydrogeochemical data * Modeling of groundwater and of saltwater intrusion in the Nile Delta aquifer * Excessive pumping and groundwater quality assessment for irrigation and drinking purposes * Groundwater management for sustainability in the Nile Delta. The volume appeals to postgraduate students, researchers, scientists, professionals, decision makers and planners.

Adapting to Climate Change in Europe: Exploring Sustainable Pathways - From Local Measures to Wider Policies is a scientific synthesis of a four-year project on adaptation activities in Europe. It combines scientific assessments with real-world case descriptions to present specific tools and methods. This book aims at ensuring sustainable solutions in adaptation to climate change. The challenge of adaptation is still at an early stage; this book fills relevant gaps in current knowledge on climate adaptation, providing a crucial set of tools to support effective decision-making. It acts as a guide to practitioners and decision-makers along different steps of on-going adaptation processes. Adapting to Climate Change in Europe contains methods and tools for improving stakeholder's participation and analyzing costs and benefits of different adaptation measures. It is an essential resource for researchers, graduate students, and experts and policymakers working in climate change and adaptation.

The research and review papers presented in this volume provide an overview of the main issues, findings, and open questions in cutting-edge research on the fields of modeling, optimization and dynamics and their applications to biology, economics, energy, finance, industry, physics and psychology. Given the scientific relevance of the innovative applications and emerging issues they address, the contributions to this volume, written by some of the world's leading experts in mathematics, economics and other applied sciences, will be seminal to future research developments and will spark future works and collaborations. The majority of the papers presented in this volume were written by participants of the 4th International Conference on Dynamics, Games and Science: Decision Models in a Complex Economy (DGS IV), held at the National Distance Education University (UNED) in Madrid, Spain in June 2016 and of the 8th Berkeley Bioeconomy Conference: The Future of Biofuels, held at the UC Berkeley Alumni House in April 2015.

The contents of this monograph are two-scope. First, it intends to provide a synthetic but complete account of the thermodynamic and kinetic foundations on which the reaction path modeling of geological CO2 sequestration is based. In particular, a great effort is devoted to review the thermodynamic properties of CO2 and of the CO2-H2O system and the interactions in the aqueous solution, the thermodynamic stability of solid product phases (by means of several stability plots and activity plots), the volumes of carbonation reactions, and especially the kinetics of dissolution/precipitation reactions of silicates, oxides, hydroxides, and carbonates.
Second, it intends to show the reader how reaction path modeling of geological CO2 sequestration is carried out. To this purpose the well-known high-quality EQ3/6 software package is used. Setting up of computer simulations and obtained results are described in detail and used EQ3/6 input files are given to guide the reader step-by-step from the beginning to the end of these exercises.
Finally, some examples of reaction-path- and reaction-transport-modeling taken from the available literature are presented. The results of these simulations are of fundamental importance to evaluate the amounts of potentially sequestered CO2, and their evolution with time, as well as the time changes of all the other relevant geochemical parameters (e.g., amounts of solid reactants and products, composition of the aqueous phase, pH, redox potential, effects on aquifer porosity). In other words, in this way we are able to predict what occurs when CO2 is injected into a deep aquifer.
* Provides applications for investigating and predicting geological carbon dioxide sequestration
* Reviews the geochemical literature in the field
* Discusses the importance of geochemists in the multidisciplinary study of geological carbon dioxide sequestration

This book pioneers a novel approach to investigate the effects of pressure on fission tracks, a geological problem that has remained unsolved for 60 years. While conventional techniques to study fission tracks were limited in precision, this book overcomes such issues by using state-of-the-art synchrotron-based x-ray scattering; a technique initially developed for applications in material science and biomedical research. The book provides an overview of the theory and application of small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) on cylindrical ion tracks, including in-situ SAXS on ion tracks with simultaneous increases in temperature and pressure. As such it demonstrates a degree of characterisation normally not achievable with in-situ techniques. Further, it compares SAXS with small angle neutron scattering (SANS). This book has led to a range of publications and attracted the interest of the geological and material science communities. Daniel Schauries has been awarded several prizes for this research, including the Graduate Student Award of the Materials Research Society.

As part of its efforts to improve fertilizer use and efficiency in West Africa, and following the recent adoption of the West African fertilizer recommendation action plan (RAP) by ECOWAS, this volume focuses on IFDC's technical lead with key partner institutions and experts to build on previous and current fertilizer recommendations for various crops and countries in West Africa for wider uptake by public policy makers and fertilizer industry actors.

Milan and Lombardy have played an important role in the Italian country since the Roman period. This importance is reflected also by the diffusion of stone architecture: a persisting trait of Milan architecture was the use of different stones in the same building. Milan lies in the middle of the alluvial plain of the Po, far from the stone quarries; some waterways were dug out in order to supply the building stones from the surrounding territories. The study of stone as building material was significant at the end of 19th century, but then it was largely neglected by both architects and geologists. So it is significant to suggest a study about the stones employed to build in Milan (Part One) in relationship with a petrographic study about the features of the stones quarried in the whole Lombard territory (Part Two). Part One contains a record of Milanese edifices, edifices marking the different historical periods. Each edifice is described in a "card" containing: the building history, the architect, the kind of stone employed and subdivided according to the different parts of the building, the shape of stone elements. Part Two contains the description of the features of the stones reported in the first part. They are metamorphic and magmatic rocks of the Alpine area; sedimentary rocks and loose materials of the Prealpine area; sedimentary rocks of the Apennine area; loose sediments of the Padania plain. Some stones, coming from other northern Italian regions, and used in Lombard architecture, are also described. Each stone is described in a "card" containing: commercial and historical names, petrographic classification, macroscopic features, mineralogical composition, microscopic features, geological setting, quarry sites, transport to yards, morphology of dressed elements and surface handworking, use in architecture in the whole Lombard territory and abroad, decay morphologies. A particular investigation is addressed to the stones used during the 20th century, a great part of them was never used before in Milan and in Lombardy.

Provides a comprehensive systematic review of the African proboscidean fossil record Includes a summary of taxonomy, geochronology, biogeography and morphology Documents major faunal events including those associated with hominin origins Synthesizes new data from genomic, isotopic and microware analyses Emphasizes the role of elephants in ecosystems and the importance of conservation

This book is a survey of the research work done by the author over the last 15 years, in collaboration with various eminent mathematicians and climate scientists on the subject of tropical convection and convectively coupled waves. In the areas of climate modelling and climate change science, tropical dynamics and tropical rainfall are among the biggest uncertainties of future projections. This not only puts at risk billions of human beings who populate the tropical continents but it is also of central importance for climate predictions on the global scale. This book aims to introduce the non-expert readers in mathematics and theoretical physics to this fascinating topic in order to attract interest into this difficult and exciting research area. The general thyme revolves around the use of new deterministic and stochastic multi-cloud models for tropical convection and convectively coupled waves. It draws modelling ideas from various areas of mathematics and physics and used in conjunction with state-of-the-art satellite and in-situ observations and detailed numerical simulations. After a review of preliminary material on tropical dynamics and moist thermodynamics, including recent discoveries based on satellite observations as well as Markov chains, the book immerses the reader into the area of models for convection and tropical waves. It begins with basic concepts of linear stability analysis and ends with the use of these models to improve the state-of-the-art global climate models. The book also contains a fair amount of exercises that makes it suitable as a textbook complement on the subject.

The establishment of clean, safe water is one of the major challenges facing societies around the globe. The continued urbanization of human populations, the increasing manipulation of natural resources, and the resulting pollution are driving remarkable burden on water resources. Increasing demands for food, energy, and natural resources are expected to continue to accelerate in the near future in response to the demands of these changing human populations. In addition, the complexity of human activities is leading to a diversity of new chemical contaminants in the environment that represent a major concern for water managers. This will create increased pressure on both water quantity and quality, making it increasingly difficult to provide a sustainable supply of water for human welfare and activities. Although protection of water resources is the best long-term solution, we will also need innovative novel approaches and technologies to water treatment to ensure an adequate superior quality resource to meet these needs. Solving tomorrow's water issues will require unique approaches that incorporate emerging new technologies. Great advances have been made in the area of nanotechnology. Due to their unique physical and chemical properties, nanomaterials are extensively used in antibacterial medical products, membrane filters, electronics, catalysts, and biosensors. Nanoparticles can have distinctly different properties from their bulk counterparts, creating the opportunity for new materials with a diversity of applications. Recent developments related to water treatment include the potential use of carbon nanotubes, nanocompositae, nanospheres, nanofibers, and nanowires for the removal of a diversity of chemical pollutants. By exploiting the assets and structure of these new materials, such as increased surface area, high reactivity, and photocatalytic action, it will be possible to create technologies that can be very efficient at removing and degrading environmental pollutants. Understanding and using these unique properties should lead to innovative, cost-effective applications for addressing the complexities of emerging needs for water treatment and protection. Although still in the early stages, research into the application of nanotechnology shows great promise for solving some of these major global water issues. This comprehensive text describes the latest research and application methods in this rapidly advancing field.

This book on hydrocarbon exploration and production is the first volume in the series Developments in Petroleum Science. The chapters are: The Field Life Cycle, Exploration, Drilling Engineering, Safety and The Environment, Reservoir Description, Volumetric Estimation, Field Appraisal, Reservoir Dynamic Behaviour, Well Dynamic Behaviour, Surface Facilities, Production Operations and Maintenance, Project and Contract Management, Petroleum Economics, Managing the Producing Field, and Decommissioning.

Origins and Grand Finale presents an in-depth study of how modern science and astronomy compare to the biblical narrative of the origin of the universe as well as the origin of life. Distinguishing between scientific facts and fairy-tales, as well as biblical facts and poetry, author Gary Haitel attempts to build a perfect harmony between science and theology. In Origins and Grand Finale, Haitel is not proposing new scientific theories. Instead, he merely examines current scientific theories, however bizarre they may seem, and explains how they relate to the biblical narrative. The second part of this guide focuses primarily on biblical end times and the abuse of political authority. In the third part, Haitel reflects upon not only the finale of humanity as described in the Bible, but also the finale of an individual's physical life here on earth and what to expect after the body returns to the dust of the earth. Are we just complex biological accidents, or are we immortal spiritual eternal beings? Written in a straightforward, down-to-earth fashion, Origins and Grand Finale offers a unique opportunity to understand the perfect harmony between science and theology.

The properties of humic substances (HSs) in plants, soils and sediments regulate the environment and affect all aspects of like, yet they are only very imprecisely understood. This volume presents work on HSs including new instruments and techniques being developed to throw more light on their structure and relationship to macro- and micro-scopic properties.

Bio-Geotechnologies for Mine Site Rehabilitation deals with the biological, physical, chemical, and engineering approaches necessary for the reclamation of mine waste. As mining has negative effects on natural resources and deteriorates the quality of the surrounding environment, this book provides coverage across different types of mining industries, which are currently creating industrial deserts overloaded with technogenic waste. The book offers cost-effective strategies and approaches for contaminated sites, along with remediation and rehabilitation methods for contaminated soils and waste dumps. It is an essential resource for students and academics, but is also ideal for applied professionals in environmental geology, mineral geologists, biotechnologists and policymakers.

This volume addresses major evolutionary changes that took place during the Ediacaran and the Paleozoic. These include discussions on the nature of Ediacaran ecosystems, as well as the ichnologic signature of evolutionary radiations, such as the Cambrian explosion and the Great Ordovician biodiversification event, the invasion of the land, and the end-Permian mass extinction. This volume set provides innovative reviews of the major evolutionary events in the history of life from an ichnologic perspective. Because the long temporal range of trace fossils has been commonly emphasized, biogenic structures have been traditionally overlooked in macroevolution. However, comparisons of ichnofaunas through geologic time do reveal the changing ecology of organism-substrate interactions. The use of trace fossils in evolutionary paleoecology represents a new trend that is opening a window for our understanding of major evolutionary radiations and mass extinctions. Trace fossils provide crucial evidence for the recognition of spatial and temporal patterns and processes associated with paleoecologic breakthroughs.

From riverine operations in the American Civil War and China in the 1860s to the major fleet engagements of the World Wars, plus more recent naval actions in the Falklands/Malvenas War and Gulf War, Lindberg and Todd methodically show how geography has shaped the strategy, tactics, and tools of naval warfare. Alfred T. Mahan was perhaps the first naval professional to recognize and acknowledge fully the influence of geography on navies and naval warfare. Many of his principles of seapower were inherently geographical and influenced both what kind of naval force a state would possess and how it would be utilized. In the time that has passed since Mahan made his observations, naval warfare and navies have experienced major technological changes, yet geographical factors continue to exert their influence on how navies fight, how they are structured, and the design of the ships that they deploy.

After providing a comprehensive review of geostrategic theory and its application to naval warfare, the book is organized by major operational environments in which such warfare occurs--the high seas, littoral regions, and inland waterways. Lindberg and Todd illustrate how such geographical factors as distance, location, surface, and subsurface conditions influence naval operations, including fleet-to-fleet engagements, amphibious assault, coastal defense, logistical support, and riverine actions. A separate chapter takes an in-depth look at the ways in which geography influences navies themselves with issues such as primary mission type, force structure development, and ship design. Through the use of historical case studies, this volume applies long held geographical concepts to fundamental naval theories and practices to illustrate just how pervasive geography's influence has been during the past 140 years.

The monograph introduces the reader to the world of inductive well logging - an established method for surveying the electrical conductivity of rocks surrounding a borehole. The emphasis is on developing a theory of inductive logging and on understanding logging tools basic physics, since this theory and understanding furnish valuable insights for inventing practical induction logging techniques.

The first chapter of the book presents the basic laws of electromagnetism from a point of view that will facilitate the application of the theory to problems in electromagnetic logging. Many topics that play an important role in the design and interpretation of tools readings are covered. The vertical resolution and radial depth of investigation of different induction tools is systematically considered. Special attention is paid to principles of induction logging with transversal induction coils, to transient method of induction logging in media with cylindrical and horizontal interfaces and to the influence of anisotropy on the electromagnetic field measured in a conducting medium. Multi-coil differential induction probes and induction logging based on measuring the inphase component of the secondary field or the quadrature component difference are also described in detail. The last chapter is devoted to mathematical modeling of the response of induction logging tools in 3D geometries. The theory of inductive logging presented in this volume can be applied to logging after drilling as well as logging while drilling.