Marine environmental history analyses the changing relationships between human societies and marine natural resources over time. This is the first book which deals in a systematic way with the theoretical backgrounds of this discipline. Major theories and methods are introduced by leading scholars of the field. The book seeks to encapsulate some of the major novelties of this fascinating new discipline and its contribution to the management, conservation and restoration of marine and coastal ecosystems as well as the cultural heritages of coastal communities in different parts of the world.

Oceanic basalts are the most abundant rock type found at the earth's surface, and as such they have been the subject of considerable research, particularly since the concept of sea-floor spreading became widely accepted. This book provides a review of these rocks, first dicussing how we sample the ocean floor and what we know about the structure of the oceanic crust, followed by an overview of the various regional settings (Pacific crust, Atlantic crust, marginal basins, seamounts and islands) and finally examines the main processes (and their interactions) which prevail during the generation and emplacement of oceanic basalt magmas. This is a volume for geologists, geochemists and geophysicists and a source of reference for advanced undergraduate students and postgraduates in these disciplines.

This book presents a selection of the best papers from the HEaRT 2015 conference, held in Lisbon, Portugal, which provided a valuable forum for engineers and architects, researchers and educators to exchange views and findings concerning the technological history, construction features and seismic behavior of historical timber-framed walls in the Mediterranean countries. The topics covered are wide ranging and include historical aspects and examples of the use of timber-framed construction systems in response to earthquakes, such as the gaiola system in Portugal and the Bourbon system in southern Italy; interpretation of the response of timber-framed walls to seismic actions based on calculations and experimental tests; assessment of the effectiveness of repair and strengthening techniques, e.g., using aramid fiber wires or sheets; and modelling analyses. In addition, on the basis of case studies, a methodology is presented that is applicable to diagnosis, strengthening and improvement of seismic performance and is compatible with modern theoretical principles and conservation criteria. It is hoped that, by contributing to the knowledge of this construction technique, the book will help to promote conservation of this important component of Europe's architectural heritage.

This volume provides a comprehensive overview of advanced research in the field of efficient, clean and renewable energy production, conversion and storage. The ten chapters, written by internationally respected experts, address the following topics: (1) solar and wind energy; (2) energy storage in batteries; (3) biomass; and (4) socio-economic aspects of energy. Given its multidisciplinary approach, which combines environmental analysis and an engineering perspective, the book offers a valuable resource for all researchers and students interested in environmentally sustainable energy production, conversion, storage and its engineering.

Fish die. Seagulls starve. Economies wither. And that's just in the coastal villages. El Nino--The Christ Child--and its climatological opposite, La Nina, are global events so powerful and strange they virtually have personalities. Many remember the El Nino seasons of 1982-83 and 1997-98, which brought floods, tornadoes, droughts, and snow to unusual locales. Increased study of these Tropical Pacific phenomena, also known as ENSO (the El Nino and Southern Oscillation), has now enabled scientists to predict the ENSO state as much as 12 to 18 months in advance and has helped to shape weather prediction in general. Here, the basic causes and effects of El Nino and La Nina are carefully chronicled for anyone in search of accurate and current information on these natural phenomena.

Chapters are devoted to the history of ENSO; its influence on global weather and on the United States, including the ecosystem; and how governments and industries worldwide are utilizing new weather data to harness ENSO's economic impact, rather than be saddled by it. A chronology tours key events, from the 15th century diary observations of colonists in Ecuador and Peru to recent events like the devastating El Nino of 1997-98, which was responsible for 23,000 deaths and $33 billion in damages. Biographies of important researchers, illustrations and maps, and an extensive bibliography help make this a total guide to these magnificent natural cycles.

In addition to describing core concepts and principles, this book reveals professional methodologies and tools used by national agencies and private corporations to predict sites' potential for wind and solar power generation. Each chapter focuses on a different issue, showing readers the corresponding methodology, as well as examples of how to apply the techniques described. These techniques are explained with step-by-step guides that demonstrate how environmental variables in complex terrains can be characterized and forecasted.The authors present an adaptive finite element mass-consistent model, which computes a diagnostic wind field in the three-dimensional area of interest using observed wind data from measurement stations - data which is then interpolated using a physical model of the wind field in the boundary layer. An ensemble method is presented based on the perturbation of the numerical weather prediction models' results. The book goes on to explain solar radiation characterization and forecasting. Solar radiation and electrical power generation temporal and spatial variability are discussed and modelled. Different statistical methods are presented in order to improve solar radiation forecasting using ground measurement, numerical weather predictions (NWPs) and satellite-derived data. This book is focused on both probabilistic and point forecast explaining different models and methodologies to improve the forecasting. The results obtained from various simulations around the world are presented in tables. Finally, the book explains a possible methodology to develop a Solar Map taking into account solar radiation, terrain surface conditions and cast shadows. As such, the book provides an overview of the concepts, principles and practices involved in the treatment of environmental variables related to solar radiation or wind fields, especially when complex terrains are involved, offering useful resources for students and researchers alike. It also equips professionals with the methodologies and tools needed to construct environmental variable maps and conduct forecasting for solar radiation and wind fields.

This unique volume presents up-to-date information and the latest research findings on unconventional water resources in Egypt and their connections to agriculture. It investigates how to cope with the severe shortage of water and how to improve the irrigation system's efficiency. The main aspects addressed include: * History of drainage and drainage projects in Egypt * Towards the integration of irrigation and drainage water * Assessment of drainage systems and environmental impact assessment of irrigation projects * Maximizing the reuse of agricultural drainage water and agricultural waste to improve irrigation efficiency * Developing alternative water resources, such as desalination, for greenhouses * Drainage water quality assessment, microbial hazards and improvement of green and cost-effective technologies for treatment of agricultural drainage water and wastewater for reuse in irrigation * Towards the sustainable reuse of water resources in Egypt * Options for securing water resources in Egypt, and challenges and opportunities for policy planners This book and the companion volume Conventional Water Resources and Agriculture in Egypt are vital resources for researchers, environmental managers and water policy planners - and for all those seeking information on wastewater reuse, green and cost-effective technologies for improving water quality.

Weather Analysis and Forecasting: Applying Satellite Water Vapor Imagery and Potential Vorticity Analysis, Second Edition, is a step-by-step essential training manual for forecasters in meteorological services worldwide, and a valuable text for graduate students in atmospheric physics and satellite meteorology. In this practical guide, P. Santurette, C.G. Georgiev, and K. Maynard show how to interpret water vapor patterns in terms of dynamical processes in the atmosphere and their relation to diagnostics available from numerical weather prediction models. In particular, they concentrate on the close relationship between satellite imagery and the potential vorticity fields in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. These applications are illustrated with color images based on real meteorological situations over mid-latitudes, subtropical and tropical areas.

This book takes an excursion through solar science, science history, and geoclimate with a husband and wife team who revealed some of our sun's most stubborn secrets.

E Walter and Annie S D Maunder's work helped in understanding our sun's chemical, electromagnetic and plasma properties. They knew the sun's sunspot migration patterns and its variable, climate-affecting, inactive and active states in short and long time frames. An inactive solar period starting in the mid-seventeenth century lasted approximately seventy years, one that E Walter Maunder worked hard to make us understand: the Maunder Minimum of c 1620-1720 (which was posthumously named for him).

With ongoing concern over global warming, and the continuing failure to identify root causes driving earth's climatic changes, the Maunders' story outlines how our cyclical sun can alter climate. The book goes on to view the sun-earth connection in terms of geomagnetic variation and climatic change; contemporary views on the sun's operating mechanisms are explored, and the effects these have on the earth over long and short time scales are pondered.

If not a call to widen earth's climate research to include the sun, this book strives to illustrate how solar causes and effects can influence earth's climate in ways we must understand in order to enhance solar system research and our well-being.

This book provides recent developments and improvements in the modeling as well as application examples and is a complementary work to the previous Lecture Notes Vols. 77 and 80. It summarizes the fundamental work from scientists dealing with the development of constitutive models for soils, especially cyclic loading with special attention to the numerical implementation. In this volume the neo-hypoplasticity and the ISA (intergranular strain anisotropy) model in their extended version are presented. Furthermore, new contact elements with non-linear constitutive material laws and examples for their applications are given.Comparisons between the experimental and the numerical results show the effectiveness and the drawbacks and provide a useful and comprehensive pool for all the constitutive model developers and scientists in geotechnical engineering, who like to prove the soundness of new approaches.

This book gathers technical and scientific contributions from leading researchers, academics, and lecturers, focusing on water management, water pollution and water structures in the Czech Republic. It discusses a variety of water resources management issues, from stormwater management in urban areas, water quantity, hydraulics structures and hydrodynamic modeling, to flood protection, presenting state-of-the-art developments for addressing a range of problems. Edited and authored by pioneers in the field who have been at the cutting edge of water management development in the Czech Republic, this book is of interest to environmental professionals, including scientists and policymakers both in the Czech Republic and around the globe.

Healthy soil, with active soil life, deters long-term soil degradation and ensures that geo-physical processes are undisturbed. Is the vitality of soil under threat due to human civilization? Or is it due to contamination, intensification, and deforestation? Vital Soil aims to look at the effects society is having on soil and contains contributions from recognized experts in soil science.
* Function and value of vital soils
* Detailed information on how to prevent soil from irreversible stresses
* Articles on soil life aiming to bridge the gap between science and practice from experienced and well known contributors

The aim of this edited volume is to introduce the scientific community to paleoenvironmental studies of estuaries, to highlight the types of information that can be obtained from such studies, and to promote the use of paleoenvironmental studies in estuarine management. Readers will learn about the the application of different paleoecological approaches used in estuaries that develop our understanding of their response to natural and human influences. Particular attention is given to the essential steps required for undertaking a paleoecological study, in particular with regard to site selection, core extraction and chronological techniques, followed by the range of indicators that can be used. A series of case studies are discussed in the book to demonstrate how paleoecological studies can be used to address key questions, and to sustainably manage these important coastal environments in the future. This book will appeal to professional scientists interested in estuarine studies and/or paleoenvironmental research, as well as estuarine managers who are interested in the incorporation of paleoenvironmental research into their management programs.

This book presents state-of-the-art, essential methods and tools for flood risk assessment and management. The costs of damage caused by extreme weather events, among which floods are a major category, are rapidly rising, both globally and across Europe. The scope and scale of flood episodes point to the need for comprehensive proposals, including the implementation of flood protection measures in areas exposed to flood risk. This book is dedicated to flood damage assessment, and addresses the management of social, economic and environmental damage. It develops a general methodology for flood risk assessment and presents a range of effective flood protection methods in keeping with the objectives of flood risk management. As such, it offers a valuable resource for young researchers, academics, lecturers and water management practitioners alike.

This book focuses on the geological characteristics and genesis of several base metal deposits in the northern margin of the North China Plate, namely the Bainaimiao Cu-Au-Mo, the Huogeqi Cu-Pb-Zn, the Dongshengmiao Zn-Pb-Cu and the Jiashengpan Zn-Pb deposits. These deposits have geological and geochemical affinities with orogenic-type deposits, such as shear zone-controlled mineralization and carbon-rich low-salinitiy ore-forming fluids, and are characterized by multistage ore-forming histories. Remobilization of the pre-enriched (stratabound or porphyry-type) base metals took place as responses to orogenesis and metamorphism, leading to metal redistribution and the formation of orogenic-type orebodies. The formation of orogenic-type base metal deposits is enigmatic, and the case studies presented in this book provide insights into understanding the genesis of this type of deposits. In particular, pre-enrichment of base metals seems to be important, in terms of preconditioning for later shear zone-controlled mineralization, since base metals are believed to have limited solubilities in the low-salinity ore-fluids.

This book presents (i) a comprehensive methodological approach in analyzing karst surface features using contemporary GIS tools of high resolution applied on a large study area and extensive dataset, (ii) a revision and evaluation of the existing concepts valid in the modern karst geomorphology, (iii) a detailed elaboration of overlooked and yet undefined karst surface features, and (iv) an innovation in the discussion on origin and evolution of karst surface features. The book contains the first example of such comprehensive application of the modern technologies in spatial analysis in the field of karst geomorphology, and it offers several new methodological and theoretical perspectives and presents numerous starting points for further research. It contributes both to the understanding of the local karst evolution and to the knowledge of karst surface features globally.

The paddy field is a unique agro-ecosystem and provides services such as food, nutrient recycling and diverse habitats. However, chemical contamination of paddy soils has degraded the quality of this important ecosystem. This book provides an overview of our current understanding of paddy soil pollution, addressing topics such as the major types of pollutants in contaminated paddy soil ecosystems; factors affecting the fate of pollutants in paddy soil; biomonitoring approaches to assess the contaminated paddy soil; the impact of chemicals on soil microbial diversity; and climate change. It also covers arsenic and heavy metal pollution of paddy soils and their impact on rice quality. Further, new emerging contaminants such as antibiotics and antibiotics resistance genes (ARGs) in paddy soil and their impact on environmental health are also discussed. The last chapters focus on the bioremediation approaches for the management of paddy soils.

Bioremediation refers to the clean-up of pollution in soil, groundwater, surface water, and air using typically microbiological processes. It uses naturally occurring bacteria and fungi or plants to degrade, transform or detoxify hazardous substances to human health or the environment. For bioremediation to be effective, microorganisms must enzymatically attack the pollutants and convert them to harmless products. As bioremediation can be effective only where environmental conditions permit microbial growth and action, its application often involves the management of ecological factors to allow microbial growth and degradation to continue at a faster rate. Like other technologies, bioremediation has its limitations. Some contaminants, such as chlorinated organic or high aromatic hydrocarbons, are resistant to microbial attack. They are degraded either gradually or not at all, hence, it is not easy to envisage the rates of clean-up for bioremediation implementation. Bioremediation represents a field of great expansion due to the important development of new technologies. Among them, several decades on metagenomics expansion has led to the detection of autochthonous microbiota that plays a key role during transformation. Transcriptomic guides us to know the expression of key genes and proteomics allow the characterization of proteins that conduct specific reactions. In this book we show specific technologies applied in bioremediation of main interest for research in the field, with special attention on fungi, which have been poorly studied microorganisms. Finally, new approaches in the field, such as CRISPR-CAS9, are also discussed. Lastly, it introduces management strategies, such as bioremediation application for managing affected environment and bioremediation approaches. Examples of successful bioremediation applications are illustrated in radionuclide entrapment and retardation, soil stabilization and remediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, phenols, plastics or fluorinated compounds. Other emerging bioremediation methods include electro bioremediation, microbe-availed phytoremediation, genetic recombinant technologies in enhancing plants in accumulation of inorganic metals, and metalloids as well as degradation of organic pollutants, protein-metabolic engineering to increase bioremediation efficiency, including nanotechnology applications are also discussed.

This book presents the first overview of the composition and structure of the Earth's lower mantle. The first part focuses on the study of lower-mantle minerals, identified as inclusions in diamonds from different regions of the world. Three associations are established among the lower-mantle minerals: ultramafic, mafic, and carbonatic. The carbonatic association is of particular interest because it characterizes the media of natural diamond formation. In turn, the second part analyzes the structure of the lower mantle, revealing its heterogeneous composition. It is based on the results of experiments demonstrating phase transitions in lower-mantle minerals, and on seismological data. Deep-seated earthquakes point to the presence within the lower mantle of numerous seismic boundaries caused by mineral structure transitions. In closing, the last part of the book compares observed data with experimental data, highlighting several discrepancies that indicate Earth may have a more complex planetary history than previously assumed, and examining its primarily non-chondritic composition.

Research into the anthropogenic and taphonomic processes that affect the formation of maritime archaeological resources has grown significantly over the last decade in both theory and the analysis of specific sites and associated material culture. The addition of interdisciplinary inquiry, investigative techniques, and analytical modeling, from fields such as engineering, oceanography, and marine biology have increased our ability to trace the unique pathways through which archaeological sites progress from initial deposition to the present, yet can also link individual sites into an integrated socio-environmental maritime landscape. This edited volume presents a global perspective of current research in maritime archaeological landscape formation processes. In addition to "classically" considered submerged material culture and geography, or those that can be accessed by traditional underwater methodology, case studies include less-often considered sites and landscapes. These landscapes, for example, require archaeologists to use geophysical marine survey equipment to characterize extensive areas of the seafloor or go above the surface to access maritime archaeological resources that have received less scholarly attention.

Describing the natural state of eight important lakes in Asia and the human impact on these lake ecosystems, this book offers a valuable reference guide. Over the past several decades the Aral Sea, Dead Sea, Lake Balkhash and other major lakes in Asia have undergone significant changes with regard to their size, water level, chemical composition, and flora and fauna. Most of these changes resulted from the loss of water from tributaries (now used for irrigation farming) or increasing consumption in local industries and households. However, significant human impacts may have begun as early as 2000 years ago. In addition to the three lakes mentioned above, Lake Sevan (Armenia), the Caspian Sea (Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan), Lake Issyk-Kul (Kyrgyzstan), and Lake Lop Nur (China) are discussed as the most prominent examples of changing lake ecosystems. In contrast, an example of an almost pristine lake ecosystem is included with the report on Lake Uvs Nuur (Mongolia). For each lake, the book summarizes its origin and early geological history, and reconstructs its natural state and variability on the basis of proxy records from drilled or exposed lake sediments that have accumulated since the last ice age. The frequently observed reductions in lake level and size during most recent decades led often to significant environmental impacts in the respective lake catchments including vegetation deterioration, soil erosion and badland formation, soil salinization or the formation of sinkholes.

It's hard to imagine the study of human origins without the Leakey family. Three generations of Leakeys have scratched in the baked, unfriendly soil of East Africa to unearth fossil evidence of the earliest humans and their ancient ancestors. In the process they have practically defined the field of paleoanthropology, while eliciting admiration as well as controversies and criticism. In this engrossing biography, prolific writer and educator Mary Bowman-Kruhm tells the story of three generations of Leakeys. Beginning with patriarch Louis Leakey, a native of Kenya, she describes how he turned his boyhood love of exploring the Kenyan countryside into a scientific profession that eventually garnered international recognition. As the author shows, Leakey struggled in the early years, often barely able to make a living. The end of World War II, a trip to Rusinga Island in Lake Victoria, and an injection of money from a benefactor led to the discovery of Proconsul africanus, an 18-million-year-old skull that was a precursor to both later evolving apes and humans. Then Leakey and his wife, Mary, discovered fragments of what came to be known as Paranthropus boisei, which lived about 1.75 million years ago. These findings brought the Leakeys great attention and important funding from the National Geographic Society.
Bowman-Kruhm intersperses her discussion of the Leakeys' important scientific contributions with interesting asides about their personal life: from the trying 1950s when the Mau Mau revolt in Kenya threatened all of their lives; through Louis's interest in young proteges, including Jane Goodall and Diane Fossey; to the rocky relationship between the Leakeys and Donald Johanson, the discoverer of "Lucy."
By the time of Louis's death in 1972, Mary and their son Richard were making dramatic finds on their own. When Richard discovered a rich cache of fossils in northern Kenya, he soon attained a level of acclaim to rival his father and mother's. Eventually, he turned his attention to fighting for the cause of wildlife conservation, a passion that he continues to the present. Today, the paleontology work of the Leakey family continues, carried on mainly by Meave, Richard's wife, and their daughter, Louise, at Koobi Fora in northern Kenya. They regularly report the results of their research at the Koobi Fora Research Project Web site (www.kfrp.com).