The discerning open-minded reader, prepared to forego the geocentric paradigm of most human philosophy and science, will be carried away by this text which offers a cosmic perspective of the evolution of life on our planet, of the history and future of mankind, as well as of meaning in the universe.

The possibility of a more advanced civilization than our own provides a cosmic perspective on developments on our earth. The text reproaches earthly scientists, philosophers and religious thinkers for their geocentric approach: they tend to accept this earth as the centre of the universe. But like Galileo we should all be open to the new and unexpected.

This text is challenging and thought-provoking with an unusual perspective.

Practical Petroleum Geochemistry for Exploration and Production, Second Edition provides readers with a single reference that addresses the principle concepts and applications of petroleum geochemistry used in finding, evaluating, and producing petroleum deposits. The revised volume includes a new chapter on environmental forensic applications of petroleum geochemistry. With the current emphasis on environmental issues (pollution, climate changes, and corporate responsibility), information about how petroleum geochemistry can be used to recognize these problems, determine their source, help identify who is responsible, and how these problems may be mitigated are vital to efficient and economical operation of a project from exploration to production to abandonment. Practical Petroleum Geochemistry for Exploration and Production, Second Edition will continue to serve as a foundational reference to understanding the underpinning of the science, as well as a source of references that the reader can use to find detailed descriptions of methods and protocols.

Advances in Geophysics serial highlights new advances in the field with this new volume presenting interesting chapters. Each chapter is written by an international board of authors.

Seismic While Drilling: Fundamentals of Drill-Bit Seismic for Exploration, 2nd edition, revised and extended gives a theoretical and practical introduction to seismic while drilling by using drill-bit noise. While drilling seismic methods using surface sources and downhole receivers are also analysed. The goal is to support the exploration geology with geophysical control of drilling, and to build a bridge between geophysicists involved in seismic while drilling, drillers and exploration geologists. This revised and extended edition includes new topics such as novel drilling technology, downhole communication, ground-force drill-bit measurement, SWD seismic interferometry, and fiber optic (DAS). A new section is dedicated to well placement and geosteering. Like the first edition, Seismic While Drilling, 2nd edition also includes examples of SWD analysis and application on real data.

Engineered Nanomaterials for Sustainable Agricultural Production, Soil Improvement and Stress Management highlights the latest advances in applying this important technology within agriculture sectors for sustainable growth, production and protection. The book explores various smart engineered nanomaterials which are now being used as an important tool for improving growth and productivity of crops facing abiotic stresses, improving the health of the soil in which those crops are growing, and addressing stresses once the plant begins to produce food yield. The book includes insights into the use of nanoparticles as bactericides, fungicides and nanofertilizers. In addition, the book includes an international representation of authors who have crafted chapters with clarity, reviewing up-to-date literature with lucid illustrations. It will be an important resource for researchers, nanobiotechnologists, agriculturists and horticulturists who need a comprehensive reference guide.

WHOOOOSH! We're off on an exciting adventure in our hot-air balloon to say hello to all the different kinds of weather that make up our world. Join in with the rhymes and get ready to meet everything from whooshing wind to bright rainbows and shimmering sunshine. Little ones will be swept away on an unforgettable journey in this striking, action-packed picture book. This bold, bright follow-up to the acclaimed picture books Meet the Planets and Meet the Oceans is packed with gorgeous illustrations of everything from rainy rainforests to snowy mountains and stormy seas. Combining STEM learning with a rhyming twist, it's perfect for all little meteorologists!

Applications of Biosurfactant in Agriculture explores the use of beneficial microorganisms as an alternative to current synthetic plant protection strategies. The book highlights a range of renewable raw substrates including agro-industrial waste as a dependable and cost-effective technology for the mass production of biosurfactant, emphasizes the formulation of biosurfactants using a full-factorial design, scientometric assessment, and presents mathematical modeling for the enhancement of production processes. Recent biotechnological techniques such as functional metagenomics that could help in the molecular characterization of novel biosurfactant with multifunctional activities majorly from uncultured and unexploited microbes available in the soil biosphere are also explored. This book identifies possible modes of action by which nutrients are normally released to plants through the formation of metal-biosurfactant complexes and presents recent research findings on the utilization of biosurfactants for the management of mycotoxins and microorganisms when evaluated in the field and in greenhouses. Finally, the book emphasizes the application of biosurfactants as a form of potent antibiotics for the management of several zoonotic diseases and in animal husbandry.

A BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week 'A subject that could not be more important. A compact classic!' Bill McKibben 'I learned something new - and found something amazing - on every page' Anthony Doerr, author of All the Light We Cannot See From Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Proulx - whose novels are infused with her knowledge and deep concern for the earth - comes an urgent and riveting history of wetlands, their ecological role and how the loss of them threatens the planet. Fens, bogs, swamps and marine estuaries are the earth's most desirable and dependable resources, and in four illuminating parts Proulx documents the emergence of their systemic destruction in the pursuit of profit and the consequent release of their stored carbon. Wide-ranging and idiosyncratic, Proulx's explanation of wetlands takes readers to the fens of sixteenth-century England, Canada's Hudson Bay Lowlands, Russia's Great Vasyugan Mire and America's Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and introduces the nineteenth-century explorers who launched the ravaging of the Amazon rainforest. Proulx was born in the 1930s, a time, as she says, when 'in the ever-continuing name of progress, Western countries busily raped their own and other countries of minerals, timber, fish and wildlife.' Fen, Bog & Swamp is both a revelatory history and an urgent plea for wetland reclamation from a writer whose passionate devotion to observing and preserving the environment is on glorious display. 'Magnificent, bringing to life hitherto overlooked habitats' Guardian 'Proulx's sparkling book will open your eyes to humanity's reckless trashing of wetlands' Telegraph 'A haunting tribute ... Proulx's poetic description of these places, and peat itself, is a pleasure to read' Financial Times