Metrology and its applications e.g. in chemical or food analysis or in environmental monitoring are entering our daily life. This book provides a basic overview over the relevant metrological concepts like traceability, ISO uncertainties or cause-and-effect diagrams. The applications described in great detail range from progression-of-error type evaluation of the measurement uncertainty budget to complex applications like pH measurement or speciation calculations for aqueous solutions. The consequences of a measurement uncertainty concept for chemical data are outlined for geochemical modeling applied to transport in the subsurface and to nuclear waste disposal. Special sections deal with the deficits of existing thermodynamic data for these applications and with the current position of chemical metrology in respect to other quality assurance measures, e.g. ISO 900x, GLP, European and U.S.-American standards.

This volume employs an improved Integrated Assessment methodology to analyze the impact of several climate change scenarios on agriculture, water resources, unmanaged ecosystems, irrigation, and land use in the United States, along with their economic implications. The text addresses a range of possible consequences, including impacts on international trade in agricultural commodities, and their consequences for producers and consumers.

Forest inventories throughout the world have evolved gradually over time. The content as well as the concepts and de?nitions employed are constantly adapted to the users' needs. Advanced inventory systems have been established in many countries within Europe, as well as outside Europe, as a result of development work spanning several decades, in some cases more than 100 years. With continuously increasing international agreements and commitments, the need for information has also grown drastically, and reporting requests have become more frequent and the content of the reports wider. Some of the agreements made at the international level have direct impacts on national economies and international decisions, e. g. , the Kyoto Protocol. Thus it is of utmost importance that the forest information supplied is collected and analysed using sound scienti?c principles and that the information from different countries is comparable. European National Forest Inventory (NFI) teams gathered in Vienna in 2003 to discuss the new challenges and the measures needed to get data users to take full advantage of existing NFIs. As a result, the European National Forest Inventory Network (ENFIN), a network of NFIs, was established. The ENFIN members decided to apply for funding for meetings and collaborative activities. COST- European Cooperation in Science and Technology - provided the necessary ?n- cial means for the realization of the program.

As individual topics, the terms "satellite rainfall" and "surface hydrology" have beenmuchwidelystudiedoverthelastfewdecades.Eversincerainfallproducts beguntobedevelopedusingspace-borneinfraredsensorsingeostationaryorbitin theseventies,satelliteremotesensingofrainfallexperiencedtremendousprogress. Microwavesensorsonlowearthorbitscamealongduringtheeightiestoprovide more accurate estimates of rainfall at the cost of limited sampling. As the c- trastingbutcomplementarypropertiesofmicrowaveandinfraredsensorsbecame apparent,mergedrainfallproductsstartedtoappearduringthefollowingdecade.In 1997,theTropicalRainfallMeasuringMission(TRMM)withthe?rstspace-borne active microwave precipitation radar (TRMM-PR), was launched. The success of TRMMinimprovingourunderstandingonTropicalandSub-tropicalrainfalld- tribution and precipitation structures consequently spurred a larger scale mission aimed at the study of global distribution of precipitation. Today, we now eagerly anticipatetheGlobalPrecipitationMeasurement(GPM)mission,whichenvisions aglobalconstellationofmicrowavesensorsthatwillprovidemoreaccurateglobal rainfallproductsathighresolutionfrom2013onwards. Itisthereforesafetoclaimthreedecadesofresearchheritageonsatelliteremote sensing of rainfall. Similarly, the topic of "surface hydrology" requires no int- duction for readers of environmental sciences and geosciences either. But what happens if we connect all the individual terms and name it - "satellite rainfall applications for surface hydrology"? A new topic is created. But little is known aboutthistopicbecausesatelliteremotesensingofrainfallandsurfacehydrology have evolved rather independently of each other. Even though the potential for a space-bornesourceofrainfalldatawasalwaysrecognizedforavarietyofappli- tions(suchas?oodforecastinginungaugedregions,transboundarywaterresources, global/regionaldroughtandagriculturalplanning),the?eldsofsatelliterainfalland surfacehydrologyhavehardlyintersectedduringtheirdevelopmentalstagesduring thelastfewdecades.Wearenowfacedwithamyriadofquestionsrangingfrom commonoperationalissuestodetailedscienti?cinquiries.Someofthesequestions are: There are so many satellite rainfall products currently available - which one does one use for a speci?c application to get the best results? What is the optimum scaleofapplication ofsatelliterainfalldataforagiven surfaceapplication? Whatis the level of uncertainty in each satellite rainfall product and what is the implication v vi Preface for a given surface hydrologic prediction? Where do I acquire the data for research or for operational applications? How are these satellite rainfall products developed and how do they differ from one another? This book by Springer on "Satellite Rainfall Applications for Surface Hydrology" is a contribution to both scienti?c and practical questions regarding

This volume represents the proceedings of the First International Conference on S- tainability in Energy and Buildings, SEB'09, held in the City of Brighton and Hove in the United Kingdom, organised by KES International with the assistance of the World Renewable Energy Congress / Network, and hosted by the University of Brighton. KES International is a knowledge transfer organisation providing high-quality c- ference events and publishing opportunities for researchers. The KES association is a community consisting of several thousand research scientists and engineers who p- ticipate in KES activities. For over a decade KES has been a leader in the area of Knowledge Based and Intelligent information and Engineering Systems. Now KES is starting to make a contribution in the area of Sustainability and Renewable Energy with this first conference specifically on renewable energy and its application to - mestic and other buildings. Sustainability in energy and buildings is a topic of - creasing interest and importance on the world agenda. We therefore hope and intend that this first SEB event may grow and evolve into a conference series. KES International is a member of the World Renewable Energy Congress / N- work which is Chaired by Professor Ali Sayigh. We are grateful to Professor Sayigh for the collaboration and assistance of WREC/N in the organisation of SEB'09. We hope to continue to work with WREC/N in the future on projects of common interest.

The Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) has been established by the Int- national Association of Geodesy (IAG) in order to integrate the three fundamental areas of geodesy, so as to monitor geodetic parameters and their temporal varia- ?9 tions, in a global reference frame with a target relative accuracy of 10 or b- ter. These areas, often called 'pillars', deal with the determination and evolution of (a) the Earth's geometry (topography, bathymetry, ice surface, sea level), (b) the Earth's rotation and orientation (polar motion, rotation rate, nutation, etc. ), and (c) the Earth's gravity eld (gravity, geoid). Therefore, Earth Observation on a global scale is at the heart of GGOS's activities, which contributes to Global Change - search through the monitoring, as well as the modeling, of dynamic Earth processes such as, for example, mass and angular momentum exchanges, mass transport and ocean circulation, and changes in sea, land and ice surfaces. To achieve such an - bitious goal, GGOS relies on an integrated network of current and future terrestrial, airborne and satellite systems and technologies. These include: various positioning, navigation, remote sensing and dedicated gravity and altimetry satellite missions; global ground networks of VLBI, SLR, DORIS, GNSS and absolute and relative gravity stations; and airborne gravity, mapping and remote sensing systems.

This book is the outcome of the conference "Global Environmental Change: Challenges to Science and Society in Southeastern Europe" organized by the Scienti c Coordination Center for Global Change (SCCGC) at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences jointly with the Austrian Science and Research Liaison Of cesLjubljanaandSo a(ASO).TheeventwassupportedbytheFederalMinistry ofScienceandResearchoftheRepublicofAustriaintheframeworkofitsSEEs- encecooperationinitiative.SponsorshipwasalsoprovidedfromtheKnight-Staneva Foundation for Sustainability and Future Environments (USA) and the EC FP6 ADAGIOproject(www.adagio-eu.org). The Conference celebrated the anniversary of the founding of the SCCGC in 1997asNationalCoordinationCenterforGlobalChange(NCCGC).Theideafor suchacenterevolvedattheJune1997Workshop"GlobalChangeandBulgaria" heldintheAmericanUniversityinBulgaria,Blagoevgrad,sponsoredbytheUS National Science Foundation via the Center for Integrated Regional Assessment (CIRA) at the Pennsylvania State University. In examining the competencies Bulgarian scientists would bring to the study of climate change and its impacts, thatworkshopidenti edanumberofresearchprioritiesandfuturestrategiestobe pursued. The workshop resulted in two publications, Globalnite promeni i 1 2 B lgari andGlobalChangeandBulgaria. Themostimportantfuturestrategyfromthe1997Workshopwastheproposalto theleadershipoftheBulgarianAcademyofSciencesforformationoftheNCCGC, withtherecommendationthatitbeheadedbyAcademicianDimitarMishev,dir- toroftheAcademy'sSolar-TerrestrialIn uencesLaboratory,andmembershipfrom avarietyofinstitutesandotherorganizations.InJuly1997,theNCCGCcameinto being and operated under that title until the death of its president, Academician Mishev,in2003. 1 1999.So a:NationalCoordinationCenterforGlobalChange,BulgarianAcademyofSciences, 370 pp. (Todor Hristov, C. Gregory Knight, Dimitar Mishev, Marieta P. Staneva, editors; in Bulgarian).ISBN954-90485-1-9. 2 2000.So a:NationalCoordinationCenterforGlobalChange,BulgarianAcademyofSciences, 350+viiipp.(MarietaP.Staneva,C.GregoryKnight,TodorN.Hristov,DimitarMishev,editors). ISBN954-90485-2-7. v vi Preface Duringthatinterim,oneoftheresearchprioritieswasinitiated,namelyastudy ofthe1982-1994Bulgariandroughtasananalogoffutureclimatechange,realized asaprojectcoordinatedinBulgariabyProfessorIvanRaevoftheForestResearch InstituteandintheUSbyC. GregoryKnightofthePennsylvaniaStateUniversity, withfundingfromtheUSNationalScienceFoundationviaCIRA.Thatprojectalso resultedintwobooks, Zasuxavaneto v B lgari : s vremenen analog za 3 klimatiqni promeni and Drought in Bulgaria: A Contemporary Analog of 4 ClimateChange. The NCCGC played an important role in the creation of the Industrial TransformationSciencePlanoftheInternationalHumanDimensionsProgramme in1998-1999.TheCentrealsoco-sponsoredaworkshoponIntegratedRegional Assessment of Climate Change held in Budapest in 1999 and hosted the So a workshoponHumanDimensionsofGlobalChangein2000.

Written by leading experts in optical radar, or lidar, this book brings all the recent practices up-to-date. With a Foreword by one of the founding fathers in the area. Its broad cross-disciplinary scope should appeal to scientists ranging from the view of optical sciences to environmental engineers. Optical remote sensing has matured to become a lead method for cross-disciplinary research. This new multi-authored book reviews the state-of-the-art in a readable monograph.

What drives a scientist to edit a book on a speci c scienti c subject such as chiral mechanisms in separation methods? Until December 2005, the journal Analytical Chemistry of the American Chemical Society (Washington, DC) had an A-page section that was dedicated to simple and clear presentations of the most recent te- niques or the state of the art in a particular eld or topic. The "A-page" section was prepared for a broad audience of chemists including industrial professionals, s- dents as well as academics looking for information outside their eld of expertise. 1 Daniel W. Armstrong, one of the editors of this journal and a twenty-year+ long friend, invited me to present my view on chiral recognition mechanisms in a simple and clear way in an "A-page" article. In 2006, the "A-page" section was maintained as the rst articles at the beginning of each rst bi-monthly issue but the pagination was no longer page distinguished from the regular research articles published by the journal. During the time between the invitation and the submission, the A-page section was integrated into the rest of the journal and the article appeared as (2006) Anal Chem (78):2093-2099.

The assessment of greenhouse gases emitted to and removed from the atmosphere is high on the international political and scientific agendas. Growing international concern and cooperation regarding the climate change problem have increased the need for policy-oriented solutions to the issue of uncertainty in, and related to, inventories of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The approaches to addressing uncertainty discussed here reflect attempts to improve national inventories, not only for their own sake but also from a wider, systems analytical perspective - a perspective that seeks to strengthen the usefulness of national inventories under a compliance and/or global monitoring and reporting framework. These approaches demonstrate the benefits of including inventory uncertainty in policy analyses. The authors of the contributed papers show that considering uncertainty helps avoid situations that can, for example, create a false sense of certainty or lead to invalid views of subsystems. This may eventually prevent related errors from showing up in analyses. However, considering uncertainty does not come for free. Proper treatment of uncertainty is costly and demanding because it forces us to make the step from "simple to complex" and only then to discuss potential simplifications. Finally, comprehensive treatment of uncertainty does not offer policymakers quick and easy solutions.

The book is a collection of the lectures delivered during the 7th International Summer School on Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (ISSAOS) titled "Integrated Ground-Based Observing Systems Applications for Climate, Meteorology, and Civil Protection". Its aim is to contribute to the scientific understanding of basic concepts and applications of integrated ground-based observing systems. The first part describes the most common instrumentations showing their strengths and limitations. Furthermore, strategic plans for the deployment of an observation site are discussed along with an overview of techniques for integrating heterogeneous data. The second part introduces cutting-edge applications, including assimilation in numerical weather prediction, climate benchmarking, air quality monitoring and meteo/hydrological warnings.

Wildland fires are becoming one of the most critical environmental factors affecting a wide range of ecosystems worldwide. In Mediterranean ecosystems (including also South-Africa, California, parts of Chile and Australia), wildland fires are recurrent phenomena every summer, following the seasonal drought. As a result of changes in traditional land use practices, and the impact of recent climate warming, fires have more negative impacts in the last years, threatening lives, socio-economic and ecological values. The book describes the ecological context of fires in the Mediterranean ecosystems, and provides methods to observe fire danger conditions and fire impacts using Earth Observation and Geographic Information System technologies.

Environmental Modeling and Health Risk Analysis (ACTS/RISK) The purpose of this book is to provide the reader with an integrated perspective on several ?elds. First, it discusses the ?elds of environmental modeling in general and multimedia (the term "multimedia" is used throughout the text to indicate that environmental transformation and transport processes are discussed in association with three environmental media: air, groundwater and surface water pathways) environmental transformation and transport processes in particular; it also provides a detailed description of numerous mechanistic models that are used in these ?elds. Second, this book presents a review of the topics of exposure and health risk analysis. The Analytical Contaminant Transport Analysis System (ACTS) and Health RISK Analysis (RISK) software tools are an integral part of the book and provide computational platforms for all the models discussed herein. The most recent versions of these two software tools can be downloaded from the publisher's web site. The author recommends registering the software on the web download page so that users can receive updates about newer versions of the software.

This book discusses the role of observatories in supporting evidence-based decision-making. The book focuses on issues of data accessibility, monitoring frameworks and governance processes with regard to environmental resources - water, soil and waste. This publication highlights challenges related to policy-implementation measures and examines current monitoring approaches, and illustrates how the UNU-FLORES Nexus Observatory seeks to overcome concerns related to data, monitoring and governance of water, soil and waste resources. In particular, given that extreme weather events such as droughts and floods are predicted to become more frequent in the future, it discusses the need for improved hazard risk monitoring. It proposes risk indices for drought and floods, which measure exposure and vulnerability to the phenomena through a multitude of bio-physical, socio-economic and institutional indicators. Furthermore, the potential for using openly accessible data made available through observatories in decision-making aimed at improving food security is also discussed. It acknowledges governments as key players in environmental resource management, and recognizes that decentralization reforms, as well as the emergence of information and communication technologies, have significantly changed the role of governments in promoting sustainable development. The book is particularly relevant for decision-makers, donor agencies, practitioners and students with an interest in environmental management who are also keen followers of discussions on the post-2015 monitoring agenda.

Economic development and environmental issues in China are attracting more and more attention internationally as the country's large population and vast demands for food, energy, water, minerals, and other resources play an increasingly important role in deciding the fate of the world. There is great interest in learning more about environmental issues in China, but it is not easy to obtain accurate, relevant information because the issues are diverse and are complex phenomena resulting from the interconnections among natural resource constraints and political, social, and institutional systems. This book originally was published in Japanese with the aim of providing Japanese readers with a holistic picture of what was taking place in China with respect to its air, water, energy, and land. The author then prepared an English edition of the same material to use as a book of readings for the Global Environmental Leaders Program at Nagoya University, where he taught many students from Asia and Europe. The book covers the most important environmental issues in China-climatic change, water, air, energy, and resources-together with ongoing policy responses, based on the author's active involvement in a number of study projects and international cooperation projects in that country. This volume will help readers to understand the causes and results of environmental problems in China and will encourage them to think more deeply about the environmental implications of the country's rapid economic growth.

To all those sailors / Who dreamed before us / Of another way to sail the oceans. The dedication of this Volume is meant to recall, and honour, the bold pioneers of ocean exploration, ancient as well as modern. As a marine scientist, dealing with the oceans through the complex tools, ?lters and mechanisms of contemporary research, I have always wondered what it was like, in centuries past, to look at that vast ho- zon with the naked eye, not knowing what was ahead, and yet to sail on. I have tried to imagine what ancient sailors felt, when "the unknown swirls around and engulfs the mind", as a forgotten author simply described the brave, perhaps reckless, act of facing such a hostile, menacing and yet fascinating adventure. Innovation has always been the key element, I think, for their success: another way, a better way, a more effective, safer and worthier way was the proper answer to the challenge. The map of our world has been changed time and again, from the geographical as well as the social, economic and scienti?c points of view, by the new discoveries of those sailors. One of the positive qualities of human beings is without doubt the inborn desire to expand their horizons, to see what lies beyond, to learn and understand.

The book examines applications in two disparate fields linked by the importance of valuing information: public health and space. Researchers in the health field have developed some of the most innovative methodologies for valuing information, used to help determine, for example, the value of diagnostics in informing patient treatment decisions. In the field of space, recent applications of value-of-information methods are critical for informing decisions on investment in satellites that collect data about air quality, fresh water supplies, climate and other natural and environmental resources affecting global health and quality of life.

Agriculture increasingly faces the challenge of balancing its multiple functions in a sustainable way. Integrated assessment and modelling (IAM) can provide insight into the potential impacts of policy changes. However, concepts to address the wide range of issues and functions typical for agriculture are still scarce. Environmental and Agricultural Modelling reviews and presents our current understanding of integrated and working tools to assess and compute, ex-ante, alternative agricultural and environmental policy options, allowing: 1. Analysis at the full range of scales (farm to European Union and global) whilst focusing on the most important issues emerging at each scale; 2. Analysis of the environmental, economic and social contributions of agricultural systems towards sustainable rural development and rural viability; 3. Analysis of a broad range of issues and agents of change, such as climate change, environmental policies, rural development options, effects of an enlarging EU, international competition, and effects on developing countries.

Up-to-date coverage of most micro-econometric topics; first half parametric, second half semi- (non-) parametric Many empirical examples and tips in applying econometric theories to data Essential ideas and steps shown for most estimators and tests; well-suited for both applied and theoretical readers

This third edition of the book has been completely re-written, providing a wider scope and enhanced coverage. It covers the general principles of the natural occurrence, pollution sources, chemical analysis, soil chemical behaviour and soil-plant-animal relationships of heavy metals and metalloids, followed by a detailed coverage of 21 individual elements, including: antimony, arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, gold, lead, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, selenium, silver, thallium, tin, tungsten, uranium, vanadium and zinc. The book is highly relevant for those involved in environmental science, soil science, geochemistry, agronomy, environmental health, and environmental engineering, including specialists responsible for the management and clean-up of contaminated land.

Biological diversity is important for ecosystem function and services, which in turn is essential for human well-being. Under the Convention on Biological Diversity, international efforts have been made to achieve a significant reduction in the current rate of biodiversity loss. The loss continues, however. The Asia-Pacific region includes both developing countries with high biodiversity and developed countries with sophisticated data collection and analyses, but only limited information about the status quo of biodiversity in this region has been available. Many Asia-Pacific countries have rapidly grown their economies and social infrastructures, causing a loss of biodiversity and requiring an urgent mandate to achieve a balance between development and conservation in the region. In December 2009, scientists successfully organized the Asia-Pacific Biodiversity Observation Network in the region, to establish a network for research and monitoring of ecosystems and biodiversity and to build a cooperative framework. The present volume is the first collection of information on biodiversity in the Asia-Pacific and represents a quantum step forward in science that optimizes the synergy between development and biodiversity conservation.

The key novelty of this book is first of all in the successful attempt to conduct jointly modeling of environment in terms of physical environment related parameters and measuring similar parameters by means of multispectral remote sensing, primarily by means of passive microwave remote sensing technology. Another new step is in the development and utilization of a multilevel approach which includes remote sensing of the land and water parameters like soil moisture, depth to water table, biomass of vegetation, temperature and salinity of water, in situ measurements of similar parameters and incorporation of GIS and data sets into the models of typical environments. The part of book, which contains remote sensing is focused on multipurpose observations from aircraft obtained in many soil-climatic zones in different countries and is reach of the examples of practical application. Applied mathematicians, geophysics, hydrologists, socio-economists, statesmans and other researchers of environmental changes will find a wealth of information and ideas in this book.

Environmental Data Analysis with MatLab is a new edition that expands fundamentally on the original with an expanded tutorial approach, new crib sheets, and problem sets providing a clear learning path for students and researchers working to analyze real data sets in the environmental sciences. Since publication of the bestselling Environmental Data Analysis with MATLAB (R), many advances have been made in environmental data analysis. One only has to consider the global warming debate to realize how critically important it is to be able to derive clear conclusions from often noisy data drawn from a broad range of sources. The work teaches the basics of the underlying theory of data analysis and then reinforces that knowledge with carefully chosen, realistic scenarios. MATLAB (R), a commercial data processing environment, is used in these scenarios. Significant content is devoted to teaching how it can be effectively used in an environmental data analysis setting. This new edition, though written in a self-contained way, is supplemented with data and MATLAB (R) scripts that can be used as a data analysis tutorial. New features include boxed crib sheets to help identify major results and important formulas and give brief advice on how and when they should be used. Numerical derivatives and integrals are derived and illustrated. Includes log-log plots with further examples of their use. Discusses new datasets on precipitation and stream flow. Topical enhancement applies the chi-squared test to the results of the generalized least squares method. New coverage of cluster analysis and approximation techniques that are widely applied in data analysis, including Taylor Series and low-order polynomial approximations; non-linear least-squares with Newton's method; and pre-calculation and updating techniques applicable to real time data acquisition.

This book is the second edited compilation of selected, refereed papers submitted to ERTEP 2007. The book is organized into 10 chapters along four of the key themes that were discussed at the conference: Environmental Health Management; Mining and Environment; Environmental Monitoring and Policy Development; and Susta- ability and Social Responsibility. It is hoped that the contents of the book will p- vide an insight into some of the environmental and health management challenges confronting the developing world and the steps being taken to address them. The ?rst three chapters under the Environmental Health and Management theme discusses issues related to food security and related environmental distress in sub- Saharan Africa. Chapter 1 argues that pervasive poverty and low agricultural p- ductivity are important factors in understanding food insecurity in the region, and broader global processes are examined. This chapter maintains that while poverty undermines individual and household access to suf?cient food through market p- chase, land inequalities, corruption, structural adjustment programs, civil con?ict, HIV/AIDS and the role of the World Trade Organization Agreement on Agric- ture are decisive. The authors argue that achieving food security in sub-Saharan Africa requires policies and actions that are integrated with efforts to reduce poverty, enhance livelihoods and incomes and increase agricultural output, while also paying attention to underlying structural factors that bear on agriculture in the region.