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Books > Earth & environment > Earth sciences > General
The book proposes a set of original contributions in research areas shared by planning theory, architectural research, design and ethical inquiry. The contributors gathered in 2010 at the Ethics of the Built Environment seminar organized by the editors at Delft University of Technology. Both prominent and emerging scholars presented their researches in the areas of aesthetics, technological risks, planning theory and architecture. The scope of the seminar was highlighting shared lines of ethical inquiry among the themes discussed, in order to identify perspectives of innovative interdisciplinary research. After the seminar all seminar participants have elaborated their proposed contributions. Some of the most prominent international authors in the field were subsequently invited to join in with this inquiry. Claudia Basta teaches "Network Infrastructures and Mobility" at Wageningen University. Between 2009 and 2011 she worked as Coordinator of the 3TU Centre of Excellence for Ethics and Technology of Delft University, where she completed her post-doc research on the shared areas of investigation between risk theories, planning theories and ethical inquiry. Her main research interests concern the matter of assessing and governing technological risks in relation to sustainable land use planning. She wrote a number of journal articles and contributions to collective books on these themes. Stefano Moroni teaches "Land use ethics and the law" at Milan Politecnico. His main research interests concern planning theory and ethics. He is the author of a number of books and journal articles. Recent publications (as co-author): Contractual Communities in the Self-Organizing City (Springer 2012).
The present monograph as well as the next one (Dorman, M2005) is a result of more than 50 years working in cosmic ray (CR) research. After graduation in December 1950 Moscow Lomonosov State University (Nuclear and Elementary Particle Physics Division, the Team of Theoretical Physics), my supervisor Professor D. I. Blokhintsev planned for me, as a winner of a Red Diploma, to continue my education as an aspirant (a graduate student) to prepare for Ph. D. in his very secret Object in the framework of what was in those time called the Atomic Problem. To my regret the KGB withheld permission, and I, together with other Jewish students who had graduated Nuclear Divisions of Moscow and Leningrad Universities and Institutes, were faced with a real prospect of being without any work. It was our good fortune that at that time there was being brought into being the new Cosmic Ray Project (what at that time was also very secret, but not as secret as the Atomic Problem), and after some time we were directed to work on this Project. It was organized and headed by Prof. S. N. Vernov (President of All-Union Section of Cosmic Rays) and Prof. N. V. Pushkov (Director of IZMIRAN); Prof. E. L. Feinberg headed the theoretical part of the Project.
Written for a broad audience this book offers a comprehensive account of early warning systems for hydro meteorological disasters such as floods and storms, and for geological disasters such as earthquakes. One major theme is the increasingly important role in early warning systems played by the rapidly evolving fields of space and information technology. The authors, all experts in their respective fields, offer a comprehensive and in-depth insight into the current and future perspectives for early warning systems. The text is aimed at decision-makers in the political arena, scientists, engineers and those responsible for public communication and dissemination of warnings.
This book provides information on the Earth science remote sensing data information and data format such as HDF-EOS. It evaluates the current data processing approaches and introduces data searching and ordering from different public domains. It further explores the remote sensing and GIS migration products and WebGIS applications. Both volumes are designed to give an introduction to current and future NASA, NOAA and other Earth science remote sensing.
This book is about the theoretical and practical aspects of the statistics of Extreme Events in Nature. Most importantly, this is the first text in which Copulas are introduced and used in Geophysics. Several topics are fully original, and show how standard models and calculations can be improved by exploiting the opportunities offered by Copulas. In addition, new quantities useful for design and risk assessment are introduced.
This book provides information on the Earth science remote sensing data information and data format such as HDF-EOS. It evaluates the current data processing approaches and introduces data searching and ordering from different public domains. It further explores the remote sensing and GIS migration products and WebGIS applications. Both volumes are designed to give an introduction to current and future NASA, NOAA and other Earth science remote sensing.
The science of geostatistics is now being employed in an increasing number of disciplines in environmental sciences. This book surveys the latest applications of Geostatistics in a broad spectrum of fields including air quality, climatology, ecology, groundwater hydrology, surface hydrology, oceanography, soil contamination, epidemiology and health, natural hazards, and remote sensing.
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.
Over the last three decades drought episodes have resulted in severe social problems in Mediterranean countries, receiving broad attention from the international scientific and policy communities. The experiences in the development and implementation of drought management plans highlight the success and challenges of coping with drought for societies with different vulnerabilities and emphasize risk-based drought management as a critical approach to mitigate the impacts associated to drought-induced water shortages. Based on these experiences and the current methods for evaluating risk, the book synthesises guidelines for drought management that link science and policy and that can be applied to other regions. The book comprises a collection of papers divided into four sections that appeal to a broad audience. First, the social and hydrological context of Mediterranean countries is presented, discussing the interactions that have resulted in the complex institutional framework, and highlighting the importance of stakeholder involvement and awareness building for successful drought management. This section emphasises the role of organizations, institutions, and civil stakeholders involved in drought preparedness and mitigation and/or on water management for designing effective risk based strategies that mitigate the effects of drought in agriculture and water supply systems. Second, the book presents an academic approach to risk evaluation, including characterization of drought episodes, development of indicators of risk in hydrological and agricultural systems, and analysis of the role of economic instruments and groundwater for risk mitigation. This section finalises with the description of an integrated method for evaluating social vulnerability based on indicators that include the capacity to anticipate, cope, and respond to drought. The third section includes a collection of case studies that include the description of effective measures taken in the past. These case studies provide the context for developing demand driven guidelines that may be applied to other regions. The authors of these chapters can be viewed as stakeholders in drought management, since they represent a broad range of sectors and institutions from Mediterranean European and North African countries. The topics addressed have implications for the international policy community interested in disaster mitigation, agricultural policy, and development. Finally a synthesis of the management actions is presented in four chapters. Monitoring and preparedness planning is the essential first step for moving from disaster to risk management in response to drought. The management actions related to agriculture and water supply systems are presented in two different chapters but with a common conceptual framework based on the use of drought indicators for evaluating the levels of drought risk (pre-alert, alert, and emergency), that allow establishing linkages between science and policy. The final chapter discuses the lessons learned and application to other regions.
In recent years, the increased availability and fidelity of broadband seismic instruments have effectively narrowed the gap between exploration and global seismic applications. Global seismologists are now able to take advantage of high-resolution, often exploration-based, tools to examine rock properties tens to hundreds of kilometers below surface. This book reviews the key assumptions, algorithms and prospects of several important array-based methods in today's global and regional seismic surveys. A short list of topics includes data migration, PP and SS precursors, Radon transform, mantle triplication, P-to-S and S-to-P converted waves, shear-wave splitting, high-resolution seismic tomography, and ambient-noise interferometry. Each approach is presented in a 'cookbook' fashion for easy comparison, implementation and critique by the general readership.
One distinct feature of human society since the dawn of civilization is the systematic use of inorganic building materials, such as natural stone, unburnt and burnt soil, adobe and brick, inorganic binders like lime and cement, and reinforced concrete. Our heritage has cultural, architectural and technological value and preserving such structures is a key issue today. Planners and conservation scientists need detailed site surveys and analyses to create a database that will serve to guide subsequent actions. One factor in this knowledge base is an understanding of how historic materials were prepared and the crucial properties that influence their long-term behaviour. Any assessment of the way such materials perform must crucially be based on an understanding of the methods used for their analysis. The editors here add to the knowledge base treating the materials used in historic structures, their properties, technology of use and conservation, and their performance in a changing environment. The book draws together 18 chapters dealing with the inorganic materials used in historic structures, such as adobe, brick, stone, mortars, concrete and plasters. The approach is complex, covering material characterisation as well as several case studies of historic structures from Europe, including Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Slovenia and Spain, and the My Son Temples in Vietnam. An equally important component of the book covers the analysis of materials, together with a treatment of sustainable development, such as the protection of monuments from earthquakes and climate change. The authors are all leading international experts, drawn from a variety of backgrounds: architecture, civil engineering, conservation science, geology and material science, with close links to professional organisations such as ICOMOS or universities and research centres throughout Europe. Audience: This book will be of interest to geologists, engineers, restorers, consulting engineers, designers and other professionals dealing with cultural heritage and sustainable development. Also graduate students in applied geo-science (mineralogy, geochemistry, petrology), architecture and civil engineering will find interesting information in this book.
Most of the world's population lives close to the coast and is highly dependent on coastal resources, which are being exploited at unsustainable rates. These resources are being subject to further pressures associated with population increase and the globalization of coastal resource demand. This is particularly so for the Asia-Pacific region which contains almost two thirds of the world's population and most of the world's coastal megacities. The region has globally important atmospheric and oceanic phenomena, which affect world climate such as the Asian Monsoon and the El-Nino Southern Oscillation phenomena. The Asia-Pacific region also has highly significant marine diversity but over the last few decades, coastal resources such as mangroves, coral reefs and fisheries have experienced large-scale depletion. The need to find appropriate management solutions to these and other coastal issues is made more complex by the need to take account of international scientific predictions for global climate change and sea-level rise which will further impact on these coasts. The idea for this book arose from a meeting of coastal scientists in Kobe, Japan in May 2003. The meeting was organized by the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN), an inter-governmental network, comprising 21 member countries, for the promotion of global change research and links between science and policy making in the region.
Since 2008, the Global Center of Excellence (COE) at Kyoto University, Japan, has been engaged in a program called "Energy Science in the Age of Global Warming-Toward a CO2 Zero-Emission Energy System." Its aim is to establish an international education and research platform to foster educators, researchers, and policy makers who can develop technologies and propose policies for establishing a CO2 zero-emission society no longer dependent on fossil fuels. It is well known that the energy problem cannot simply be labeled a technological one, as it is also deeply involved with social and economic issues. The establishment of a "low-carbon energy science" as an interdisciplinary field integrating social sciences with natural sciences is necessary. The Global COE is setting out a zero-emission technology roadmap and is promoting socioeconomic studies of energy, studies of new technologies for renewable energies, and research for advanced nuclear energy. It has also established the Global COE Unit for Energy Science Education to support young researchers as they apply their skills and knowledge and a broad international perspective to respond to issues of energy and the environment in our societies. Comprising the proceedings of the Second International Symposium of the Global COE Program, this book follows on the earlier volume Zero-Carbon Energy Kyoto 2009, published in March 2010.
Simulation is the fastest developing branch of geostatistics and simulating facies inside reservoirs and orebodies is the most exciting part of this. Several methods have been developed to do this (sequential indicator simulations, Boolean simulations, Markov chains and plurigaussian simulations). This book focuses on the last type of simulations. It presents the theory required to understand the method, along practical examples of applications in mining and the oil industry as well as tutorial exercises. Demonstration software to illustrate how these simulations work is available on http://pluridemo.geosciences.mines-paristech.fr Since the publication of the first edition, enormous numbers of papers have appeared in the literature on the subject. Plurigaussian simulations are now the preferred method for simulating facies in both mining & the oil industry. The new edition contains new case studies in both mining & petroleum, together with an extensively updated theory section.
The Environmental and climatic issues varies from continent to continent and is unique to Asia. Understanding the issues does need lot of research and study material which students may not be able to gather due to shortage of time and resources. Hence an effort is made by authors gathering there experience and academic input from renowned universities of world. Climate change is real and coping with it is major concern in coming days. Most of the books written and sold in the past need updating and customizing. The general description of climate change and world will not help the professionals and students. It needs to seen area wise as a professional will work in specific geographic area. Hence an effort is made to collect data from Asia which host most populated countries along with ecological hot spots.
The debate on how mankind should respond to climate change is diverse, as the appropriate strategy depends on global as well as local circumstances. As scientists are denied the possibility of conducting experiments with the real climate, only climate models can give insights into man-induced climate change, by experimenting with digital climates under varying conditions and by extrapolating past and future states into the future. But the 'nature' of models is a purely representational one. A model is good if it is believed to represent the relevant processes of a natural system well. However, a model and its results, in particular in the case of climate models which interconnect countless hypotheses, is only to some extent testable, although an advanced infrastructure of evaluation strategies has been developed involving strategies of model intercomparison, ensemble prognoses, uncertainty metrics on the system and component levels. The complexity of climate models goes hand in hand with uncertainties, but uncertainty is in conflict with socio-political expectations. However, certain predictions belong to the realm of desires and ideals rather than to applied science. Today's attempt to define and classify uncertainty in terms of likelihood and confidence reflect this awareness of uncertainty as an integral part of human knowledge, in particular on knowledge about possible future developments. The contributions in this book give a first hand insight into scientific strategies in dealing with uncertainty by using simulation models and into social, political and economical requirements in future projections on climate change. Do these strategies and requirements meet each other or fail? The debate on how mankind should respond to climate change is diverse, as the appropriate strategy depends on global as well as local circumstances. As scientists are denied the possibility of conducting experiments with the real climate, only climate models can give insights into man-induced climate change, by experimenting with digital climates under varying conditions and by extrapolating past and future states into the future. But the 'nature' of models is a purely representational one. A model is good if it is believed to represent the relevant processes of a natural system well. However, a model and its results, in particular in the case of climate models which interconnect countless hypotheses, is only to some extent testable, although an advanced infrastructure of evaluation strategies has been developed involving strategies of model intercomparison, ensemble prognoses, uncertainty metrics on the system and component levels. The complexity of climate models goes hand in hand with uncertainties, but uncertainty is in conflict with socio-political expectations. However, certain predictions belong to the realm of desires and ideals rather than to applied science. Today's attempt to define and classify uncertainty in terms of likelihood and confidence reflect this awareness of uncertainty as an integral part of human knowledge, in particular on knowledge about possible future developments. The contributions in this book give a first hand insight into scientific strategies in dealing with uncertainty by using simulation models and into social, political and economical requirements in future projections on climate change. Do these strategies and requirements meet each other or fail? Gabriele Gramelsberger is Principal Investigator of the Collaborative Research Project is Principal Investigator of the Collaborative Research Project
This concise work provides a general introduction to the design of buildings which must be resistant to the effect of earthquakes. A major part of this design involves the building structure which has a primary role in preventing serious damage or structural collapse. Much of the material presented in this book examines building structures. Due to the recent discovery of vertical components, it examines not only the resistance to lateral forces but also analyses the disastrous influence of vertical components. The work is written for Practicing Civil, Structural, and Mechanical Engineers, Seismologists and Geoscientists. It serves as a knowledge source for graduate students and their instructors.
Plant-driven volatile organic compound (BVOC) emissions play a major role in atmospheric chemistry, including ozone and photochemical smog formation in the troposphere, and they extend the atmospheric lifetime of the key greenhouse gas, methane. Furthermore, condensation of photo-oxidation products of BVOCs leads to formation of secondary organic aerosols with profound implications for the earth's solar radiation budget and climate. Trees represent the plant life form that most contributes to BVOC emissions, which gives global forests a unique role in regulating atmospheric chemistry. Written by leading experts in the field, the focus is on recent advancements in understanding the controls on plant-driven BVOC emissions, including efforts to quantitatively predict emissions using computer models, particularly on elicitation of emissions under biotic and abiotic stresses, molecular mechanisms of volatile synthesis and emission and the role of emissions in plant stress tolerance.
This volume discusses a broad range of vital issues encompassing the production and consumption of food in the current period of climate change. All of these add up to looming, momentous challenges to food security, especially for people in regions where malnutrition and famine have been the norm during numerous decades. Furthermore, threats to food security do not stop at the borders of more affluent countries - governance of food systems and changes in eating patterns will have worldwide consequences. The book is arranged in four broad sections. Part I, Combating Food Insecurity: A Global Responsibility opens with a chapter describing the urgent necessity for new paradigm and policy set to meet the food security challenges of climate change. Also in this section are chapters on meat and the dimensions of animal welfare, climate change and sustainability; on dietary options for mitigating climate change; and the linkage of forest and food production in the context of the REDD+ approach to valuation of forests. Part II, Managing Linkages Between Climate Change and Food Security offers a South Asian perspective on Gender, Climate Change and Household Food Security; a chapter on food crisis in sub-Saharan Africa; and separate chapters on critical issues of food supply and production in Nigeria, far-Western Nepal and the Sudano-Sahelian zone of Cameroon. Part III examines Food Security and patterns of production and consumption, with chapters focused on Morocco, Thailand, Bahrain, Kenya and elsewhere. The final section discusses successful, innovative practices, with chapters on Food Security in Knowledge-Based Economy; Biosaline Agriculture in the Gulf States; Rice production in a cotton zone of Benin; palm oil in the production of biofuel; and experiments in raised-bed wheat production. The editors argue that technical prescriptions are insufficient to manage the food security challenge. They propose and explain a holistic approach for adapting food systems to global environmental change, which demands the engagement of many disciplines - a new, sustainable food security paradigm.
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.
"Porous Models for Wave-seabed Interactions" discusses the Phenomenon of wave-seabed interactions, which is a vital issue for coastal and geotechnical engineers involved in the design of foundations for marine structures such as pipelines, breakwaters, platforms, etc. The most important sections of this book will be the fully detailed theoretical models of wave-seabed interaction problem, which are particularly useful for postgraduate students and junior researchers entering the discipline of marine geotechnics and offshore engineering. This book also converts the research outcomes of theoretical studies to engineering applications that will provide front-line engineers with practical and effective tools in the assessment of seabed instability in engineering design. Prof. Dong-Sheng Jeng works at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China.
This publication is the first book on the development and application of digital terrain modeling for regional planning and policy support. It is a compilation of research results by international research groups at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, providing scientific support to the development and implementation of EU environmental policy. This practice-oriented book is recommended reading for practising environmental modelers and GIS experts working on regional planning and policy support applications.
Atmospheric ice takes a wide range of fascinating forms, all beautiful in their own ways but many posing severe risk to the security of overhead networks for electric power, communications and other systems. This comprehensive book documents the fundamentals of atmospheric icing and surveys the state of the art in eight chapters, each written by a team of experienced and internationally renowned experts. The treatment is detailed and richly illustrated. The presentation follows a logical sequence, starting with the icing climate and meteorological conditions, proceeding through development of observations and models of accretion and release of ice and heavy snow, then considering static and dynamic mechanical loads, the effects of ice and snow on electrical insulation, de-icing, ice prevention and mitigation methods. The statistical analysis of icing data and the mathematical and numerical modelling support appropriate mechanical and electrical design processes for icing conditions on overhead lines. Technical specialists, researchers and students in engineering and environmental science will all find value throughout the text.
Remote Sensing from a New Perspective The idea for this book began many years ago, when I was asked to teach a course on remote sensing. Not long before that time, I had been part of the effort to develop the first database for planetary data with a common digital array format and interactive processing capabilities to correlate those data easily: the lunar consortium. All the available lunar remote sensing data were included, orbital and ground-based, ranging across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. I had used this powerful tool extensively, and, in that spirit, I was determined to create a course which covered the entire spectrum and a variety of targets. As I looked around for the equivalent of a textbook, which I was willing to pull together from several sources, I realized that available material was very heavily focused on the visual and near visual spectrum and on the Earth as a target. Even The Surveillant Science, edited by Edward Holz and published in 1973, which broke new ground in having diverse articles on most of the spectrum when it was created, focused entirely on the Earth. My personal favorite, the exceedingly well written book on remote sensing by Floyd Sabins first published in 1978, covered the visual, infrared, and microwave portions of the spectrum beautifully but focused on the Earth as well. Unhindered, I developed what I called 'packets' of material for each part of the spectrum. |
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