Inside the epic quest to find life on the water-rich moons at the outer reaches of the solar system Where is the best place to find life beyond Earth? We often look to Mars as the most promising site in our solar system, but recent scientific missions have revealed that some of the most habitable real estate may actually lie farther away. Beneath the frozen crusts of several of the small, ice-covered moons of Jupiter and Saturn lurk vast oceans that may have existed for as long as Earth, and together may contain more than fifty times its total volume of liquid water. Could there be organisms living in their depths? Alien Oceans reveals the science behind the thrilling quest to find out. Kevin Peter Hand is one of today's leading NASA scientists, and his pioneering research has taken him on expeditions around the world. In this captivating account of scientific discovery, he brings together insights from planetary science, biology, and the adventures of scientists like himself to explain how we know that oceans exist within moons of the outer solar system, like Europa, Titan, and Enceladus. He shows how the exploration of Earth's oceans is informing our understanding of the potential habitability of these icy moons, and draws lessons from what we have learned about the origins of life on our own planet to consider how life could arise on these distant worlds. Alien Oceans describes what lies ahead in our search for life in our solar system and beyond, setting the stage for the transformative discoveries that may await us.

Never before has the quest to balance the needs of people, the environment, and the economy been so important. While sustainability has been widely taken up by governments and business, the world has continued to move in increasingly unsustainable directions, from continued dependence on fossil energy to rising greenhouse gas emissions, and erosion of biodiversity. We know what the right thing to do is, but somehow we cannot make the changes that are needed, and so we continue with business as usual, producing business-as-usual results. Based on more than fifteen years of research and practice, Environmental and Economic Sustainability introduces the environmental and economic sustainability assessment (EESA), a new way to make decisions that meets the challenges of the 21st century. Incorporating elements of life-cycle analysis, risk assessment, cost-benefit analysis, and comprehensive sensitivity analysis, EESA provides a fully quantitative, objective, and rational way to include all of the social, environmental, and economic issues relevant to a decision into one comprehensive analysis. The author demonstrates how to apply EESA using examples across a number of major industries, including petroleum, mining, and public utilities, and covering key issues such as water, greenhouse gases, waste, contaminated sites, and renewable energy. Case studies Management of produced water in the oil and gas industry in the Middle East Management of wastewater in a water utility in Australia Power generation and carbon management in an energy utility in Australia Remediation of contaminated gas works in the UK Energy savings and carbon management in heavy oil processing Ultimately, the solutions to problems of the 21st century will come from understanding the tremendous value that the environment provides, and reflecting

Contemporary soil science and conservation methods of effective forestry Forests and the soils that serve as their foundation cover almost a third of the world's land area. Soils influenced by forest cover have different properties than soils cultivated for agricultural use. Ecology and Management of Forest Soils provides a clear and comprehensive overview of the composition, structure, processes, and management of the largest terrestrial ecosystem. From composition and biogeochemistry to dynamics and management, this essential text enables readers to understand the vital components of sustainable, long-term forest soil fertility. The interaction of trees, animals, microbes, and vegetation alter the biology and chemistry of forest soils-these dynamics are also subject to human management, requiring conservationists to be conversant in the philosophy and methods of soil science. Now in its fifth edition, this classic text includes new coverage of uptake of organic nitrogen in forests, 15N retention studies, the effects of N additions on C accumulation, evidence-based examples of the dynamics of soils, and more. Extensive updates and revisions to topics such as spatial implications of megafires, long-term organic matter accumulation, soil characterization, and molecular soil measurement techniques reflect contemporary research and practices in the field. This informative overview of forest soils integrates clear and accurate descriptions of central concepts and logically organized chapters to provide readers with foundational knowledge of major soil features, processes, measurement techniques, and management methods. This authoritative survey of the management and ecology of forest soils: Offers full-color photographs and illustrations, real-world examples and case studies, and clear overviews to each topic Presents up-to-date and accessible coverage of contemporary forest science literature and research Addresses topical issues relevant to areas such as ecology, forest management, conservation, and government policy Provides a comprehensive, global perspective on forest soils, from tropical to temperate to boreal Presents balanced coverage of soil science principles and their practical application to forest management Ecology and Management of Forest Soils offers students in areas of soil science and forestry, natural resource and environmental management, ecology, agronomy, and conservation an invaluable overview of the field, while providing forestry professionals an efficient and current work of reference.

A comprehensive, up-to-date field guide to the world's rocks and minerals This detailed and easy-to-use guide contains striking photography of rocks and minerals from around the globe, and is designed to help readers and collectors identify specimens of these compounds, which are formed by geological processes in the earth's crust. Useful for beginners and serious collectors alike, this handy volume features special color photography of specimens from the Natural History Museum in London, which holds one of the largest collections in the world. Beautiful color photographs Comprehensive, up-to-date information Suitable for serious collectors and those new to the field Special photography of unique specimens from the Natural History Museum in London

The term 'natural disaster' is often used to refer to natural events such as earthquakes, hurricanes or floods. However, the phrase 'natural disaster' suggests an uncritical acceptance of a deeply engrained ideological and cultural myth.

At Risk questions this myth and argues that extreme natural events are not disasters until a vulnerable group of people is exposed. It also focuses on what makes people vulnerable. Often this means analyzing the links between poverty and vulnerability. But it is also important to take account of different social groups that suffer more in extreme events, including women, children, the frail and elderly, ethnic minorities, illegal immigrants, refugees and people with disabilities.

Vulnerability has also been increased by global environmental change and economic globalization - it is an irony of the 'risk society' that efforts to provide 'security' often create new risks. Fifty years of deforestation in Honduras and Nicaragua opened up the land for the export of beef, coffee, bananas, and cotton. It enriched the few, but endangered the many when hurricane Mitch struck these areas in 1998. Rainfall sent denuded hillsides sliding down on villages and towns.

This new edition of At Risk confronts a further ten years of ever more expensive and deadly disasters since it was first published and discusses disaster not as an aberration, but as a signal failure of mainstream 'development'. Two analytical models are provided as tools for understanding vulnerability. One links remote and distant 'root causes' to 'unsafe conditions' in a 'progression of vulnerability'. The other uses the concepts of 'access' and 'livelihood' to understand why some households are more vulnerable than others.

The book then concludes with strategies to create a safer world..

Dieses Buch bietet eine vergleichsweise umfangreiche Einfuhrung in die spezielle Mineralogie, Petrologie, Geochemie und Lagerstattenkunde. Es entwickelte sich aus dem ursprunglich von Siegfried Matthes konzipierten, dann von Martin Okrusch weitergefuhrten Lehrbuch, das mittlerweile zu einem bewahrten Klassiker geworden ist. Die vorliegende, mittlerweile 10. Neuauflage unterscheidet sich von den Vorgangern durch eine komplette UEberarbeitung von Text und Abbildungen, die stark von der Handschrift Hartwig Frimmels, dem Nachfolger von Martin Okrusch, gepragt ist. Dabei aber blieben die Autoren der Grundidee eines fur den geowissenschaftlichen Unterricht an der Universitat zugeschnittenen Lehrbuchs treu, welches die langjahrige Erfahrung der Autoren in Lehre und Forschung widerspiegelt. Zahlreiche Hinweise auf die wirtschaftliche Bedeutung von Mineralen, Gesteinen und Erzen werden dem wieder erstarkten gesellschaftlichen Interesse an der zukunftigen Versorgung mit mineralischen Rohstoffen gerecht. Die gegenuber anderen, insbesondere Internetquellen deutlich tiefer gehende Bearbeitung von Themen ermoeglicht es, ein Verstandnis fur die komplexen Zusammenhange zwischen Geomaterialien und geologischen Prozessen - sei es auf der Erde oder auf anderen Himmelskoerpern - aus moderner Sicht zu entwickeln. Dabei wird aber nicht auf essentielle Grundlagen verzichtet, auch wenn sie schon vor Jahrzehnten entwickelt worden sind. Nicht zuletzt wegen seiner umfangreichen Bebilderung ist das Buch wertvolles Handwerkszeug fur interessierte Mineraliensammler.

Every rock is a tangible trace of the earth's past. In The Story of the Earth in 25 Rocks, Donald R. Prothero tells the fascinating stories behind the discoveries that shook the foundations of geology. In twenty-five chapters-each about a particular rock, outcrop, or geologic phenomenon-Prothero recounts the scientific detective work that took us from the unearthing of exemplary specimens to tectonic shifts in how we view our planet and history. Prothero follows in the footsteps of the scientists who asked-and answered-geology's biggest questions: How do we know how old the earth is? What happened to the supercontinent Pangea? How did ocean rocks end up at the top of Mount Everest? What can we learn about our planet from meteorites and moon rocks? The Story of the Earth in 25 Rocks answers these questions through expertly chosen case studies, such as Pliny the Elder's firsthand account of the eruption of Vesuvius; the granite outcrops that led a Scottish scientist to theorize that the landscapes he witnessed were far older than Noah's Flood; the gypsum deposits under the Mediterranean Sea that indicate that it was once a desert; and how trying to date the age of meteorites revealed the dangers of lead poisoning. Each of these breakthroughs filled in a piece of the puzzle that is the earth, with scientific discoveries dovetailing with each other to offer increasingly solid evidence of the geologic past. Summarizing a wealth of information in an entertaining, approachable style, The Story of the Earth in 25 Rocks is essential reading for the armchair geologist, the rock hound, and all who are curious about the earth beneath their feet.

The constant increase in the consumption of mineral resources, as well as the growing awareness of their exploitation, is causing deep concern within the scientific community. This concern is justified by the fact that the energy transition will increase the pressure on these resources, as renewable energies require an increased and more diversified quantity of mineral materials. This book presents an overview of the exploitation of these mineral resources, where the natural, regulatory and environmental constraints interfere with economic, financial and geopolitical interests. By mobilizing the fields of the humanities, geosciences and engineering, it also analyzes the challenges that the energy transition will encounter, challenges related to the contradictory effects that the acceleration of the extraction of these resources will have on their physical availability, the economies that exploit them and the populations that live off of them

This self-contained handbook provides a carefully researched, compact source of key earth science information and data, logically sorted by subject matter, and then cross-referenced. Appealing to both experts and non-experts alike, the book presents earth science and environmental science as closely intertwined. It includes tables of the global distributions of fossil fuels, contrasted by tables of the distribution of non-fossil energy sources. Concise explanations cover the subject matters of geology, geophysics, oceans, atmosphere with attention to environmental implications and resources.

Part of the Fossils and Strata Series The publication, Trace Fossils in Evolutionary Palaeocology, details the session proceedings on Trace Fossils at the First International Palaeontological Congress in Sydney, Australia, held in 2002.

Cutting across traditional subject boundaries, Principles of Ecotoxicology, Fourth Edition gives readers an integrated view of ecotoxicology, from molecules to ecosystems. This new edition of a bestselling textbook continues to emphasize principles rather than practice, providing the interdisciplinary perspective and grounding required for research. Organized into three sections, the book first describes the molecular structures, properties, and environmental fate of pollutants. It then deals with the effects of pollutants on living organisms at the molecular, cellular, and individual levels. Moving into population biology and population genetics, the third part of the book addresses a question of great interest to ecologists: What effects do pollutants have at the levels of population, community, and the whole ecosystem? The book also looks at how ecotoxicology is used in the biomonitoring of environmental pollution, the investigation of pollution problems, the conducting of field trials, the study of the development of resistance, and the growing area of environmental risk assessments. Throughout, examples and case studies illustrate the principles. This updated fourth edition includes new material on nanoparticle pollution, bioaccumulation, biomarkers, and chemical warfare in nature, as well as a new chapter on the future directions of ecotoxicology. A concise textbook that will also appeal to practicing ecotoxicologists, it provides a solid basis for understanding what happens to chemicals in the real world, where they go, how they ultimately degrade, and how they affect the individuals and populations that encounter them. What's New in This Edition Revised and updated material throughout A chapter on future directions of ecotoxicology New material on nanoparticle pollution and chemical warfare in nature Ex

There are other books on unsaturated soil mechanics, but this book is different. Unsaturated soil mechanics is only one aspect of a continuous range of soil mechanics studies that extends from the rheology of high water content soil slurries to the mechanics of soft soils, to stiff saturated soils, to unsaturated soils, and, at the far end of the range, to dry soils. In reality, the water content of all soils, that are not permanently submerged, varies seasonally. In most climatic zones, rainfall varies during the year and the depth of the water table varies sympathetically. In applying unsaturated soil mechanics in practice, it is therefore important to realise and allow for the probability that soil will, either seasonally or occasionally, pass from the unsaturated to the saturated state and even from unsaturation to dryness. This is the only book that looks specifically at this essential practical aspect. The theory of unsaturated soils is fully dealt with in all of its aspects, including its application to natural undisturbed soils and compacted soils. Application of the theory to soil-like materials such as mine waste and municipal solid waste is also covered. Application of the theory to practice is illustrated by a number of detailed case histories. Unsaturated soil mechanics principles can also successfully and usefully be applied in related fields such as the bulk storage of particulate materials, underground mine support, solution mining and concrete structures. Several case histories are given that illustrate these practical applications. The author has been professionally engaged in practical research and application of unsaturated soil mechanics for close to 60 years and with this book shares his wide experience with the reader.

In this inspiring manifesto, an internationally renowned oceanographer makes the provocative case for why protecting nature makes economic sense. Enric Sala wants to change the world--and in this groundbreaking book, he shows us how. Once we appreciate how nature works, he asserts, we will understand why its preservation is economically practical and essential to our survival. In this highly readable narrative, Sala, director of National Geographic's Pristine Seas project, tells the story of his scientific awakening, the colorful mentors whose work inspired him, and his transition from academic to activism--because, as he put it, he was tired of writing the obituary of the ocean. His revelations are surprising, and sometimes counterintuitive: Lots of sharks are actually the best indicator of a healthy ocean ecosystem, and crop diversity, rather than intensive monoculture farming, is the key to planetary abundance. For decades, Sala has spearheaded ocean protection, convincing world leaders to protect areas amounting to five times the size of Texas--and he is still passionately pushing for more. Using fascinating examples from his own expeditions and groundbreaking findings from other scientists, Sala builds the case for the economic wisdom of making room for nature, even as the population builds to eight million and grows more urbanized by the decade. Both relatable and inspiring, this powerful book will change the way you think about the world--and the future.

Written from the perspective of developing countries, this book discusses the development process from a spatial perspective, focussing particularly on the evoltuion of the intra-national space-economy. With emphasis on African nations, this book offers a distinctive interpretation of the current situation and policy prescriptions differing significantly from previous literature in the area.

This book aims to explore basic principles, concepts and applications of geochemistry. Topics include chemical weathering, impacts on living beings and water, geochemical cycles, oxidation and redox reactions in geochemistry, isotopes, analytical techniques, medicinal, inorganic, marine, atmospheric, and environmental applications, as well as case studies. This book helps in understanding the chemical composition of the earth and its applications. It also includes beneficial effects, bottlenecks, solutions, and future directions in geochemistry.

Environmental Geology, 5e focuses on the fascinating interaction between humans and the geologic processes that shape the Earth's environment. This text emphasizes how human survival is highly dependent on the natural environment and students should find the topics to be quite relevant to their own lives and, therefore, more interesting.

Although upwards of 50,000 environmental assessments (EAs) are prepared annually-compared to some 500 environmental impact statements (EISs)-the focus of U.S. National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations is on defining requirements for preparing EISs. Written by Charles Eccleston and J. Peyton Doub, who have established themselves among the top environmental experts in the world, Preparing NEPA Environmental Assessments: A User's Guide to Best Professional Practices fills the need for an authoritative and comprehensive guide on how to prepare EAs. Bridging the regulatory gap, this book identifies relevant EIS regulatory requirements that can be logically interpreted to also apply to EAs. It compiles and synthesizes information scattered throughout NEPA's regulations, executive orders, and guidance documents, and incorporates case law to provide additional clarification. The authors also draw on the professional experiences and best professional practices (BPP) of NEPA practitioners. From the fundamentals to more advanced topics, the book presents a consistent methodology to help beginners, students, and professionals manage, analyze, and write legally sufficient EAs. It addresses dilemmas that have traditionally plagued preparation of EAs, provides BPPs, tools, and approaches for resolving problems, and introduces methods for streamlining the EA process. Building on Eccleston's previous guide to EAs, Effective Environmental Assessments: How to Manage and Prepare NEPA Assessments (2001), this book reflects the rapid changes in government policy over the past ten years. An indispensable source of practical information, it provides readers with step-by-step direction and best practices for preparing defensible EAs.

Autonomous Nature investigates the history of nature as an active, often unruly force in tension with nature as a rational, logical order from ancient times to the Scientific Revolution of the seventeenth century. Along with subsequent advances in mechanics, hydrodynamics, thermodynamics, and electromagnetism, nature came to be perceived as an orderly, rational, physical world that could be engineered, controlled, and managed. Autonomous Nature focuses on the history of unpredictability, why it was a problem for the ancient world through the Scientific Revolution, and why it is a problem for today. The work is set in the context of vignettes about unpredictable events such as the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, the Bubonic Plague, the Lisbon Earthquake, and efforts to understand and predict the weather and natural disasters. This book is an ideal text for courses on the environment, environmental history, history of science, or the philosophy of science.

..".Entrancing photographs of multi-colored mudhills in New Mexico, the red rock formations of Canyonlands National Park in Utah, and canyons, cliffs, and desert lands throughout California, Nevada, and Arizona. Strom has been photographing the deserts of the American Southwest for thirty years, creating arresting images of forbidding, breathtaking landscapes containing geological formations and striking colors like nothing else on earth... His book of photographs would make the perfect gift for anyone who loves the landscape of the West."--"New West Magazine"

Stephen Strom has photographed in the southwestern desert lands of the United States for more than 20 years and this book brings together, for the first time, a selection of his most powerful and memorable images.

Strom brings to this landscape the sensibilities of an astronomer who has lived in the desert for almost two decades. His photographs capture a land shaped both by the millennial forces of prehistory and also by yesterday's cloudburst. His images have the power to compress vast desert spaces in an illusion of intimacy and comprehension, presenting undulations of colour and form which appear reimagined in a light that at once penetrates and sculpts.

Published in 2009, the book Earth Forms, with essays by Gregory McNamee and Albert Stewart, is the first fine art quality monograph of Stephen's photographs. To assure images of the highest quality, Stephen was present at EBS in Verona, Italy when the final proofs were made. He and Dewi Lewis, the publisher, certified the adjustments made before each page was printed.

The Human Age is an intrepid exploration of the new geological epoch in which we now find ourselves: the Anthropocene. Defined as the Age of Man, this is the epoch in which human beings have become the driving forces that mould, transform and destroy Earth. Where natural occurrences once controlled climate, geology and the genesis and demise of species, humankind now holds the reins. Bringing together scientific theory, political argument, philosophical questioning and our deepest fears and hopes for the future, The Human Age explores this new age through informative and compelling text, and astounding photographs of the impact of human life on Earth. Powerful graphics depict the changing nature of the landscape and the very bedrock of our planet, and the destruction of ancient systems and environments that is resulting in global upheaval and climate breakdown. Creating a visual and written timeline of the age of human domination, The Human Age reveals how this era was born, the ways in which it is impacting us and our planet now, and the outlook for the future.

This book comprises select proceedings of the annual conference of the Indian Geotechnical Society. The conference brings together research and case histories on various aspects of geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering. The book presents papers on geotechnical applications and case histories, covering topics such as (i) Characterization of Geomaterials and Physical Modelling; (ii) Foundations and Deep Excavations; (iii) Soil Stabilization and Ground Improvement; (iv) Geoenvironmental Engineering and Waste Material Utilization; (v) Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering; (vi) Earth Retaining Structures, Dams and Embankments; (vii) Slope Stability and Landslides; (viii) Transportation Geotechnics; (ix) Geosynthetics Applications; (x) Computational, Analytical and Numerical Modelling; (xi) Rock Engineering, Tunnelling and Underground Constructions; (xii) Forensic Geotechnical Engineering and Case Studies; and (xiii) Others Topics: Behaviour of Unsaturated Soils, Offshore and Marine Geotechnics, Remote Sensing and GIS, Field Investigations, Instrumentation and Monitoring, Retrofitting of Geotechnical Structures, Reliability in Geotechnical Engineering, Geotechnical Education, Codes and Standards, and other relevant topics. The contents of this book are of interest to researchers and practicing engineers alike.

Covering radiogenic, radioactive, and stable isotopes, this comprehensive text contains five sections that present fundamentals of atomic physics; dating methods for terrestrial and extraterrestrial rocks by means of radiogenic isotopes; geochemistry of radiogenic isotopes; dating by means of U, Th-series and cosmogenic radionuclides; and the fractionation of the stable isotopes of H, C, N, O, and S, as well as Li, B, Si, and Cl. Additionally, this edition provides: - Expanded coverage of the U-Pb methods -the most accurate available dating technique - Applications to the petrogenesis of igneous rocks - Summaries of the use of isotopic data for study of the oceans - New examples from the fields of archeology and anthropology - Radiation-damage methods of dating including fission tracks, thermoluminescence, and electron spin resonance (ESR) - Information on the dispersal of fission-product radionuclides and the disposal of radioactive waste - Extensive chapter-by-chapter problems and solutions

The atmosphere is the thin, diffuse fluid that envelops the Earth's surface. Despite its apparent fragility, the existence of this fluid is vital for human and other life on Earth. In this Very Short Introduction Paul Palmer describes the physical and chemical characteristics of different layers in the atmosphere, and shows how the interactions where the atmosphere is in contact with land, ocean, and ice affect its observed physical and chemical properties. He also looks at how movement in the atmosphere, driven by heat from the sun, transports heat from lower latitudes to higher latitudes, and is a fundamental feature of the general circulation in the atmosphere. Finally, Palmer presents an overview of the types of measurements used to understand different parts of the atmosphere, and identifies the future challenges for atmospheric scientists. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Reliability-based design is the only engineering methodology currently available which can ensure self-consistency in both physical and probabilistic terms. It is also uniquely compatible with the theoretical basis underlying other disciplines such as structural design. It is especially relevant as geotechnical design becomes subject to increasing codification and to code harmonization across national boundaries and material types. Already some codes of practice describe the principles and requirements for safety, serviceability, and durability of structures in reliability terms. This book presents practical computational methods in concrete steps that can be followed by practitioners and students. It also provides geotechnical examples illustrating reliability analysis and design. It aims to encourage geotechnical engineers to apply reliability-based design in a realistic context that recognises the complex variabilities in geomaterials and model uncertainties arising from a profession steeped in empiricism. By focusing on learning through computations and examples, this book serves as a valuable reference for engineers and a resource for students.