Mathematically, natural disasters of all types are characterized by heavy tailed distributions. The analysis of such distributions with common methods, such as averages and dispersions, can therefore lead to erroneous conclusions. The statistical methods described in this book avoid such pitfalls. Seismic disasters are studied, primarily thanks to the availability of an ample statistical database. New approaches are presented to seismic risk estimation and forecasting the damage caused by earthquakes, ranging from typical, moderate events to very rare, extreme disasters. Analysis of these latter events is based on the limit theorems of probability and the duality of the generalized Pareto distribution and generalized extreme value distribution. It is shown that the parameter most widely used to estimate seismic risk - Mmax, the maximum possible earthquake value - is potentially non-robust. Robust analogues of this parameter are suggested and calculated for some seismic catalogues. Trends in the costs inferred by damage from natural disasters as related to changing social and economic situations are examined for different regions.

The results obtained argue for sustainable development, whereas entirely different, incorrect conclusions can be drawn if the specific properties of the heavy-tailed distribution and change in completeness of data on natural hazards are neglected.

This pioneering work is directed at risk assessment specialists in general, seismologists, administrators and all those interested in natural disasters and their impact on society.

This book features a selection of works presented in the 2nd International Conference on BioGeoSciences in a unified framework. First, it describes several theoretical tools for the mathematical modelling of natural processes and environments, such as Quantitative Habitability Theory, dynamical systems and artificial intelligence. It then outlines applications to the broad and multifaceted area of the natural sciences and environmental engineering. This highly interdisciplinary book includes case studies with a wide range of spatio-temporal scales: from ecosystem- to astrobiological-cosmological scales.

The ARTEMIS mission was initiated by skillfully moving the two outermost Earth-orbiting THEMIS spacecraft into lunar orbit to conduct unprecedented dual spacecraft observations of the lunar environment. ARTEMIS stands for Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and Electrodynamics of the Moon's Interaction with the Sun. Indeed, this volume discusses initial findings related to the Moon s magnetic and plasma environments and the electrical conductivity of the lunar interior. This work is aimed at researchers and graduate students in both heliophysics and planetary physics. Originally published in Space Science Reviews, Vol. 165/1-4, 2011."

Forests and vegetation emit biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) into the atmosphere which, once oxidized, can partition into the particle phase, forming secondary organic aerosols (SOAs). This thesis reports on a unique and comprehensive analysis of the impact of BVOC emissions on atmospheric aerosols and climate. A state-of-the-art global aerosol microphysics model is used to make the first detailed assessment of the impact of BVOC emissions on aerosol microphysical properties, improving our understanding of the role of these emissions in affecting the Earth's climate. The thesis also reports on the implications for the climate impact of forests. Accounting for the climate impacts of SOAs, taken together with the carbon cycle and surface albedo effects that have been studied in previous work, increases the total warming effect of global deforestation by roughly 20%.

In this book an international group of specialists discusses studies of exoplanets subjected to extreme stellar radiation and plasma conditions. It is shown that such studies will help us to understand how terrestrial planets and their atmospheres, including the early Venus, Earth and Mars, evolved during the host star's active early phase. The book presents an analysis of findings from Hubble Space Telescope observations of transiting exoplanets, as well as applications of advanced numerical models for characterizing the upper atmosphere structure and stellar environments of exoplanets. The authors also address detections of atoms and molecules in the atmosphere of "hot Jupiters" by NASA's Spitzer telescope. The observational and theoretical investigations and discoveries presented are both timely and important in the context of the next generation of space telescopes. The book is divided into four main parts, grouping chapters on exoplanet host star radiation and plasma environments, exoplanet upper atmosphere and environment observations, exoplanet and stellar magnetospheres, and exoplanet observation and characterization. The book closes with an outlook on the future of this research field.

Science into Policy: Global Lessons from Antarctica reveals a unique model for integrating Earth system science with environmental and resource policies to balance economic, governmental, and societal interests. Since the International Geophysical Year in 1957-1958, scientific investigation has fostered international cooperation and the rational use of Antarctica for "peaceful purposes only." Beyond merely presenting information, this book integrates content and concepts in a manner that will appeal to individuals with interests in the natural and the social sciences.
Integrated chapters convey the natural and the human dimensions of Antarctica.
Time and space concepts are introduced from diverse perspectives to facilitate insights into ecosystem and environmental variability.
Included CD-ROM provides searchable access to a comprehensive database of Antarctic Treaty documents.
The author has been leading international expeditions to "the ice" for the past three decades.

In the past several years, there have been significant technological advances in the field of crisis response. However, many aspects concerning the efficient collection and integration of geo-information, applied semantics and situation awareness for disaster management remain open. Improving crisis response systems and making them intelligent requires extensive collaboration between emergency responders, disaster managers, system designers and researchers alike. To facilitate this process, the Gi4DM (GeoInformation for Disaster Management) conferences have been held regularly since 2005. The events are coordinated by the Joint Board of Geospatial Information Societies (JB GIS) and ICSU GeoUnions. This book presents the outcomes of the Gi4DM 2018 conference, which was organised by the ISPRS-URSI Joint Working Group ICWG III/IVa: Disaster Assessment, Monitoring and Management and held in Istanbul, Turkey on 18-21 March 2018. It includes 12 scientific papers focusing on the intelligent use of geo-information, semantics and situation awareness.

The authors explain the rewarding results from the interdisciplinary collaboration between an environmental study group working on coastal ecosystems and effects of oil spills and applied mathematicians modelling wave motion on sandy beaches. By using the unified Navier-Stokes equations with a Bingham fluid model for spilled oil, multi-phase flow analysis were made. Decomposition of spilled oil by bacteria was simulated as a chemical reaction, and the theoretical and numerical analysis suggested a countermeasure to help reduce stress on coastal ecosystems. The new understanding of how ecosystems both depend upon, and help to determine, the nature of the shoreline demonstrates promising ways to better assist and exploit the regenerative powers inherent in nature.

This book provides a practical guide to applying soft-computing methods to interpret geophysical data. It discusses the design of neural networks with Matlab for geophysical data, as well as fuzzy logic and neuro-fuzzy concepts and their applications. In addition, it describes genetic algorithms for the automatic and/or intelligent processing and interpretation of geophysical data.

This book covers all types of literature on existing trend analysis approaches, but more than 60% of the methodologies are developed here and some of them are reflected to scientific literature and others are also innovative versions, modifications or improvements. The suggested methodologies help to design, develop, manage and deliver scientific applications and training to meet the needs of interested staff in companies, industries and universities including students. Technical content and expertise are also provided from different theoretical and especially active roles in the design, development and delivery of science in particular and economics and business in general. It is also ensured that, wherever possible and technically appropriate, priority is given to the inclusion and integration of real life data, examples and processes within the book content. The time seems right, because available books just focus on special sectors (fashion, social, business). This book reviews all the available trend approaches in the present literature on rational and logical bases.

Over the past decade or so, we have seen a multitude of improvement programmes and projects to improve the safety of patient care in healthcare. However, the full potential of these efforts and especially those that seek to address an entire system has not yet been reached. The current pandemic has made this more evident than ever. We have tended to focus on problems in isolation, one harm at a time, and our efforts have been simplistic and myopic. If we are to save more lives and significantly reduce patient harm, we need to adopt a holistic, systematic approach that extends across cultural, technological, and procedural boundaries. Patient Safety Now is about the fact that it is time to care for everyone impacted by patient safety, how we need to take the time to care for everyone in a meaningful way and how hospitals need to enable staff time to care safely. This book builds on the author's two previous books on patient safety. Rethinking Patient Safety talked about ways in which we need to rethink patient safety in healthcare and describes what we've learned over the last two decades. Implementing Patient Safety talked about what we can do differently and how we can use those lessons learned to improve the way we implement patient safety initiatives and encourage a culture of safety across a healthcare system. Patient Safety Now unites the concepts, theories and ideas of the previous two books with updated material and examples, including what has been learned by patient safety specialists during a pandemic. Patient Safety Now provides the reader with a unique view of patient safety that looks beyond the traditional negative and retrospective approach to one that is proactive and recognizes the impact of conditions, behaviours and cultures that exist in healthcare on everyone. It is written not only for healthcare professionals and patient safety personnel, but for patients and their families who all want the same thing. Too often when things go wrong, relationships quickly become adversarial when in fact this can be avoided by recognizing that, rather than being in separate camps, there are shared needs and goals in relations to patient safety.

Applications of wavelet analysis to the geophysical sciences grew from Jean Morlet's work on seismic signals in the 1980s. Used to detect signals against noise, wavelet analysis excels for transients or for spatiallylocalized phenomena. In this fourth volume in the renown WAVELET ANALYSIS AND ITS APPLICATIONS Series, Efi Foufoula-Georgiou and Praveen Kumar begin with a self-contained overview of the nature, power, and scope of wavelet transforms. The eleven originalpapers that follow in this edited treatise show how geophysical researchers are using wavelets to analyze such diverse phenomena as intermittent atmospheric turbulence, seafloor bathymetry, marine and other seismic data, and flow in aquifiers. Wavelets in Geophysics will make informative reading for geophysicists seeking an up-to-date account of how these tools are being used as well as for wavelet researchers searching for ideas for applications, or even new points of departure.
Key Features
* Includes twelve original papers written by experts in the geophysical sciences
* Provides a self-contained overview of the nature, power, and scope of wavelet transforms
* Presents applications of wavelets to geophysical phenomena such as:
* The sharp events of seismic data
*Long memory processes, such as fluctuation in the level of the Nile
* A structure preserving decomposition of turbulence signals

Understanding the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements is critical for success in the chemistry classroom and laboratory. In today's classroom, students not only need to understand the properties of the chemical elements, but how these elements play such an integral role in industry, the earth and the environment, and in modern life. No resource provides a better introduction than Robert Krebs's The History and Use of Our Earth's Chemical Elements. In this thoroughly revised edition, with extensive new examples on the importance of the chemical elements, the elements are examined within their groups, enabling students to make connections between elements of similar structure. In addition, the discovery and history of each element - from those known from ancient times to those created in the modern laboratory - is explained clearly and concisely. Understanding the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements is critical for success in the chemistry classroom and laboratory. In today's classroom, students not only need to understand the properties of the chemical elements, but how these elements play such an integral role in industry, the earth and the environment, and in modern life. No resource provides a better introduction than Robert Krebs's The History and Use of Our Earth's Chemical Elements. In this thoroughly revised edition, with extensive new and updated examples on the use of the chemical elements, the elements are examined within their groups, enabling students to make connections between elements of similar structure. In addition, the discovery and history of each element - from those known from ancient times to those created in the modern laboratory - is explained clearly and concisely. In addition to the handy Guide to the Chemical Elements that comprises the bulk of the work, The History and Use of Our Earth's Chemical Elements includes other useful features: ; Introductory material on the basics of chemistry and the Periodic Table ; Appendices on the discoverers of the chemical elements ; A glossary of words commonly used in chemistry and chemical engineering ; A complete bibliography of useful resources, including websites All of this information makes The History and Use of Our Earth's Chemical Elements the ideal one-volume resource for understanding the importance of the chemical elements.

This book contains selected papers from participants at the 4th National Cartographic Conference GeoCart'2008, held in Auckland, New Zealand in September 2008. It provides a contribution to the literature related to contemporary Geoinformation and Cartography as part of the Springer - ries "Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography." The series aims to provide publications that highlight the research and professional acti- ties taking place in this exciting discipline area. Books published thus far cover a wide range of topics and their content reflects the diverse nature of interests of contributors in the field. The GeoCart conferences are held every two years and attract attendees from Australasia and globally. They offer a forum for reflecting on past practices, exploring future possibilities and reporting on the findings of - search undertakings. They make valuable contributions to the theory and praxis of Geoinformation and Cartography. The editors of this book, Antoni Moore, from the University of Otago, and Igor Drecki, from the University of Auckland, have provided contri- tions that fall under the categories of representation, egocentric mapping, the exploration of tangible and intangible geographical phenomena by v- ual means and Web mapping. The chapters provide valuable information from contributors that illustrate the exciting developments in the dis- pline. I applaud the efforts of the editors and authors for providing this work as an insight into their fields of activity. I hope that you find this book, from the land of the Long White Cloud, a valuable resource.

In many oceanic and atmospheric flows, the collection of trajectories of fluid elements - the Lagrangian motion - is of fundamental importance, determining the transport of fluid properties as well as basic characteristics of the flow itself. In the presence of large-scale, coherent structures, this motion can be analyzed using methods developed originally in the geometric theory of ordinary differential equations. The last two decades have seen the rapid development of this dynamical systems approach to Lagrangian transport for the analysis of engineering and geophysical fluid flows. Geophysical fluid problems presented a new set of mathematical and computational challenges for this approach; in turn, these methods have provided new perspectives on Lagrangian motion in geophysical flows. This is the first introductory textbook to describe this approach in the context of geophysical fluid dynamics. and in parallel, in an accessible style, and will serve both to introduce the necessary mathematical framework to geophysical fluid dynamicists, and to introduce an active area of geophysical fluid research to applied nonlinear dynamicists. The text is suitable for graduate and advanced undergraduate students, and will also serve as a useful reference for researchers and scientists in either field.