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Books > Earth & environment > Earth sciences > General
As we face an ever-more-fragmented world, What Kind of Ancestor Do You Want to Be? demands a return to the force of lineage-to spiritual, social, and ecological connections across time. It sparks a myriad of ageless-yet-urgent questions: How will I be remembered? What traditions do I want to continue? What cycles do I want to break? What new systems do I want to initiate for those yet-to-be-born? How do we endure? Published in association with the Center for Humans and Nature and interweaving essays, interviews, and poetry, this book brings together a thoughtful community of Indigenous and other voices-including Linda Hogan, Wendell Berry, Winona LaDuke, Vandana Shiva, Robin Kimmerer, and Wes Jackson-to explore what we want to give to our descendants. It is an offering to teachers who have come before and to those who will follow, a tool for healing our relationships with ourselves, with each other, and with our most powerful ancestors-the lands and waters that give and sustain all life.
"INSTRUCTORS," interested in requesting a review copy?
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.
Over the many millennia that the human race has inhabited our planet, a use has been found for almost everything that is to be found on it. However, since the Industrial Revolution, many of the resources that we have come to rely on are being depleted, some at an alarming rate. Misuse of others, such as fossil fuels, is causing such damage to the environment that measures are being taken at an international level to restrict their use Introducing Natural Resources explains how the natural resources of the Earth originated, by outlining the astronomical and geological evolution of the planet in the early period of its existence. The genesis, mode of occurrence, and abundance of the various non-renewable mineral resources are described, together with the methods of extraction, extent of reserves, and any environmental problems. The use of renewable resources, such as solar energy, air, and water, are then discussed, together with plant and animal life, which are renewable resources only if properly managed. The book concludes with a summary of future issues in resource management. Copiously illustrated, this book is intended for those whose interest in natural resources has been stimulated, perhaps by media coverage of declining resources or environmental pollution, and who want to better understand the issues involved. Technical terms are kept to a minimum and are explained in a glossary.
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The devastating impacts of natural disasters not only directly affect humans and infrastructure, but also animals, which may be crucial to the livelihoods of many people. This book considers the needs of animals in the aftermath of disasters and explains the importance of looking to their welfare in extreme events. The authors explore how animals are affected by specific disaster types, what their emergency and subsequent welfare needs are and the appropriate interventions. They describe the key benefits of management of animals to populations and discuss preventative measures that can be taken to reduce risk and build resilience. They also include a summary of recent debates and public policy advances on animals in disasters. The book covers livestock, companion and wild animals, with case studies to show how the concepts can be put into practice. It provides a standalone text for students of disaster studies and management as well as professionals and NGOs who require an entry-level introduction to the subject.
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Originally published anonymously in 1844, "Vestiges" proved to be
as controversial as its author expected. Integrating research in
the burgeoning sciences of anthropology, geology, astronomy,
biology, economics, and chemistry, it was the first attempt to
connect the natural sciences to a history of creation. The author,
whose identity was not revealed until 1884, was Robert Chambers, a
leading Scottish writer and publisher. "Vestiges" reached a huge
popular audience and was widely read by the social and intellectual
elite. It sparked debate about natural law, setting the stage for
the controversy over Darwin's "Origin." In response to the
surrounding debate and criticism, Chambers published "Explanations:
A Sequel," in which he offered a reasoned defense of his ideas
about natural law, castigating what he saw as the narrowness of
specialist science.
Hydraulic fracturing (or "fracking") has been a source of both achievement and controversy for years, and it continues to be a hot-button issue all over the world. It has made the United States an energy exporting country once again and kept the price of gasoline low, for consumers and companies. On the other hand, it has been potentially a dangerous and destructive practice that has led to environmental problems and health issues. It is a deeply important subject for the petroleum engineer to explore as much as possible. This collection of papers is the first in the series, Sustainable Energy Engineering, tackling this very complex process of hydraulic fracturing and its environmental and economic ramifications. Born out of the journal by the same name, formerly published by Scrivener Publishing, most of the articles in this volume have been updated, and there are some new additions, as well, to keep the engineer abreast of any updates and new methods in the industry. Truly a snapshot of the state-of-the-art, this groundbreaking volume is a must-have for any petroleum engineer working in the field, environmental engineers, petroleum engineering students, and any other engineer or scientist working with hydraulic fracturing.
Granite is exposed over more than 15% of the continents, implying that its significance to the Earth's surface is comparable to that of the carbonates. Landforms and Geology of Granite Terrains is devoted to this phenomenon and provides a comprehensive explanation of the landforms and landscapes developed on granitic rocks and forms. Whereas existing literature in the field predominantly deals with karst landscapes, this book is specifically focussed on granitic terrains.Landforms and Geology of Granite Terrains provides detailed considerations of the forms, major and minor, well-known and not so familiar granitic terrains, developed over large areas of the continents. It comprises interpretations which are of general significance in the analysis and understanding of the landscape and includes many theories in the context of granite landforms. The importance of structure, including crystal stresses, and the value of etching of subsurface initiation, multi-stages or two-stages development, neotectonic forms, solution forms is emphasized as well as the antiquity of some forms and surfaces (inherited forms). Morphogenetic forms are placed in perspective and comparison is made with similar forms in other rock types.This work is intended for geologists, geomorphologists, geographers and mining engineers and can serve both as a practical guide for professionals and as a textbook for university courses. Author, location and subject indices are included.
This graduate textbook presents a comprehensive, unified treatment of the materials science of deformation as applied to solid Earth geophysics and geology. The deformation of Earth materials is presented in a systematic way covering elastic, anelastic and viscous deformation. Advanced discussions on relevant debates are also included to bring readers a full picture of science in this interdisciplinary area. This textbook is ideal for graduate courses on the rheology and dynamics of solid Earth, and includes review questions with solutions so readers can monitor their understanding of the material presented. It is also a much-needed reference for geoscientists in many fields including geology, geophysics, geochemistry, materials science, mineralogy and ceramics.
Living Physical Geography focuses on interactions between people and physical geography, using pedagogical features (in the textbook and online) to create a modern synthesis of the science of physical geography. Bruce Gervais' new text offers a fresh approach to the study of physical geography, combining print and digital media to create a scientifically substantive work that is written for students. Living Physical Geography focuses on human-physical geography interactions, using pedagogical features in the textbook and online to create a modern synthesis of the science of physical geography. Each of the four major parts in Living Physical Geography is identified by energy flows within Earth's physical systems. Additionally, landscape analysis underpins the body of the text. Step-by-step examples are used to illustrate how landforms and systems develop, evolve, and change through time. The new edition of Living Physical Geography is now supported in Achieve, Macmillan's new online learning platform. Achieve is the culmination of years of development work put toward creating the most powerful online learning tool for Geography students. It houses all of our renowned assessments, multimedia assets, e-books, and instructor resources in a powerful new platform.
This book concisely examines the use of elasticity in solving geotechnical engineering problems. In a highly illustrated and user-friendly format, it provides a thorough grounding in the linear theory of elasticity and an understanding of the applications. The first two chapters present a basic framework of the theory of elasticity and describe test procedures for the determination of elastic parameters for soils. Chapters 3 and 4 present the fundamental solutions of Boussinesque, Kelvin, and Mindlin, and use these to formulate solutions to problems of practical interest in geotechnical engineering. The book concludes with a sequence of appendices designed to provide the interested student with details of elasticity theory that are peripheral to the main text. Each chapter concludes with a set of questions for the student to answer. The book is appropriate for upper level students in civil engineering and engineering geology.
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.
"Mathematical Modeling of Earth's Dynamical Systems" gives earth scientists the essential skills for translating chemical and physical systems into mathematical and computational models that provide enhanced insight into Earth's processes. Using a step-by-step method, the book identifies the important geological variables of physical-chemical geoscience problems and describes the mechanisms that control these variables. This book is directed toward upper-level undergraduate students, graduate students, researchers, and professionals who want to learn how to abstract complex systems into sets of dynamic equations. It shows students how to recognize domains of interest and key factors, and how to explain assumptions in formal terms. The book reveals what data best tests ideas of how nature works, and cautions against inadequate transport laws, unconstrained coefficients, and unfalsifiable models. Various examples of processes and systems, and ample illustrations, are provided. Students using this text should be familiar with the principles of physics, chemistry, and geology, and have taken a year of differential and integral calculus. "Mathematical Modeling of Earth's Dynamical Systems" helps earth scientists develop a philosophical framework and strong foundations for conceptualizing complex geologic systems. Step-by-step lessons for representing complex Earth systems as dynamical models Explains geologic processes in terms of fundamental laws of physics and chemistry Numerical solutions to differential equations through the finite difference technique A philosophical approach to quantitative problem-solving Various examples of processes and systems, including the evolution of sandy coastlines, the global carbon cycle, and much more Professors: A supplementary Instructor's Manual is available for this book. It is restricted to teachers using the text in courses. For information on how to obtain a copy, refer to: http: //press.princeton.edu/class_use/solutions.html
The US Antarctic meteorite collection exists due to a cooperative program involving the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Smithsonian Institution. Since 1976, meteorites have been collected by a NSF-funded field team, shipped for curation, characterization, distribution, and storage at NASA, and classified and stored for long term at the Smithsonian. It is the largest collection in the world with many significant samples including lunar, martian, many interesting chondrites and achondrites, and even several unusual one-of-a-kind meteorites from as yet unidentified parent bodies. Many Antarctic meteorites have helped to define new meteorite groups. No previous formal publication has covered the entire collection, and an overall summary of its impact and significant samples has been lacking. In addition, available statistics for the collection are out of date and need to be updated for the use of the community. "35 seasons of U.S. Antarctic Meteorites (1976-2011): A Pictorial Guide to the Collection "is the first comprehensive volume that portrays the most updated key significant meteoritic samples from Antarctica. "35 seasons of U.S. Antarctic Meteorites "presents a broad overview of the program and collection nearly four decades after its beginnings. The collection has been a consistent and reliable source of astromaterials for a large, diverse, and active scientific community. Volume highlights include: - Overview of the history, field practices, curation approaches- Special focus on specific meteorite types and the impact of the collection on understanding these groups (primitive chondrites, differentiated meteorites, lunar and martian meteorites)- Role of Antarctic meteorites in influencing the determination of space and terrestrial exposure ages for meteorites- Statistical summary of the collection by year, region, meteorite type, as well as a comparison to modern falls and hot desert finds- The central portion of the book features 80 color plates each of which highlights more influential and interesting samples from the collection. "35 seasons of U.S. Antarctic Meteorites "would be of special interest to a multidisciplinary audience in meteoritics, including advanced graduate students and geoscientists specializing in mineralogy, petrology, geochemistry, astronomy, near-earth object science, astrophysics, and astrobiology.
Planetary Science is an exciting, fast-moving, interdisciplinary field with courses taught in a wide range of departments, including astronomy, physics, chemistry, earth sciences and biology. "Planets and Planetary Systems" is a well-written, concise introductory textbook on the science of planets within our own and other solar systems. Keeping mathematics to a minimum, assuming only a rudimentary knowledge of calculus, the book begins with a description of the basic properties of the planets in our solar systems, and then moves on to compare them with what is known about planets in other solar systems. It continues by looking at the surfaces, interiors and atmospheres of the planets and then covers the dynamics and origin of planetary systems. The book closes with a look at the role of life in planetary systems. - An accessible, concise introduction to planets and planetary systems - Uses insights from all the disciplines underlying planetary science - Incorporates results from recent planetary space missions, such as Cassini to Saturn and a number of missions to Mars - Well illustrated throughout, including a colour plate section "Planets and Planetary Systems" is invaluable to students taking courses in planetary science across a wide range of disciplines and of interest to researchers and many keen amateur astronomers, needing an up-to-date introduction to this exciting subject.
The new revised fifth edition of Natural Hazards remains the go-to introductory-level survey intended for university and college courses that are concerned with earth processes that have direct, and often sudden and violent, impacts on human society. The text integrates principles of geology, hydrology, meteorology, climatology, oceanography, soil science, ecology, and solar system astronomy. The textbook explains the earth processes that drive hazardous events in an understandable way, illustrate how these processes interact with our civilization, and describe how we can better adjust to their effects. Written by leading scholars in the area, the new edition of this book takes advantage of the greatly expanding amount of information regarding natural hazards, disasters, and catastrophes. The text is designed for learning with each chapter broken into small consumable chunks of content for students. Each chapter opens with a list of learning objectives and ends with revision as well as with high-level critical thinking questions. Concepts in Review section provides an innovative end of chapter section that breaks down the chapter content by section: reviewing the learning objectives, summary points, important visuals, and key terms. New case studies of hazardous events have been integrated into the text, and students are invited to actively apply their understanding of the five fundamental concepts that serve as a conceptual framework for the text. Figures, illustrations, and photos have been updated throughout. The book is designed for a course in natural hazards for non-science majors, and a primary goal of the text is to assist instructors in guiding students who may have little background in science to understand physical earth processes as natural hazards and their consequences to society.
Described here are the techniques and fundamental concepts underlying the production and marketing of vegetable crops, particularly those crops that contribute to the commercial vitality of the vegetable industry in the western hemisphere. Those resources which are fundamental to successful crop production, natural, biological and economic, are covered, as well as the vegetable management systems that integrate these resources. Also included is specific information on each of the major vegetable crops, such as history, botanical characteristics, production techniques, pests, harvesting and marketing. In addition, discussions are provided of social conflicts and problems that arise from water and land use practices, pesticide application and conservation.
Image registration employs digital image processing in order to bring two or more digital images into precise alignment for analysis and comparison. Accurate registration algorithms are essential for creating mosaics of satellite images and tracking changes on the planet's surface over time. Bringing together invited contributions from thirty-six distinguished researchers, the book presents a detailed overview of current research and practice in the application of image registration to remote sensing imagery. Chapters cover the problem definition, theoretical issues in accuracy and efficiency, fundamental algorithms, and real-world case studies of image registration software applied to imagery from operational satellite systems. This book provides a comprehensive and practical overview for Earth and space scientists, presents image processing researchers with a summary of current research, and can be used for specialised graduate courses.
From the Foreword: "While large-scale machine learning and data mining have greatly impacted a range of commercial applications, their use in the field of Earth sciences is still in the early stages. This book, edited by Ashok Srivastava, Ramakrishna Nemani, and Karsten Steinhaeuser, serves as an outstanding resource for anyone interested in the opportunities and challenges for the machine learning community in analyzing these data sets to answer questions of urgent societal interest...I hope that this book will inspire more computer scientists to focus on environmental applications, and Earth scientists to seek collaborations with researchers in machine learning and data mining to advance the frontiers in Earth sciences." --Vipin Kumar, University of Minnesota Large-Scale Machine Learning in the Earth Sciences provides researchers and practitioners with a broad overview of some of the key challenges in the intersection of Earth science, computer science, statistics, and related fields. It explores a wide range of topics and provides a compilation of recent research in the application of machine learning in the field of Earth Science. Making predictions based on observational data is a theme of the book, and the book includes chapters on the use of network science to understand and discover teleconnections in extreme climate and weather events, as well as using structured estimation in high dimensions. The use of ensemble machine learning models to combine predictions of global climate models using information from spatial and temporal patterns is also explored. The second part of the book features a discussion on statistical downscaling in climate with state-of-the-art scalable machine learning, as well as an overview of methods to understand and predict the proliferation of biological species due to changes in environmental conditions. The problem of using large-scale machine learning to study the formation of tornadoes is also explored in depth. The last part of the book covers the use of deep learning algorithms to classify images that have very high resolution, as well as the unmixing of spectral signals in remote sensing images of land cover. The authors also apply long-tail distributions to geoscience resources, in the final chapter of the book.
An Overview of 200 years of Reseach and an outlook.
Environmental hazards do not respect international boundaries. In this volume, distinguished international researchers make a significant contribution to the understanding and management of transboundary environmental risks. The transboundary risk topics addressed highlight the key political, economic, social and cultural issues of our times, such as how transboundary risks are constructed, how they are communicated within and between countries, how the authorities can build trust in political management processes, and what forms of democratic risk management institutions are appropriate. Useful practical lessons on the management of transboundary risk at the national and international levels are drawn from the case studies. The volume provides valuable evidence and analysis for those working on international environmental issues and all aspects of risk management.
Originally published in 2005, this book covers the closely related techniques of electron microprobe analysis (EMPA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) specifically from a geological viewpoint. Topics discussed include: principles of electron-target interactions, electron beam instrumentation, X-ray spectrometry, general principles of SEM image formation, production of X-ray 'maps' showing elemental distributions, procedures for qualitative and quantitative X-ray analysis (both energy-dispersive and wavelength-dispersive), the use of both 'true' electron microprobes and SEMs fitted with X-ray spectrometers, and practical matters such as sample preparation and treatment of results. Throughout, there is an emphasis on geological aspects not mentioned in similar books aimed at a more general readership. The book avoids unnecessary technical detail in order to be easily accessible, and forms a comprehensive text on EMPA and SEM for geological postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers, as well as those working in industrial laboratories. |
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