Advances in Geosciences is the result of a concerted effort to bring together the latest results and planning activities related to earth and space science in Asia and the international arena. The volume editors are all leading scientists in their research fields covering six sections: Atmospheric Science (AS), Hydrological Science (HS), Ocean Science (OS), Solid Earth (SE), Solar Terrestrial (ST) and Planetary Science (PS). The main purpose is to highlight the scientific issues essential to the study of earthquakes, tsunamis, atmospheric dust storms, climate change, drought, flood, typhoons, monsoons, space weather, and planetary exploration.

This volume is abstracted in NASA's Astrophysics Data System: http: //ads.harvard.edu

Advances in Geosciences is the result of a concerted effort to bring together the latest results and planning activities related to earth and space science in Asia and the international arena. The volume editors are all leading scientists in their research fields covering six sections: Atmospheric Science (AS), Hydrological Science (HS), Ocean Science (OS), Solid Earth (SE), Solar Terrestrial (ST) and Planetary Science (PS). The main purpose is to highlight the scientific issues essential to the study of earthquakes, tsunamis, atmospheric dust storms, climate change, drought, flood, typhoons, monsoons, space weather, and planetary exploration.

This volume is abstracted in NASA's Astrophysics Data System: http: //ads.harvard.edu

This is a major, and deeply thoughtful, contribution to understanding uncertainty and risk. Our world and its unprecedented challenges need such ways of thinking! Much more than a set of contributions from different disciplines, this book leads you to explore your own way of perceiving your own area of work. An outstanding contribution that will stay on my shelves for many years. Dr Neil T. M. Hamilton, Director, WWF International Arctic Programme This collection of essays provides a unique and fascinating overview of perspectives on uncertainty and risk across a wide variety of disciplines. It is a valuable and accessible sourcebook for specialists and laypeople alike. Professor Renate Schubert, Head of the Institute for Environmental Decisions and Chair of Economics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology This comprehensive collection of disciplinary perspectives on uncertainty is a definitive guide to contemporary insights into this Achilles heel of modernity and the endemic hubris of institutional science in its role as public authority. It gives firm foundations to the fundamental historic shift now underway in the world, towards normalizing acceptance of the immanent condition of ignorance and of its practical corollaries: contingency, uncontrol, and respect for difference. Brian Wynne, Professor of Science Studies, Lancaster University Bammer and Smithson have assembled a fascinating, important collection of papers on uncertainty and its management. The integrative nature of Uncertainty and Risk makes it a landmark in the intellectual history of this vital cross-disciplinary concept. George Cvetkovich, Director, Center for Cross-Cultural Research, Western Washington University Uncertainty governs our lives. From the unknowns of living with the risks of terrorism to developing policies on genetically modified foods, or disaster planning for catastrophic climate change, how we conceptualize, evaluate and cope with uncertainty drives our actions and deployment of resources, decisions and priorities. In this thorough and wide-ranging volume, theoretical perspectives are drawn from art history, complexity science, economics, futures, history, law, philosophy, physics, psychology, statistics and theology. On a practical level, uncertainty is examined in emergency management, intelligence, law enforcement, music, policy and politics. Key problems that are a subject of focus are environmental management, communicable diseases and illicit drugs. Opening and closing sections of the book provide major conceptual strands in uncertainty thinking and develop an integrated view of the nature of uncertainty, uncertainty as a motivating or de-motivating force, and strategies for coping and managing under uncertainty.

Producing maps that depict the real world accurately has been a major concern of cartographers for centuries. This is especially true today as escalating access to geospatial data and the subsequent increase in user-generated content provided by Web 2.0 have significantly altered the typical processes used to produce, distribute, and use geospatial data.

Focusing on users and decisions as well as the data, Spatial Data Quality: From Process to Decisions provides an up-to-date overview of scientific progress in this core sub-discipline of the Geographic Information Sciences. Presenting results from a number of current research projects in spatial data quality (SDQ) ? from the assessment of data accuracy to legal aspects relating to the quality of geographic information ? this reference reflects the changes in practice in response to the rapid technological developments over the past decade.

An impressive panel of internationally recognized expert contributors focuses on the relationship between the quality of geographic data and the quality of decisions based on such data. Structured for easy reference, the first section of the book discusses conceptual approaches to SDQ, the second presents a number of applications of spatial data quality methods, the third looks at SDQ issues for remote sensing data, and the final section presents papers that consider the interface between the law and SDQ.

In addition to the main chapters presented in each section, a number of shorter notes present on-going and recent research projects investigating various aspects of spatial data quality.

Here is a comprehensive introductory discussion of Earth, energy, and the environment in an integrated manner that will lead to an appreciation of our complex planet. The book looks at Earth from the perspective of a livable planet and elaborates on the surface and subsurface processes and the various energy cycles where energy is transformed and stored in the planet's various spheres. The chapters discuss the interactions between the different parts of Earth-how energy is exchanged between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and geosphere, and how they impact the environment in which we live.

Precision farming, site infrastructure assessment, hydrologic monitoring, and environmental investigations a " these are just a few current and potential uses of near-surface geophysical methods in agriculture. Responding to the growing demand for this technology, the Handbook of Agricultural Geophysics supplies a clear, concise overview of near-surface geophysical methods that can be used in agriculture and provides detailed descriptions of situations in which these techniques have been employed.

The definitive guide to fossils of the Lower Cambrian Chengjiang Fauna Fossils and Strata, Number 45 covers arthropods of the Lower Cambrian Chengjiang Fauna in Southwest China. Starting off with a brief introduction and overview of the geological setting of the area, the book moves quickly into the details. It covers the fourteen biozones of the Lower Cambrian of eastern Yunnan, small shelly fossils, trilobites, and many other topics.

Natural decadal climate variability (DCV) and its interactions with anthropogenic climate change (ACC) are vitally important to understand to predict the future of the Earth's climate. This book, after familiarizing readers with the importance of understanding and predicting DCV phenomena and its distinction from ACC phenomena, comprehensively explains the physics of DCV, integrating paleoclimate proxy and modern instrument-based data and simulations with climate models. Features of this book: Uniquely focuses on natural DCV, its physics, and its predictability Presents an integrated view of DCV phenomena based on approximately 700 peer-reviewed publications cited in the book Includes research on influences of decadal variability in solar emissions on the Earth's climate, with a historical perspective going back several centuries Describes progress in decadal climate predictability and prediction research, with a historical perspective on weather and climate predictability research This book is an excellent resource for graduate students, faculty members and other teachers and researchers, and anyone who is interested in learning about a very important component of the puzzle of the changing climate. "This book provides a comprehensive review.... Highlighted throughout the book are potential links between DCV and solar variability, a fascinating topic that has engaged our minds for centuries. Written by an expert with more than 30 years' experience, this book should be an invaluable resource for students and researchers interested in how our climate will evolve over the coming decades." Doug Smith, Decadal Climate Prediction Leader, Meteorological Office Hadley Centre, UK "This book is a tour de force by the author who has spent his career studying decadal climate variability. He brings new insights to the vast scope of this topic, providing clearly understandable descriptions of the various aspects." Gerald Meehl, Senior Scientist, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Colorado, USA

This book presents a broad overview of pollution issues facing climatic, economic, and legal globalization. Topics include changes in oceans from ancient times to the present, the importance of marine currents and changing climates, marine pollution linked to climate change (fossil fuels, global carbon dioxide, heavy metals, pesticides, plastics, emerging pollutants, and marine debris), global shipping and species invasion, global climate change in the Arctic and Antarctic environments, and regulatory responses to mitigate pollution and climate change in oceans.

Karst terrains have been modified and adapted through a range of human activities as the need for flood control, irrigation, food production, hydropower production and other resources has increased. Successful reclamation projects require construction of dams and reservoirs. Karst terrains present the most complex working conditions for dam foundation and realization of safe reservoir space. Practical engineering solutions are extremely complex and the need for successful solution requires serious investigations and the cooperation of a wide spectrum of scientists and engineers. A wealth of data on dam projects in karst has been collected and presented in this book. Since reservoirs in karst may fail to fill despite extensive investigations and remediation treatment the book includes a description of failures as well.

This book presents an integrated discussion on ecotoxicology, containing both general concepts and specific ecotoxicological issues of major biological groups, extending beyond conventional systems. It explores worldwide, regional, and biocompartmentalized topics, bringing forth new points of view on global issues and addressing the increasing diversity and complexity of the ecotoxicological field. It also contains novel information on emerging contaminants, presents bioaccumulation effects on different levels of ecological organization and risk analyses, and discusses novel fields of methodological applications, including key aspects in ecotoxicological and environmental monitoring studies.

This book is highly informative and carefully presented, providing scientific insights into the flood resources utilization in the Yangtze River Basin both for scholars and decision-makers. The book is for the purpose of analyzing the potential utilization of flood resources in the Yangtze River Basin and exploring effective ways to put forward the countermeasures against the risks. Major objectives of this book include: (1) revealing the characteristics of the inflow and the sediment variation in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, quantitatively evaluating the potential utilization of the flood resources in the Yangtze River and demonstrating the feasibility of its utilization in the Basin; (2) proposing the necessity and feasibility of utilizing the flood resources by the Three Gorges Project; (3) shedding new light on the characteristics of the flood resources, presenting different methods of flood resources utilization in different regions over the Basin and raising the overall risk-optimized strategies of the flood resources utilization in the Yangtze River; (4) analyzing the risk of flood resources utilization for the Three Gorges Project regarding flood control, sediment, ecology, etc., and putting forward the risk-optimized countermeasures of flood resources utilization for the Three Gorges Project.

According to the author a geographic region must satisfy the following conditions: however striking the diversity of the physical setting and the languages, religions and general appearance of the people, there must be some aspect of culture (for example, the social outlook or the organization of the economy) which pervades the area in such a way as to justify the recognition and study of that area as one entity and there must be substantial cultural differences between it and adjacent areas.

Monsoon Asia, from Pakistan to Japan is more than a land area and an assemblage of countries: it is a distinctive geographical region. Its population--which includes nearly half the people in the world--is mainly rural, its economy mainly agricultural, and its peoples share a heritage of material poverty. But change is apparent everywhere in the area. This book is a compact and lucid introduction to the dynamic as well as the unchanging characteristics of the region.

After an introductory section, which defines the limits of Monsoon Asia, there follow chapters on structure and relief, climate, vegetation, and soils. A discussion of the historical geography of the region leads into studies of its agriculture and industry. The concluding two-thirds of the book survey the characteristics of the constituent countries--India, Pakistan, Ceylon, China, Japan, Korea, and South-East Asia proper (Burma, Malaya, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, etc.).

Special attention is paid throughout to the political and social setting of current political problems. The book contains 17 plates, 48 maps and diagrams, a selected bibliography, and an index.

"R. R. Rawson" was senior lecturer in geography at the London School of Economics.

With the rapid development of Chinese urbanization in the 21st century, "urban diseases" become more serious, mainly manifested in water environmental pollution, urban flooding, water shortage, and deterioration of water ecology. It is necessary to establish a modern rainwater management system, scientifically solve the problem of excess urban rainwater and to improve water environment quality. Improvement of water environment quality is conducive to the ecological function of a sponge city. Sponge city construction has contributed to control non-point source pollution. Sponge systems cause the stagnation and purification of rainwater runoff, which is an important guarantee for water environment quality. This monograph summarizes theories and practices of the integrated water environment treatment in Chongqing, a typical representative mountainous city in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region. Based on the mountainous terrain and unique water environment characteristics in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region, the monograph analyzes measures and difficulties in the basin water environment integrated treatment. Moreover, the monograph makes suggestions for risk management amid drainage systems during the COVID-19 epidemic.

This book presents short papers of participants of the 7th International Scientific Conference-School for Young Scientists "Physical and Mathematical Modeling of Earth and Environment Processes" (Ishlinsky Institute for Problems in Mechanics of the Russian Academy of Sciences). The book includes theoretical and experimental studies of processes in the atmosphere, oceans, the lithosphere, and their interaction; environmental issues; problems of human impact on the environment; and methods of geophysical research.

Radar scattering and imaging of rough surfaces is an active interdisciplinary area of research with many practical applications in fields such as mineral and resource exploration, ocean and physical oceanography, military and national defense, planetary exploration, city planning and land use, environmental science, and many more. By focusing on the most advanced analytical and numerical modeling and describing both forward and inverse modeling, Radar Scattering and Imaging of Rough Surfaces: Modeling and Applications with MATLAB (R) connects the scattering process to imaging techniques by vivid examples through numerical and experimental demonstrations and provides computer codes and practical uses. This book is unique in its simultaneous treatment of radar scattering and imaging. Key Features Bridges physical modeling with simulation for resolving radar imaging problems (the first comprehensive work to do so) Provides excellent basic and advanced information for microwave remote-sensing professionals in various fields of science and engineering Covers most advanced analytical and numerical modeling for both backscattering and bistatic scattering Includes MATLAB (R) codes useful not only for academics but also for radar engineers and scientists to develop tools applicable in different areas of earth studies Covering both the theoretical and the practical, Radar Scattering and Imaging of Rough Surfaces: Modeling and Applications with MATLAB (R) is an invaluable resource for professionals and students using remote sensing to study and explain the Earth and its processes. University and research institutes, electrical and radar engineers, remote-sensing image users, application software developers, students, and academics alike will benefit from this book. The author, Kun-Shan Chen, is an internationally known and respected engineer and scientist and an expert in the field of electromagnetic modeling.

During the past century, tropical rain forests have been reduced to about half of their original area, with consequent loss of biodiversity.

Written by leading experts with years of practical and academic experience, this book focuses on the erosion of biodiversity in tropical rain forests, and the role of protected areas in stemming that loss. The book looks at a system of protected areas which could be the cornerstone of all conservation strategies aimed at limiting the inevitable reduction of the planet's biodiversity.

Though largely inaccessible, the geochemistry of Earth's mantle and core can be examined through a wide variety of approaches. Volume 2 focuses first on "remote" sensing using evidence from cosmochemical, seismic, petrologic and geochemical approaches. Mantle composition is then examined in detail through descriptions of mantle samples brought to Earth's surface through tectonic, volcanic, and volatile-outgassing processes. The volume concludes with examination of processes that modify the composition of the mantle and core including an early magma ocean, partial melting, element partitioning between minerals and melts, and physical mixing caused by plate subduction, mantle convection and mass exchange between mantle and core.

Reprinted individual volume from the acclaimed Treatise on Geochemistry,
(10 Volume Set, ISBN 0-08-043751-6, published in 2003)
* Comprehensive and authoritative scope and focus
* Reviews from renowned scientists across a range of subjects, providing both overviews and new data, supplemented by extensive bibliographies
* Extensive illustrations and examples from the field

Many important advances in designing earthquake-resistant structures have occurred over the last several years. Civil engineers need an authoritative source of information that reflects the issues that are unique to the field. Comprising chapters selected from the second edition of the best-selling Handbook of Structural Engineering, Earthquake Engineering for Structural Design provides a tightly focused, concise, and valuable guide to the theoretical, practical, and computational aspects of earthquake engineering. In chapters contributed by renowned experts from around the world, this book supplies the latest concepts, design methodologies, and analytical techniques for mitigating the effects of seismic damage to structures. It discusses the fundamentals of earthquake engineering, explaining the causes of earthquakes and faulting, measurement of earthquakes, and characterization of seismicity. Subsequent chapters discuss the various types of earthquake damage to structures including recent improvements in earthquake performance, seismic design of buildings and bridges considering various types of construction materials, and performance-based seismic design and evaluation of building structures. The book introduces probabilistic approaches to performance-based methodologies as well as an application example of performance-based design. Earthquake Engineering for Structural Design offers practical tools gathered together in a convenient reference for immediate implementation. It is an ideal resource for civil and structural engineers specializing in earthquake engineering.

This third edition of The Physics of the Interstellar Medium continues to introduce advanced undergraduates to the fundamental processes and the wide range of disciplines needed to understand observations of the interstellar medium and its role in the Milky Way galaxy. The book is suitable for undergraduate students studying physics, astronomy, and astrophysics. The book also provides concise and straightforward discussions of interstellar physics and chemistry that are useful for more experienced readers. The book leads readers through the range of physical processes operating on both large and small scales that occur in the interstellar medium. It explores the relationship between the dusty, tenuous gas in interstellar space and the formation of stars and planets. This new edition also describes exciting developments in the field of astrochemistry and its interaction with interstellar physics, and the roles played by interstellar dust grains in interstellar physics and chemistry. Simple models in each chapter, together with problems at the end of each chapter, encompass interdisciplinary applications in atomic, molecular, solid state, and surface physics, and gas dynamics. This popular textbook provides a useful overview and grounding in the study of the interstellar medium and brings insight into many aspects of physics. Features An authoritative textbook in the field at this academic level Provides a wide introduction to the interstellar medium whilst remaining accessible and concise Revised throughout, presenting a modern understanding of the interstellar medium

Modelling forms an implicit part of all engineering design but many engineers engage in modelling without consciously considering the nature, validity and consequences of the supporting assumptions. Derived from courses given to postgraduate and final year undergraduate MEng students, this book presents some of the models that form a part of the typical undergraduate geotechnical curriculum and describes some of the aspects of soil behaviour which contribute to the challenge of geotechnical modelling. Assuming a familiarity with basic soil mechanics and traditional methods of geotechnical design, this book is a valuable tool for students of geotechnical and structural and civil engineering as well as also being useful to practising engineers involved in the specification of numerical or physical geotechnical modelling.

Combining GIS concepts and fundamental spatial thinking methodology with real programming examples, this book introduces popular Python-based tools and their application to solving real-world problems. It elucidates the programming constructs of Python with its high-level toolkits and demonstrates its integration with ArcGIS Theory. Filled with hands-on computer exercises in a logical learning workflow this book promotes increased interactivity between instructors and students while also benefiting professionals in the field with vital knowledge to sharpen their programming skills. Readers receive expert guidance on modules, package management, and handling shapefile formats needed to build their own mini-GIS. Comprehensive and engaging commentary, robust contents, accompanying datasets, and classroom-tested exercises are all housed here to permit users to become competitive in the GIS/IT job market and industry.

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.

Why do many water management projects, begun with the best of intentions, still fail? How is it that large infrastructural water works often encounter opposition? Is it perhaps, among other things, the lack of attention for the cultural context? These and other intriguing questions are dealt with in this book. The authors, having 20 years of experience on water and sanitation in an international context, have investigated the relationship between water and culture world-wide in order to find new keys to successful and sustainable water management. This book is based on extensive research and is intended to form a cultural road towards new sustainable water management practices. "Water: a way of life" takes the reader on a water journey through time and across the world's continents. Along the way it explains the past and present ways in which different cultures around the world, both traditional and modern, view and manage water in response to the distinct environment they inhabit. As beliefs and values are at the heart of any culture, it also highlights the views of the main world religions on water and its use. A better understanding of cultural water beliefs and practices may lead to new concepts for future sustainable water management - from flood management to water supply, sanitation and irrigation management. The book will be useful to water professionals exporting knowledge and technologies to foreign countries where the challenge is to create sustainable solutions for water management by taking into account local, cultural factors. It is also intended to encourage world leaders, politicians and decision-makers responsible for water management to use their power, knowledge and influence to really make a change for the benefit of the people they represent. In this way, water can become a source of cooperation rather than a source of conflict. The authors trust that this book, about water and culture, intended for a truly international audience, will be a source of inspiration.