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Books > Earth & environment > Earth sciences > General
This collection covers essential concepts in the management of
coastal disasters, outlining several field surveys of such events
that have taken place in the 21st century, including the Indian
Ocean Tsunami, the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami, and the storm
surges generated by Hurricane Katrina, Cyclone Nargis, and Typhoon
Haiyan. Measurements of flood heights, distributions of structural
destruction, and the testimonies of residents are reported, with
the results being analysed and compared with past events and
numerical simulations to clarify and reconstruct the reality of
these disasters. The book covers the state-of-the-art understanding
of disaster mechanisms and the most advanced tools for the
simulation of future events: * Uniquely explains how to use
disaster surveys along with simulations to mitigate risk * Combines
pure scientific studies with practical research and proposes
procedures for effective coastal disaster mitigation Coastal
Disaster Surveys and Assessment for Risk Mitigation is ideal for
students in the field of disaster risk management, as well as
engineers who deal with issues related to tsunamis, storm surges,
high wave attack and coastal erosion.
New technologies allow us to handle increasingly large datasets,
while monitoring devices are becoming ever more sophisticated. This
high-tech progress produces statistical units sampled over finer
and finer grids. As the measurement points become closer, the data
can be considered as observations varying over a continuum. This
intrinsic continuous data (called functional data) can be found in
various fields of science, including biomechanics, chemometrics,
econometrics, environmetrics, geophysics, medicine, etc. The
failure of standard multivariate statistics to analyze such
functional data has led the statistical community to develop
appropriate statistical methodologies, called Functional Data
Analysis (FDA). Today, FDA is certainly one of the most motivating
and popular statistical topics due to its impact on crucial
societal issues (health, environment, etc). This is why the FDA
statistical community is rapidly growing, as are the statistical
developments . Therefore, it is necessary to organize regular
meetings in order to provide a state-of-art review of the recent
advances in this fascinating area. This book collects selected and
extended papers presented at the second International Workshop of
Functional and Operatorial Statistics (Santander, Spain, 16-18
June, 2011), in which many outstanding experts on FDA will present
the most relevant advances in this pioneering statistical area.
Undoubtedly, these proceedings will be an essential resource for
academic researchers, master students, engineers, and practitioners
not only in statistics but also in numerous related fields of
application. "
Adjustment Models in 3D Geomatics and Computational Geophysics:
With MATLAB Examples, Volume Four introduces a complete package of
theoretical and practical subjects in adjustment computations
relating to Geomatics and geophysical applications, particularly
photogrammetry, surveying, remote sensing, GIS, cartography, and
geodesy. Supported by illustrating figures and solved examples with
MATLAB codes, the book provides clear methods for processing 3D
data for accurate and reliable results. Problems cover free net
adjustment, adjustment with constraints, blunder detection, RANSAC,
robust estimation, error propagation, 3D co-registration, image
pose determination, and more.
The Sun continually ejects matter into space, blowing a huge bubble
of supersonic plasma. This solar wind bathes the whole solar system
and shapes all planetary environments. The recent growth of space
technology has considerably increased our knowledge of this medium.
This book presents a modern introduction to the subject, starting
with basic principles and including all the latest advances from
space exploration and theory. It contains a short introduction to
plasma physics and discusses the structure of the solar interior
and atmosphere, the production of solar wind and its perturbations.
It explains the objects of the Solar System, from dust to comets
and planets, and their interaction with the solar wind. The final
sections explore the astrophysical point of view. The topics are
treated at various levels of difficulty both qualitatively and
quantitatively. This book will appeal to graduate students and
researchers in earth and atmospheric sciences, and astrophysics.
Adapted from a series of lectures given by the authors, this
monograph focuses on radial basis functions (RBFs), a powerful
numerical methodology for solving PDEs to high accuracy in any
number of dimensions. This method applies to problems across a wide
range of PDEs arising in fluid mechanics, wave motions, astro- and
geosciences, mathematical biology, and other areas and has lately
been shown to compete successfully against the very best previous
approaches on some large benchmark problems. Using examples and
heuristic explanations to create a practical and intuitive
perspective, the authors address how, when, and why RBF-based
methods work. The authors trace the algorithmic evolution of RBFs,
starting with brief introductions to finite difference (FD) and
pseudospectral (PS) methods and following a logical progression to
global RBFs and then to RBF-generated FD (RBF-FD) methods. The
RBF-FD method, conceived in 2000, has proven to be a leading
candidate for numerical simulations in an increasingly wide range
of applications, including seismic exploration for oil and gas,
weather and climate modeling, and electromagnetics, among others.
This is the first survey in book format of the RBF-FD methodology
and is suitable as the text for a one-semester first-year graduate
class.
The book describes the structure, composition and evolution of the
Earth, the main geological processes occurring on it, and how some
crucial environmental matters that are amply debated in the media
(e.g. pollution, greenhouse effect) can be fully understood by
placing them in the holistic context of the system Earth as a
whole. It provides basic information on a series of key geological
issues, from the structure and composition of the Earth to the
large-scale processes that characterize our planet, such as rock
alteration and sedimentation, magmatism, geomagnetism, seismicity,
plate tectonics, cyclical migration of chemical elements through
various Earth reservoirs (Geochemical Cycles), and evolution of the
planet from Hadean to present. It intends to reach a wide
readership, which is interested in our planet and wish to have a
general and comprehensive view of its origin, evolution and
activity. Potential readership includes undergraduate and advanced
undergraduate students in Geology and other scientific disciplines,
and any moderately- to well-educated people interested in the
surrounding world and eager to gain a basic knowledge of the Earth
and to reach an integrated view of how our planet is working.
This book discusses key theoretical aspects concerning the
formation of the solar wind: the most essential building block in
the heliosphere, in which planets orbit. To understand the
influence of solar activity on planetary magnetospheres and
atmospheres, we need to first understand the origin of the solar
wind, which is still under debate. This book presents the outcomes
of state-of-the-art numerical simulations of solar wind
acceleration, including the first three-dimensional simulation of
the turbulence-driven solar wind model. One of the book's goals is
to include compressional effects in the dynamics of solar wind
turbulence; accordingly, it discusses parametric decay instability
in detail. Several key aspects that are relevant to the Parker
Solar Probe observations are also discussed. Given its scope, the
book plays a key role in bridging the gap between the theory of
magnetohydrodynamic turbulence and current/future in-situ
observations of the solar wind. This book is based on the Ph.D.
thesis by the author, which won the 2019 International Astronomical
Union Division E Ph.D. prize.
Did you know your irises are lying to you and all human eyes are
actually brown? Want to know the absolute worst way to die,
according to science? Did you know that a smoking psychedelic toad
milk could alleviate depression for up to four weeks? 117 Things
You Should F*#king Know About Your World tells you the answers to
these questions and many more weird and wonderful facts about the
universe. Split into the site's different subject areas of
environment, technology, space, health and medicine, plants and
animals, physics and chemistry, this is the ultimate science book.
With 25 million social media followers, I F*#king Love Science is
the world's favourite source of science on the web. From missing
nuclear weapons and Facebook secret files to the world's smallest
computer and why you should wrap your car keys in tinfoil, this is
the book that only the world's leading source of crazy-but-true
stories could produce.
Since the dawn of agriculture, great civilizations have sunk into
poverty after destroying their once fertile land. Today, few people
realise how close we are to the same fate if we don't take action.
In Growing a Revolution, David R. Montgomery leads us on a journey
through history and around the world to see how innovative farmers
ditch the plough, mulch cover crops and adopt complex rotations to
restore the soil, finding the foundation for the next agricultural
revolution: a soil health revolution. Cutting through the debates
about conventional versus organic agriculture, Montgomery shows how
new regenerative methods heal damaged environments and improve
farmers' bottom lines. Ancient wisdom merges with modern science
and Growing a Revolution shows how agriculture can help solve
modern environmental woes.
This book presents the first simultaneous detection of neutrons and
positrons after a terrestrial gamma-ray flash (TGF), a
highest-energy transient phenomenon on the earth, triggered by a
lightning discharge, based on innovative ground-based observations
made in the Hokuriku area of Japan. TGFs, known to be produced by
lightning discharges since the 1990s, has been theoretically
predicted to react with atmospheric nuclei via photonuclear
reactions because they comprise high-energy photons of more than 10
MeV, but such photonuclear reactions by lightning discharges, which
produce neutrons and unstable isotopes emitting positrons, were not
observationally confirmed. The reactions and propagations of their
products in the atmosphere are modeled with Monte Carlo simulations
to quantitatively evaluate observations of TGFs, neutrons, and
positrons at ground level. The successful comparison between
observation and simulation is presented, and demonstrates that
lightning discharges to trigger photonuclear reactions and to even
produce isotopes in the atmosphere.
For the millions who remain curious about the world around them,
but gained little from science at school, this book offers a way
forward. Based on live discussions with adults from all walks of
life, each chapter begins with an everyday experience, like
swallowing a pill or watching a bee on a flower. The main
scientific ideas underlying each topic are then explored, so that
understanding of a set of fundamental concepts builds up gradually
throughout the book. In contrast to more traditional approaches to
science learning, topics range freely across the subject areas. The
story of Covid, for example includes aspects of biology, chemistry,
mathematics and social behaviour. Plain English is used throughout
and mathematical expressions are avoided. Key points are
illustrated with clear diagrams and photographs. By drawing on
questions and perspectives of ordinary people, the book offers an
introduction to basic ideas in science as a whole, rather than any
one particular subject. For the adult wishing to make good a gap in
their understanding it provides a starting point for entering the
rich world of popular science.
This volume contains forty-one selected full-text contributions
from the Fourth European Conference on Geostatistics for
Environmental Applications, geoENV IV, held in Barcelona, Spain,
November 2002. The objective of the editors was to compile a set of
papers from which the reader could perceive how geostatistics is
applied within the environmental sciences. A few selected
theoretical contributions are also included. The papers are
organized in the following sections: Air pollution and satellite
images, Ecology and environment, Hydrogeology, Climatology and
rainfall, Oceanography, Soil science, Methodology. Applications of
geostatistics vary from particle matter analysis, land cover
classification, space-time ozone mapping, downscaling of
precipitation, contaminant transport in the subsurface, aquifer
reclamation, analysis of Iberian hare or phytoplankton abundance,
coastal current patterns, to soil pollution by heavy metals or
dioxins. At the back of the book nineteen posters presented at the
congress are included. The combination of full texts and posters
provides a picture of the tendencies that can presently be found in
Europe regarding the applications of geostatistics for
environmentally related problems. Audience: After four editions the
geoENV Congress Series has established itself as a 'must' to all
scientists working in the field of geostatistics for environmental
applications. Each geoENV congress covers the developments which
have occurred during the preceding two years, but always with a
highly applied focus. It is precisely this focus on the
applications to environmental sciences which makes the geoENV
volumes unique and of great interest and practical value
togeostatisticians working both in academia and in industry.
Since the advent of agriculture approximately 12,000 years ago,
human activity has created a unique set of ecosystems. However, the
recent development of world markets, rapid technological advances,
and other changes to farming practices have led to hugely increased
pressures on farm habitats and organisms. Global human populations
are rising and diets are becoming ever more complicated, leading to
unrelenting requirements for increased levels of food production.
Natural biotopes are becoming increasingly fragmented as
agricultural activities expand around them. "Agroecosystems" now
occur from the tropics to subarctic environments and comprise
systems as varied as annual crops, perennial grasslands, orchards,
and agroforestry systems. They presently cover almost 40% of the
terrestrial land surface and significantly shape landscapes at a
global scale. This key addition to the OUP Biology of Habitats
Series provides a novel perspective on agroecosystems, summarising
our current understanding of the basic and applied aspects of these
important and complex habitats, whilst focusing on environmental
concerns in the context of global change. The Biology of
Agroecosystemsis is for both senior undergraduate and graduate
students taking courses in agroecology, farmland ecology,
conservation, and agriculture as well as the many professional
ecologists, conservation biologists, and land managers requiring a
concise overview of agroecology.
This book provides full-scale field tests of different types of
pile foundations. For the testing, it includes static load tests
which consider various loading orientations, dynamic load tests,
inclinometer monitoring and tests that aim to determine the load
transfer mechanism of pile foundation. This book also covers the
up-to-date popular topic with detailed project studies. This
includes the academic investigation of post-grouting technology
effect on drilled shaft piles, the research of displacement and
non-displacement precast pile foundation, the study of
fiber-reinforced polymer material used in the geo-technical
environment such as deep excavation pit in tunneling project, and
the research of super-long and large diameter pile foundations.
These investigations provide essential and academic information for
researchers as well as engineers in role of Civil and Geotech. Not
only the different types of the piles are studied, but also the
relevant theory and literatures are reviewed. In this book, the
diagrams are plotted in an easy way and the explanation of the
diagrams and tables are described in detail. The research methods
corresponding to the practical projects are detailed as well.
Hence, it is useful as a reference for the students and researchers
in civil and geotechnical engineering.
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.
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.
This book focuses on the mechanical properties and permeability of
coal, and the gas flow in coal seams. Based on coal permeability
models, it establishes different models for coal seam gas, from the
linear flow model to the gas-solid coupling flow model. It also
provides the theoretical basis for the exploitation and safe
production of coal as well as coal seam gas resources. As such, it
is a valuable reference for researchers, advanced students and
practitioners working in mining engineering and coalbed methane
engineering.
Environmental Geology presents the student with a broad overview of
environmental geology. The text looks both at how the earth
developed into its present condition and where matters seem to be
moving for the future. It is hoped that this knowledge will provide
the student with a useful foundation for discussing and evaluating
specific environmental issues, as well as for developing ideas
about how the problems should be solved.
This book gathers the latest advances, innovations, and
applications in the field of computational geomechanics, as
presented by international researchers and engineers at the 16th
International Conference of the International Association for
Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics (IACMAG 2020/21).
Contributions include a wide range of topics in geomechanics such
as: monitoring and remote sensing, multiphase modelling,
reliability and risk analysis, surface structures, deep structures,
dams and earth structures, coastal engineering, mining engineering,
earthquake and dynamics, soil-atmosphere interaction, ice
mechanics, landfills and waste disposal, gas and petroleum
engineering, geothermal energy, offshore technology, energy
geostructures, geomechanical numerical models and computational
rail geotechnics.
This book explores sustainable development from the perspective of
resources and energy, based on China's practical experience and
cross-disciplinary research. It focuses on major challenges, key
solutions and policy recommendations, and studies and explores
seven important themes of resources, energy and sustainable
development, including: 1) China's low-carbon energy transition, 2)
China's urbanization and low-carbon development, 3) China's
low-carbon action in cities, 4) China's low-carbon power
transition, 5) China's water resources management, 6) electric
vehicle development and key metal resources and 7) China's
low-carbon development of the iron & steel industry. This book
contributes to a more integrated understanding of many themes and
their relationships in the area of resources, energy and
sustainable development and guides the related policy and
management.
This open access book reviews the water-agro-food and
socio-eco-system of the Seine River basin (76,000 km2), and offers
a historical perspective on the river's long-term contamination.
The Seine basin is inhabited by circa 17 million people and is
impacted by intensive agricultural practices and industrial
activities. These pressures have gradually affected its
hydrological, chemical and ecological functioning, leading to a
maximum chemical degradation between the 1960s and the 1990s. Over
the last three decades, while major water-quality improvements have
been observed, new issues (e.g. endocrine disruptors,
microplastics) have also emerged. The state of the Seine River
network, from the headwaters to estuary, is increasingly controlled
by the balance between pressures and social responses. This
socio-ecosystem provides a unique example of the functioning of a
territory under heavy anthropogenic pressure during the
Anthropocene era. The achievements made were possible due to the
long-term PIREN Seine research program, established in 1989 and
today part of the French socio-ecological research network "Zones
Ateliers", itself part of the international Long-term
Socio-economic and Ecological Research Network (LTSER). Written by
experts in the field, the book provides an introduction to the
water budget and the territorial metabolism of the Seine basin, and
studies the trajectories and impact of various pollutants in the
Seine River. It offers insights into the ecological functioning,
the integration of agricultural practices, the analysis of aquatic
organic matter, and the evolution of fish assemblages in the Seine
basin, and also presents research perspectives and approaches to
improve the water quality of the Seine River. Given its scope, it
will appeal to environmental managers, scientists and policymakers
interested in the long-term contamination of the Seine River.
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