This book discusses temporal changes in six Asia-Pacific marginal seas and two west boundary currents in the Northwest Pacific. Covering time scales varying from years to decades, it provides a comprehensive review of the long-term changes in various physical variables, including sea level, sea surface temperature, water mass index, current and transport, as well as local issues such as sea ice and tidal mixing, and the processes and dynamics that govern them. The book also examines biogeochemical variables, such as nutrients, oxygen, pH, water transparency, ocean acidification, eutrophication and productivity, and explores future trends. Offering a holistic view of the changes that have occurred in the Asia-Pacific marginal seas and those that are likely to occur in the future, this book will appeal to readers from all fields of oceanography.

This book provides an updated and detailed overview on the recent developments of bioethanol technology. It looks at the historical perspectives, chemistry, sources and production of ethanol and discusses biotechnology breakthroughs and promising developments, its uses, advantages, problems, environmental effects and characteristics. In addition, it presents information about ethanol in different parts of the world and also highlights the challenges and future of ethanol. The first edition of this book was published as a SpringerBriefs in 2013. Since then, many new developments have taken place in the last six years. This new edition will highlight the evolution in bioethanol development from first-generation production to the futuristic fourth-generation bioethanol production, the various constraints and challenges involved, and the scope for development. This book caters to the audience who are interested in alternative transportation fuels which are both biodegradable and sustainable to the environment.

This book provides an in-depth analysis of nine weapons and explosive remnants of war, their uses in armed conflict and their deadly impact on the environment. Besides three weapons of mass destruction (Biological, Chemical and Nuclear), it also covers controversial weapons like Depleted Uranium, White Phosphorus, Cluster Munitions, and Anti-personnel Landmines, their military applications, and the health and environmental hazard posed by them. The book offers an impartial analysis of legal regimes, and their efficacy in minimising the damage these weapons wreak on humans and the environment. It then examines the principles and rules of international humanitarian law, which could be used by the international community to ban these weapons. The book concludes by making a few recommendations addressed to international organisations, the States and military commanders with a view to reducing the damage caused by these weapons to the earth's pristine environment.

Climate change is a major challenge facing modern society. The chemistry of air and its influence on the climate system forms the main focus of this book. Vol. 2 of Chemistry of the Climate System takes a problem-based approach to presenting global atmospheric processes, evaluating the effects of changing air compositions as well as possibilities for interference with these processes through the use of chemistry.

This book focuses on monitoring and assessing various environmental processes in Tunisia using state-of-the-art remote sensing and GIS technologies. In addition to addressing the diversity of Tunisian landscapes and providing spatial analysis of natural, cultivated and urbanized environments. It presents and discusses several case studies on integrated RS / GIS approaches for mapping, modeling, monitoring and evaluation. Moreover, in this volume authored by experts in the topic from Tunisia and other countries, authors assess the agro-environmental applications from Tunisia and offer different methods and applications to environmental processes and risks including drought, degradation, flood, planning, Yield estimation, dust storm detection, dry land vulnerability, wetland dynamics and others. The material presented here will help decision-makers plan sustainable landscape and agricultural management policies that preserve biodiversity and contribute to achieving sustainability goals and for researchers, it will expose methodological approaches used in different fields of research. Graduate students and Practionioner engineers working in the field of RS/GIS will also benefit from the book. The book ends with a set of conclusions and recommendations to support researchers underscoring the need for further research in this area.

Liquid multiphase processes represent a promising option for realizing novel, efficient, and sustainable production processes, as required for the transformation towards climate-neutral manufacturing processes. This volume presents the results obtained over twelve years in the DFG-funded collaborative project Transregio 63 "Integrated Chemical Processes in Liquid Multiphase Systems". In an interdisciplinary approach to the design and operation of such processes, essential principles of Green Chemistry are realized, such as using long-chain olefins as model representatives of renewable raw materials, highly effi cient catalysts, and green solvents, linked with process optimization to improve energy and material efficiency. Experts from different fields addressed all steps of the development process, from the description of the reactions on the molecular level via thermodynamics and the design of efficient separation processes to the operation of entire miniplants for liquid multiphase production processes. Thus, the complete development chain from the first reaction-related investigations in the laboratory to the technological realization in miniplants with model-based control is demonstrated. Numerous methodological innovations are proposed and validated using several innovative phase systems (thermomorphic multiphase systems, microemulsion systems, Pickering emulsions) and homogeneously catalyzed reactions. Engineers and chemists from the chemical industry as well as advanced students and researchers will get valuable insights into the physico-chemical phenomena in chemical multiphase processes and benefit from recommendations concerning methods for the selection of phase systems and rapid model-based process development.

An increasing population has put tremendous pressure on agricultural productivity to fulfill the demands of human consumption. Numerous agricultural activities and techniques have been developed to raise annual crop production globally. While agriculture has succeeded in enhancing the yearly crop productivity, this achievement is at the cost of environmental degradation by applying synthetic persistent substances, such as industrial fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, etc. Chemical fertilizers are nearly as destructive as they are productive, causing monocultures and consequences associated with elimination of diversity, nutrient pollution as evidenced by algae blooms, eutrophication, water quality issues, lower oxygen levels and dangers to fish stocks. Therefore, the scientific approach to maintain sustainable fertility in soil and plants is to switch over to biofertilisers.Biofertilisers are compounds of organic matter that are applied to crops for growth and health. Their constituent micro-organisms interact in an ecofriendly manner with the soil, root and seeds of plants, promoting the growth of micro-flora that enhances soil fertility. They are known to play a number of vital roles in soil fertility, crop productivity and production in agriculture. Application of biofertilisers results in increased mineral and water uptake, root development, vegetative growth and nitrogen fixation. They liberate growth promoting substances and vitamins and help to maintain soil fertility. They act as antagonists and play a pivotal role in neutralising the soil borne plant pathogens, thereby assisting in the bio-control of diseases. Application of biofertilisers in lieu of synthetic fertilizers could be the promising technique to raise agricultural productivity without degrading the environmental quality. The present book focuses on the latest research approaches and updates from the microbiota ecosystem and their applications in agriculture industry. It also highlights the great potential and possible future of action of microbiota in the development of sustainable agricultural systems.

Advances in Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering focuses on the research of Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering. The proceedings featurethe most cutting-edge research directions and achievements related to Civil Engineering and Environmental. Subjects in the proceedings include: Civil Engineering Technology Civil Engineering Surveying Geological Engineering Structural Engineering Tunnel and Bridge Engineering Environmental protection materials Pollution control project Building environment and equipment engineering The works of this proceedings can promote development of Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering, resource sharing, flexibility and high efficiency. Thereby, promote scientific information interchange between scholars from the top universities, research centers and high-tech enterprises working all around the world.

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing global society. The debate over what to do is confounded by the uncertain relationship between increasing greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, and the impact of those changes on nature and human civilization.
This book will provide professionals and students alike with the latest information regarding greenhouse emissions while presenting the most up-to-date techniques for reducing these emissions. It will investigate three broad strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions: 1) reducing motorized travel, 2) shifting to less energy intensive modes, and 3) changing fuel and propulsion technologies. Findings will be presented by the leaders in the field with contributions from professors, researchers, consultants and engineers at the most prominent institutions - commercial, academic and federal - dealing with environmental research and policy.
* Includes a comprehensive evaluation of current industrial practice
* Provides technologically sound and manageable techniques for engineers, scientists and designers
* Incorporates guidelines for a sustainable future

Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology attempts to provide concise, critical reviews of timely advances, philosophy and significant areas of accomplished or needed endeavor in the total field of xenobiotics, in any segment of the environment, as well as toxicological implications.

This book highlights the significance of using sustainable energy to prevent the deterioration of our planet using heat pumps. Energy sustainability can be achieved through improved energy efficiency. In this regard, heat pumps offer an energy-efficient alternative for heating and cooling. To drive the adoption of heat pumps as a key component of sustainable buildings, the authors focus on examining sustainable practices in heat pump operations and innovative system design. In view of the growing desire to use sustainable energy to meet heating and cooling demands and improve indoor air quality, this book offers a valuable reference guide to the available options in HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning) system design. To begin with, the authors define sustainable energy and discuss the trend of "thinking green" in building design. They then discuss sustainable practices and heat pump applications in mapping out HVAC systems. In turn, they examine the use of green operations to promote sustainable practices and, in order to highlight the importance of innovative design, discuss the configuration options and precision control aspects. In closing, the authors illustrate innovative sustainable design on the basis of several energy-efficient cases. The book's main goal is to drive the adoption of sustainable energy solutions. Heat pumps, it argues, represent the most efficient system for meeting commercial/recreational/residential heating and cooling demands. The book not only examines industrial practices in heat pump application, but also discusses advanced heat pump technologies and innovative heat pump designs.

In this book, the authors cover the recent progress in the synthesis, characterization and application of various multi-layered carbides, carbonitrides and nitrides. Moreover, the processing and development of MXene-based composites are elaborated, focusing on their applications and performances as transparent conductors in environmental remediation and energy storage systems.

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) and the Internet of Things are facing tremendous advances both in terms of energy-efficiency as well as in the number of available applications. Consequently, there are challenges that need to be tackled for the future generation of WSNs. After giving an overview of the WSN protocols and IEEE 802.15.4 standard, this book proposes IEEE 802.15.4 Medium Access Control (MAC) sub-layer performance enhancements by employing not only RTS/CTS combined with packet concatenation but also scheduled channel poling (MC-SCP). Results have shown that the use of the RTS/CTS mechanism improves channel efficiency by decreasing the deferral time before transmitting a data packet. Furthermore, the Sensor Block Acknowledgment MAC (SBACK-MAC) protocol enables more efficiency as it allows the aggregation of several acknowledgement responses in one special Block Acknowledgment (BACK) Response packet. The throughput and delay performance have been mathematically derived under both ideal conditions (a channel environment with no transmission errors) and non-ideal conditions (with transmission errors). Simulation results successfully validate the proposed analytical models. This research reveals the importance of an appropriate design for the MAC sub-layer protocol for the desired WSN application. Depending on the mission of the WSN application, different protocols are required. Therefore, the overall performance of a WSN application certainly depends on the development and application of suitable e.g., MAC, network layer protocols.

This book features original scientific manuscripts submitted for publication at the International Conference - The Science and Development of Transport (ZIRP 2020), organized by University of Zagreb, Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences, Zagreb, and held in Sibenik, Croatia, from 29th to 30th September 2020. The conference brought together scientists and practitioners to share innovative solutions available to everyone. Presenting the latest scientific research, case studies and best practices in the fields of transport and logistics, the book covers topics such as sustainable urban mobility and logistics, safety and policy, data science, process automation, and inventory forecasting, improving competitiveness in the transport and logistics services market and increasing customer satisfaction. The book is of interest to experienced researchers and professionals as well as Ph.D. students in the fields of transport and logistics.

Pollution has been a developing problem for quite some time in the modern world, and it is no secret how these chemicals negatively affect the environment. With these contaminants penetrating the earth's water supply, affecting weather patterns, and threatening human health, it is critical to study the interaction between commercially produced chemicals and the overall ecosystem. Understanding the nature of these pollutants, the extent in which they are harmful to humans, and quantifying the total risks are a necessity in protecting the future of our world. Emerging Developments and Environmental Impacts of Ecological Chemistry is an essential reference source that discusses the process of chemical contributions and their behavior within the environment. Featuring research on topics such as organic pollution, biochemical technology, and food quality assurance, this book is ideally designed for environmental professionals, researchers, scientists, graduate students, academicians, and policymakers seeking coverage on the main concerns, approaches, and solutions of ecological chemistry in the environment.