Presenting a coherent synthesis of lithosphere studies, this book covers a range of geophysical methods (seismic reflection, refraction, and receiver function methods; elastic and anelastic seismic tomography; electromagnetic and magnetotelluric methods; thermal, gravity and rheological models), complemented by petrologic and laboratory data on rock properties. It also provides a critical discussion of the uncertainties, assumptions, and resolution issues that are inherent in the different methods and models of the lithosphere. Multidisciplinary in scope, global in geographical extent, and covering a wide variety of tectonics settings across 3.5 billion years of Earth history, this book presents a comprehensive overview of lithospheric structure and evolution. It is a core reference for researchers and advanced students in geophysics, geodynamics, tectonics, petrology, and geochemistry, and for petroleum and mining industry professionals.

Every year that passes without a tsunami means that we're just that much closer to our next one. What can we do to ensure we're prepared when the next catastrophic tsunami strikes? The ferocious waves of a tsunami can travel across oceans at the speed of a jet airplane. They can kill families, destroy entire cultures, and even gut nations. To understand these beasts in our waters well enough to survive them, we must understand how they're created and learn from the past. In this book, tsunami specialists James Goff and Walter Dudley arm readers with everything they need to survive a tsunami - and maybe even avoid the next one. The book takes readers on a historical journey through some of the most devastating tsunamis in human history, some of the quirky ones, and even some that may not even be what most of us think of as tsunamis. Diving into personal and scientific stories of disasters,Tsunami pulls readers into the many ways these waves can be generated, ranging from earthquakes and volcanic eruptions to explosions, landslides, and beyond. The book provides overviews of some of the great historical events - the 1755 Lisbon, 1946 Aleutian, 1960 Chile, and 2004 Indian Ocean tsunamis, but also some of the less well-known as well such as the 1958 Lituya Bay, 563 CE Lake Geneva, a 6,000 year old Papua New Guinean mystery, and even a 2.5 Million year old asteroid. This is not straight science, though. Each event is brought to life in a variety of ways through stories of survival, human folly, and echoes of past disasters etched in oral traditions and the environment. The book combines research from oceanography, biogeography, geology, history, archaeology and more, with data collected from over 400 survivor interviews. Alongside carefully selected images and the scientific measurements of these tsunamis, the book offers tales of survival, heroism, and tragic loss. Through a balanced combination of personal experience, the Earth's changing environment, tales of tragedy, and a recount of oral traditions, Tsunami allows readers to engage with a new scientific approach to these overwhelming waves. The resulting book unveils the science of disaster like never before.

The international Mont Terri rock laboratory in Switzerland plays a central role in the safety and construction of deep geological nuclear repositories in clay formations. The laboratory has developed and refined a range of new measurement and evaluation methods: it has e.g. advanced the determination of rock parameters using innovative borehole geophysics, improved the methodology for characterizing pore-water and microbial activity in claystones, and greatly improved our understanding of diffusion and retention processes of radionuclides in and through claystones. The methods and insights described in this compendium can also be applied to low-permeability rocks at various sites around the globe, and in other fields of application.

This book follows the historical trail by which humanity has determined the shape and internal structure of the Earth. It is a story that bears on aspects of the history of science, the history of philosophy and the history of mathematics. At the heart of the narrative is the important philosophical practice of performing thought experiments - that is, the art of considering an idealized experiment in the mind. This powerful technique has been used by all the great historical practitioners of science and mathematics, and this book looks specifically at the long history of considering what would happen if an object could be dropped into a tunnel that cuts all the way through the Earth's interior. Indeed, the story begins with a historical whodunit, tracing back through the historical literature the origins of what is now a classic, textbook problem in simple harmonic motion.

This is the first book of its kind to focus on the geochemistry of the lanthanide series elements in groundwater/aquifer environments. The contributors are leading researchers in the study of low-temperature geochemistry of rare earth elements. Individual chapters address analytical techniques, water-rock interactions, aqueous complexation, and the reactions and processes that influence these heavy metals along groundwater flow paths.

The ongoing population growth is resulting in rapid urbanization, new infrastructure development and increasing demand for the Earth's natural resources (e.g., water, oil/gas, minerals). This, together with the current climate change and increasing impact of natural hazards, imply that the engineering geology profession is called upon to respond to new challenges. It is recognized that these challenges are particularly relevant in the developing and newly industrialized regions.The idea beyond this Volume is to highlight the role of engineering geology and geological engineering in fostering sustainable use of the Earth's resources, smart urbanization and infrastructure protection from geohazards. We selected 19 contributions from across the globe (16 countries, five continents), which cover a wide spectrum of applied interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research, from geology to engineering. By illustrating a series of practical case studies, the Volume offers a rather unique opportunity to share the experiences of engineering geologists and geological engineers who tackle complex problems working in different environmental and social settings. The specific topics addressed by the papers included in the Volume are the following: pre-design site investigations; physical and mechanical properties of engineering soils; novel, affordable sensing technologies for long-term geotechnical monitoring of engineering structures; slope stability assessments and monitoring in active open-cast mines; control of environmental impacts and hazards posed by abandoned coal mines; assessment of and protection from geohazards (landslides, ground fracturing, coastal erosion); applications of geophysical surveying to investigate active faults and ground instability; numerical modeling of seabed deformations related to active faulting; deep geological repositories and waste disposal; aquifer assessment based on the integrated hydrogeological and geophysical investigation; use of remote sensing and GIS tools for the detection of environmental hazards and mapping of surface geology.

The Magaliesberg by Vincent Carruthers was first published in 1990. A second edition was published in 2000 and reprinted in 2007. It has now been revised again for publication to coincide with the international proclamation of the Magaliesberg Biosphere. The book has been highly successful and is a valuable source of information about the Magaliesberg, its geology, biodiversity and human history. During the decades since its publication substantial changes have taken place in in South Africa and in the Magaliesberg region and the revised editions to the book have taken cognisance of these. Most importantly, The Magaliesberg has had a profound influence on government and public awareness of the region and it has led directly to application to UNESCO for the Magaliesberg to be registered as a Biosphere Reserve in June 2014. This international recognition of the importance of the area will greatly enhance conservation efforts and stimulate tourism, education and research in the region. The current edition of the book celebrates this accomplishment and it will continue to be the primary source of information for public readership. The Magaliesberg mountains are more than two billion years old - one of the oldest mountain ranges on the planet – and the book traces their creation and the changes in the landscape over this vast passage of time. The ancient geomorphology has given rise to a wide spectrum of different habitats and a consequent diversity of plant and animal life. The book’s extensive descriptions of the fauna and flora of the area inspire the reader to consider the impact that man has on his environment. Each of the main plant and animal groups – trees, flowers, birds, mammals, reptiles and insects – has a full chapter devoted to it with checklists of every species found in the area indicating both the Scientific as well as common names. The second half of the book is dedicated to the immensely rich human history of the Magaliesberg and is equally comprehensive. Starting with the pre-hominid ancestors of humankind it describes the paleontological and archaeological evidence of the succession of people who have lived in the mountains over hundreds of thousands of years. Stone Age tools and etchings, Iron Age walled villages as well as the forts and battlefields of more recent centuries are all brought to life in detailed accounts of the people and events of the time. Carruthers’s eloquent writing style is easy to read and grabs the reader’s attention from the start. The comprehensive book is based on exhaustive research and is complemented by numerous illustrations and full-colour photographs. Carruthers’s love for the area is obvious and he describes the Magaliesberg as a ‘priceless national asset’, which this book has helped, and continues to help, to preserve. The many full-colour and black and white photographs, as well as detailed illustrations on every page, add value to the book and make it a publication that appeals to those readers who are academically inclined, as well as those who are amateur environmentalists or historians.

Project Design for Geomatics Engineers and Surveyors, Second Edition, continues to focus on the key components and aspects of project design for geomatics and land surveying projects with the goal of helping readers navigate the priority issues when planning new projects. The second edition includes new materials on surveying and UAV, and it is thoroughly updated to keep current with the recent technology and terminology. The two new chapters capture new developments in the rapidly emerging use of remote sensing and GIS in aerial surveys, mapping, and imaging for small-to-medium scale projects, as well as modern practices and experiences in engineering surveying. 1. Provides a simple guide for geomatics engineering projects using recent and advanced technologies. 2. Includes new content on spatial data collection using GIS, drones, and 3D digital modeling. 3. Covers professional standards, professional and ethical responsibilities, and policy, social, and environmental issues related. 4. Discusses project planning including scheduling and budgeting. 5. Features practical examples with solutions and explains new methods for planning, implementing, and monitoring engineering and mining surveying projects. Undergraduate and graduate students, professors, practicing professionals and surveyors will find this new edition useful, as well as geospatial/geomatics engineers, civil engineers, mining engineers, GIS professionals, planners, land developers, and project managers.

This book focusses on new technologies and multi-method research designs in the field of modern archaeology, which increasingly crosses academic boundaries to investigate past human-environmental relationships and to reconstruct palaeolandscapes. It aims at establishing the concept of Digital Geoarcheology as a novel approach of interdisciplinary collaboration situated at the scientific interface between classical studies, geosciences and computer sciences. Among others, the book includes topics such as geographic information systems, spatiotemporal analysis, remote sensing applications, laser scanning, digital elevation models, geophysical prospecting, data fusion and 3D visualisation, categorized in four major sections. Each section is introduced by a general thematic overview and followed by case studies, which vividly illustrate the broad spectrum of potential applications and new research designs. Mutual fields of work and common technologies are identified and discussed from different scholarly perspectives. By stimulating knowledge transfer and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, Digital Geoarchaeology helps generate valuable synergies and contributes to a better understanding of ancient landscapes along with their forming processes. Chapters 1, 2, 6, 8 and 14 are published open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com.

Chalk has proved to be one of the more difficult rocks to core-log as it breaks up readily during the drilling process leading to core-loss and destructuring, particularly where flints, nodular chalks and/or fractures are present. One of the greatest difficulties is the identification of chalk engineering grade which relies heavily on fracture aperture. Obtaining the correct grade to define the depth of weathering and the depth at which fractures become closed is essential whether for tunnels in London or for wind turbine piled foundations in the offshore chalks. Very few geologists and engineers have had the opportunity to study field sections in the Chalk so there is little visual appreciation of the grades or the variation to expect or even what flint bands look like. To partly overcome this difficulty, both field and core sections are illustrated in this book. Equally important to recognising Chalk grade is the building of conceptual ground models for construction projects. This can only be achieved if the various Chalk formations, beds and marker beds can be identified from cores and then boreholes correlated using the marker beds.The Chalk stratigraphy is accordingly covered with key formations and marker beds illustrated, and the best field sections for viewing them identified. This book is based on the standard lithostratigraphy and method of engineering description of Chalk developed over many years. Also important are over 3000 onshore and offshore chalk-cored boreholes undertaken by the author over more than 30 years. In addition, typical lithologies and weathering profiles representing the Chalk formations likely to be encountered in the various onshore and offshore construction projects are illustrated using field exposures, rotary core samples and geophysical borehole wire-line logs. There will be geological settings where information on the Chalk is poor and unexpected lithologies and stratigraphies may be found. This book will enable geologists to work from first principles to construct a lithostratigraphy and define weathering boundaries.

This is the first comprehensive survey of all the deserts of Arabia, based largely on the author’s 50 years of experience there. The text deals with every kind of desert in the region, from vast sand seas to clay pans and stony plains to volcanic flows. Along with dune types unique to the region the author outlines climatic changes, current ecology and human influence on desertification.

In 1793, a canal digger named William Smith made a startling discovery. He found that by tracing the placement of fossils, which he uncovered in his excavations, one could follow layers of rocks as they dipped and rose and fell--clear across England and, indeed, clear across the world--making it possible, for the first time ever, to draw a chart of the hidden underside of the earth. Smith spent twenty-two years piecing together the fragments of this unseen universe to create an epochal and remarkably beautiful hand-painted map. But instead of receiving accolades and honors, he ended up in debtors' prison, the victim of plagiarism, and virtually homeless for ten years more.

The Map That Changed the World is a very human tale of endurance and achievement, of one man's dedication in the face of ruin. With a keen eye and thoughtful detail, Simon Winchester unfolds the poignant sacrifice behind this world-changing discovery.

Wicander/Monroe's Geology: Earth in Perspective, 3rd edition, brings geology to life while accommodating your busy lifestyle--and at a value-based price. It provides a complete overview of introductory geology in a succinct, engaging format. Online videos, animations, interactive mapping, and other learning tools further your understanding of physical geology and its relevance to everyday life. The revised text incorporates the latest examples, case studies, and data, including natural disasters, renewable energy, new insight on paleoseismology, sustainability, and updated dating techniques that more accurately identify historic climate change periods. GEO-FOCUS boxes spotlight issues straight from the headlines, and economic and environmental geology topics are integrated throughout.

A web map is an interactive display of geographic information, in the form of a web page, that you can use to tell stories and answer questions. Web maps have numerous advantages over traditional mapping techniques, such as the ability to display up-to-date or even real-time information, easy distribution to end users, and highly customized interactive content. Introduction to Web Mapping teaches you how to develop online interactive web maps and web mapping applications, using standard web technologies: HTML, CSS and JavaScript. The core technologies are introduced in Chapters 1-5, focusing on the specific aspects which are most relevant to web mapping. Chapters 6-13 then implement the material and demonstrate key concepts for building and publishing interactive web maps. The book: Gives an introduction to fundamental web technologies: HTML, CSS and JavaScript Covers Leaflet, the popular open-source JavaScript library for building web maps Describes the GeoJSON vector layer format and the Ajax technique for loading data Shows how spatial database APIs, such as the CARTO platform, can be combined with a web map to query and display large amounts of data Introduces client-side geoprocessing with the Turf.js JavaScript library, for applying spatial operators in the browser Demonstrates a complex web mapping application for collecting crowdsourced data, combining Leaflet, CARTO and the Leaflet.draw plugin Goes over 69 complete code examples and includes 9 solved exercises for building web maps and web pages (downloadable code is provided in the online supplement) The book is intended for beginners with no background in web technologies or programming. Nevertheless, some prior experience with computers and programming is beneficial. The book can be used for self-study, or as a textbook in a standard undergraduate "Web mapping" course in a Geography department, intended for students specializing in Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

Interest by American educators in the Holocaust has increased exponentially during the second half of the twentieth century. In 1960 the Holocaust was barely being addressed in American public schools. Yet by the 1990s several states had mandated the teaching of the event. Drawing upon a variety of sources including unpublished works and interviews, this study traces the rise of genocide education in America. The author demonstrates how the genesis of this movement can be attributed to a grassroots effort initiated by several teachers, who introduced the topic as a way to help their students navigate the moral and ethical ambiguity of the times.

With recent innovations in the arena of remote sensing and geographic information systems, the use of geoinformatics in applied geomorphology is receiving more attention than ever. Geoinformatics in Applied Geomorphology examines how modern concepts, technologies, and methods in geoinformatics can be used to solve a wide variety of applied geomorphologic problems, such as characterization of arid, coastal, fluvial, aeolian, glacial, karst, and tectonic landforms; natural hazard zoning and mitigations; petroleum exploration; and groundwater exploration and management. Using case studies to illustrate concepts and methods, this book covers: Arid environments, such as the Thar desert, West Texas, the Qatar Peninsula, and the Dead Sea areas Coastal shoreline changes in Kuwait Coastal zone management in India Estuarine bathymetric study of Tampa Bay, Florida Fluvial landforms of the Elbe river basin, Germany Subsurface coastal geomorphology and coastal morphological changes due to tsunamis in the East coast of India The Himalayas, Jammu & Kashmir, Western Ghats, and Precambrian terrain of South India The result of extensive research by an interdisciplinary team of contributors, Geoinformatics in Applied Geomorphology is designed for students, researchers, and professionals in the areas of geomorphology, geological engineering, geography, remote sensing, and geographic information systems.

This book explores the application of the open-source software OpenGeoSys (OGS) for hydrological numerical simulations concerning conservative and reactive transport modeling. It provides general information on the hydrological and groundwater flow modeling of a real case study and step-by-step model set-up with OGS, while also highlighting related components such as the OGS Data Explorer. The material is based on unpublished manuals and the results of a collaborative project between China and Germany (SUSTAIN H2O). Though the book is primarily intended for graduate students and applied scientists who deal with hydrological modeling, it also offers a valuable source of information for professional geoscientists wishing to expand their knowledge of the numerical modeling of hydrological processes including nitrate reactive transport modeling. This book is the second in a series that showcases further applications of computational modeling in hydrological science.

A celebrated biologist’s manifesto addressing a soil loss crisis accelerated by poor conservation practices and climate change   “Jo Handelsman is a national treasure, and her clarion call warning of a looming soil-loss catastrophe must be heard. Add her clearly written alarm to other future-shocks: climate change, pandemics, and mass extinctions.�—Laurie Garrett, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World out of Balance   “The ground beneath our feet is slipping away as we lose the precious soil that sustains us. Jo Handelsman’s writing—as rich and life supporting as the soil itself—is a riveting warning.�—Alan Alda, actor, writer, and host of the podcast Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda   This book by celebrated biologist Jo Handelsman lays bare the complex connections among climate change, soil erosion, food and water security, and drug discovery.   Humans depend on soil for 95 percent of global food production, yet let it erode at unsustainable rates. In the United States, China, and India, vast tracts of farmland will be barren of topsoil within this century. The combination of intensifying erosion caused by climate change and the increasing food needs of a growing world population is creating a desperate need for solutions to this crisis.   Writing for a nonspecialist audience, Jo Handelsman celebrates the capacities of soil and explores the soil-related challenges of the near future. She begins by telling soil’s origin story, explains how it erodes and the subsequent repercussions worldwide, and offers solutions. She considers lessons learned from indigenous people who have sustainably farmed the same land for thousands of years, practices developed for large-scale agriculture, and proposals using technology and policy initiatives.

Ongoing climate change necessitates advances in our understanding of the interrelationships between climate, landscape-shaping processes and human activity over long time periods, especially in areas that are already climatically stressed. This volume presents new ideas on macroscale landscape evolution; mountain, fluvial and aeolian processes; and environments in southern Africa, a key region in the story of human evolution during the last two million years. Interdisciplinary in scope, it brings together an international team of experts to synthesise the latest research and understanding of landscape-human relationships in this region. It incorporates results from the emerging fields of geoarchaeology and cultural landscapes and utilises the latest data and analytical techniques. A key reference for researchers studying hominid evolution, geoarchaeology and environmental change, it provides a benchmark study of southern African landscape evolution during the Quaternary. It will also appeal to professionals and policymakers with interests in future human-landscape evolution in southern Africa.

Thermodynamically constrained averaging theory provides a consistent method for upscaling conservation and thermodynamic equations for application in the study of porous medium systems. The method provides dynamic equations for phases, interfaces, and common curves that are closely based on insights from the entropy inequality. All larger scale variables in the equations are explicitly defined in terms of their microscale precursors, facilitating the determination of important parameters and macroscale state equations based on microscale experimental and computational analysis. The method requires that all assumptions that lead to a particular equation form be explicitly indicated, a restriction which is useful in ascertaining the range of applicability of a model as well as potential sources of error and opportunities to improve the analysis.