Gold-guarding griffins, Cyclopes, killer lakes, man-eating birds, and "fire devils" from the sky-such wonders have long been dismissed as fictional. Now, thanks to the richly interdisciplinary field of geomythology, researchers are taking a second look. It turns out that these and similar tales, which originated in pre-literate societies, contain surprisingly accurate, pre-scientific intuitions about startling or catastrophic earth-based phenomena such as volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, and the unearthing of bizarre animal bones. Geomythology: How Common Stories Reflect Earth Events provides an accessible, engaging overview of this hybrid discipline. The introductory chapter surveys geomythology's remarkable history and its core concepts, while the second and third chapters analyze the geomythical resonances of universal earth tales about dragons and giants. Chapter 4 narrows the focus to regional stories and discusses the ways these and other myths have influenced legends about griffins, Cyclopes, and other iconic creatures. The final chapter considers future avenues of research in geomythology, including geohazard management, geomythology databases, geomythical "cold cases," and ways the discipline might eventually set, rather than merely support, research agendas in science. Thus, the book constitutes a valuable asset for scientists and lay readers alike, particularly in a time of growing interest in monsters, massive climate change, and natural disasters.

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and their associated technologies have advanced by leaps and bounds in the nine years since the first edition of this book was published. The concept of survey has changed, especially in the disciplines of geomatics and geoinformatics. This revised and updated second edition provides a thorough understanding of the basic principles and techniques of GNSS, analyzes all four active systems, and explains clearly how each of these systems works. Because of its straightforward treatment of the subject, readers will gain an insight into the techniques, trends, and applications of GNSS and develop knowledge on selecting an appropriate GNSS instrument. Written for students and practitioners in geoinformatics, geomatics engineering, surveying, and remote sensing and GIS, this introductory and practical book includes questions and exercises in each chapter. Key Features: * Furnishes detailed information on GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, and other regional and augmented systems * Provides practical guidance for surveying, mapping, and navigation with GNSS * Sheds light on the latest developments and modern trends of GNSS * Includes a detailed glossary of related terms * Contains many illustrations that complement the text * Exercises for each chapter * MCQ, solution manual for mathematical problems, and PPT as online resources

Dirt, soil, call it what you want - it's everywhere we go. It is the root of our existence, supporting our feet, our farms, and our cities. This fascinating yet disquieting book finds, however, that we are running out of dirt, and it's no laughing matter. An engaging natural and cultural history of soil that sweeps from ancient civilizations to modern times, "Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations" explores the compelling idea that we are - and have long been - using up Earth's soil. Once bare of protective vegetation and exposed to wind and rain, cultivated soils erode bit by bit, slowly enough to be ignored in a single lifetime but fast enough over centuries to limit the lifespan of civilizations. A rich mix of history, archaeology and geology, "Dirt" traces the role of soil use and abuse in the history of Mesopotamia, Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, China, European colonialism, Central America, and the American push westward. We see how soil has shaped us and we have shaped soil - as society after society has risen, prospered, and plowed through a natural endowment of fertile dirt. David R. Montgomery sees in the recent rise of organic and no-till farming the hope for a new agricultural revolution that might help us avoid the fate of previous civilizations.

San Francisco Bay is a shallow estuary surrounded by a large population center. The forces that built it began with plate tectonics and involved the collision of the Pacific and North American plates and the subduction of the Juan de Fuka plate. Changes in the climate resulting from the last ice age yielded lower and then higher sea levels. Human activity influenced the Bay. Gold mining during the California gold rush sent masses of slit into the Bay. Humans have also built several major cities and filled significant parts of the Bay. This book describes the natural history and evolution of the SF Bay Area over the last 50 million years through the present and into the future. Key selling features: Summarizes a complex geological, geographical and ecological history Reviews how the San Francisco Bay has changed and will likely change in the future Examines the different roles and various drivers of Bay ecosystem function Includes the role of humans - both first peoples and modern populations - on the Bay Explores San Francisco Bay as an example of general bay ecolgical and environmental issues

San Francisco Bay is a shallow estuary surrounded by a large population center. The forces that built it began with plate tectonics and involved the collision of the Pacific and North American plates and the subduction of the Juan de Fuka plate. Changes in the climate resulting from the last ice age yielded lower and then higher sea levels. Human activity influenced the Bay. Gold mining during the California gold rush sent masses of slit into the Bay. Humans have also built several major cities and filled significant parts of the Bay. This book describes the natural history and evolution of the SF Bay Area over the last 50 million years through the present and into the future. Key selling features: Summarizes a complex geological, geographical and ecological history Reviews how the San Francisco Bay has changed and will likely change in the future Examines the different roles and various drivers of Bay ecosystem function Includes the role of humans - both first peoples and modern populations - on the Bay Explores San Francisco Bay as an example of general bay ecolgical and environmental issues

The text develops the principal aspects of applied Fourier analysis and methodology with the main goal to inculcate a different way of perceiving global and regional geodetic and geophysical data, namely from the perspective of the frequency, or spectral, domain rather than the spatial domain. The word "methods" in the title is meant to convey that the transformation of a geophysical signal into the spectral domain can be applied for purposes of analysis as well as rapid computation. The text is written for graduate students; however, Chapters 1 through 4 and parts of 5 can also benefit undergraduates who have a solid and fluent knowledge of integral and differential calculus, have some statistical background, and are not uncomfortable with complex numbers. Concepts are developed by starting from the one-dimensional domain and working up to the spherical domain, which is part of every chapter. Many concepts are illustrated graphically with actual geophysical data primarily from signals of gravity, magnetism, and topography.

This book presents practical hydraulic and river engineering research along with fluvial geomorphological concepts, and links the theoretical and practical knowledge of people working every day with rivers, streams, and hydraulic structures to fluvial geomorphology. Besides providing a guide for professionals, this book also provides material for students to acquire the knowledge and skills to rehabilitate rivers, streams, and waterways.

A System Engineer's Guide to Building an Earth Observation Camera Building Earth Observation Cameras discusses the science and technology of building an electro-optical imaging system for a space platform from concept to space qualification and in-orbit evaluation. The book provides a broad overview of various Earth imaging systems with specific examples illustrating the design and development issues that impacted the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) cameras, and is based on the actual experience of the author, who was intimately involved with the development of cameras for the IRS program.It equips imaging system project managers, scholars, and researchers with the ability to look deeper into the systems that they are developing, and arms application scientists who use satellite imagery with a greater understanding of the technical aspects and terminology used in defining the performance of the image system. The text traces the historical development of imaging systems, reviews the evolution of Earth observation systems from a global perspective, and examines future trends. This interdisciplinary work: Presents technical issues associated with the design, fabrication, and characterization of the camera Provides a narrow focus and end-to-end solutions to all components involved in a successful camera-on-Earth observation system Covers various stages including image formation, optics, opto-mechanics, material choice, design tradeoffs, fabrication, evaluation, and finally qualifying the system for space use Building Earth Observation Cameras provides the tools needed to enable readers to better understand the concepts and challenges involved in building space-based Earth observation systems.

The first field guide that allows amateur rock enthusiasts to identify basic rocks and rock formations in a systematic way Many of us are fascinated by rocks-but identifying them can seem daunting. It's often tricky even for geologists, who rely on experience, intuition, and in-depth familiarity with rock-forming components. Rocks and Rock Formations allows everyone, amateur or professional, to successfully distinguish these amazing masses of minerals, using only careful observation, a magnifying glass, a pocket knife-and a bit of patience. Jurg Meyer provides a structured approach to the identification of all rocks within the three groups: sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic. Bringing together more than 530 diagrams and photographs to illustrate essential characteristics, Meyer highlights some basics on rocks-their mineral constituents, structures, textures, fossils, weathering patterns, and more-which are important for a determination. The main part of the book is a handy and thorough identification key, which takes into account all possible rock variations, mixtures, and structural differences. The concluding section of the guide delves into rock systematics. Assuming little prior experience or knowledge, Rocks and Rock Formations is an invaluable resource for rock enthusiasts everywhere. Suitable for beginners and amateurs Helpful, systematic identification key Exploration of all types of rocks More than 530 diagrams and photographs

This book offers a comprehensive review devoted exclusively to slate as dimension stone. Beginning with a description of the slate as dimension stone, the book describes the origin of slate and related geological phenomena. It thoroughly explains key data acquisition methods and techniques, which are accompanied by extensive data. In turn, slate standards are introduced and compared with regard to their importance for product quality. The book covers in detail the specific petrographical, fabric, strength, physical properties and weathering behaviour of slates. The chapter on mining and production provides an overview of the different forms of exploitation and related geotechnical aspects, together with production and workflow design, from the beginning to the final product. The second part comprises a thorough description of worldwide slate deposits and their geology, properties and appearance as well as a brief introduction of the history. Given its scope and accessible format, the book represents an essential guide for scientists, engineers, and professionals in geology, conservation science, architecture, and mining, as well as readers who are active in the slate industry.

While much of the current research on the extractive industries and their socio-environmental impacts is region specific, Resource Extraction, Space and Resilience: International Perspectives critically explores the current state of the extractive industries sector from a uniquely global perspective. The book introduces a more dynamic idea of sustainability in evaluating mineral extraction and its impacts, and provides a spatialized understanding of the evolution of the extractive industries to help visualise the interlinkages across space, regions and scales. Professor Kotilainen responds to these theoretical challenges by analysing the potential for resilience of mining activities from multiple perspectives across scales, exploring why it is only possible to achieve temporary balance and stability for the whole resource extraction system. Taking a global perspective, the book explores the interlinkages of the industry, investigates the similarities and differences in how the industry operates and examines the social and environmental impacts it has. By providing an explicitly theoretically informed analysis of the state of the extractive industries, this text will appeal to a wide range of scholars with an interdisciplinary interest in the extractive industries and natural resource management, including human geographers and social scientists with a focus on the relations of humans and societies with their physical environments.

This book entitled "Physical and Mathematical Modeling of Earth and Environment Processes" is the result of a collaborative work after the 4th international scientific youth forum held at the IPMech RAS on November 1-3, 2018. 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; methods of geophysical research. A special focus is given to the extraction of hydrocarbon resources, including unconventional sources. This book also focuses on new approaches to the development of hydrocarbon fields, very important in today's geopolitical conditions. The book presents new results of the experimental and theoretical modeling of deformation, fracture and filtration processes in the rocks in connection with issues of creating scientific fundamentals for new hydrocarbon production technologies.

Dyke swarms are remnants of large igneous provinces, and are pointers of continental break-up events, as well as indicators for ancient continental reconstructions. These global geodynamic aspects are of crucial significance in tectonics, and with recent developments in high-precision age, dating it has become possible to enter these short-lived magmatic events into a global data base. Every five years, scientists have met to consider new results and potential directions relating to the study of igneous dykes. At the Fifth International Dyke Conference, held in Rovaniemi, Finland in August 2005, igneous dykes, with particular attention to mafic dykes and dyke swarms, came under scrutiny. The properties of dykes, from Archean to Miocene, were explored in terms of mineralogy, geochemistry, isotopes, geochronology and paleomagnetics. This is a selection of twelve papers presented in Rovaniemi, together with updates of six papers from the South African meeting in 2001. For those who wish to have a summary of the current international status of igneous dykes, and their significance in interpreting geological and tectonic processes, this book is invaluable.