This book discusses the problems and feasible remediation of fluoride contamination in groundwater. The book investigates applications of various carbons derived from bio-mass and bio-polymers. It also inquires into surface modified carbons that use inorganic ions to help remove excess fluoride ions in drinking water and wastewater effluents. The compliance of kinetic and isotherm models with fluoride sorption is covered, and the suggested mechanisms of defluoridation by surface modified carbon materials is described.

The Tide-Dominated Han River Delta provides a thorough analysis of a river delta in which tidal currents have reworked the river-borne sediment, generating characteristic geomorphological and sedimentological signatures in the process. Such "tide-dominated" deltas are common in the modern ocean, forming the substrate upon which entire populations are built. Furthermore, ancient examples contain enormous volumes of hydrocarbon. Despite this, tide-dominated deltas remain less well understood than their wave- and river-dominated counterparts, largely because processes within them are inherently more complex and fewer modern examples have been investigated in detail. This multi-year study by a team of experts in coastal geoscience represents the most complete documentation of a tide-dominated delta to date. Results help advance, and are applicable to, a broad range of fields within sedimentary geology, including clastic sedimentology, seismic and sequence stratigraphy, and coastal geomorphology, in addition to petroleum geology and reservoir engineering.

The geochemistry of the earth 's surface is controlled by chemical equilibrium, and the kinetics of the approach toward equilibrium. Many low temperature processes, such as weathering, do not reach equilibrium except over geologically long time periods. The approach to equilibrium can be described by kinetic theory and the application of kinetic theory to geochemical systems has made vast advances in the last several decades. Geochemical kinetics as a topic is now of importance to a wide range of geochemists in academia, industry, and government, and all geochemists need a rudimentary knowledge of the field. This book will summarize the fundamentals of geochemical kinetics with examples drawn especially from mineral dissolution and precipitation, but will also encompass discussion of high temperature processes and global geochemical cycle modeling. Analysis of textures of rocks, sediments, and mineral surfaces will be incorporated throughout and will be a subtheme of the book.

""What about the twenty-first century? Will we finally accept our responsibilities as guardians of planet Earth, the biological living trust, for the beneficiaries, the children of today, tomorrow, and beyond? Or, will it too be a century of lethal, economic struggle among the polarized positions of the supremely dysfunctional among us? Are they--once again--to be allowed to determine the legacy we, as a society, as a nation, bequeath those who follow us? The choice is ours, the adults of the world. How shall we choose?""

So writes Chris Maser in this compelling study of three interactive spheres of the ecosystem: atmosphere (air), litho-hydrosphere (rock that comprises the restless continents and the water that surrounds them), and biosphere (all life sandwiched in between).

Rich in detail and insightful analogies, "Earth in Our Care" addresses key issues including land-use policies, ecological restoration, forest management, local living, and sustainability thinking. Exploring our interconnectedness with the Earth, Maser examines today's problems and, more importantly, provides solutions for the future.

Floods are difficult to prevent but can be managed in order to reduce their environmental, social, cultural, and economic impacts. Flooding poses a serious threat to life and property, and therefore it's very important that flood risks be taken into account during any planning process. This handbook presents different aspects of flooding in the context of a changing climate and across various geographical locations. Written by experts from around the world, it examines flooding in various climates and landscapes, taking into account environmental, ecological, hydrological, and geomorphic factors, and considers urban, agriculture, rangeland, forest, coastal, and desert areas. Features Presents the main principles and applications of the science of floods, including engineering and technology, natural science, as well as sociological implications. Examines flooding in various climates and diverse landscapes, taking into account environmental, ecological, hydrological, and geomorphic factors. Considers floods in urban, agriculture, rangeland, forest, coastal, and desert areas Covers flood control structures as well as preparedness and response methods. Written in a global context, by contributors from around the world.

This book describes the second phase of the Qinghai-Tibetan railway construction project and is the first technological book discussing the geological routing of the Qinghai-Tibetan railway project on the "roof of the world." Based on practical experience of railway construction work, it provides a substantial number of examples with detailed descriptions and conclusions. The complex geological environment of the Qinghai-Tibetan railway as well as the selection and optimization of the route are illustrated vividly and clearly with quotes, figures, photos, and tables. Connecting Golmud and Lhasa, it has a total length of 1142 km and at the Tanggula Pass has an altitude of 5072m-higher than any other in the world. A 960 km section is on a plateau at altitudes above 4000 m, and 550 km are in the permafrost region, making it the world's longest and highest railway in the permafrost plateau region. The book is a model for the integration of theory and practice, making it a valuable reference source for civil engineering professionals working in geological routing in permafrost plateau regions, active fault zones, meizoseismal areas, nature reserves, and regions with geohazards such as steep slopes, sand and snow drifts and geothermal hazards.

This book addresses the latest research advances, innovations, and applications in the field of urban drainage and water management as presented by leading researchers, scientists and practitioners from around the world at the 11th International Conference on Urban Drainage Modelling (UDM), held in Palermo, Italy from 23 to 26 September, 2018. The conference was promoted and organized by the University of Palermo, Italy and the International Working Group on Data and Models, with the support of four of the world's leading organizations in the water sector: the International Water Association (IWA), International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR), Environmental & Water Resources Institute (EWRI) - ASCE, and the International Environmental Modelling and Software Society (iEMSs). The topics covered are highly diverse and include drainage and impact mitigation, water quality, rainfall in urban areas, urban hydrologic and hydraulic processes, tools, techniques and analysis in urban drainage modelling, modelling interactions and integrated systems, transport and sewer processes (incl. micropollutants and pathogens), and water management and climate change. The conference's primary goal is to offer a forum for promoting discussions amongst scientists and professionals on the interrelationships between the entire water cycle, environment and society.

The aim of this book is to present an overview of the state of the art with regard to the function, application and design of TWSs in order to better protect surface water from contamination. Accordingly, it also presents applications of constructed wetlands with regard to climatic and cultural aspects. The use of artificial and natural treatment wetland systems (TWSs) for wastewater treatment is an approach that has been developed over the last thirty years. Europe is currently home to roughly 10,000 constructed wetland treatment systems (CWTSs), which simulate the aquatic habitat conditions of natural marsh ecosystems; roughly 3,500 systems are in operation in Germany alone. TWSs can also be found in many other European countries, for example 200 - 400 in Denmark, 400 - 600 in Great Britain, and ca. 1,000 in Poland. Most of the existing systems serve as local or individual household treatment systems. CWTSs are easy to operate and do not require specialized maintenance; further, no biological sewage sludge is formed during treatment processes. As TWSs are resistant to fluctuations in hydraulic loads, they are primarily used in rural areas as well as in urbanized areas with dispersed habitats, where conventional sewer systems and central conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) cannot be applied due to the high costs they would entail. TWSs are usually applied at the 2nd stage of domestic wastewater treatment, after mechanical treatment, and/or at the 3rd stage of treatment in order to ensure purification of effluent from conventional biological reactors and re-naturalization. New applications of TWSs include rainwater treatment as well as industrial and landfill leachate treatment. TWSs are well suited to these fields, as they can potentially remove not only organic matter and nitrogen compounds but also trace metals and traces of persistent organic pollutants and pathogens. Based on the practical experience gathered to date, and on new research regarding the processes and mechanisms of pollutant removal and advances in the systems properties and design, TWSs continue to evolve.

About seventy-one per cent of the Earth's surface is water, and even on dry land we remain closely connected to aquatic life. It provides us with oxygen, food, medicine and materials. Wild waterlife infiltrates our lives in many surprising ways. Every other breath we take is filled with oxygen provided by ocean-dwelling microscopic plants. A type of seaweed provides a means to directly test whether people are infected with viruses, including Covid-19. Robotics design takes inspiration from a pike's ability to accelerate with greater g-force than a Porsche. Wild Waters by Susanne Masters is a celebration of the breadth of wildlife that can be found in and around our varied waterways, from oceans and rivers to rock pools and ponds. Armchair explorers can read a fascinating account of how aquatic plants and animals enrich human life. Swimmers, paddleboarders, dog walkers, families and anyone with a passion for the great outdoors can learn about local wildlife, including when and where to look for different species without causing any harm. With stunning illustrations by Alice Goodridge, Wild Waters provides a tantalising insight into the world beneath the surface.

This book presents a collection of selected reviews from PLMMP 2018 that address modern problems in the fields of liquids, solutions and confined systems, critical phenomena, as well as colloidal and biological systems. The papers focus on state-of-the-art developments in the contemporary physics of liquid matter, and are divided into four parts: (i) water and water systems, (ii) physical-chemical properties of liquid systems, (iii) aggregation in liquid systems, and (iv) biological aspects of liquid systems, irradiation influences on liquid systems. Taken together, they cover the latest developments in the broader field of liquid states, including interdisciplinary problems.

Data assimilation (DA) has been recognized as one of the core techniques for modern forecasting in various earth science disciplines including meteorology, oceanography, and hydrology. Since early 1990s DA has been an important s- sion topic in many academic meetings organized by leading societies such as the American Meteorological Society, American Geophysical Union, European G- physical Union, World Meteorological Organization, etc. nd Recently, the 2 Annual Meeting of the Asia Oceania Geosciences Society (AOGS), held in Singapore in June 2005, conducted a session on DA under the - tle of "Data Assimilation for Atmospheric, Oceanic and Hydrologic Applications." nd This rst DA session in the 2 AOGS was a great success with more than 30 papers presented and many great ideas exchanged among scientists from the three different disciplines. The scientists who participated in the meeting suggested making the DA session a biennial event. th Two years later, at the 4 AOGS Annual Meeting, Bangkok, Thailand, the DA session was of cially named "Sasaki Symposium on Data Assimilation for At- spheric, Oceanic and Hydrologic Applications," to honor Prof. Yoshi K. Sasaki of the University of Oklahoma for his life-long contributions to DA in geosciences.

This book provides essential information on the higher mathematical level of approximation over the gradually varied flow theory, also referred to as the Boussinesq-type theory. In this context, it presents higher order flow equations, together with their applications in a broad range of pertinent engineering and environmental problems, including open channel, groundwater, and granular material flows.

This book gives a comprehensive presentation of our present understanding of the Earth's Hydrological cycle and the problems, consequences and impacts that go with this topic. Water is a central component in the Earth's system. It is indispensable for life on Earth in its present formand influences virtually every aspect of our planet's life support system. On relatively short time scales, atmospheric water vapor interacts with the atmospheric circulation and is crucial in forming the Earth's climate zones. Water vapor is the most powerful of the greenhouse gases and serves to enhance the tropospheric temperature. The dominant part of available water on Earth resides in the oceans. Parts are locked up in the land ice on Greenland and Antarctica and a smaller part is estimated to exist as groundwater. If all the ice over the land and all the glaciers were to melt, the sea level would rise by some 80 m. In comparison, the total amount of water vapor in the atmosphere is small; it amounts to 25 kg/m2, or the equivalent of 25 mm water for each column of air. Yet atmospheric water vapor is crucial for the Earth s energy balance. The book gives an up to date presentation of the present knowledge.Previously published in Surveys in Geophysics, Volume 35, No. 3, 2014"

This book analyses the state of the natural environment and the causes of its degradation using the biosphere approach. Further, those issues that must be resolved immediately on the global level are identified following the ideas defined by V.I. Vernadsky, and new principles of Man-Nature interaction are pursued. The modern world currently faces three global trends inducing biosphere degradation and the aggravation of ecological hazards, namely: a) rapid and uncontrolled growth of human population on the Earth and insufficient natural resources to sustain it; (b) technogenesis development; and (c) global climate change and the aggravation of natural disasters. Ecological safety and military security are becoming the crucial conditions for the survival of modern civilization. To mitigate the ecological strain on the Earth, the technogenesis strategy should be changed and many other pressing issues must be resolved. These problems should be addressed using the biosphere approach, because the individual human being is the biosphere constituent, and his or her safety cannot be provided without maintaining the entire natural system on our planet.

Climate change and the related adverse impacts are among the greatest challenges facing humankind during the coming decades. Even with a significant reduction of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, it will be inevitable for societies to adapt to new climatic conditions and associated impacts and risks. This book offers insights to first experiences of developing and implementing adaptation measures, with a particular focus on mountain environments and the adjacent downstream areas. It provides a comprehensive 'state-of-the-art' of climate change adaptation in these areas through the collection and evaluation of knowledge from several local and regional case studies and by offering new expertise and insights at the global level. As such, the book is an important source for scientists, practitioners and decision makers alike, who are working in the field of climate change adaptation and towards sustainable development in the sense of the Paris Agreement and the Agenda 2030.

This book is a product of Brazilian Academy of Sciences Study Group about water issue. The water cycle was addressed based on an integrated point of view, aiming at joining technological and ecological solutions and integrating quantitative and qualitative aspects of this important environmental asset. Issues such as the water resources management and irrigated agriculture, water and health, water and economy, conservation and reuse as management tools, water in the Brazilian semi arid, water in Amazon, urbanization and water resources, education for the sustainability of water resources, groundwater, availability, pollution and eutrophication of water and science, technology and innovation are of the utmost importance for this exact moment in Brazil, and particularly to the State of Sao Paulo. Addressing these issues will undoubtedly contribute towards a sustainable management of water resources trough the coordinated work of different fields of science, progressing a systemic view about water, that would then finally allow management professionals the possibility of an integral action in anticipating problems and thus anticipate solutions.

Carbon (C), Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorus (P) are three of the most important elements used to build living beings, and their uptake from the environment is consequently essential for all organisms. Photosynthesis is the process in which plants absorb atmospheric C as they grow and convert it to biomass. However, plants acquire N and P only when these are available in the soil solution, which makes these elements the most limiting nutrients in plant growth and productivity in most ecosystems. When plant residues and roots decompose, the C, N and P they contain is transformed primarily into soil organic matter (SOM) or C and N can release to the atmosphere. Recent interest on the global C, N and P cycles has focused attention on the different proportion of terrestrial C, N and P stored in different ecosystem pools. Cuatro Cienegas represents an exceptional place, since the plants are not the base of the food web, they are the microbial community, that recycle the elements essential for life. In this book we describe how this is an analog of early Earth.

This volume presents up-to-date information on the status and assessment of water resources in Slovakia and methods for their development. The major themes include key facts about Slovakian water resources, their assessment and development; water supply and demand; irrigation water; groundwater; water and sediment quality with a focus on mining water; wastewater management in Slovakia; and rainwater management. The book closes with general conclusions and recommendations for future research. It is a valuable resource for graduate students and researchers as well as for decision makers involved in sustainable development.

Papers presented at the 11th International Conference on Sustainable Water Resources Management are included in this volume. These research works highlight recent technological and scientific developments associated with the management of surface and sub-surface water resources and as well as river basin management methodologies. Water is essential for sustaining life on our planet and its uneven distribution is a source of permanent conflict. The growth of human population combined with the irregularity in precipitation and water availability may restrict even further the access to water in certain regions of the world. This problem is made more severe by anthropogenic activities that affect its quality. River Basin Management includes all aspects of Hydrology, Ecology, Environmental Management, Flood Plains and Wetlands. Riverine systems are coming under increasing pressure due to anthropological and natural causes. Prominent amongst the problems affecting them is water scarcity and quality, which requires the development of improved methods for better river management. This volume features research from professionals involved in sustainable water resources management and provides an insight into the state of the art in the current technology, techniques and solutions in that field as they have been developed and applied in different countries.

This monograph instructs the reader on how to analyze the hydrogeochemical vulnerability. It introduces notions of geochemical signals, points of migration of pollutants in the unsaturated zone, and new hydrogeochemical classifications. Three test sites in the USA, Germany, and Moldova are described as case studies accompanied by illustrative data. The authors presuppose for future readers only the background mathematics and elementary knowledge of hydrogeology. The presented methodology is both for local and regional assessments. It is simple, does not need implication of high qualification specialists and can be applied to test the groundwater quality. The book is useful for undergraduate, graduate, master, and PhD students as well as water quality specialists, ecologists and geology professionals.