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Books > Earth & environment > Earth sciences > Meteorology > General
The book introduces the reader to the fundamentals of rock mechanics and to its application to economic construction in rock. Models describe the mechanical properties and the permeability of rock. Numerical methods for evaluating the stability of structures in rock are given to solve special problems related to tunnels, caverns, pressure tunnels, dam foundations and slopes. Methods for testing the rock mechanical properties are described. A number of case histories enable the reader to make use of the content in his or her own work.
Polar Remote Sensing is a two-volume work providing a comprehensive, multidisciplinary discussion of the applications of satellite sensing. Volume 2 focuses on the ice sheets, icebergs, and interactions between ice sheets and the atmosphere and ocean. It contains information about the applications of satellite remote sensing in all relevant polar related disciplines, including glaciology, meteorology, climate and radiation balance and oceanogaraphy. It also provides a brief review of the state-of-the-art of each discipline, including current issues and questions. Various passive and active remote sensor types are discussed, and the book then concentrates on specific geophysical applications. Its interdisciplinary approach means that major advances and publications are highlighted. Polar Remote Sensing: Ice Sheets summarizes fundamental principles of detectors, imaging and geophysical product retrieval includes a chapter on the important new field of satellite synthetic-aperture radar interferometry is a "one stop shop" for polar remote sensing information contains significant new information on the Earth's polar regions describes sophisticated groundbased remote sensing applications with specific reference to their use in polar regions.
Originally published in Russian in 2006, this is the first English translation of this important book on paleoceanography and paleoclimatology. Its initial publication was followed by a surge of interest in this subject prompting the author to revise and translate her original work. In the book, she successfully summarizes her own research over recent years and compiles an overview of up-to-date knowledge on past ocean circulation. The key topics include: - Modern thermohaline circulation and main stages of its development during the Cenozoic - Methods and proxies of paleoceanographic reconstruction - Variability of the meridional overturning circulation and paleoceanographic events in the North Atlantic during the last climatic cycle - Influence of the global thermohaline circulation on paleoceanographic events in the Eurasian Arctic seas, the Northern Indian Ocean, and the South China Sea - The role of the thermohaline circulation in global teleconnections in the Antarctic, Eurasian Arctic, northern Pacific and low latitudes Indo-Pacific. Comprehensive investigation of hundreds of international publications and her own results, convinced the author that the global thermohaline circulation controls the remote teleconnections on millennial-scale and partly on centennial-scale, while short-term climate signals are mainly transferred by the atmosphere. This revised and extended English edition provides the latest unpublished data, new figures and modeling results. The extensive reference list contains more than 100 publications and 140 new references.
"Theory of Arched Structures: Strength, Stability, Vibration"
presents detailed procedures for analytical analysis of the
strength, stability, and vibration of arched structures of
different types, using exact analytical methods of classical
structural analysis.
This first book by James Croll (1821 90), published in 1875, includes many of the original geophysical theories that he had formulated throughout the early years of his career. A self-educated amateur, Croll obtained work at the Glasgow Andersonian Museum, which gave him leisure time to pursue his scientific interests. The fluidity of scientific disciplines at the time allowed him to virtually invent the field of geophysics, and his unique insights united ideas previously thought unconnected, such as using physics to explore the causes of the glacial epochs, climatic changes and the circulation and temperature of ocean currents. Croll, whose Stellar Evolution and Its Relations to Geological Time is also reissued in this series, later became a Fellow of the Royal Society and of St Andrew's University, but (possibly because of his non-scientific background) he writes in a style which makes his works accessible to a lay readership.
The 'student of clouds' Luke Howard (1772 1864) published this work of statistics on weather conditions in London in two volumes, in 1818 and 1820. Howard was by profession an industrial chemist, but his great interest in meteorology led to his studies on clouds (also reissued in this series), and his devising of the system of Latin cloud names which was adopted internationally and is still in use. Volume 1 begins with an introduction to the work, explaining his intention to make available in one place consistent records of weather events. He argues that for the benefit of 'agriculture and navigation', a systematic approach is required, and he outlines his methods and equipment in some detail. The tables of observations taken at Plaistow, near London, in the years 1806 9 then begin, and are interspersed with notes and a commentary which includes accounts of similar weather phenomena observed elsewhere.
The 'student of clouds' Luke Howard (1772 1864) published this work of statistics on weather conditions in London in two volumes, in 1818 and 1820. Howard was by profession an industrial chemist, but his great interest in meteorology led to his studies on clouds (also reissued in this series), and his devising of the system of Latin cloud names which was adopted internationally and is still in use. Volume 2 contains a preface in which Howard discusses the reasons for the order of presentation of his material, which, he disarmingly admits with hindsight, might have been improved. The tabular material in this volume, supplied with notes and commentary citing published reports from around Europe, comes from observations made at Tottenham in the period 1817 19. This historic material will be of interest to environmental scientists as well as to those interested in the history of meteorology.
We will show in this monograph some possibilities of using the potential of satellite passive microwave radiometric methods for the analysis of variations of heat and dynamic processes in the ocean-atmosphere interface in a wide range of time scales - from mesometeorogical (hours, daily) to seasonal (month) and multiyear (climatic) ones. The most essential mechanisms of intercommunication of natural microwave radiation of the system ocean-atmosphere (SOA) with the vertical turbulence fluxes of sensible, latent heat, as well as the momentum at the boundary of the SOA are studied. We will consider the turbulence heat fluxes as the factors generated by the c- otic movements in the atmosphere, when every small individual part of air is moved irregularly. Here, one can observe a transfer of the energy from large-scale to sma- scales; the average distance between the air particles is increased with a time. Also, the potential of remote sensing the characteristics of heat and water adv- tion and their accumulation in the atmosphere boundary layer are demonstrated. In these studies, we mean mainly the middle and high latitudes of the North Atlantic, which are forming the weather conditions and climatic trends over Europe and European territories of the Russia.
This book assists the reader in determining storm risks, focussing on sandy coasts and cliff coasts in the context of expected sea level rise from littoral transformation and climate change. It examines storm impacts through matrixes concerning physical parameters, socio-economic activities, ecological and historic resources, and it presents the Coastline Risk to Storms Index as a single numerical measure of the risk for a given area. The methodology is described and tested against two coastal areas: one in the Caribbean Sea (Cartagena, Colombia) and the other on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean (Cadiz, Spain). Both areas record an important flow of tourists associated with the "sun, sea and sand market" which represents an economic recourse for the hinterland too. Chapters describe this approach and explore three particular types of variables: i) the forcing variables contributing to storm-induced erosion, ii) dynamic variables that determine the resilience to erosion (Susceptibility) and iii) the vulnerable targets grouped in three different contexts (socio-economic, ecological and heritage). These are combined into two separate indices, the Hazard Index (combining forcing and susceptibility) and the Vulnerability Index, which together constitute the Coastline Risk to Storms Index. Maps created using this semi-quantitative approximation method can help to determine the causes, processes and consequences of storm-related processes. This book is therefore important to anyone considering coastal development programs, especially decision-makers: the work presented here can assist in the development of preventative management strategies for the most vulnerable areas.
These are some of the most breathtaking images from Weather Photographer of the Year, the annual competition held by The Royal Meteorological Society. They depict thrilling weather events of every kind and often reveal fascinating stories about their impact on human society. Each image has been selected by a panel of meteorologists, photographers and photo editors who look for a combination of skillful camera work and meteorological observation. Also included are six essays which address various aspects of climate change, not least its impact on extreme weather.
Robert Fitzroy (1805 65) is best remembered as the commander of HMS Beagle who took on Charles Darwin as the Ship's naturalist, but his most important scientific contribution was probably the establishment of the Meteorological Office in 1854. Convinced that falling barometric pressure was an indicator of storms, he had barometers set up at ports around the coast, so that boats would be aware of impending bad weather, and later had reports telegraphed to his office in London for collation; he invented the term 'forecasting the weather'. This work, published in 1863, gives an account of observations by himself and others, experiments, and proposals for future developments. Almost unbelievably, the Government declared that Fitzroy was exceeding his remit: he was instructed to restrict himself to collecting data, and it is believed that the depression he suffered at this setback was one of the factors which led to his suicide in 1865.
Composed of two extensive sections, this book surveys important work in climate change science, mainly in the United States, and introduces contributions to the body of science that have arrived on the scene between January 2013 and February 2014. The opening section offers a broad examination of contemporary climate change science, with subsections on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); Earth's energy imbalance and energy flow; carbon dioxide's role in the greenhouse effect; climate forcing, and climate feedbacks; Charles David Keeling and the Keeling Curve; the interfaces of atmosphere with oceans and land; paleoclimates and paleoclimatology; rising sea level; melting glaciers; deforestation; desertification; more violent storms, animal and human migration, extinction of species and more. The second section reviews and assesses the newest contributions to the body of research. Among the topics discussed are current and recent research on rising temperatures; the BEST study; the Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN) and the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC); current and recent research on climate models, new research on global warming 56 million years ago; ecosystem impacts, projections of future climate and more. This book can be considered a bridge between the volumes of Farmer and Cook's Climate Change Science: A Modern Synthesis, as it arrives between the release of the first volume on the Physical Climate (2013) the second, on Earth's climate history, which is now in preparation. The book benefits a wide audience as its survey of the science of climate change provides an introduction to the subject and a discussion of current research in the field. The book may be used as a refresher for those who have had prior courses in climate science and related fields. Each chapter includes a comprehensive list of references for subjects discussed in the text.
Atmospheric water plays a key role in climate. Water vapour is the most important greenhouse gas and its condensed forms exert a profound influence on both incoming solar and outgoing infrared radiation. Unfortunately, accurate, height-resolved global-scale measurements of atmospheric humidity are difficult to obtain. The change in concentration of five orders of magnitude form the ground to the stratosphere means there is no standard instrument that will measure everywhere. This has led to different measuring techniques, all with strengths and weaknesses. This book assesses all presently available techniques that are used in monitoring networks. Special weight is given to presenting the different technical concepts, the accuracy of different sensor types, addresses calibration issues and retrieval aspects.
Stochastic Analysis of Offshore Steel Structures provides a clear and detailed guide to advanced analysis methods of fixed offshore steel structures using 3D beam finite elements under random wave and earthquake loadings. Advanced and up-to-date research results are coupled with modern analysis methods and essential theoretical information to consider optimal solutions to structural issues. As these methods require and use knowledge of different subject matters, a general introduction to the key areas is provided. This is followed by in-depth explanations supported by design examples, relevant calculations and supplementary material containing related computer programmers. By combining this theoretical and practical approach Stochastic Analysis of Offshore Steel Structures cover a range of key concepts in detail including: The basic principles of standard 3D beam finite elements and special connections, Wave loading - from hydrodynamics to the calculation of wave loading on structural members, Stochastic response calculations with corresponding solution algorithms including earthquakes, and Fatigue damage, reliability calculation and reliability based design optimization. The broad and detailed coverage makes this a solid reference for research oriented studies and practical sophisticated design methods. Students, researchers, insuring bodies and practical designer offices can turn to Stochastic Analysis of Offshore Steel Structures to broaden their theoretical understanding and develop their practical designs and applications of 3D finite analysis in fixed offshore steel structures.
This revealing book synthesizes research from many fields to offer the first complete history of the roles played by weather and climate in American life from colonial times to the present. Author William B. Meyer characterizes weather events as neutral phenomena that are inherently neither hazards nor resources, but can become either depending on the activities with which they interact. Meyer documents the ways in which different kinds of weather throughout history have represented hazards and resources not only for such exposed outdoor pursuits as agriculture, warfare, transportation, construction, and recreation, but for other realms of life ranging from manufacturing to migration to human health. He points out that while the weather and climate by themselves have never determined the course of human events, their significance as been continuously altered for better and for worse by the evolution of American life.
The first International Conference on Hydraulic Design in Water Resources Engineering held at Southampton University in 1984 brought together engineers interested in channels and channel control structures. It was well attended, very successful and generated papers relating to control and diversion structures, sediment control facilities for headworks and intakes, canals under quasi-steady flow conditions, computer simulation of irrigation and drainage canal systems under unsteady flow conditions, and sediment problems in rivers and the effects of engineering works on the regime of rivers. The success of the first meeting was a major factor in deciding to reconvene the Conference in April 1986, also at Southampton University. The second conference is concerned with the design, constructions and operation of land drainage systems and the wealth of papers received for presentation is an indication of how much this subject has developed in the last few decades. The Conference is intended to bring together as much information as possible in the field of Land Drainage together with forecasts of future developments in this important subject. The Proceedings will provide a unique reference and state-of-the-art presentation to all interested in Land Drainage. The Proceedings incorporate the text of a keynote lecture given by W. H. van der Molen, an eminent researcher. His participation added to the prestige of the Conference and the Editors would like to thank him most sincerely for his contribution.
A variety of optimization and simulation models are now com- monly used to help water resource planners and managers identify, evaluate and predict themultiple impacts from va- rious actions or decisions one can make regarding the deve- lopment and management of a region's water resources. Cur- rent developments in computer technology are making it pos- sible to link these models to programs that provide an in- terface betwe- en the decision maker and their models and compu- ters. The volume discusses how these so-called deci- sion support systems can be best developed and used bythose involved in water resources planning and management.
This new edition surveys the full range of available structural equation modeling (SEM) methodologies. The book has been updated throughout to reflect the arrival of new software packages, which have made analysis much easier than in the past. Applications in a broad range of disciplines are discussed, particularly in the social sciences where many key concepts are not directly observable. This book presents SEM's development in its proper historical context-essential to understanding the application, strengths and weaknesses of each particular method. This book also surveys the emerging path and network approaches that complement and enhance SEM, and that are growing in importance. SEM's ability to accommodate unobservable theory constructs through latent variables is of significant importance to social scientists. Latent variable theory and application are comprehensively explained and methods are presented for extending their power, including guidelines for data preparation, sample size calculation and the special treatment of Likert scale data. Tables of software, methodologies and fit statistics provide a concise reference for any research program, helping assure that its conclusions are defensible and publishable.
The thermodynamics of the atmosphere is the subject of several chapters in most textbooks on dynamic meteorology, but there is no work in English to give the subject a specific and more extensive treatment. In writing the present textbook, we have tried to fill this rather remarkable gap in the literature related to atmospheric sciences. Our aim has been to provide students of meteorology with a book that can playa role similar to the textbooks on chemical thermodynamics for the chemists. This implies a previous knowledge of general thermodynamics, such as students acquire in general physics courses; therefore, although the basic principles are reviewed (in the first four chapters), they are only briefly discussed, and emphasis is laid on those topics that will be useful in later chapters, through their application to atmospheric problems. No attempt has been made to introduce the thermodynamics of irreversible processes; on the other hand, consideration of heterogeneous and open homogeneous systems permits a rigorous formulation of the thermodynamic functions of clouds (exclusive of any consideration of microphysical effets) and a better understanding of the approx imations usually implicit in practical applications."
Sir Geoffrey Ingram Taylor (1886 1975) was a physicist, mathematician and expert on fluid dynamics and wave theory. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest physical scientists of the twentieth century. Across these four volumes, published between the years 1958 and 1971, Batchelor has collected together almost 200 of Sir Geoffrey Ingram Taylor's papers. The papers of the first three volumes are grouped approximately by subject, with Volume IV collating a number of miscellaneous papers on the mechanics of fluids. Together, these volumes allow a thorough exploration of the breadth and diversity of Sir Taylor's interests within the field of fluid dynamics. At the end of Volume IV, Batchelor provides the reader with both a chronological list of the papers presented across all four volumes, and a list of Sir Geoffrey Taylor's other published articles, completing this truly invaluable research and reference work.
This updated and expanded second edition of a much lauded work provides a current overview of the impacts of climate change on tropical forests. The authors also investigate past, present and future climatic influences on the ecosystems with the highest biodiversity on the planet. Tropical Rainforest Responses to Climatic Change, Second Edition, looks at how tropical rain forest ecology is altered by climate change, rather than simply seeing how plant communities were altered. Shifting the emphasis on to ecological processes, e.g. how diversity is structured by climate and the subsequent impact on tropical forest ecology, provides the reader with a more comprehensive coverage. A major theme of the book is the interaction between humans, climate and forest ecology. The authors, all foremost experts in their fields, explore the long term occupation of tropical systems, the influence of fire and the future climatic effects of deforestation, together with anthropogenic emissions. Incorporating modelling of past and future systems paves the way for a discussion of conservation from a climatic perspective, rather than the usual plea to stop logging. This second edition provides an updated text in this rapidly evolving field. The existing chapters are revised and updated and two entirely new chapters deal with Central America and the effect of fire on wet forest systems. In the first new chapter, the paleoclimate and ecological record from Central America (Lozano, Correa, Bush) is discussed, while the other deals with the impact of fire on tropical ecosystems. It is hoped that Jonathon Overpeck, who has been centrally involved in the 2007 and 2010 IPCC reports, will provide a Foreword to the book.
Heliophysics is a fast-developing scientific discipline that integrates studies of the Sun's variability, the surrounding heliosphere, and the environment and climate of planets. The Sun is a magnetically variable star and for planets with intrinsic magnetic fields, planets with atmospheres, or planets like Earth with both, there are profound consequences. This 2010 volume, the second in this series of three heliophysics texts, integrates the many aspects of space storms and the energetic radiation associated with them - from causes on the Sun to effects in planetary environments. It reviews the physical processes in solar flares and coronal mass ejections, interplanetary shocks, and particle acceleration and transport, and considers many space weather responses in geospace. In addition to its utility as a textbook, it also constitutes a foundational reference for researchers in fields from heliophysics to climate science. Additional online resources, including lecture presentations and other teaching materials, are available at www.cambridge.org/9780521760515.
This book presents a unique and comprehensive view of the fundamental dynamical and thermodynamic principles underlying the large circulations of the coupled ocean-atmosphere system Dynamics of The Tropical Atmosphere and Oceans provides a detailed description of macroscale tropical circulation systems such as the monsoon, the Hadley and Walker Circulations, El Nino, and the tropical ocean warm pool. These macroscale circulations interact with a myriad of higher frequency systems, ranging from convective cloud systems to migrating equatorial waves that attend the low-frequency background flow. Towards understanding and predicting these circulation systems. A comprehensive overview of the dynamics and thermodynamics of large-scale tropical atmosphere and oceans is presented using both a "reductionist" and "holistic" perspectives of the coupled tropical system. The reductionist perspective provides a detailed description of the individual elements of the ocean and atmospheric circulations. The physical nature of each component of the tropical circulation such as the Hadley and Walker circulations, the monsoon, the incursion of extratropical phenomena into the tropics, precipitation distributions, equatorial waves and disturbances described in detail. The holistic perspective provides a physical description of how the collection of the individual components produces the observed tropical weather and climate. How the collective tropical processes determine the tropical circulation and their role in global weather and climate is provided in a series of overlapping theoretical and modelling constructs. The structure of the book follows a graduated framework. Following a detailed description of tropical phenomenology, the reader is introduced to dynamical and thermodynamical constraints that guide the planetary climate and establish a critical role for the tropics. Equatorial wave theory is developed for simple and complex background flows, including the critical role played by moist processes. The manner in which the tropics and the extratropics interact is then described, followed by a discussion of the physics behind the subtropical and near-equatorial precipitation including arid regions. The El Nino phenomena and the monsoon circulations are discussed, including their covariance and predictability. Finally, the changing structure of the tropics is discussed in terms of the extent of the tropical ocean warm pool and its relationship to the intensity of global convection and climate change. Dynamics of the Tropical Atmosphere and Oceans is aimed at advanced undergraduate and early career graduate students. It also serves as an excellent general reference book for scientists interested in tropical circulations and their relationship with the broader climate system.
Mathematical models are the effective tool to solve different tasks predicting pollutant movement. The finite difference method is the oldest, but still remains widely used in hydrogeological practice. However, this method is not very useful to construct the new transport models because it cannot approximate the shape of remediation elements exactly. Therefore the book is concerned with the FEM (Finite Element Method) and BEM (Boundary Element Method), and also with the comparison of advantages of these methods in groundwater hydrology. The combination of the BEM and the random-walk particle tracking method, which seems to be a very useful tool to model the spread of pollution in groundwater, are also presented. The computer programmes have been developed on the basis of the theoretical backgrounds of these methods. They use the Visual C++ programming language for Windows 95/NT platform and will be included in the book.
The Upper Adriatic Sea basin comprises a very precarious coastal environment subject to continuous changes which prove appreciable not only over the geological scale but also in historical and modern times. According to some Authors the Venice Lagoon was formed 2000-3000 years ago, and other lagoons (e. g. the Grado Lagoon in the northernmost part of the Adriatic) are even more recent. In addition to lagoons, the Upper Adriatic coastal area includes salt and fresh-water marshes and reclaimed land separated by several watercourses originating from the Alpine and Apennine ranges with a ground elevation not exceeding in many places 2 m above the mean sea l. evel (msl). A significant fraction of this lowland is already now below msl because of natural and anthropogenic land subsidence, land reclamation and sea level rise occurred over the last century. Natural land subsidence is still under way as a result of deep downward tec tonic movement and consolidation of soils deposited in the most recent time. An thropogenic subsidence is primarily due to groundwater pumping for agricultural, industrial, civil, and tourist use, and to gas withdrawal from a large number of gas fields scattered through the Upper Adriatic basin, and may still continue, al though at a reduced rate, in the years to come. At the same time msl is expected to rise in the next century due to global climate change, mainly because of the greenhouse effect. |
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