Describing sacred waters and their associated traditions in over thirty countries and across multiple time periods, this book identifies patterns in panhuman hydrolatry. Supplying life's most basic daily need, freshwater sources were likely the earliest sacred sites, and the first protected and contested resource. Guarded by taboos, rites and supermundane forces, freshwater sources have also been considered thresholds to otherworlds. Often associated also with venerated stones, trees and healing flora, sacred water sources are sites of biocultural diversity. Addressing themes that will shape future water research, this volume examines cultural perceptions of water's sacrality that can be employed to foster resilient human-environmental relationships in the growing water crises of the twenty-first century. The work combines perspectives from anthropology, archaeology, classics, folklore, geography, geology, history, literature and religious studies.

The ambition of most countries across the world is to develop a low-carbon economy, evidenced by the fact that the vast majority of countries have signed the Paris COP21 agreement. This book contends that this global societal transition to a low-carbon economy must be just. As such, it will be an invaluable and accessible reference for scholars from all research disciplines who aim in their research to see a fairer, more equitable and inclusive world where sustainability is at the fore and climate targets are achieved.This is the first in-depth and original analysis to explore the central importance of law in achieving a just transition to a low-carbon economy. In addition, it advances the JUST framework, a unique framework for assessing the just transition. This important research and theoretical tool provides a practical perspective as it ensures the geographical space and timelines of development are factored into analysis. The research also provides analysis on the just transition movement around the world and the influence of international institutions. Through several case studies on Just Transition Commissions and Critical Mineral Development, the book details and demonstrates key elements of justice, including distributive, procedural, restorative, recognition, and cosmopolitan justice. It is clear from the analysis that while these are vast areas for analysis, if applied in practice, they all centrally contribute to ensuring society will advance in achieving a just transition to a low-carbon economy.

Urban Drainage and Storage Practices focuses on the latest developments in urban stormwater design methods using drainage and storage approaches for both water quality and quantity control. It covers both the conventional approaches to flood mitigation and low-impact methods for stormwater quality enhancement. Theory, practice, and modeling methods are presented to illustrate how to build a holistic stormwater drainage and storage system using urban open space and parks through multiple land use. Each chapter provides background theory, numerical experiments, illustrations, and Excel spreadsheets that outline design and calculation procedures. All urban watersheds are modeled as a series of cascading planes to drain stormwater from upstream roofs and parking lots onto downstream grass areas and vegetal beds. The drainage system is designed as a three-layer cascading system with various low-impact units for micro events, conveyance elements for minor events, and storage facilities for macro events. This book: presents the theory and practice of designing and building a stormwater system explains green approaches to designing and managing urban stormwater systems. This text is ideal for senior and graduate students studying urban hydrology, hydraulic engineering, and water resource management. It will also be useful for engineers requiring a technical book with hands-on practical examples.

How will global environmental change affect the landscape and our interaction with it? Apart from climate change, there are other important catalysts of landscape change, including relief, hydroclimate and runoff, sea level variations and human activity. This volume summarizes the state-of-the-art concerning the geomorphic implications of global environmental change, analyzing such effects on lakes, rivers, coasts, reefs, rainforests, savannas, deserts, glacial features, and mountains. Providing a benchmark statement from the world s leading geomorphologists on the current state of, and potential changes to, the environment, this book is invaluable for advanced courses on geomorphology and environmental science, and as a reference for research scientists. Interdisciplinary in scope, with a primary audience of Earth and environmental scientists, geographers, geomorphologists and ecologists, it also has a wider reach to those concerned with the social, economic and political issues raised by global environmental change, and is useful to policy makers and environmental managers.

From the natural geometry of the Giant's Causeway to the sarsen slabs used to build Stonehenge, we are surrounded by evidence for the extraordinary geological forces that shaped the British Isles. Running coast to coast through Devon is 'Sticklepath', Britain's 'San Andreas', a geological fault with the two sides displaced horizontally by several kilometres, all within the recent geological past. The Sticklepath Fault is just one manifestation of the rich tectonic history of the British region since the asteroid collision that ended the reign of the dinosaurs, 66 million years ago. Raised out of the Chalk Sea, the original Albion was a thickly forested island a thousand kilometres long, surrounded by chalk cliffs, punctuated with great volcanoes, and the site of two trial 'spreading ridge' plate-boundaries. As the volcanoes shifted west, and Greenland separated from Europe, the wind-blown volcanic ash laid the strata on which London was founded. The vertical Needles, known to every Isle of Wight sailor, are part of the northern foothills of the Pyrenees. When the collision subsided, rifting created a garland of Celtic lakes from Brittany to the Outer Hebrides. In This Volcanic Isle Robert Muir-Wood explores the rich geological history of the British Isles, and its resulting legacy. Along the way he introduces the personalities who shared a fascination for Britain's tectonic history, including Charles Darwin the geologist, Tennyson the science-poet, and Benoit Mandelbrot, the pure mathematician who labelled the west coast of Britain a fractal icon. Here is the previously untold story of how earthquakes and eruptions, plumes and plate boundaries, built the British Isles.

Located in a narrow grassland corridor between the semi-desert and a mountain range in Northwest China, the research area Urumqi Region is despite its semi-arid climate in a relatively favourable hydrological situation. The nearby mountains provide water for settlements and agriculture, making human development possible in the first place. Due to the development of agriculture, population and economy during the last sixty years and the increasing water consumption, a demand- and population-driven water scarcity exists today and is expected to aggravate. At the same time, the effects of climate change and land use transformations on the hydrological system and the water availability are uncertain. This study evaluates the recent and future situation by combining a hydrological water balance model for the simulation of the water supply based on scenarios of climate and land use change with a socio-economic model for projecting the future water demand including predicted growth of population and economy.

Provides a comprehensive overview of the subject of marine governance and environmental change, which will serve as a key reference textbook. Reflects the immense global concern over issues such as sea level rise, marine biodiversity including coral reefs, fisheries, maritime trade and shipping. Draws on and will apeal to a wide range of dsiciplines including marine biology, climate science, geography, law, politics and international relations.

Environmental Physics is a comprehensive introduction to the physical concepts underlying environmental science. The importance and relevance of physics is emphasised by its application to real environmental problems with a wide range of case studies. Applications included cover energy use and production, global climate, the physics of living things, radioactivity, environmental remote sensing, noise pollution and the physics of the Earth. The book makes the subject accessible to those with little physics background, keeping mathematical treatment straightforward. The text is lively and informative, and is supplemented by numerous illustrations, photos, tables of useful data, and a glossary of key terms.

This textbook introduces political ecology as an interdisciplinary approach to critically examine land and environmental issues. Drawing on discourse and narrative analysis, Marxist political economy and insights from natural science, the book points at similarities, differences and inter-connections between environmental governance in the global North and South. A wide range of carefully curated case studies are presented, with a particular focus on Africa and Norway. Key themes of power, justice and environmental sustainability run through all chapters. The authors challenge established views and leading discourses and present research findings that may surprise readers. Chapters cover topics including wildlife conservation, climate change and conflicts, land grabbing, the effects of population growth on the environment, jihadism in the African Sahel, bioprospecting, feminist political ecology, and struggles around carbon mitigation within a fossil fuel-based economy. This introductory text provides tools and examples for both undergraduate and postgraduate students to better understand on-going struggles about some of the world's most urgent challenges.

Freshwater ecosystems have the greatest species diversity per unit area and many endangered species. This book shows that, rather than being a marginal part of terrestrial protected area management, freshwater conservation is central to sustaining biodiversity. It focuses on better practices for conserving inland aquatic ecosystems in protected areas, including rivers, wetlands, peatlands, other freshwater and brackish ecosystems, and estuaries. The authors define inland aquatic ecosystems, showing just how diverse and widespread they are. They examine the principles and processes that are essential for the conservation of freshwater ecosystems and aquatic species. Major categories of threats to freshwater ecosystems and the flow-on implications for protected area design are described. Practical case studies are used to illustrate principles and practices applied around the world. Specific management needs of the main types of freshwater ecosystems are considered, as well as the management of freshwaters in the broader landscape, showing how natural resource governance processes can be harnessed to better manage freshwater biodiversity. The book offers commentary on how to adapt freshwater conservation practices to climate change and ends with an insightful synthesis.

In recent years, citizen science has emerged as a powerful new concept to enable the general public, students, and volunteers to become involved in scientific research. A prime example is in biodiversity conservation, where data collection and monitoring can be greatly enhanced through citizen participation. This is the first book to provide much needed guidance and case studies from marine and coastal conservation. The novelty and rapid expansion of the field has created a demand for the discussion of key issues and the development of best practices. The book demonstrates the utility and feasibility, as well as limitations, of using marine and coastal citizen science for conservation, and by providing critical considerations (i.e.which questions and systems are best suited for citizen science), presents recommendations for best practices for successful marine and coastal citizen science projects. A range of case studies, for example, on monitoring of seabird populations, invasive species, plastics pollution, and the impacts of climate change, from different parts of the world, is included. Also included are discussions on engaging youth, indigenous communities, and divers and snorkelers as citizen scientists, as well as best practices on communication within citizen science, building trust with stakeholders, and informing marine policy as part of this exciting and empowering way of improving marine and coastal conservation. .

Environmental Sustainability in a Time of Change is the first book in a new Palgrave series on Environmental Sustainability. It takes a fresh look at the dynamic field of environmental sustainability by exploring the interconnections between climate change, water, energy, waste, land use, ecosystems, food, and transportation. It also provides an extensive summary on sustainability management, data analysis, mapping, and data sources. Brinkmann highlights how environmental sustainability challenges are distinctly different in the developed world, where sustainability is largely a choice, versus the developing world, where many struggle with basic existence due to war, migration, and water or food scarcity. He takes a broad systems and historic approach to contextualize environmental sustainability prior to the 1987 Brundtland Report and utilizes many contemporary examples throughout the text, analyzing numerous case studies from many areas of the world including China, Yemen, Malaysia, Egypt, and Florida. This book questions traditional approaches to sustainability that highlight the need for an equal balance of economic development, environmental protection, and social equality to achieve sustainability. This book focuses on a new line of thinking that places environmental sustainability as the key foundation in how to manage sustainability in a time of change. Our planet is quickly becoming environmentally unsustainable due to global consumption and unsustainable economic development and it is high time for a fresh approach. This book will be of great value to academics, practitioners, and students interested in environmental sustainability from a myriad of fields including geology, geography, biology, ecology, economics, business, sociology, anthropology, and other areas that intersect the interdisciplinary field of sustainability.

Rebuilding the Earth highlights humanity's interdependence with the planet's ecosystems. Today, these ecosystems are seriously degraded, compromising future security and opportunity. It is essential that we set about rebuilding the metaphorical 'ark' of nature upon which our future prospects depend. Central to this book are several case studies of regenerative approaches drawn from every continent on the planet. These approaches are founded on restoration and protection of ecosystems - water and soil, forests, marine and coastal resources, urban infrastructure, farming practices and in corporate supply chains. Rebuilding the Earth is above all optimistic about the daunting challenges facing global society. It is about culture change, addressing the necessity of and the means for putting nature and people back into the heart of societal thinking, policy and action. It advocates for sustainable development in its deepest green sense, but also pragmatically framed in social, technological, governance and economic contexts. The concluding message is "Yes, we can!"

A cultural history of one of Paris's most fascinating and variegated areas, whose history can be summarized as 'from riches to rags and back again.' The Marais was the beating heart of fashionable Paris from the Middle Ages through to the time of Louis XIV, when the court's move to Versailles marked the start of a decline in its fortunes. Thereafter it became a working-class, largely Jewish area, sometimes described as a 'ghetto', and by the early twentieth century was in a parlous condition from which it was extricated by the Paris City Council and the 1960s restoration plan of Andre Malraux (which did not go without criticism and opposition). Its most recent avatar has been as the best-known gay quartier of the capital, though again this identity has not been a straightforward or always easily-accepted one. The stress throughout will be on representations - literary, cinematic, autobiographical, photographic and in graphic-novel form - as much as if not more than the unfolding of historical events.

This book investigates the historical evolution, regional differences, and quantitative measurement on street interface, which forms the street space and plays a very important role in urban form. Empirical research reveals the street interface in Chinese cities are much more complicated than European and American cities. This book explores the reason and reveals the relationship between street interface and urban form in morphology. By constructing quantitative measurement method on street interface morphology, quantitative parameters can be used in urban planning guidelines in China. Both researchers and students working in architecture, urban design, urban planning and urban studies can benefit from this book.

Geraint Thomas's inside guide to twenty-five of the greatest cycling climbs in the world. Cycling fans obsess about climbs and big mountains. They love reading about their tests and tribulations and they love to ride them - a cricket lover can never bat at Lord's, or a football supporter score at Wembley, but any rider can take on the challenge of an iconic mountain. There have been fine books about the big climbs before but never from the voice of an elite GC winner, taking you inside what these climbs really feel like, where the attacks come, where the pain kicks in. From best-known big-hitters, via pro-peloton favourites, to the secret climbs Geraint has come to love, and featuring Australia, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Mallorca and Wales, this is the cyclist's secret manual.

This book provides a cross-sectoral, multi-disciplinary assessment of different problems associated with estuarine acidification with special thrust on mangrove dominated Indian Sundarban estuaries. The arms of ocean acidification have extended to coastal and estuarine waters, where a wide spectrum of biodiversity thrives with unique adaptation extending several ecosystem services. Impact of acidification in these areas is a matter of concern as acidification potentially has more immediate effects on the health of estuaries and inshore regions as well as regional economies. Ground zero data collected for more than three decades have made the book stand on a strong base.

Although millions of Americans and international travelers take road trips through North America every year, most have no understanding of how the landscape came to be. North America's Natural Wonders provides everything these travelers need to understand the landscape. Written by a career geologist with decades of experience in the field, it guides readers through the most iconic, geologically significant scenery in North America and explains what they are seeing. Volume I focuses on western North America, including the Canadian Rockies, the Southwest, Great Basin, and Tetons-Yellowstone Country. The trips detailed in this volume include stops at the glaciers and mountains of Banff National Park, the Grand Canyon, numerous parks in Utah, and the geysers and hot springs of Yellowstone. It also features lesser known but equally interesting geologic formations and how to access these sites. Volume II focuses on central and eastern North America, including the Appalachians of Virginia and West Virginia, the Colorado Rockies, Austin-Big Bend Country, and the Sierra Madre Oriental of Mexico. The trips detailed in this volume include stops at the Blue Ridge in Shenandoah National Park, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Big Bend National Park, Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak, the Colorado Mineral Belt, Aspen and the Maroon Bells, giant salt-cored uplifts of the La Popa Basin, Mexico, and many others. It also features lesser known but equally interesting geologic formations and how to access these sites. This detailed guide will help the curious layman, the rock hound, the geology student, and the professional geologist understand what they are seeing when they look at a roadcut, quarry, or landscape. A full understanding of natural formations will enhance the traveler's experience beyond simple sightseeing.

Effective spatial analysis is an essential element of archaeological research; this book is a unique guide to choosing the appropriate technique, applying it correctly and understanding its implications both theoretically and practically. Focusing upon the key techniques used in archaeological spatial analysis, this book provides the authoritative, yet accessible, methodological guide to the subject which has thus far been missing from the corpus. Each chapter tackles a specific technique or application area and follows a clear and coherent structure. First is a richly referenced introduction to the particular technique, followed by a detailed description of the methodology, then an archaeological case study to illustrate the application of the technique, and conclusions that point to the implications and potential of the technique within archaeology. The book is designed to function as the main textbook for archaeological spatial analysis courses at undergraduate and post-graduate level, while its user-friendly structure makes it also suitable for self-learning by archaeology students as well as researchers and professionals.

This book presents the fundamentals of polarimetric radar remote sensing through understanding wave scattering and propagation in geophysical media filled with hydrometers and other objects. The text characterizes the physical, statistical, and electromagnetic properties of hydrometers and establishes the relations between radar observables and physical state parameters. It introduces advanced remote sensing techniques (such as polarimetric phased array radar) and retrieval methods for physical parameters. The book also illustrates applications of polarimetric radar measurements in hydrometer classification, particle size distribution retrievals, microphysical parameterization, and weather quantification and forecast.

This festschrift honours Prof. Rana P.B. Singh who has dedicated his life to teaching and conducting research on cultural geography with a 'dweller Indian perspective'. The book focuses on the cultural geographies of India, and to an extent that of South Asia. It is a rich collection of 23 essays on the themes apprised by him, covering landscapes, religion, heritage, pilgrimage and tourism, and human settlements.

Flood Risk Change: A Complexity Perspective focuses on the dynamic nature of flood risks and follows a systemic approach - including environmental, socioeconomic and socio-technical factors for modeling and managing flood risk change. Readers will gain a more complete picture of the topic for understanding the complexity of flood risk change, both from human and natural causes of flooding. The book includes a mix of theory (introduction to complex system science from the flood risk management perspective) and case studies. It features maps and figures focusing on the system components as well as on the dynamic interactions between the drivers of change. Researchers studying flood risk, environmental engineering, disaster risk reduction, and land use, as well as those in industry and responsible for policy, will find this an invaluable resource.

The transformation of the dominant model of centralized energy production from fossil fuels to renewable energies is at the center of the public and scientific debate, as well as the subject of national and European policies, as it is connected to highly topical issues such as climate change, emissions reduction and natural disasters, security of supply and sustainability of the current economic development model. Up to now this topic has been mainly addressed by the economic and engineering sciences, with a research focus on the hardware rather than on the human and social software. However, energy systems, and the possibilities of change, are not only economic or technological but involve also patterns of social life, representations, organizational models and relational structures. In order to generate the social preconditions for the transition to a low-emission society, focused on a growing production of energy from renewable sources and on a greater sustainability of consumption, it is therefore urgent to reaffirm the centrality of a sociological approach to energy. This book focused on three core research areas which are crucial to understand what is at stake with the energy transition: conflicts over the construction and location of renewable energy production plants; collective action on renewable sources that promote a new model of energy system in which consumers are also producers; and the social-territorial impact of energy policies.

This book investigates the fundamental role that tropical bioproductivity - or more specifically net primary productivity - has played in shaping the global geographies of food, finance, governance and people. The book examines the basic astronomical and thermal properties of our planet to illustrate the dynamic nature of the tropics and how the region resides at the very heart of global energetics, driving the environmental flows that shape planetary climate and bioproductivity. The author explores how the region's relatively small, but hyper-productive, land area provided the groundswell for the economic, social, political and demographic changes that fuelled empires, European colonialism and nation-building. Also covered are discussions on how the critical intake of capital needed to fuel the industrial and technological revolutions driving modern globalization was first expropriated from the tropics by harnessing the region's natural productivity and biological crop diversity and then transforming it into tradeable commodities using the inhabitants' labour and knowledge. With modern tropical nations accounting for the bulk of people living in poverty and registering some of the highest income disparities, the author presents cross-cutting evidence showing that their histories and the persistence of expropriating institutions have fostered anocratic tendencies, poor governance, unorthodox financial flows and mass migration. Tropical Bioproductivity cuts across vast geographies, topics and histories to deliver a readable narrative that links people, places and events with the environmental mechanics of our planet. It will be of interest to students and researchers in the areas of environmental studies, economics, history, agriculture, anthropology and geography.