This book is a multidisciplinary manuscript bringing together contributions on water issues from natural and social scientists focused on water management and structures in a challenging environmental situation such as Dakhla Oasis in Egypt's western desert. The authors of this book are relevant scientists in hydrology, geology, remote sensing, agriculture, history, and sociology. It is devoted to various critical environmental topics such as geological and hydraulic structure, climate influence, underground water management, irrigation management, and human settlement. The book provides a range of new perspectives on solving different environmental problems in arid zones toward the region's sustainable development, based on the case studies and fieldwork in the Dakhla Oasis (Western Desert, Egypt).

This book investigates how actors organize in order to solve a water quality problem. Research on the use of environmental resources has mainly focused on the circumstances needed for users to self-organize or to maintain an already sustainable way of resource use. Few studies have investigated the reasons why actors start to cooperate when they are faced with an environmental problem. Actor networks in three regions of the Rhine catchment area are scrutinized regarding a) actors' cooperation pattern when managing an environmental problem; and b) the factors that trigger actors in a common-pool resource situation to initiate cooperation. Water quality policy is analysed in two European countries - Germany and Luxembourg - and one non-European country - Switzerland -, providing an overview of the distinctive measures applied in these regions aiming to tackle the water quality problem of micro-pollutants in river surface water. Applying the social-ecological system framework (SESF) devised by E. Ostrom and her colleagues and Social Network Analysis (SNA), the current book combines qualitative and quantitative methods to answer the question of why actors cooperate in the management process of an environmental problem like water pollution.

Agriculture and industry are the two most important economic sectors for various countries around the globe, providing millions of jobs as well as being the main source of income for these countries. Nevertheless, with the increasing demand for agricultural and industrial produce, huge amounts of waste are also being produced. Without proper management, this waste (both liquid and solid) poses a serious threat to overall environmental quality, mainly due to its toxicity and slow degradation processes. Current approaches are effective but would normally require huge capital investments, are labour intensive and generate potential hazardous by-products. As such, there is a need for alternative approaches that are cheaper, easier-to-handle and have a minimum potential impact on environmental quality. This book presents up-to-date approaches using biological techniques to manage the abundance of waste generated from agricultural and industrial activities. It discusses techniques such as bioconversion, biodegradation, biotransformation, and biomonitoring as well as the utilization of these wastes. A number of chapters also include individual case studies to enhance readers' understanding of the topics. This comprehensive book is a useful resource for anyone involved in agricultural and industrial waste management, green chemistry or biotechnology. It is also recommended as a reference work for graduate students and all agriculture and biotechnology libraries.

This unique book shares the knowledge and experience of experts and scientists who apply high-quality findings and input from their research to issues concerning the management of water resources and their quality in Baltic countries including Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany and Russia. It summarizes the latest results of several systematic investigations, and assesses the occurrence and quality of surface and underground waters within the Baltic countries to help decision-makers plan for sustainable development. The book addresses a range of water resources management issues, especially those that are relevant to the water quality in these Baltic countries. It presents cutting-edge information and findings that can be effectively used to solve a variety of problems in integrated water resources management. Accordingly, it will be of interest to graduate students, researchers, water scientists, professionals, experts and practitioners working in water resources management.

The focus of this book is on the key water-related vulnerabilities to climate change in Africa, particularly in its most vulnerable areas, exploring potential management responses to such vulnerabilities. The African countries are particularly exposed and vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change, with important impacts on water resources and hydrological systems, water availability, water resource management and sea level variations. Already, under various anthropogenic pressures, the status of water resources in Africa has been changing over the past decades, with decreasing water quality, falling groundwater levels, and variability in rainfall, both in terms of timing and intensity. Climate change will further accelerate the rate of change, affecting the ability of people and societies to respond in a timely manner. It is clear that there is no quick fix to the pressures imposed on water resources by climate change. Increasing the resilience of ecosystems and communities to extreme events such as flooding and drought, and integrating climate change risks and opportunities into development decision-making is indeed a key challenge, as much a technical climate-change one, as a political and developmental challenge. The book, in this regard, intends to contribute to the debate around climate change in relation to water resources management in Africa, and in particular inform policy decisions and actions that will improve governments' and communities' ability to manage the challenges of climate change and variability in relation to the aquatic ecosystems that they depend on. The knowledge collected in this book will benefit policy makers, researchers, as well as other stakeholders.

This book reviews recent research advances in sustainable agriculture, with focus on crop production, biodiversity and biofuels in Africa and Asia.

This book presents an overview of current research problems and advances in theoretical and applied aspects of environmental hydraulics. The rapid development of this branch of water studies in recent years has contributed to our fundamental understanding of processes in natural aquatic systems and helped provide solutions for civil engineering and water resources management. The book features comprehensively reviewed versions of invited lectures and regular presentations given at the 38th International School of Hydraulics, held May 21-24, 2019, in Lack, Poland. With papers by leading international experts as well as young researchers from around the globe, it covers recent findings from laboratory and field studies, numerical modeling related to sediment and pollutant transport processes in rivers, fluvial morphodynamics, flow in vegetated channels and hydraulic structures in rivers and estuaries.

Adsorption is one of the method that is in use for remediation of contaminated water. The experimental factors affecting the batch mode of adsorption of various metals and inorganic anions are discussed in this book. The elemental contaminants have been categorized into four major categories i.e. major toxic elements; essential elements having toxicity on excessive exposure; miscellaneous elements having undetermined effects; non-toxic elements having trivial or unidentified significance. In addition, anions like nitrate, perchlorate and sulphate as water contaminants are considered. This unique volume fills a niche in the area of water treatment. Key Features: Provides practitioners with the background they need to understand and apply batch adsorption processes to the purification of water Describes the actions of adsorption capacity or percentage removal with respect to factors affecting the adsorption process Excellent source of information for those working in the industry for remediation of metals and anions Discusses the current era of Anthropocene which is highly dependent on the anthropogenic mineral sources for its sustenance

This book addresses two critical problems that plague materials that make up components in both desalination and cooling water systems: corrosion, and fouling. The book addresses various types and components of industrial desalination technologies with solutions for controlling corrosion, scaling and biofouling. Issues unique to desalination systems, vital for the production of clean water, are considered as well. Green technologies are discussed throughout, along with environmental and economic considerations. The book presents solutions to the problems encountered by internal and external parts of these systems and will aid professionals that design, operate, and maintain them. It will be valuable to professionals in the materials, corrosion, electrochemical and wastewater industries, as well as chemical engineers. Addresses the corrosion issues facing the conventional and modern water desalination systems; Discusses the causes and remediation of problems caused by corrosion, scaling, and biofouling in water treatment; Offers green solutions, thereby minimizing environmental impact while increasing control and productivity of water systems; Suitable for professionals working with water desalination plants, materials scientists and corrosion engineers.

Geochemical Techniques for Identifying Sources of Ground-Water Salinization offers a comprehensive look at the threat to the United States' freshwater resources due to salinization and outlines techniques that can be used to study the problem. The book reviews the seven major salt-water sources that commonly mix and deteriorate our fresh ground water (natural saline ground water, halite solution, sea-water intrusion, oil- and gas-field brines, agriculture effluents, saline seep, and road salting). Other topics covered are the characteristics of saltwater sources, geochemical parameters, and basic graphical and statistical methods that are frequently used in saltwater studies. The book also provides geographical charts showing the distribution of the major salt-water sources, illustrating which ones are potential sources in any given area in the United States.
Geochemical Techniques for Identifying Sources of Ground-Water Salinization describes the individual geochemical parameters used in identifying salinization and the information on how and where to obtain them. This is an informative book for anyone interested in the present and future quality of our fresh-water supply.
Features

Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology attempts to provide concise, critical reviews of timely advances, philosophy and significant areas of accomplished or needed endeavor in the total field of xenobiotics, in any segment of the environment, as well as toxicological implications.

This book highlights various challenges and opportunities for water management and cooperation in South Asia. In light of increasing urbanization and development in the region and related pressure on water resources, the contributions investigate water conflictual and cooperative attitudes and gestures between countries and regions; analyse management trade-offs between nature, agriculture and urban uses; and examine water sustainable management and related policies. By studying major river basins in the region, such as Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Narmada, Godavari and Krishna, the chapters highlight socio-economic, infrastructural, environmental and institutional aspects of water scarcity in South Asia and present best practices for improved sustainable water management and security in the region.

DNAPL Site Evaluation covers long-term contamination of ground water by DNAPL (dense non-aqueous phase liquids) chemicals. The book develops a framework for planning and implementing DNAPL site characterization activities. It provides detailed methods to identify, characterize, and monitor sites and analyzes their utility, limitations, risks, availability, and cost. Methods to interpret contaminant fate and transport are identified, and new site characterization methods are assessed.
DNAPL Site Evaluation will maximize the cost-effectiveness of site investigation/remediation by providing the best information available to describe and evaluate methods to be used for determining the presence, fate, and transport of subsurface DNAPL contamination. The book will be a useful reference for groundwater professionals and environmental regulatory personnel.

This book contains a rich resource of essential information on the water resources capacities in Poland. This book contributes to the recognition of water resources management including extreme hydrological events such as floods and droughts. The book incorporates case studies illustrating solutions of water quantity management in Poland. This edited book covers all water bodies in the country including rivers, lakes, reservoirs and groundwater. The novelty of this book is that it represents the first time a manuscript covers the assessment of water resources in Poland, including variability, availability and economic use of the hydrological resources in the country with the lowest renewable resources of surface water per inhabitant in Europe. Given the depth and breadth of its coverage, the book offers engineers, researchers, policy planners, decision makers, and stakeholders essential new insights into efficient water resources management.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge on the fate and interaction of pharmaceuticals in soil-crop systems. It addresses the principles of their transport, uptake and metabolism and reviews methodologies for their analytical determination. It also discusses ecotoxicological effects arising from their presence and highlights bioremediation approaches for their removal. The use of treated wastewater to irrigate crops is becoming more widespread in regions where freshwater is limited. This practice conserves freshwater resources and contributes to nutrient recycling. However, concerns remain regarding the safety of irrigation with treated wastewater since it contains residues of pharmaceuticals that have survived treatment, which means that soil and fauna are potentially exposed to these xenobiotics. Various pathways govern the fate of pharmaceuticals in crop-soil systems, including soil degradation; formation of non-extractable residues; uptake by soil-dwelling organisms (e.g. earthworms); and uptake, transport, and metabolism in agricultural crops. Investigations into these aspects have only recently been initiated, and there is still a long way to go before a meaningful assessment of the impact of wastewater has been completed.

This book summarizes the advances in mine hydrogeology in terms of the development of new technologies and sustainable mining to prevent water inrush disasters during coal-mine construction and production in China. It presents holistic topics that balance safe coal mining and the minimization of impacts on the environment and human beings. Systematically describing the methods and techniques used in China's coal mines to predict, prevent and mitigate water inrushes, it includes nine case studies to illustrate the practical engineering solutions using state-of-art methods and technologies under various conditions. It also discusses how the approaches could help solve the world's water problems, not only in mining, but also in tunneling, disposing of nuclear waste, storing natural gas, and sequestering CO2, as well as their impact on mining industries and related fields around the world. The book intended for students, researchers and practitioners working in the mining industries.

Toxic substances threatens aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and ultimately human health. The book is a thoughtful effort in bringing forth the role of biotechnology for bioremediation and restoration of the ecosystems degraded by toxic and heavy metal pollution. The introductory chapters of the book deal with the understanding of the issues concerned with the pollution caused by toxic elements and heavy metals and their impacts on the different ecosystems followed by the techniques involved in monitoring of the pollution. These techniques include use of bio-indicators as well as modern techniques for the assessment and monitoring of toxicants in the environment. Detailed chapters discussing the role of microbial biota, aquatic plants, terrestrial plants to enhance the accumulation efficiency of these toxic and heavy metals are followed by remediation techniques involving myco-remediation, bio-pesticides, bio-fertilizers, phyto-remediation and rhizo-filtration. A sizable portion of the book has been dedicated to the advanced bio-remediation techniques which are finding their way from the laboratory to the field for revival of the degraded ecosystems. These involve bio-films, micro-algae, genetically modified plants and filter feeders. Furthermore, the book is a detailed comprehensive account for the treatment technologies from unsustainable to sustainable. We believe academicians, researchers and students will find this book informative as a complete reference for biotechnological intervention for sustainable treatment of pollution.

This book offers an overview of the recent studies and advances in environmental catalysis by nanomaterials, considering both the fundamental and the technological aspects. It offers contributions in different areas of environmental catalysis, including the catalytic and photocatalytic abatement of environmentally hazardous effluents from stationary or mobile sources, the valorization of waste and the production of sustainable energy. In other words, this monograph provides an overview of modern environmental and energy related applications with a particular emphasis to nano-sized catalytic materials. Recent concepts, experimental data and advanced theories are reported in this book to give evidence of the environmental and sustainable applications that can be found in the highly interdisciplinary field of catalysis.

Nanotechnology has been established in membrane technology for decades. In this book, comprehensive coverage is given to nanotechnology applications in synthetic membrane processes, which are used in different fields such as water treatment, separation of gases, the food industry, military use, drug delivery, air filtration, and green chemistry. Nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes, nanoparticles, and dendrimers are contributing to the development of more efficient and cost-effective water filtration processes. Gas separation and carbon capture can be significantly improved in flue gas applications. Nanoporous membrane systems engineered to mimic natural filtration systems are being actively developed for use in smart implantable drug delivery systems, bio artificial organs, and other novel nano-enabled medical devices. The microscopic structure of nanoporous ceramic membranes, mainly focusing on zeolite materials, as well as the energy-saving effect of membrane separation, contribute to various chemical synthesis processes. In the food industry, nanotechnology has the potential to create new tools for pathogen detection and packaging. For each application, nanotechnology is mostly used to make composite membranes, and the book provides a detailed look at the mechanisms by which the composite membrane works in each application area.

This book comprises select papers from the International Conference on Emerging Trends in Civil Engineering (ICETCE 2018). Latest research findings in different branches of civil engineering such as structural engineering, construction materials, geotechnical engineering, water resources engineering, environmental engineering, and transportation infrastructure are covered in this book. The book also gives an overview of emerging topics like smart materials and structures, green building technologies, and intelligent transportation system. The contents of this book will be beneficial for students, academicians, industrialists and researchers working in the field of civil engineering.

When it comes to water, we are fed a daily diet of doom and gloom, of a looming crisis: wars of the future will be over water; nearly one-billion people lack access to clean water; river basins are closed so there is no more water to be allocated despite ever-growing demand; aquifers are overdrawn to such an extent that a global food crisis is just around the corner and major cities, such as Bangkok and Mexico, are sinking. And let us not forget about pollution or vector-borne diseases.

The challenges for sustainable water management are massive. Yet, as shown in this book, there are many positives to be drawn from the southern African experience. Despite abiding conditions of economic underdevelopment and social inequality, people rise to the challenge, oftentimes out of necessity and through self-help, but sometimes through creative coalitions operating at different scales - from the local to the global - and across issue areas - from transboundary governance to urban water supply.

This first volume in the Off-Centre series argues that we must learn to see water and the region differently if we are to meet present challenges and better prepare for an uncertain, climate-changing future.

Larry A. Swatuk is Professor in the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development (SEED) at the University of Waterloo, Canada; Extraordinary Professor at the Institute for Water Studies, University of Western Cape, South Africa; and Research Associate, Bonn International Center for Conversion (BICC). Prior to joining the University of Waterloo, he was Associate Professor of Natural Resources Governance at the Okavango Research Institute, Maun, Botswana.

This book expands the body of scientific knowledge on research and solutions for alternative water systems. It addresses a wide variety of water management issues in buildings, ranging from the technical possibilities, hydraulic and financial efficiency, and public acceptance of decentralized water systems, to their impact on sewage systems. Climate changes, population growth, and progressive urbanization are the main causes of the growing interest in alternative sources of water around the world. Decentralized systems are seen not only as solutions that can effectively save water, but also as systems that can operate partially or completely independently of centralized suppliers. With these aspects in mind, the main focus of this book is on showcasing a new approach to water management at the building scale. The findings and insights presented here will support the development of future technical guidelines for using alternative water systems in urban areas - an aspect that is particularly important since, in many European countries, these systems are only very rarely used.

This book presents peer-reviewed articles from the 1st International Conference on Dam Safety Management and Engineering (ICDSME 2019), organized by the Malaysian National Committee on Large Dams (MYCOLD), Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) and Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN). With the theme "resilient dams for resilient communities," the conference highlighted the latest developments in the area and provided a platform for researchers and professionals to exchange ideas and to address dam safety and engineering issues with the environment in mind. The topics covered included, but was not limited to, best practices in dam safety, reservoir management, dam health monitoring, risk assessment, emergency management and sustainable dams.

Today, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have a pervasive presence in almost every aspect of the management of water. There is no question that the collection of big data from sensing and the insights gained by smart analytics can bring massive benefits. This book focuses on new perspectives for the monitoring, assessment and control of water systems, based on tools and concepts originating from the ICT sector. It presents a portrait of up-to-date sensing techniques for water, and introduces concepts and implications with the analysis of the acquired data. Particular attention is given to the advancements in developing novel devices and data processing approaches. The chapters guide the reader through multiple disciplinary contexts, without aiming to be exhaustive, but with the effort to present relevant topics in such a highly multi-disciplinary framework. This book will be of interest to advanced students, researchers and stakeholders at various levels.

This book collects and summarizes current scientific knowledge concerning coal-mined landscapes of the Appalachian region in eastern United States. Containing contributions from authors across disciplines, the book addresses topics relevant to the region's coal-mining history and its future; its human communities; and the soils, waters, plants, wildlife, and human-use potentials of Appalachia's coal-mined landscapes. The book provides a comprehensive overview of coal mining's legacy in Appalachia, USA. It book describes the resources of the Appalachian coalfield, its lands and waters, and its human communities - as they have been left in the aftermath of intensive mining, drawing upon peer-reviewed science and other regional data to provide clear and objective descriptions. By understanding the Appalachian experience, officials and planners in other resource extraction- affected world regions can gain knowledge and perspectives that will aid their own efforts to plan and manage for environmental quality and for human welfare. Appalachia's Coal-Mined Landscapes: Resources and Communities in a New Energy Era will be of use to natural resource managers and scientists within Appalachia and in other world regions experiencing widespread mining, researchers with interest in the region's disturbance legacy, and economic and community planners concerned with Appalachia's future.