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Books > Earth & environment > Geography
Advancements in technology have paved the way for innovative
developments in geographic information systems. This has led to the
creation of new platforms for spatial analysis applications and
strategies. Spatial Analysis Techniques Using MyGeoffice (R) is an
information reference source for the latest academic material on
emerging software developments for the exploration of spatial data
and its various applications. Including a range of topics such as
digital image processing, spatial autocorrelation, and system
functionality, this book is ideally designed for researchers,
engineers, academics, students, and practitioners seeking
information on new technological progress in spatial analysis.
Five stunningly large forests remain on Earth: the Taiga, extending
from the Pacific Ocean across all of Russia and far-northern
Europe; the North American boreal, ranging from Alaska's Bering
seacoast to Canada's Atlantic shore; the Amazon, covering almost
the entirety of South America's bulge; the Congo, occupying parts
of six nations in Africa's wet equatorial middle; and the island
forest of New Guinea, twice the size of California. These
megaforests are vital to preserving global biodiversity, thousands
of cultures, and a stable climate, as economist John W. Reid and
celebrated biologist Thomas E. Lovejoy argue convincingly in Ever
Green. Megaforests serve an essential role in decarbonizing the
atmosphere-the boreal alone holds 1.8 trillion metric tons of
carbon in its deep soils and peat layers, 190 years' worth of
global emissions at 2019 levels-and saving them is the most
immediate and affordable large-scale solution to our planet's most
formidable ongoing crisis. Reid and Lovejoy offer practical
solutions to address the biggest challenges these forests face,
from vastly expanding protected areas, to supporting Indigenous
forest stewards, to planning smarter road networks. In gorgeous
prose that evokes the majesty of these ancient forests along with
the people and animals who inhabit them, Reid and Lovejoy take us
on an exhilarating global journey.
Encompassing papers form the 2019 Water and Society Conference,
this book is a collection of latest trans-disciplinary research on
issues related to the nature of water, and its use and exploitation
by society. This book demonstrates the need to bridge the gap
between specialists in physical sciences, biology, environmental
sciences and health. Over the centuries, civilisations have relied
on the availability of clean and inexpensive water. This can no
longer be taken for granted as the need for water continues to
increase due to the pressure from growing global population
demanding higher living standards. Agriculture and industry, major
users of water, are at the same time those that contribute to its
contamination. Water distribution networks in urban areas, as well
as soiled water collection systems, present serious problems in
response to a growing population as well as the need to maintain
ageing infrastructures. Many technologically feasible solutions,
such as desalination or pumping systems are energy demanding but,
as costs rise, the techniques currently developed may need to be
re-assessed. The research contained in this book addresses the
interaction between water and energy systems. The socio-political
implications of a world short of clean, easily available water are
enormous. It will lead to realignments in international politics
and the emergence of new centres of power in the world. The
following list covers some of the subjects included in this book:
Water resources management; Agribusiness; Water as a human right;
Water quality; Water resources contamination; Sanitation and
health; Water and disaster management; Policy and legislation;
Future water demands; Irrigation and water management; Management
of catchments; Groundwater management and conservation.
This book provides the first wide-ranging account of the impact of
the COVID-19 pandemic in two contrasting island regions - the
Caribbean and the Pacific - and in several islands and island
states. It traces the complexity of effects and responses, at
different scales, through the first critical year. Written by a
range of scholars and practitioners working in the region the book
focuses on six key themes: public health; the economies (notably
the collapse of tourism, the revival of local agriculture and
fishing, and the rebirth of self-reliance, and even barter); the
rescue by remittances; social tensions and responses; public
policy; and future 'bubbles' and regional connections. Even with
marine borders that excluded the virus all island states were
affected by COVID-19 because of a considerable dependence on
tourism - prompting urgent challenges for governance, economic
management and development, as small states sought to balance lives
against livelihoods in search of revitalisation or even a 'new
normal'.
This book provides insight into the importance and impacts that
experiential learning has in geographic education by examining the
experience, the methods of evaluation, and the encounters that
students have shared about their experiences. It allows the reader
to gain insight into what it really takes to prepare and lead
students in such experiences both domestically and internationally.
The book can be used as a guide to planning, but also demonstrates
the use of experiential learning theory throughout these
experiences and especially the importance of reflection by the
students on what they are experiencing. The book is beneficial to
students and faculty alike that are studying geography education.
Processes of globalization have changed the world in many, often
fundamental, ways. Increasingly these processes are being debated
and contested. This Handbook offers a timely, rich and critical
panorama of these multifaceted developments from a geographical
perspective. This Handbook explores the myriad of ways in which
differing cross-border flows - of people, goods, services, capital,
information, pollution and cultures - have (re)shaped concrete
places across the globe and how these places, in turn, shape those
flows. With original contributions from worldwide leading scholars,
the Handbook positions globalization in a broader historical
perspective, presenting a variety of geographical examples so that
readers can better understand these processes. Regional studies and
economic and human geography scholars will find this an invaluable
resource for exploring the key topics of the geographies of
globalization. Lecturers and advanced students will also find the
detailed case studies useful to help explain the fundamental
concepts outlined in the book. Contributors include: P.C. Adams,
A.-L. Amilhat Szary, D. Arnold, D. Bassens, S. Choo, K.R. Cox, E.
Currid-Halkett, S. Dalby, E. dell'Agnese, B. Derudder, T. Fogelman,
C. Gaffney, J. Gupta, M. Hesse, R. Horner, S. Huang, A. Isaksen,
A.E.G. Jonas, A. Jones, J.M. Kleibert, R.C. Kloosterman, R.
Koetsenruijter, T. Lam, J. Luukkonen, V. Mamadouh, V. Mazzucato, E.
McDonough, B. Miller, S. Moisio, M. Muller, B. Oomen, S. Park, M.W.
Rosenberg, J.W. Scott, M. Sparke, P. Terhorst, K. Terlouw, F.
Toedtling, M. Trippl, M. van Meeteren, P. Vries, L. Wagner, Y.-f.
Wu, H.-g. Xu, T. Yamazaki, B.S.A. Yeoh
Prior histories of the first Spanish mariners to circumnavigate the
globe in the sixteenth century have focused on Ferdinand Magellan
and the other illustrious leaders of these daring expeditions.
Harry Kelsey's masterfully researched study is the first to
concentrate on the hitherto anonymous sailors, slaves, adventurers,
and soldiers who manned the ships. The author contends that these
initial transglobal voyages occurred by chance, beginning with the
launch of Magellan's armada in 1519, when the crews dispatched by
the king of Spain to claim the Spice Islands in the western Pacific
were forced to seek a longer way home, resulting in bitter
confrontations with rival Portuguese. Kelsey's enthralling history,
based on more than thirty years of research in European and
American archives, offers fascinating stories of treachery, greed,
murder, desertion, sickness, and starvation but also of courage,
dogged persistence, leadership, and loyalty.
'A fizzingly entertaining and enlightening book' Daily Telegraph
'Mesmerising' Geographical Magazine 'A fascinating delve into
uncharted, forgotten lost places. But it's not just a trivia-tastic
anthology of remote destinations but a nifty piece of
psycho-geography, explaining our human need for these
cartographical conundrums.' Wanderlust In a world of Google Earth,
in which it is easy to believe that every discovery has been made
and every adventure already had, Off the Map is a stunning
testament to how mysterious our planet still is. From forgotten
enclaves to floating islands, from hidden villages to New York
gutter spaces, Off the Map charts the hidden corners of our planet.
And while these are not necessarily places you would choose to
visit on holiday - Hobyo, the pirate capital of Somalia, or
Zheleznogorsk, a secret military town in Russia - they each carry a
story about the strangeness of place and our need for a geography
that understands our hunger for the fantastic and the unexpected.
But it also shows us that topophilia, the love of place, is a
fundamental part of what it is to be human. Whether you are an
urban explorer or an armchair traveller, Off the Map will inspire
and enchant. You'll never look at a map in quite the same way
again.
Dokuchaev carried out most of his research in Ukraine. His student
and friend, Volodymyr Vernadsky, went on to create
trans-disciplinary environmental sciences and the concept of Earth
as a living organism, famously taken up by James Lovelock. That
spring of ideas still flows and the researches captured in this
volume are relevant to present-day problems, and not only in
Ukraine. Soils have always been under stress but, in the
Anthropocene, mankind is in the driving seat. As a sequel to Soil
Science Working for a Living: Applications of soil science to
present-day problems, we consider issues of policy as well as soil
genesis, attributes and functions in various environments, natural
and man-made. We consider human impacts on the soil cover through
its use and misuse, highlight methods of research and assessment of
soil quality, and the threats of soil degradation. The
distinguished contributors also describe and propose various
options for evaluation and remediation of degraded soils, drawing
on the latest methods of modelling and cartography as well as
long-term field experiments and long experience. The book will be
invaluable to researchers and practitioners in soil science
including graduate and post-graduate education, academics and
professionals.
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