"As Geomorphology has matured as a discipline, so it has developed a range of concepts which are fundamental for understanding it. This book, written by two leading geomorphologists, provides a very welcome first attempt to explain the major concepts in a concise and accessible way." - Andrew Goudie, University of Oxford "I can think of no better guides than Professors Ken Gregory and John Lewin to lead the reader through the conceptual basis of this exciting science... I highly recommend this book to those wishing for an up-to-date introductory overview of this rapidly changing science that is so critical to preserving the continuing habitability of our planet." - Victor R. Baker, University of Arizona "This book provides a very accessible overview of the discipline of geomorphology that is well supported by web-based material. The text is up-to-date, with excellent reference to relevant literature, and presents the discipline in an interesting and novel way. It provides a very readable and informative introduction to the discipline for senior undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers approaching the subject from other areas of science." - Angela Gurnell, Queen Mary University of London "Gregory and Lewin have managed the difficult but important task of distilling a new set of 'basics' that both broadens and complements traditional ideas. This book is remarkable in the way that it acknowledges a wonderful plurality of conceptual frameworks and approaches, and explains them in a clear, engaging way. Time will tell, but this book may well mark a turning point in the way students and scientists alike perceive Earth surface processes and landforms." - Jonathan Phillips, University of Kentucky This student focused book provides a detailed description and analysis of the key concepts, ideas, and hypotheses that inform geomorphology. Kenneth Gregory and John Lewin explain the basics of landform science in 20 concepts, each the subject of a substantive, cross-referenced entry. They use the idea of the 'geomorphic system' to organise entries in four sections, with extensive web resources provided for each: System Contexts: The Systems Approach / Uniformitarianism / Landform / Form, Process and Materials / Equilibrium / Complexity and Non Linear Dynamical Systems System Functioning: Cycles and cascades / Force-Resistance / Geomorphic work / Process Form Models System Adjustments: Timescales / Forcings / Change Trajectories / Inheritance and Sensitivity / Anthropocene Drivers for the Future: Geomorphic Hazards / Geomorphic Engineering / Design and Prediction

Aligned with the teaching literature, this innovative text provides a fully-functioning learning environment for study, revision, and even self-directed research for both undergraduate and postgraduate students of geomorphology.

South Asia, harboring the complex Himalayan terrains, has over one-fifth of the world's population and is recognized as the most hazard-prone region of the world. The exponential increase in population with the consequent pressure on natural resources and continued high rates of poverty and food insecurity also makes this region the most vulnerable region to hazards in the world as far as the impacts of climate change are concerned. Over the last century, the climatic trends in South-Asia have been observed to be characterized by increasing air temperatures and an increasing trend in the intensity and frequency of extreme events. IPCC (2014) has reported that the Himalayan highlands shall face significant warming over the next century. The increasing frequency of natural hazards due to the impacts of climate change in the Himalayas calls for efficient management and policymaking in these regions, which can only be implemented by the local governments through an established science-based robust action plan. This edited volume focuses on the management of natural hazards using innovative techniques of spatial information sciences and satellite remote sensing. It contains chapters from eminent researchers and experts in the field of hazard management, remote sensing, and GIS. The primary focus of this book is to replenish the gap in the available literature on the subject by bringing the concepts, theories, and practical experiences of the specialists and professionals in this field together in one volume to help students, researchers, and policymakers to address issues concerning management and policy implications of natural hazards in the complex Himalayan region.

Students taking undergraduate degrees in geography, ecology, earth science, and environmental science frequently take an introductory unit in Physical Geography. Some will have not done any geography since their early teens, while others have more recent knowledge. This range of backgrounds can be challenging for both the instructor and the student, this primer aims to help. A primer is a readable introduction to a subject, more technical than a piece of popular science, but less detailed than a specialist textbook. It aims to give the reader a platform in a subject with which they may be unfamiliar, so that they can proceed simultaneously, or sequentially, to more advanced texts and information. Ideally the primer should have something for those without any knowledge, while also challenge and entertaining those who do. Not quite bedtime reading, but a step in that direction. Our Dynamic Earth introduces students to the Earth's origins, to plate tectonics, atmospheric and oceanographic circulation, as well as to a range of Earth surface processes. Idea to get you started in your studies.

Aquifers are typically saturated regions of the subsurface that produce an economically feasible quantity of water to a well or spring (eg: sand and gravel or fractured bedrock often make good aquifer materials). Most land areas on Earth have some form of aquifer underlying them, sometimes at significant depths. In this book, the authors present current research in the study of the types, impacts and conservation of aquifers. Topics discussed include the effect of aquifer heterogeneity; hydrochemical features of groundwater from aquifer systems occurring in Sao Paulo, Brazil; aquifer system characterisation using integrated geophysical methods; pollution risk of groundwater in a semi-arid region by wastewater rejections; a numerical study of aquifer thermal energy storage systems influenced by regional groundwater flow and fluid flow and contaminant propagation in fractured rock aquifers.

Weathering is an important phenomenon of the geochemical cycle as it contributes to the relief formation. It corresponds to a general term applied to physical and chemical changes suffered by rocks as a consequence of their exposition to different conditions of humidity and temperature. In this book, the authors present topical research in the study of the types, processes and effects of weathering. Topics discussed include the use of weathering indices in rock research; geomorphic processes in the last glacial age; understanding chemical weathering in affecting the Earth's surface; weathering of dimensional granite stones used as cladding and the weathering process and desert pavement development.

In this book, the authors present current research in the study of the conservation, types and desertification of sand dunes. Topics discussed include the aridisation, dune dissipation and pedogenesis in the Quarternary of Eastern Pampean sand sea; desert sand dunes for sulfur concrete production; Allocosa brasiliensis as a model towards the conservation of coastal sand dunes in Uruguay and the causes, impacts and control of desertification.

'Outstanding Academic Title' Choice, magazine of the Association of College & Research Libraries, American Library Association.Most mountains on Earth occur within relatively well-defined, narrow belts separated by wide expanses of much lower-lying ground. Their distribution is not random but is caused by the now well-understood geological processes of plate tectonics. Some mountains mark the site of a former plate collision - where one continental plate has ridden up over another, resulting in a zone of highly deformed and elevated rocks. Others are essentially volcanic in origin.The most obvious mountain belts today - the Himalayas, the Alps and the Andes, for example - are situated at currently active plate boundaries. Others, such as the Caledonian mountains of the British Isles and Scandinavia, are the product of a plate collision that happened far in the geological past and have no present relationship to a plate boundary. These are much lower, with a generally gentler relief, worn down through millennia of erosion.The presently active mountain belts are arranged in three separate systems: the Alpine-Himalayan ranges, the circum-Pacific belt and the mid-ocean ridges. Much of the Alpine-Himalayan belt is relatively well known, but large parts of the circum-Pacific and ocean-ridge systems are not nearly as familiar, but contain equally impressive mountain ranges despite large parts being partly or wholly submerged.This book takes the reader along the active mountain systems explaining how plate tectonic processes have shaped them, then looks more briefly at some of the older mountain systems whose tectonic origins are more obscure. It is aimed at those with an interest in mountains and in developing an understanding of the geological processes that create them.

An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, silt, or clay) from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. The authors of this book present important data on aquifers such as: hydrogeological studies of various dolomite aquifers in Slovenia; (GIS)groundwater modelling as an integrated tool for sustainable management of groundwater resources under changing environments; investigating different groundwater systems occurring in Brazil; an analysis of past catastrophic hydrogeological events (landslides and floods) and their affect on groundwater and aquifers and how to mitigate their damage.

Ultrahigh Pressure Metamorphism (UHPM) is a fast growing discipline that was established 25 years ago after discoveries of high pressure minerals, coesite and diamonds. The current explosion of research on UHMP terranes reflects their significance for understanding large scale mantle dynamics, major elements of plate tectonics such as continental collisions, deep subduction and exhumation, mountains building, geochemical recycling 'from surface to the core', and a deep storage of light elements participating in green-house effects in the atmosphere. This book provides insights into the formation of diamond and coesite at very high pressures and explores new ideas regarding the tectonic setting of this style of metamorphism.
Important, authoritative and comprehensive one-stop resource for the growing ultrahigh pressure metamorphism UHPM research communityA forward-looking approach founded upon a detailed historical perspective on UHPM presents the trends in discovery, methodology and theory over the last 25 years, allowing readers to gain a clear understanding of the current trends and the approaches that will shape the science in the futureA highly diverse set of articles, covering a wide range of methods and sub-disciplines

The second edition of Beaches of the New South Wales Coast has been rewritten and expanded. It covers all of the state's 757 open coast beaches, as well as 120 beaches in five large bays, including Sydney Harbour, and the 15 beaches on Lord Howe Island - 892 beaches in all. It also covers 276 of NSW top surfing sites. This book has two aims. First, to provide the public with general information on the origin and nature of all NSW beaches, including the contribution of geology, oceanography, climate and biota to the beaches, and information on beach hazards and safety. Second, to provide a description of each beach, including its name(s), location, access, facilities, dimensions and the character of the beach and surf zone. The book comments on the suitability of the beach for bathing, surfing and fishing, with special emphasis on the natural hazards. Based on the physical hazards, all beaches are rated in terms of public safety and scaled from 1 (least hazardous) to 10 (most hazardous).

IAS Special Publication 35, Fluvial Sedimentology VII, comprises of a series of peer-reviewed papers that were initially presented at the 7th International Conference on Fluvial Sedimentology, held in Lincoln, Nebraska on August 6-10, 2001.
The 29 papers in this volume reflect the topical and geographic diversity of exciting research conducted by fluvial sedimentologists at the beginning of the 21st century. Themes represented in this volume include (a) flow, sediment transport, and bedform dynamics, (b) characteristics of modern fluvial landforms, environments and systems, (c) physical analogue and numerical modeling of fluvial systems, (d) the responses of Quaternary fluvial systems to climate change, active tectonics, and/or sea-level change, and (e) characteristics of pre-Quaternary fluvial deposits and evolution of pre-Quaternary fluvial systems.

This volume is a collection of papers produced within the framework of the Italian National Antarctic Research Programme (PNRA) on the monitoring and control of environmental contamination. The volume represents a contribution of the PNRA to the study of planetary contamination and to the understanding of the processes of global change.;The research focuses on the measurement and analysis of trace elements and organic micropollutants in the following matrices: snow/firn, seawater, soils, sediments, suspended particulate matter, pack ice, atmosphere, and biota.;The results presented extend beyond the development of specific analytical methodologies, to explicitly tackle significant environmental issues concerning global changes. Particularly relevant are the results concerning time changes of CFCs in the troposphere and lead concentration in Antarctic snow in Victoria Land, the presence of organic micropollutants in various Antarctica matrices, and the seasonal evolution of trace elements and organics in seawater.

Water is, perhaps, the single most important substance on earth. It forms the basis for life as we know it. Organisms, including human beings, can only survive if there is an adequate supply of water available. In addition, the water must be of the proper quality to support life. The living world has evolved and adjusted over hundreds of millions of years to the variation in the natural distribution and chemical composition of water at the earth’s surface. Water Quality Trends and Geochemical Mass Balance provides an overview of the tracking of water quality changes, through both trend analysis and geochemical mass balances. This volume will serve to extend our understanding of those processes and encourage innovative applications of these data analysis techniques for the study of environmental systems. Also, one should not discount the continuing need for quality environmental monitoring data to provide the basic building blocks used for the trend and mass balance assessments presented herein.

Researchers in geomorphology, geochemistry, Quaternary geology, soil science, and mineralogy will welcome this volume, the first to focus exclusively on rates of silicate chemical weathering. Consisting largely of previously unpublished data from six countries, the volume examines the latest experimental, modelling, and field results.****New information is presented on topics of current research interest, including inferences about chemical mechanisms at the level of mineral surfaces, and data relating weathering rates to landscape evolution over millions of years. The volume integrates the variety of approaches used by diverse subdisciplines in the assessment of weathering rates, and provides up-to-date references.

Field Techniques in Glaciology and Glacial Geomorphology is the first text to provide this essential information in a single comprehensive volume. Coverage includes: * The role of field data acquisition in the broader disciplines of glaciology and glacial geomorphology * Logistical preparations for fieldwork * Field techniques in glaciology such as investigations on ice and meltwaters * Field techniques in glacial geomorphology ranging from investigations on glacial landforms and sediments * International case studies show each method in practice

Dunes is the first book in over a decade to incorporate the latest research in this active and fast-developing field. It discusses the shapes, sizes, patterns, distribution, history and care of wind-blown dunes, and covers all aspects of dunes, terrestrial and in the Solar System. * The only book to cover all dunes, terrestrial and in the Solar System, in deserts, on coasts, and in the past * Represents the most current update on the research of dunes for over a decade * Incorporates the latest research to come out of China where the field is most rapidly expanding * Discusses the most recent range of skills and technology now focused on the study of dunes * Brings up-to-date a rapidly expanding field

Degradation of agricultural catchments due to water erosion is a major environmental threat at the global scale, with long-lasting destructive consequences valued at tens of billions of dollars per annum. Eroded soils lead to reduced crop yields and deprived agroecosystem's functioning through, for example, decreased water holding capacity, poor aeration, scarce microbial activity, and loose soil structure. This can result in reduced carbon sequestration, limited nutrient cycling, contamination of water bodies due to eutrophication, low protection from floods and poor attention restoration-consequences that go far beyond the commonly modelled soil loss and deposition budgets. This book demonstrates, using data from the Harod catchment in northern Israel, how cutting-edge geoinformatics, data science methodologies and soil health indicators can be used to measure, predict, and regulate these major environmental hazards. It shows how these approaches are used to quantify-in time and space-the effect of water erosion not only on the soil layer, soil minerals, and soil loss, but also on the wide-range of services that agricultural ecosystems might supply for the benefit and well-being of humans. The algorithms described in this book play a major role in this paradigm shift and they include, for example, extraction of photogrammetric DEMs from drone's data, advanced drainage structure calculations, fuzzy process-based modelling and spatial topographic threshold computations, multicriteria analyses and expert-based systems development using analytic hierarchal processes, innovative data-mining and machine learning tools, autocorrelation and interpolation of soil health, physically-based soil evolution models, spatial decision support systems and many more.

Written for anyone interested in coastal geomorphology, this is the complete guide to the processes at work on our coastlines and the resulting features seen in coastal systems across the world. Accessible to students from a range of disciplines, the quantitative approach of this book helps to build a solid understanding of wave and current processes that shape coastlines. From sandy beaches to coral reefs, the major coastal features are related to contemporary processes and to sea-level changes over the past 25,000 years. Key equations describing these processes and standard methods and instrumentation used to collect measurements are all presented in this wide-ranging overview. Designed to support a one- or two-semester course and grounded in current research, this second edition has been substantially updated and rewritten - featuring cutting-edge new topics, insights from new models and technologies, additional global examples and an enhanced package of online teaching materials.

This book focuses on the evolution of sedimentary basins of the Arabian Plate and its surroundings. Because these sedimentary basins developed in various tectonic settings, from extensional or transtensional to flexural, transpressional or compressional, their sedimentary sequences provide unique records of the regional geology. Georesources of the Arabian Plate are also described here, including petroleum potential, reservoirs, water resources, fresh water and deep saline aquifers, as well as materials and ore deposits. The book is made by a set of papers authored by geoscientists working in both academia and industry. Numerous chapters describe some regional important geologic features and selected sedimentary basins from the Middle East, North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula domains. Other chapters focus on georesources. A particular focus is given to the geology of Saudi Arabia. This book is an important contribution to the geology of the Arabian Peninsula and its surroundings. In view of the strategic and economic importance of the regional geology and georesources of the Arabian Plate and Surroundings, this volume will constitute an important reference for a wide range of geoscientists interested in the geology of this region, especially those active in petroleum geosciences and related industry. Ultimately, readers will discover important thematic maps in this book.

A comprehensive review of dryland climates and their relationship to the physical environment, hydrology, and inhabitants. Chapters are divided into five major sections on background meteorology and climatology; the nature of dryland climates in relation to precipitation and hydrology; the climatology and climate dynamics of the major dryland regions on each continent; and life and change in the world's drylands. It includes key topics such as vegetation, geomorphology, desertification, micro-habitats, and adaptation to dryland environments. This interdisciplinary volume provides an extensive review of the primary literature (covering nearly 2000 references) and the conventional and satellite datasets that form key research tools for dryland climatology. Illustrated with over 300 author photographs, it presents a unique view of dryland climates for a broad spectrum of researchers, environmental professionals and advanced students in climatology, meteorology, geography, environment science, earth system science, ecology, hydrology and geomorphology.

"As Geomorphology has matured as a discipline, so it has developed a range of concepts which are fundamental for understanding it. This book, written by two leading geomorphologists, provides a very welcome first attempt to explain the major concepts in a concise and accessible way." - Andrew Goudie, University of Oxford "I can think of no better guides than Professors Ken Gregory and John Lewin to lead the reader through the conceptual basis of this exciting science... I highly recommend this book to those wishing for an up-to-date introductory overview of this rapidly changing science that is so critical to preserving the continuing habitability of our planet." - Victor R. Baker, University of Arizona "This book provides a very accessible overview of the discipline of geomorphology that is well supported by web-based material. The text is up-to-date, with excellent reference to relevant literature, and presents the discipline in an interesting and novel way. It provides a very readable and informative introduction to the discipline for senior undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers approaching the subject from other areas of science." - Angela Gurnell, Queen Mary University of London "Gregory and Lewin have managed the difficult but important task of distilling a new set of 'basics' that both broadens and complements traditional ideas. This book is remarkable in the way that it acknowledges a wonderful plurality of conceptual frameworks and approaches, and explains them in a clear, engaging way. Time will tell, but this book may well mark a turning point in the way students and scientists alike perceive Earth surface processes and landforms." - Jonathan Phillips, University of Kentucky This student focused book provides a detailed description and analysis of the key concepts, ideas, and hypotheses that inform geomorphology. Kenneth Gregory and John Lewin explain the basics of landform science in 20 concepts, each the subject of a substantive, cross-referenced entry. They use the idea of the 'geomorphic system' to organise entries in four sections, with extensive web resources provided for each: System Contexts: The Systems Approach / Uniformitarianism / Landform / Form, Process and Materials / Equilibrium / Complexity and Non Linear Dynamical Systems System Functioning: Cycles and cascades / Force-Resistance / Geomorphic work / Process Form Models System Adjustments: Timescales / Forcings / Change Trajectories / Inheritance and Sensitivity / Anthropocene Drivers for the Future: Geomorphic Hazards / Geomorphic Engineering / Design and Prediction

Aligned with the teaching literature, this innovative text provides a fully-functioning learning environment for study, revision, and even self-directed research for both undergraduate and postgraduate students of geomorphology.

Geomorphology is the study of the Earth's diverse physical land-surface features and the dynamic processes that shape these features. Examining natural and anthropogenic processes, The SAGE Handbook of Geomorphology is a comprehensive exposition of the fundamentals of geomorphology that examines form, process, and applications of the discipline. Organized into five substantive sections, the Handbook is an overview of: * Foundations and Relevance: including the nature and scope of geomorphology; the origins and development of geomorphology; the role and character of theory in geomorphology; geomorphology and environmental management; and geomorphology and society * Techniques and Approaches: including observations and experiments; geomorphological mapping; the significance of models; process and form; dating surfaces and sediment; remote sensing in geomorphology; GIS in geomorphology; biogeomorphology; human activity * Process and Environment: including the evolution of regolith; weathering; fluids, flows and fluxes; sediment transport and deposition; hill slopes; riverine environments; glacial geomorphology; periglacial environments; coastal environments; aeolian environments; tropical environments; karst and karst processes * Environmental Change: including landscape evolution and tectonics; interpreting quaternary environments; environmental change; disturbance and responses to geomorphic systems * Conclusion: including challenges and perspectives; and a concluding review The Handbook has contributions from 48 international authors and was initially organized by the International Association of Geomorphologists. This will be a much-used and much-cited reference for researchers in Geomorphology, Physical Geography and the Environmental Sciences.

This book described the current status and possible future changes of the thermokarst (thaw) lakes of western Siberia as dominant forms of landscape and regulators of greenhouse gas exchange within the atmosphere. Thawing permafrost and resulting microbial decomposition of previously frozen organic carbon is one of the most significant terrestrial ecosystem positive feedbacks to a warming climate. Ongoing processes of the permafrost thawing in Western Siberia are likely to increase the surface of water bodies via forming so-called thermokarst lakes, mobilising the organic carbon (OC) from the soil pool to the rivers and, finally, to the ocean, and thus modifying the fluxes of methane (CH4) and CO2 to the atmosphere. Despite their tremendous importance for green house gazes regulation and hydrological regime control, very little is known about hydrochemistry of western Siberia thaw lakes. This book assesses the variation of major and trace elements (TE) and organic carbon (OC) concentration along the chronosequence of lake development and the latitude profile of variable permafrost abundance; characterises the colloidal status of TE and distinguishes between the relative proportion of organic and organo-mineral colloids; describes the particularity of microbiological composition of thermokarst lake waters and production/mineralisation processes in the water column; and presents the perspective of water chemical composition evolution under the climate change scenario. Each of these aforementioned objectives present a scientific challenge given mainly the paucity of existing information on these important but still very poorly studied ecosystems. Taken together, understanding of these issues and identification and quantification of controlling environmental parameters should produce conceptually new knowledge of biogeochemical processes operating within the Western Siberia Plain with the possibility of extrapolation of generated knowledge to much larger territories of arctic and subarctic permafrost-affected areas.

Since 1973 the author undertook 42 expeditions in Tibet, the Himalayas, Karakorum, Kuen Lun, Tien Shan, Sayan Mountains, the Altai and other parts of High and Central Asia which contributed to a detailed knowledge about extension and thickness of the High Asian inland-ice. Geomorphological and Quaternary-geological (sedimentological) results as well as climate measurement of a cumulative 6 years of field research in High Asia are presented. The data gained is for the Last Glacial period (Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 32). Geometric boundary conditions resulting from low latitude caused a substantial albedo-induced impact on the energy budget of the earth during glacial times. The vast extension of the ice-sheets and the high elevation (6000m asl) contributed to this. A substantial albedo-induced cooling of the atmosphere is inferred. From these findings the author has deduced his ice age development theory. This book summarizes and details the results of 39 years of ice age research.