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Books > Earth & environment > Earth sciences > The hydrosphere > Hydrology (freshwater)
The diversity, ecological role and biotechnological applications of marine fungi have been addressed in numerous scientific publications in the last few years. This enormous spurt of information has led to a dire need among students and professionals alike for a source, which contains comprehensive reviews of various aspects of marine fungi. This book addresses this need, especially since it is written by reputed marine mycologists. The latest information on topics including molecular taxonomy and phylogeny, ecology of fungi in different marine habitats such as deep sea, corals, dead- sea, fungi in extreme marine environments and their biotechnological applications is reviewed. The book presents a comprehensive source of information and analysis aimed at marine fungi for researchers, teachers and students of marine mycology.
It is now widely accepted that increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are causing higher global atmospheric temperatures. However, there is still a great deal of uncertainty about the likely effects of such a temperature rise on climate, and even more about the impacts of climate change and variability on the world's hydrological regimes and socio-economic systems. Studying the effects of climate variability in the past can give clues as to possible future effects. This volume provides a comprehensive review of the effects of climate variability on hydrological and human systems in the Holocene (the last 10,000 years), in various parts of the world. The book concentrates on the regions bordering the Mediterranean Sea, western and central Europe, China, Japan, West and South Africa and the southwestern USA. This book will be of value to researchers and professionals in hydrology, climatology, geology and historical geography.
"Handbook of Microalgal Culture" is truly a landmark publication,
drawing on some 50 years of worldwide experience in microalgal mass
culture. This important book comprises comprehensive reviews of the
current available information on microalgal culture, written by 40
contributing authors from around the globe.
The book is divided into four parts, with Part I detailing
biological and environmental aspects of microalgae with reference
to microalgal biotechnology and Part II looking in depth at major
theories and techniques of mass cultivation. Part III comprises
chapters on the economic applications of microalgae, including
coverage of industrial production, the use of microalgae in human
and animal nutrition and in aquaculture, in nitrogen fixation,
hydrogen and methane production, and in bioremediation of polluted
water. Finally, Part IV looks at new frontiers and includes
chapters on genetic engineering, microalgae as platforms for
recombinant proteins, bioactive chemicals, heterotrophic
production, microalgae as gene-delivery systems for expressing
mosquitocidal toxins and the enhancement of marine productivity for
climate stabilization and food security.
"Handbook of Microalgal Culture" is an essential purchase for
all phycologists and also those researching aquatic systems,
aquaculture and plant sciences. There is also much of great use to
researchers and those involved in product formulation within
pharmaceutical, nutrition and food companies. Libraries in all
universities and research establishments teaching and researching
in chemistry, biological and pharmaceutical sciences, food sciences
and nutrition, and aquaculture will need copies of this book on
their shelves.
Amos Richmond is at the Blaustein Institute for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel.
This introductory 2004 textbook describes the nature of the Earth's environment and its physical processes so as to highlight environmental concerns arising from human use and misuse of soil and water resources. The author provides a thorough introduction to the basic issues regarding the sustainable, productive use of land resources that is vital in maintaining healthy rivers and good groundwater qualities. He develops a quantitative approach to studying these growing environmental concerns in a way that does not require prior knowledge of the physical sciences or calculus. The straightforward writing style, lack of prerequisite knowledge and copious illustrations make this textbook suitable for introductory university courses, as well as being a useful primer for research and management staff in environmental and resources management organisations. Each chapter ends with a set of student exercises for which solutions are available from [email protected].
Water is going to be one of the key, if not the most critical, environmental issues in the twenty-first century because of the escalation in socio-economic pressures on the environment in general. Any future climate change or climate variability will only accentuate such pressures. This volume initially follows the perspective of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to infer possible changes in hydrological regimes and water quality based on the outputs from various scenarios of General Circulation Models (GCMs). In subsequent chapters, the possible effects of climate change on the hydrology of each of the continents is examined. The book concludes with an overview of hydrological models for use in the evaluation of the impacts of climate change. It will provide a valuable guide for environmental planners and policy-makers, and will also be of use to all students and researchers interested in the possible effects of climate change.
The stratified ocean mixes episodically in small patches where energy is dissipated and density smoothed over scales of centimeters. The net effect of these countless events effects the shape of the ocean's thermocline, how heat is transported from the sea surface to the interior, and how dense bottom water is lifted into the global overturning circulation. This book explores the primary factors affecting mixing, beginning with the thermodynamics of seawater, how they vary in the ocean and how they depend on the physical properties of seawater. Turbulence and double diffusion are then discussed, which determines how mixing evolves and the different impacts it has on velocity, temperature, and salinity. It reviews insights from both laboratory studies and numerical modelling, emphasising the assumptions and limitations of these methods. This is an excellent reference for researchers and graduate students working to advance our understanding of mixing, including oceanographers, atmospheric scientists and limnologists.
Integrated Water Management (IWM) deals with the planning and management of water resources by integrating the different issues involved, including ecological, economic, technical legislative, and transboundary. This book offers a general framework for IWM. It includes both the different environmental problems that affect the very different ecosystems and the main methodologies able to face the problem of IWM.
Water is newsworthy: there is, or will be, a world water crisis. Aggravated by climate change, we are approaching the limits of human exploitation of freshwater resources, notably in growing essential food. The complexities and uncertainties associated with improving our management of fresh water take the potential remedies out of the hands of simple, local, hard engineering and into much larger units ? the basin, the ecosystem and the global context, and also require longer term perspectives. The Third Edition follows the same structure as its predecessors, presenting the historical and scientific backgrounds to land-water interactions and establishing the links with development processes and policies. Throughout, its two major messages are that our new philosophy should be one of ?humans in the ecosystem? and that the guidance from science, being uncertain and contested, must be operationalized in a participatory system of governance based on participation. Following a review of progress towards these elements in the developed world, the international case studies update the situation in the developing world following the Millennium Development Goals, our new emphasis on poverty and on global food supplies. This book covers the multitude of scientific research findings, development of ?tools? and spatial/temporal scale challenges which have emerged in the last decade. Tensions are highlighted in the current and future role of large dams, country studies are retained (and considerably updated) and development contexts are explored in greater depth as a dividing line in capacity to cope with land and water stress. "Technical issues" have been expanded to cover major droughts, environmental flows and the restoration of rivers and wetlands. A separate chapter picks up these themes under terms of their relationship with uncertainty and the widespread perception that a new ethos of adaptive management is needed in the water sector. For students of geography, environmental science, hydrology, and development studies this innovative edition provides a reasoned, academic basis of evidence for sustainable, adaptive management of rivers and related large-scale ecosystems using more than 600 new sources. It will also prove invaluable for lecturers and practitioners.
Water is newsworthy: there is, or will be, a world water crisis. Aggravated by climate change, we are approaching the limits of human exploitation of freshwater resources, notably in growing essential food. The complexities and uncertainties associated with improving our management of fresh water take the potential remedies out of the hands of simple, local, hard engineering and into much larger units - the basin, the ecosystem and the global context, and also require longer term perspectives. The Third Edition follows the same structure as its predecessors, presenting the historical and scientific backgrounds to land-water interactions and establishing the links with development processes and policies. Throughout, its two major messages are that our new philosophy should be one of 'humans in the ecosystem' and that the guidance from science, being uncertain and contested, must be operationalized in a participatory system of governance based on participation. Following a review of progress towards these elements in the developed world, the international case studies update the situation in the developing world following the Millennium Development Goals, our new emphasis on poverty and on global food supplies. This book covers the multitude of scientific research findings, development of 'tools' and spatial/temporal scale challenges which have emerged in the last decade. Tensions are highlighted in the current and future role of large dams, country studies are retained (and considerably updated) and development contexts are explored in greater depth as a dividing line in capacity to cope with land and water stress. "Technical issues" have been expanded to cover major droughts, environmental flows and the restoration of rivers and wetlands. A separate chapter picks up these themes under terms of their relationship with uncertainty and the widespread perception that a new ethos of adaptive management is needed in the water sector. For students of geography, environmental science, hydrology, and development studies this innovative edition provides a reasoned, academic basis of evidence for sustainable, adaptive management of rivers and related large-scale ecosystems using more than 600 new sources. It will also prove invaluable for lecturers and practitioners.
Environmental isotope and nuclear techniques provide unmatched insights into the processes governing the water cycle and its variability under past and present climates. This monograph is recommended to advanced students and specialists and presents historical perspective, state of the art applications and new developments of isotopes in hydrology, environmental disciplines and climate change studies. The spectrum of isotope applications addressed in this monograph ranges from the assessment of groundwater resources in terms of recharge and flow regime, identification of palaeogroundwater, water balance of river basins and lakes, to studies of the past and present global environmental and climate changes. The contributions are written by renowned specialists in the various application fields.
At the present time, the deepening of our understanding about the nature of extreme and catastrophic natural and man-induced events, in particular hydrologic ones, becomes very topical. This book addresses the development of advanced methods for the prediction, the estimation of occurrence probabilities and the risk related to extreme hydrological events. Reduction of the vulnerability of social, economic, and engineering systems to extreme hydrologic events and the decrease of their effects on such systems is also being discussed in this book. Dealing with these problems needs further refining of existing tools for the prediction and forecasting of extreme events. It can be done essentially through revealing mechanisms of their generation and with the use of new approaches and methodologies in related branches of statistical- and physics based hydrology. The following topics are considered in this book: 1) Basin case studies on extreme hydrological events 2) Probabilistic estimation in flood studies 3) Ice-induced floods 4) River low flows, climatic conditions and environmental issues 5) Risk assessment and management for floods, low water events, and damage vulnerability issues.
The problems afflicting the Aral Sea and its environs as a result of the overuse and abuse of the rivers flowing into it are well documented. Until now, however, it was difficult to hear the voices of those responsible for actually managing those waters. This volume reproduces the proceedings of an Advanced Research Workshop held in Bishkek, which brought together all the most senior water resource managers in Central Asia, from Ministers to local experts and eminent academics. It describes, from the practitionera (TM)s perspective, the problems encountered in the regiona (TM)s efforts to implement integrated water resources management, and solutions that have been put in place in order to address these. The book sets out the approaches taken by each basin state, by way of the institutional, legal and financial frameworks adopted by them. It details the management practices that have been utilised in order both to surmount potential inter-state conflicts arising from water use disagreements and to make the best use of the available water, and it provides practical examples demonstrating how IWRM has been implemented at more local levels. Ultimately, it conveys the strong spirit of collaboration that drives water management in the five newly independent states.
This volume considers river basins and drainage networks in the light of their scaling and multi-scaling properties, and the dynamics responsible for their development.
This book focuses on how hydrogeophysical methods can be applied to solve problems facing environmental engineers, geophysicists, agronomists, hydrologists, soil scientists and hydrogeologists. We present applications of hydrogeophysical methods to the understanding of hydrological processes and environmental problems dealing with the flow of water and the transport of solutes and contaminants. The majority of the book is organized as a series of process-driven chapters. Areas covered include: infiltration and solute transport processes, biogeochemical functioning of soil-water systems, coastal groundwater interactions, cold region hydrology, engineered barriers & landfill processes. In addition, the book offers insight into the development of new data fusion methodologies, of value to many hydrogeophysical investigations, and provides an account how the rapidly developing self-potential technique an give valuable information about water fluxes and hydrochemical states..
HYDROGEOLOGY Hydrogeology: Principles and Practice provides a comprehensive introduction to the study of hydrogeology to enable the reader to appreciate the significance of groundwater in meeting current and future environmental and sustainable water resource challenges. This new edition has been thoroughly updated to reflect advances in the field since 2014 and includes over 350 new references. The book presents a systematic approach to understanding groundwater starting with new insights into the distribution of groundwater in the Earth's upper continental crust and the role of groundwater as an agent of global material and elemental fluxes. Following chapters explain the fundamental physical and chemical principles of hydrogeology, and later chapters feature groundwater field investigation techniques in the context of catchment processes, as well as chapters on groundwater quality and contaminant hydrogeology, including a section on emerging contamination from microplastic pollution. Unique features of the book are chapters on the application of environmental isotopes and noble gases in the interpretation of aquifer evolution, and a discussion of regional characteristics such as topography, compaction and variable fluid density on geological processes affecting past, present and future groundwater flow regimes. The last chapter discusses future challenges for groundwater governance and management for the long-term sustainability of groundwater resources, including the role of managed aquifer recharge, and examines the linkages between groundwater and climate change, including impacts on cold-region hydrogeology. Given the drive to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the interaction of groundwater in the exploitation of energy resources, including renewable resources and shale gas, is reviewed. Throughout the text, boxes and a set of colour plates drawn from the authors' teaching and research experience are used to explain special topics and to illustrate international case studies ranging from transboundary aquifers and submarine groundwater discharge to the hydrogeochemical factors that have influenced the history of malting and brewing in Europe. The appendices provide conversion tables and useful reference material, and include review questions and exercises, with answers, to help develop the reader's knowledge and problem-solving skills in hydrogeology. This highly informative and accessible textbook is essential reading for undergraduate and graduate students primarily in earth sciences, environmental sciences and physical geography with an interest in hydrogeology or groundwater topics. The book will also find use among practitioners in hydrogeology, soil science, civil engineering and landscape planning who are involved in environmental and resource protection issues requiring an understanding of groundwater.
Hydroclimatology provides a systematic structure for analysing how the climate system causes time and space variations (both global and local) in the hydrologic cycle. Changes in the relationship between the climate system and the hydrologic cycle underlie floods, drought and possible future influences of global warming on water resources. Land-based data, satellite data, and computer models contribute to our understanding of the complex time and space variations of physical processes shared by the climate system and the hydrologic cycle. Blending key information from the fields of climatology and hydrology - which are not often found in a single volume - this is an ideal textbook for students in atmospheric science, hydrology, Earth and environmental science, geography, and environmental engineering. It is also a useful reference for academic researchers in these fields.
Managing water resources is one of the most pressing challenges of our times - fundamental to how we feed 2 billion more people in coming decades, eliminate poverty, and reverse ecosystem degradation. This Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture, involving more than 700 leading specialists, evaluates current thinking on water and its interplay with agriculture to help chart the way forward. It offers actions for water management and water policy - to ensure more equitable and effective use.This assessment describes key water-food-environment trends that influence our lives today and uses scenarios to explore the consequences of a range of potential investments. It aims to inform investors and policymakers about water and food choices in light of such crucial influences as poverty, ecosystems, governance, and productivity. It covers rainfed agriculture, irrigation, groundwater, marginal-quality water, fisheries, livestock, rice, land, and river basins. Ample tables, graphs, and references make this an invaluable work for practitioners, academics, researchers, and policymakers in water management, agriculture, conservation, and development.Published with IWMI.
Whether processes in the natural world are dependent or independent of the scale at which they operate is one of the major issues in hydrologic science. In this volume, leading hydrologists present their views on the role of scale effects in hydrologic phenomena occurring in a range of field settings, from the land surface to deep fractured rock. Self-contained and thought-provoking chapters cover both theoretical and applied hydrology. They provide critical insights into important topics such as general circulation models, floods, river networks, vadose zone processes, groundwater transport, and fluid flow through fractured media. This book is intended as an accessible introduction for graduate students and researchers to some of the most significant questions and challenges that will face hydrologic science in the twenty-first century.
Hydrogeochemistry of Aquatic Ecosystems Discover the geological foundation of global water supply, focusing on resource conservation and restoration Hydrogeochemistry explores the connections between the geology of a region and the chemical characteristics and quality of its water sources, including such factors as erosion, evaporation, and, increasingly, man-made activities. With the emergence of climate change as a major factor reshaping water quality and availability, the need to understand interactions between hydrochemistry and geology has never been greater. Hydrogeochemistry of Aquatic Ecosystems meets this need by offering foundational knowledge about the hydrochemistry of different types of aquatic systems, the nature of their interactions with various pollutants and geological processes, and the possibilities and dangers of human intervention. With a particular focus on aqueous resource conservation and restoration, this is a vital, timely guide to a potentially life-saving subject. Hydrogeochemistry of Aquatic Ecosystems readers will also find: Detailed treatment of water-sediment interactions, arsenic and fluoride enrichment, sand mining, and many other subjects Coverage throughout of solute acquisition processes, the carbon cycle, and nutrient geochemistry Case studies from Asia and Africa demonstrating both natural and anthropogenic hydrogeochemical interactions Hydrogeochemistry of Aquatic Ecosystems is indispensable for professionals and researchers in environmental science and environmental engineering, as well as scholars and advanced graduate students working on aquatic ecosystems or effects of climate change.
Introduction to Geostatistics presents practical techniques for engineers and earth scientists who routinely encounter interpolation and estimation problems when analyzing data from field observations. Requiring no background in statistics, and with a unique approach that synthesizes classic and geostatistical methods, this book offers linear estimation methods for practitioners and advanced students. Well illustrated with exercises and worked examples, Introduction to Geostatistics is designed for graduate-level courses in earth sciences and environmental engineering.
During the 20th century, lake research has become an internationally recognised field of scientific activity, improving our understanding on physical, chemical and biological processes, on fresh water ecology, and water resources among others. The interdisciplinary approaches mainly developed in historical research, as performed by archaeologists and earth scientists, to reconstruct the environmental and climate history of the continents, of human settlements and culture, and to evaluate human impact on the local and global environments. The Geological Society of Switzerland publishes in this volume a selected number of contributions presented during a scientific conference on "Lake Systems from Ice Age to Industrial Time" at Yverdon from 17 to 20 October 2001.
"Rainfall-Runoff Modelling: The Primer, Second Edition" is the follow-up of this popular and authoritative text, first published in 2001. The book provides both a primer for the novice and detailed descriptions of techniques for more advanced practitioners, covering rainfall-runoff models and their practical applications. This new edition extends these aims to include additional chapters dealing with prediction in ungauged basins, predicting residence time distributions, predicting the impacts of change and the next generation of hydrological models. Giving a comprehensive summary of available techniques based on established practices and recent research the book offers a thorough and accessible overview of the area. "Rainfall-Runoff Modelling: The Primer Second Edition" focuses on predicting hydrographs using models based on data and on representations of hydrological process. Dealing with the history of the development of rainfall-runoff models, uncertainty in mode predictions, good and bad practice and ending with a look at how to predict future catchment hydrological responses this book provides an essential underpinning of rainfall-runoff modelling topics.Fully revised and updated version of this highly popular text Suitable for both novices in the area and for more advanced users and developers Written by a leading expert in the field Guide to internet sources for rainfall-runoff modelling software
This book contains a selection of papers from a NATO Advanced Research Workshop entitled "Stochastic models of hydrological processes and their applications to problems of environmental preservation" convened in Moscow over the period 23-27 November 1998. The Workshop was unique in providing the first opportunity for over a decade for countries of the Russian Federation to interact with other countries across the world to discuss hydrological science issues relevant to environmental management. The contrasting schools of thought within the Russian Federation and with other countries proved a fascinating and valuable experience for those fortunate enough to attend. The scientific content of the Workshop was motivated by a number of concerns. Water is a key natural resource whose modelling and management is made complex by its inherent spatial unevenness and time variability. Traditional methods for investigating hydrological processes in nature employ stochastic modelling and forecasting. However these are not well developed with regard to (i) representing the characteristics of hydrological regimes, and (ii) investigating the influence of water factors on processes which arise in biological systems and those involving hydrochemical, geophysical and other processes.
Lake Issyk-Kul is a closed lake located in the Tien Shan mountain
belt of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. It is the world's fifth deepest
lake (668 m) and the second largest high altitude lake in the world
(1607 m above sea level). The lake is affected by several
environmental threats of both anthropogenic and natural origin:
decline of the lake level resulting in progressively increasing
salinity, incomplete vertical water exchange, and risk of
contamination by past and present industrial activity.
Rivers have traditionally been revered by the people of the Indian subcontinent, though in recent decades, the region's rivers have deteriorated dramatically due to economic progress and gross mismanagement. Dams and ill-advised embankments strangle the Ganges and its sacred tributaries. Rivers have become sewage channels for a burgeoning population. Dirty, Sacred Rivers explores South Asia's looming water crisis, tracing a journey through the vast watershed of the Ganges, one of the great rivers of South Asia and to many people the holiest. To tell the story of this river basin, Cheryl Colopy treks to high mountain glaciers with hydrologists; bumps around the rough embankments of India's poorest state in a jeep with social workers; and takes a boat excursion through the Sundarbans, the mangrove forests at the end of the Ganges watershed. She lingers in key places and hot spots in the debate over water: * Delhi-a megacity on the banks of one the Ganges' most revered tributaries, the Yamuna-and a paradigm of water mismanagement * Bihar, where the Buddha gained enlightenment. It's now India's poorest, most crime-ridden state, thanks largely to the blunders of engineers who tried to tame powerful Himalayan rivers with embankments but instead created annual floods * Kathmandu-the home of one of the most elegant and ancient traditional water systems on the subcontinent, now the site of a water development boondoggle * The Nepal Himalaya, whose sweeping glaciers are starting to melt, threatening villagers in the high mountains A first-person narrative holds together disparate places and issues. The reader meets a cast of characters, ranging from the most humble members of South Asian society to engineers and former ministers. Some of these men and women are heroes, bucking current trends, trying to find rational ways to manage rivers and water. They are reviving ingenious methods of water management that thrived for centuries in South Asia and may point the way to water sustainability and healthy rivers. |
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