This book discusses in detail the science and morphology of powerful hurricane detection systems. It broadly addresses new approaches to monitoring hazards using freely available images from the European Space Agency's (ESA's) Sentinel-1 SAR satellite and benchmarks a new interdisciplinary field at the interface between oceanography, meteorology and remote sensing. Following the launch of the first European Space Agency (ESA) operational synthetic aperture radar satellite, Sentinel-1, in 2014, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data has been freely available on the Internet hub in real-time. This advance allows weather forecasters to view hurricanes in fine detail for the first time. As a result, the number of synthetic aperture radar research scientists working in this field is set to grow exponentially in the next decade; the book is a valuable resource for this large and budding audience.

This book maps extreme temperature increase under dangerous climate change scenarios in Brazil and their impacts on four key sectors: agriculture, health, biodiversity and energy. The book draws on a careful review of the literature and climate projections, including relative risk estimates. This synthesis summarizes the state-of-the-art knowledge and provides decision-makers with risk analysis tools, to be incorporated in public planning policy, in order to understand climate events which may occur and which may have significant consequences.

This book sets out to give a rigorous mathematical description of the greenhouse effect through the theory of infrared atmospheric emission. In contrast to traditional climatological analysis, this approach eschews empirical relations in favour of a strict thermodynamical derivation, based on data from NASA and from the HITRAN spectroscopy database. The results highlight new aspects of the role of clouds in the greenhouse effect.

This book explains the hypoplastic modelling framework. It is divided into two parts, the first of which is devoted to principles of hypoplasticity. First, the basic features of soil's mechanical behaviour are introduced, namely non-linearity and asymptotic properties. These features are then incorporated into simple one-dimensional hypoplastic equations for compression and shear. Subsequently, a hypoplastic equivalent of the Modified Cam-Clay model is developed in 2D space using stress and strain invariants to demonstrate key similarities and differences between elasto-plastic and hypoplastic formulations. Lastly, the mathematical structure of hypoplastic models is explained by tracing their historical development, from the early trial-and-error models to more recent approaches. In turn, Part II introduces specific hypoplastic models for soils. First, two reference models for sand and clay are defined. After summarising their mathematical formulations, calibration procedures are described and discussed. Subsequently, more advanced modelling approaches are covered: the intergranular strain concept incorporating the effects of small strain stiffness and cyclic loading, viscohypoplasticity for predicting rate effects, soil structure to represent structured and bonded materials and soil anisotropy. The book concludes with a description of partial saturation and thermal effects: topics that are increasingly important to the disciplines of energy and environmental geotechnics. Selecting a constitutive model and its parameters is often the most important and yet challenging part of any numerical analysis in geotechnical engineering. Hypoplasticity involves a specific class of soil constitutive models, which are described in detail here. The book offers an essential resource, both for model users who need a more advanced model for their geotechnical calculations and are mainly interested in parameter calibration procedures, and for model developers who are seeking a comprehensive understanding of the mathematical structure of hypoplasticity.

The natural disasters are the killer agents which can/can't be predicted even though we have modern technology. Every year, in one place or another, disasters striking which is devastating the area and surroundings, leading to ecological disruption besides huge loss of life and property. India is vulnerable to cyclones, landslides/avalanches, earthquakes, floods, droughts, forest fires, epidemics, etc. The 5700-km long coast of India, with its dense population is vulnerable to cyclones/low depressions, tsunamis, etc. The 2400-km long rugged Himalayan terrain is vulnerable to landslides, avalanches and earthquakes. India is not only vulnerable to natural disasters, it is also experiencing industrial accidents. The Bhopal Gas tragedy is one of the major man-made disasters in the world. The state of Andhra Pradesh has 970-km long coastline with two major rivers, etc. The conference is conducted in Visakhapatnam, is famous for industries and tourism. Recently, several industrial accidents took place, besides major natural disasters like Hud-Hud, etc. Disaster management shall be implemented from the grass root level in vulnerable areas to improve the capacity building, so as to minimize the losses. The capacity building coupled with technology results in reduction of loss of life and property.

The book is a practical manual which has been created to support the syllabus of agro-meteorology courses specifically designed for graduate and post-graduate students. The topics covered in the manual include working with meteorological instruments for measurement of various meteorological parameters like temperature, humidity, sunshine hours, precipitation, etc. Separate chapters have been included for computation of growing degree days, agro-climatic zones, crop modelling and agro-advisory services. The book will have great appeal to students of agriculture, horticulture, and forestry.

This book, featuring a truly interdisciplinary approach, provides an overview of cutting-edge mathematical theories and techniques that promise to play a central role in climate science. It brings together some of the most interesting overview lectures given by the invited speakers at an important workshop held in Rome in 2013 as a part of MPE2013 ("Mathematics of Planet Earth 2013"). The aim of the workshop was to foster the interaction between climate scientists and mathematicians active in various fields linked to climate sciences, such as dynamical systems, partial differential equations, control theory, stochastic systems, and numerical analysis. Mathematics and statistics already play a central role in this area. Likewise, computer science must have a say in the efforts to simulate the Earth's environment on the unprecedented scale of petabytes. In the context of such complexity, new mathematical tools are needed to organize and simplify the approach. The growing importance of data assimilation techniques for climate modeling is amply illustrated in this volume, which also identifies important future challenges.

This book highlights the aeolian processes in the desert zone of Kazakhstan and Central Asian Deserts, and analyzes the current status of dust and sand storms in Central Asia and Kazakhstan. It also highlights the analyses, dynamics and long-term observations of storms on the basis of numerous cartographic materials and satellite images. Dust/sand storms are a common and important phenomenon in the arid and semi-arid regions of Kazakhstan and Central Asia as well,especially in its southern parts, where areas are covered by a great variety of deserts and offer a significant source of mineral and salt aerosols. The deserts of Kazakhstan mostly cover lowlands and extend from the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea to the piedmonts of the Tien-Shan Mountain. In Kazakhstan and Central Asia desertification processes due to wind erosion in the form of dust/sand storms were observed in semi-desert and desert landscapes.

This book examines energy efficiency in the Australian built environment and presents current developments with a particular focus on the temperate setting of Victoria state. It is divided into four main parts discussing policies, climate, and carbon footprint and presenting case studies on the energy performance and indoor environmental quality of various building types. The book is intended for readers wanting to understand the various policies related to different buildings types and their energy performance.

These proceedings of the EPS 2018: 5th International Conference on Geofoam Blocks in Construction Applications, held in Kyrenia, Northern Cyprus on May 9 to 11, 2018, present a collection of contributions on the state-of-the-art of research and applications relating to geofoam. Geofoam researchers, consultants, molders, contractors and practitioners from all around the globe discuss the recent developments and future trends of expanded polystyrene (EPS)-block geofoam technology and its construction applications. EPS'18 contributes to the development of geofoam applications, following on from successful conferences in Oslo (1985), Tokyo (1996), Salt Lake City (2001) and Oslo (2011). The book discusses topics including, but not limited to, current use of geofoam, design specifications, applications, new concepts, material properties, modeling and specific topics in geofoam blocks in construction applications.

This book presents a selection of the best papers from the HEaRT 2015 conference, held in Lisbon, Portugal, which provided a valuable forum for engineers and architects, researchers and educators to exchange views and findings concerning the technological history, construction features and seismic behavior of historical timber-framed walls in the Mediterranean countries. The topics covered are wide ranging and include historical aspects and examples of the use of timber-framed construction systems in response to earthquakes, such as the gaiola system in Portugal and the Bourbon system in southern Italy; interpretation of the response of timber-framed walls to seismic actions based on calculations and experimental tests; assessment of the effectiveness of repair and strengthening techniques, e.g., using aramid fiber wires or sheets; and modelling analyses. In addition, on the basis of case studies, a methodology is presented that is applicable to diagnosis, strengthening and improvement of seismic performance and is compatible with modern theoretical principles and conservation criteria. It is hoped that, by contributing to the knowledge of this construction technique, the book will help to promote conservation of this important component of Europe's architectural heritage.

This book provides recent developments and improvements in the modeling as well as application examples and is a complementary work to the previous Lecture Notes Vols. 77 and 80. It summarizes the fundamental work from scientists dealing with the development of constitutive models for soils, especially cyclic loading with special attention to the numerical implementation. In this volume the neo-hypoplasticity and the ISA (intergranular strain anisotropy) model in their extended version are presented. Furthermore, new contact elements with non-linear constitutive material laws and examples for their applications are given.Comparisons between the experimental and the numerical results show the effectiveness and the drawbacks and provide a useful and comprehensive pool for all the constitutive model developers and scientists in geotechnical engineering, who like to prove the soundness of new approaches.

The complexity of 21st century lifestyle makes collaborative research and learning essential for all of the population, both in well-resourced and socio-economically challenged regions. The Handbook of Research on Cross-Disciplinary Approaches to Action Research and Action Learning is an advanced reference source including the latest scholarly research on the examination of the development of a community practice of research in order to improve problem solving in various fields. Featuring extensive coverage on a broad range of topics such as social justice, organizational development, and global economy, this publication is ideally designed for academics, researchers, scholars, and managers seeking current research on the promotion of collaborative research and learning.

Fish die. Seagulls starve. Economies wither. And that's just in the coastal villages. El Nino--The Christ Child--and its climatological opposite, La Nina, are global events so powerful and strange they virtually have personalities. Many remember the El Nino seasons of 1982-83 and 1997-98, which brought floods, tornadoes, droughts, and snow to unusual locales. Increased study of these Tropical Pacific phenomena, also known as ENSO (the El Nino and Southern Oscillation), has now enabled scientists to predict the ENSO state as much as 12 to 18 months in advance and has helped to shape weather prediction in general. Here, the basic causes and effects of El Nino and La Nina are carefully chronicled for anyone in search of accurate and current information on these natural phenomena.

Chapters are devoted to the history of ENSO; its influence on global weather and on the United States, including the ecosystem; and how governments and industries worldwide are utilizing new weather data to harness ENSO's economic impact, rather than be saddled by it. A chronology tours key events, from the 15th century diary observations of colonists in Ecuador and Peru to recent events like the devastating El Nino of 1997-98, which was responsible for 23,000 deaths and $33 billion in damages. Biographies of important researchers, illustrations and maps, and an extensive bibliography help make this a total guide to these magnificent natural cycles.

Weather Analysis and Forecasting: Applying Satellite Water Vapor Imagery and Potential Vorticity Analysis, Second Edition, is a step-by-step essential training manual for forecasters in meteorological services worldwide, and a valuable text for graduate students in atmospheric physics and satellite meteorology. In this practical guide, P. Santurette, C.G. Georgiev, and K. Maynard show how to interpret water vapor patterns in terms of dynamical processes in the atmosphere and their relation to diagnostics available from numerical weather prediction models. In particular, they concentrate on the close relationship between satellite imagery and the potential vorticity fields in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. These applications are illustrated with color images based on real meteorological situations over mid-latitudes, subtropical and tropical areas.

This book collects selected full papers presented at the International Symposium on Energy Geotechnics 2018 (SEG-2018), held on 25th - 28th September 2018, at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). It covers a wide range of topics in energy geotechnics, including energy geostructures, energy geostorage, thermo-hydro-chemo-mechanical behaviour of geomaterials, unconventional resources, hydraulic stimulation, induced seismicity, CO2 geological storage, and nuclear waste disposal as well as topics such as tower and offshore foundations. The book is intended for postgraduate students, researchers and practitioners working on geomechanics and geotechnical engineering for energy-related applications.

This book addresses the latest research advances, innovations, and applications in the field of urban drainage and water management as presented by leading researchers, scientists and practitioners from around the world at the 11th International Conference on Urban Drainage Modelling (UDM), held in Palermo, Italy from 23 to 26 September, 2018. The conference was promoted and organized by the University of Palermo, Italy and the International Working Group on Data and Models, with the support of four of the world's leading organizations in the water sector: the International Water Association (IWA), International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR), Environmental & Water Resources Institute (EWRI) - ASCE, and the International Environmental Modelling and Software Society (iEMSs). The topics covered are highly diverse and include drainage and impact mitigation, water quality, rainfall in urban areas, urban hydrologic and hydraulic processes, tools, techniques and analysis in urban drainage modelling, modelling interactions and integrated systems, transport and sewer processes (incl. micropollutants and pathogens), and water management and climate change. The conference's primary goal is to offer a forum for promoting discussions amongst scientists and professionals on the interrelationships between the entire water cycle, environment and society.

This book describes the huge efforts by the Chinese Government concerning the restoration and future sustainable management of Chinese water systems. It presents the results of a Sino-European joint project concerning the Songhuajiang-Liaohe River Basin (SLRB) in Northeast China conducted by the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (CRAES), the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Germany, and the Natural Environment Research Council as represented by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), UK. The book explains in great detail the development of risk assessment and corresponding management methods for (i) controlling water pollution, (ii) assessing river health and ecological restoration options, (iii) characterizing persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and (iv) protecting fragile groundwater resources. It also describes the implemented demonstration sites of SLRB during the project course as well as lessons learnt on efficient project management and the dissemination of knowledge and technologies.

Coastal meteorology is an integral part of the total system approach to understanding coastal environments. This book provides information for students who are not necessarily majoring in meteorology or atmospheric sciences but who nonetheless have need of such knowledge. Scientists, engineers, and coastal planners will also find this book a useful resource for familiarizing themselves with meteorological information.