Most natural populations intermittently experience extremely stressful conditions. This book discusses how such conditions can cause periods of intense selection, increasing both phenotypic and genetic variation, and allowing organisms with novel characteristics to be first generated and then established in the population. The authors argue that stressful conditions can have a major impact on the environment, backing up their arguments with evidence from the fossil record. They suggest further that, as a consequence, periods of stress must be taken into consideration when long term conservation strategies are planned, particularly as stressful conditions are becoming increasingly prevalent as a result of human activities. This broad overview will be of great interest to students and researchers in the field of evolutionary biology, genetics, ecology, palaeontology and conservation biology.

This book is a comprehensive survey of the climatology and meteorology of Antarctica. The first section of the book reviews the methods by which we can observe the Antarctic atmosphere and presents a synthesis of climatological measurements. In the second section, the authors consider the processes that maintain the observed climate, from large-scale atmospheric circulation to small-scale processes. The final section reviews our current knowledge of the variability of Antarctic climate and the possible effects of "greenhouse" warming. The authors stress links among the Antarctic atmosphere, other elements of the Antarctic climate system (oceans, sea ice and ice sheets), and the global climate system. This volume will be of greatest interest to meteorologists and climatologists with a specialized interest in Antarctica, but it will also appeal to researchers in Antarctic glaciology, oceanography and biology. Graduates and undergraduates studying physical geography, and the earth, atmospheric and environmental sciences will find much useful background material in the book.

It has been widely recognized recently that in order to make scientific progress on large and important problems (eg, carbon dioxide effects on climate, viability of various sites for nuclear waste disposal etc.), it is necessary to integrate knowledge from wide ranging sets of disciplines. This is certainly true in the climate sciences, for progress in understanding the cause of the ice ages or the effects of industrial pollution on the future climate or even the likelihood of severe climatic consequences in the aftermath of nuclear war. All require state-of -the -art input from many geoscience disci plines climatology, oceanography, meteorology, chemistry, ecology, glaciology, geology, astronomy, space technology, computer technology, mathematics etc. Major international meetings have called for interaction of such geo-science disciplines to solve real world problems. To move beyond the rhetorical level, the NATO Special Programme on Global Transport Mechanisms in the Geo-Sciences whose activities started in 1983, deci ded to organise his closing symposium on such a topic which focus on the relationship between climate and geo-sciences. This symposium was held at the end of May 1988 at the Universite Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-Ia-Neuve, Belgium. One hundred-and-thirty participants from the 16 NATO countries and a number of non-NATO countries assembled for the Symposium. Another feature was the attendance by special invitation of 16 pro mising young scientists who might well become leading scientists on climate and geo-sciences in their respective countries in the next century."

Quaternary studies provide the essential context for evaluation of what is happening with the earth's climate today, and to clarify our vulnerability to hazardous natural processes. This book covers scientific aspects of past and present climatic changes of the quaternary period focused on the Indian subcontinent via response of modern environmental conditions on climate proxies, reconstruction of paleoclimate, paleomonsoon, glacial geology, climate variabilities using dendrochronology, cave deposits including quaternary tectonics and climate change over the Himalayan region. It consists of data generated from different landforms including lakes, caves, rivers, swamps, pits, and trenches using different proxies. Aimed at researchers, graduate students, professionals in geology, geography and environmental sciences, micropaleontology, and Quaternary climate change, this book: Studies Quaternary climate using various proxies in varied environments on the Indian sub-continent Covers pertinent historical and environmental archives to understand the current climate scenario Discusses the impact of climate change on biotic and abiotic components Includes thorough review of paleoclimate change studies Devotes significant space to glacial geology and all glacial climate proxies

Global warming and the future of the climate is one of the greatest challenges of our time, but what do we know about climate variations 500 years ago, or 5000 years ago? How can we know anything at all about the history of weather? What impact have climate changes had on human prosperity and the spirit of invention?

In this major new book Wolfgang Behringer introduces us to the latest historical research on the development of the earth's climate. He focuses above all on the cultural reactions to climate change through the ages, showing how even minor changes in the climate sometimes resulted in major social, political and religious upheavals. By examining how our predecessors responded to climate changes, Behringer provides us with a fresh basis for thinking about how we might address the serious climatic challenges we face today.

Avalanches, mudflows and landslides are common and natural phenomena that occur in mountainous regions. With an emphasis on snow avalanches, this book provides a survey and discussion about the motion of avalanche-like flows from initiation to run out. An important aspect of this book is the formulation and investigation of a simple but appropriate continuum mechanical model for the realistic prediction of geophysical flows of granular material.

This book presents new research on the geomorphological impacts of extreme precipitation events. It focuses on the extreme summer floods, which affected Central and Eastern Europe in 2010. Case studies on their consequences, including inundations, urban flooding, soil erosion, river bank retreat, alluvial fan accumulation, evolution of karst depressions, debris flows, landslides and soil saturation are presented for Poland, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Macedonia. This key applied geomorphology book is crucial for anyone interested in these processes and their consequences and also for decision makers who face these catastrophes.

The sun radiates a tremendous amount of energy, called solar energy or solar radiation, which is the main natural source of energy on the Earth, by far. Because solar radiation is the almost unique supplier of energy to the Earth, it has a primary influence on life and activities on the Earth. The climate is a first example, but there are many others, such as plant growth or human health, or even the design of buildings, the production of energy, notably electrical and thermal, or even aging materials. This book aims to provide simple answers to anyone who has questions about solar radiation. Its ambition is to help by presenting the fundamental elements of the solar radiation received on the ground. The book includes many examples and numerous illustrations, as well as some simple but fairly precise equations to calculate the various elements covered and to reproduce the figures and graphs. The first of the three parts of this book is devoted to the relative geometry between the direction of the sun and an observer on the ground as well as to the solar radiation emitted by the sun and received at the top of the atmosphere. The orbit of the Earth around the sun and the solar declination are described. The concept of time is introduced which is closely linked to the solar cycle and the rotation of the Earth on itself. Equations are given to calculate the solar radiation received on a horizontal or inclined surface located at the top of the atmosphere. The spectral distribution of the extraterrestrial solar radiation is described. The second part of this book addresses how the solar radiation incident at the top of the atmosphere is attenuated and modified in its downward path to the ground. The reflection of the radiation by the ground is presented. The solar radiation received on the ground by a horizontal or inclined collector plane, such as a natural slope or a rooftop, is discussed, as well as its spectral distribution. The variability of the radiation is addressed in relation to the properties of solar radiation estimated from the measurements. The third part deals with direct or indirect measurements of the solar radiation received on the ground over a given integration time (minute, hour, day, or month), whether for total radiation or radiation in a spectral range such as ultraviolet (UV), or daylight, or photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). It also explains how to check the plausibility of the measurements. Fundamentals of Solar Radiation will be a valuable resource to all professionals, engineers, researchers, students, and other practitioners that seek an understanding of solar radiation.

This book presents the theory and technologies of drilling operations. It covers the gamut of formulas and calculations for petroleum engineers that have been compiled over several years. Some of these formulas and calculations have been used for decades, while others help guide engineers through some of the industry's more recent technological breakthroughs. Comprehensively discussing all aspects of drilling technologies, and providing abundant figures, illustrations and tables, examples and exercises to facilitate the learning process, it is a valuable resource for students, scholars and engineers in the field of petroleum engineering.

This book highlights the increasing attention for climate engineering, a set of speculative technologies aimed to counter global warming. What is the future of the global climate? And who gets to decide-or even design-this future? Imagining Climate Engineering explores how and why climate engineering became a potential approach to anthropogenic climate change. Specifically, it showcases how views on the future of climate change and climate engineering evolved by addressing the ways in which climate engineers view its respective physical, political, and moral domains. Tracing the intellectual and political history of dreams to control the weather and climate as well as the discovery of climate change, Jeroen Oomen examines the imaginative parameters within which contemporary climate engineering research takes place. Introducing the analytical metaphor 'ways of seeing' to describe explicit or implicit visions, understandings, and foci that facilitate a particular understanding of what is at stake, Imagining Climate Engineering shows how visions on the knowability of climate tie into moral and political convictions about the possibility and desirability of engineering the climate. Marrying science and technology studies and the environmental humanities, Oomen provides crucial insights for the future of the climate change debate for scholars and students.

The book presents advanced stochastic models and simulation methods for random flows and transport of particles by turbulent velocity fields and flows in porous media. Two main classes of models are constructed: (1) turbulent flows are modeled as synthetic random fields which have certain statistics and features mimicing those of turbulent fluid in the regime of interest, and (2) the models are constructed in the form of stochastic differential equations for stochastic Lagrangian trajectories of particles carried by turbulent flows. The book is written for mathematicians, physicists, and engineers studying processes associated with probabilistic interpretation, researchers in applied and computational mathematics, in environmental and engineering sciences dealing with turbulent transport and flows in porous media, as well as nucleation, coagulation, and chemical reaction analysis under fluctuation conditions. It can be of interest for students and post-graduates studying numerical methods for solving stochastic boundary value problems of mathematical physics and dispersion of particles by turbulent flows and flows in porous media.

Originally published in 1988 Deforestation examines deforestation as a major environmental and development problem. It examines the issues of forests being cut in tropical and mountain areas, and how acid rain, pollution and disease wreak havoc in temperate zones. Some of the worst effects of deforestation have been changes in the world's climate system, erosion and flooding, desertification, wood short-ages and the disappearance of some floral and fauna species. This book challenges the belief that deforestation is due to entirely rapid population growth and agricultural expansion and emphasises the effects of commercial exploitation and poor planning and management. In concludes with a programme for reforestation using agro-forestry, appropriate cottage industries, improved international programmes, local land reforms and community participation.

Originally published in 1975 Terrestrial Environments covers the zoogeography and ecology of the main terrestrial environments of the world, including fresh water habitats with emphasis on their fauna. The book also explores climate and vegetation in so far as they affect animal life. Finally, the selective influence of the environment on its fauna is discussed and, conversely, the influence of regulation, a synthesis of these interrelations. Morphological adaptations of the animals inhabiting various types of terrestrial environments are considered in relation to locomotion, feeding, and escape from enemies. Physiological adaptations are also mentioned briefly, and the adaptative importunate of diurnal and seasonal rhythms is stressed.

Originally published in 1981 Historical Plant Geography is an introductory treatment of historical plant geography and stresses the basic theoretical frame of the subject. The book is about neither the study of vegetation nor the concept of the ecosystem, instead focusing on the much older tradition concerned with analysing the geographical distribution of individual species and natural plant groups. Important areas are discussed, such as global plate tectonics and sea-floor spreading, plant maps are introduced and there is a basic treatment of recent advances in plant taxonomy. The book will appeal to students and academics of geography, botany, ecology and environmental sciences.

Originally published in 1990, The Biogeography of the British Isles is devoted to the biogeography of the British Isles and surrounding shelf seas. Bringing together a wealth of diverse information, it is thoroughly referenced and well illustrated, and will be invaluable to students of geography, environmental science, ecology, botany, and zoology. The book traces the development of British biogeography over the last two centuries, examining key topics such as ecosystems, habitats, and niches in the context of plant and animal distribution. The book gives a detailed account of the development of biogeographical mapping and recording systems, and describes modern-day distributions, both in the countryside and in urban areas against the backcloth of human activities.

As urban areas keep growing, water infrastructure ages, and the requirements on environmental protection become more rigorous, there is a continual need for upgrading water pollution control facilities and restoring degraded urban waters. Such issues are addressed in this book by focusing on five major topics: (a) Upgrading stormwater management facilities, (b) Retrofitting / upgrading combined sewer overflow (CSO) facilities, (c) Optimising/upgrading sewage treatment plant performance, (d) Urban stream restoration, and (e) Challenges in restoring urban environment. Each chapter contains some overview papers followed by research or case study papers. Besides presentations of new approaches and accomplishments in the field of upgrading and restoration, several papers provide analysis of vast needs in this field in several countries of Central and Eastern Europe, which either recently joined the European Union (EU) or are preparing for accession, and need to comply with the existing EU directives dealing with environmental protection. As such, this book will be of primary interest to researchers and university lecturers dealing with environmental upgrading and restoration, environmental planners from all levels of government, municipal engineers and politicians, and finally the private industry representatives (consultants, private utilities and environmental technology suppliers) searching for new business opportunities among the new or aspiring members of EU.

Special functions enable us to formulate a scientific problem by reduction such that a new, more concrete problem can be attacked within a well-structured framework, usually in the context of differential equations. A good understanding of special functions provides the capacity to recognize the causality between the abstractness of the mathematical concept and both the impact on and cross-sectional importance to the scientific reality. The special functions to be discussed in this monograph vary greatly, depending on the measurement parameters examined (gravitation, electric and magnetic fields, deformation, climate observables, fluid flow, etc.) and on the respective field characteristic (potential field, diffusion field, wave field). The differential equation under consideration determines the type of special functions that are needed in the desired reduction process. Each chapter closes with exercises that reflect significant topics, mostly in computational applications. As a result, readers are not only directly confronted with the specific contents of each chapter, but also with additional knowledge on mathematical fields of research, where special functions are essential to application. All in all, the book is an equally valuable resource for education in geomathematics and the study of applied and harmonic analysis. Students who wish to continue with further studies should consult the literature given as supplements for each topic covered in the exercises.

The innovation in space technologies has generated a new method for observing and monitoring tsunamis from space. Most tsunami remote sensing studies focus on using classical image processing tools or conventional edge detection procedures. However, these methods do not use modern physics, applied mathematics, signal communication, remote sensing data and innovative space technologies. This book equips readers to understand how to monitor tsunamis from space with remote sensing technology art to create a better alarm warning system.

Weather forecasting is the most visible branch of meteorology and has its modern roots in the nineteenth century when scientists redefined meteorology in the way weather forecasts were made, developing maps of isobars, or lines of equal atmospheric pressure, as the main forecasting tool. This book is the history of how weather forecasting was moulded and modelled by the processes of nation-state building and statistics in the Western world.

This book comprises selected papers from the International Conference on Civil Engineering Trends and Challenges for Sustainability (CTCS) 2019. The book presents latest research in several areas of civil engineering such as construction and structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, environmental engineering and sustainability, and geographical information systems. With a special emphasis on sustainable development, the book covers case studies and addresses key challenges in sustainability. The scope of the contents makes the book useful for students, researchers, and professionals interested in sustainable practices in civil engineering.

This book provides a comprehensive, up-to-date assessment of the key terrestrial components of the Arctic system, i.e., its hydrology, permafrost, and ecology, drawing on the latest research results from across the circumpolar regions. The Arctic is an integrated system, the elements of which are closely linked by the atmosphere, ocean, and land. Using an integrated system approach, the book's 30 chapters, written by a diverse team of leading scholars, carefully examine Arctic climate variability/change, large river hydrology, lakes and wetlands, snow cover and ice processes, permafrost characteristics, vegetation/landscape changes, and the future trajectory of Arctic system evolution. The discussions cover the fundamental features of and processes in the Arctic system, with a special focus on critical knowledge gaps, i.e., the interactions and feedbacks between water, permafrost, and ecosystem, such as snow pack and permafrost changes and their impacts on basin hydrology and ecology, river flow, geochemistry, and energy fluxes to the Arctic Ocean, and the structure and function of the Arctic ecosystem in response to past/future changes in climate, hydrology, and permafrost conditions. Given its scope, the book offers a valuable resource for researchers, graduate students, environmentalists, managers, and administrators who are concerned with the northern environment and resources.

This book reports on efforts by geoscientists and climate modellers (KIHZ) to assess natural climate variability during the Holocene. Part 1 is an overview of the climate system and its dynamics. Part 2 describes the efforts of the KIHZ members to reconstruct past climate by using proxy data derived from ice cores, lake sediments, tree rings and corals, statistical analyses and climate models.

This book broadly explains the requirement to focus on core components in a business and provides a case study of open-pit mining operations throughout the book to understand the management perspective of large organizations. With globalized approaches of large businesses and the rising requirement of understanding the needs of modern organizations, it is necessary to focus on key areas of businesses to ensure sustainability of operations. Organizations look into achieving a high return on investments and short-term measures in increasing sales or revenue is considered unsuitable. It is a necessity to look for sustainability and continuous methods of innovation to boost efficiency. This book provides a case study based on large organizations and uses qualitative methodologies where data was collected using in-depth interviews of respondents from various mining companies in the top and middle-level management from different parts of the world, detailing the state of the art of information systems currently used in large scale open-pit miming (LSOPM). This book provides a sound knowledge of cutting-edge factors to the reader for managing the business to attain operational excellence and long-term sustainability, and caters to a broad spectrum of management and technical readers.

This book presents a unique and comprehensive view of the fundamental dynamical and thermodynamic principles underlying the large circulations of the coupled ocean-atmosphere system Dynamics of The Tropical Atmosphere and Oceans provides a detailed description of macroscale tropical circulation systems such as the monsoon, the Hadley and Walker Circulations, El Nino, and the tropical ocean warm pool. These macroscale circulations interact with a myriad of higher frequency systems, ranging from convective cloud systems to migrating equatorial waves that attend the low-frequency background flow. Towards understanding and predicting these circulation systems. A comprehensive overview of the dynamics and thermodynamics of large-scale tropical atmosphere and oceans is presented using both a "reductionist" and "holistic" perspectives of the coupled tropical system. The reductionist perspective provides a detailed description of the individual elements of the ocean and atmospheric circulations. The physical nature of each component of the tropical circulation such as the Hadley and Walker circulations, the monsoon, the incursion of extratropical phenomena into the tropics, precipitation distributions, equatorial waves and disturbances described in detail. The holistic perspective provides a physical description of how the collection of the individual components produces the observed tropical weather and climate. How the collective tropical processes determine the tropical circulation and their role in global weather and climate is provided in a series of overlapping theoretical and modelling constructs. The structure of the book follows a graduated framework. Following a detailed description of tropical phenomenology, the reader is introduced to dynamical and thermodynamical constraints that guide the planetary climate and establish a critical role for the tropics. Equatorial wave theory is developed for simple and complex background flows, including the critical role played by moist processes. The manner in which the tropics and the extratropics interact is then described, followed by a discussion of the physics behind the subtropical and near-equatorial precipitation including arid regions. The El Nino phenomena and the monsoon circulations are discussed, including their covariance and predictability. Finally, the changing structure of the tropics is discussed in terms of the extent of the tropical ocean warm pool and its relationship to the intensity of global convection and climate change. Dynamics of the Tropical Atmosphere and Oceans is aimed at advanced undergraduate and early career graduate students. It also serves as an excellent general reference book for scientists interested in tropical circulations and their relationship with the broader climate system.