The geo-hydro-morphometry of the river Ganges has a history of long and wide variations as the river is continuously fed by the high Himalayas hill ranges, the highest in the world. The river is categorized as an international one, passing through several independent countries.
The major flow of the river used to flow through the branch river, Bhagirathi-Hooghly on the banks of which both city and port of Calcutta (now renamed Kolkata) are situated. However, due to massive tectonic and morphological changes, the flow through the branch river has gradually decreased resulting in enormous damages to the port and the city. After more than a century of investigations on the probable causes of deterioration and its remedies, a barrage across the river had been constructed near a place called Farakka in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal, India for diversion of a part of lean season flow (40,000 cu secs) from the parent river to the branch river for the resuscitation of the branch river and revitalization of the port of Calcutta.
The turmoil started since the construction of barrage between 1965-1975 and the major neighbouring countries, India and Bangladesh, were locked in the dispute over sharing the water of the parent river. After several rounds of discussions at different levels between the two countries, short-term agreements were signed two times, one in 1977 and the other in 1985, and finally one long term Treaty was signed in 1996 between the two countries in an atmosphere of peaceful co-existence.

Audience The book will be of interest to researchers and scientists, professionals and policymakers in water resources management and environmental science, conservation policy and development research.

The fragile Antarctic environment consists of a closely linked system of the lithosphere, atmosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. Changes in this system have influenced global climate, oceanography and sea level for most of Cenozoic time. The geological history of this region therefore provides a special record of important interactions among the various components of the Earth System. Antarctic Marine Geology is the first comprehensive single-authored book to introduce students and researchers to the geological history of the region and the unique processes that occur there. Research literature on the region is widely disseminated, and until now no single reference has existed that provides such a summary. The book is intended as a reference for all scientists working in Antarctica, and will also serve as a textbook for graduate courses in Antarctic marine geology.

Accretionary prisms in convergent margins are natural laboratories for exploring initial orogenic processes and mountain building episodes. They are also an important component of continental growth both vertically and laterally. Accretionary prisms are seismically highly active and their internal deformation via megathrusting and out-of-sequence faulting are a big concern for earthquake and tsunami damage in many coastal cities around the Pacific Rim. The geometries and structures of modern accretionary prisms have been well imaged seismically and through deep drilling projects of the Ocean Drilling Program (and recently IODP) during the last 15 years. Better understanding of the spatial distribution and temporal progression of accretionary prism deformation, structural and hydrologic evolution of the decollement zone (tectonic interface between the subducting slab and the upper plate), chemical gradients and fluid flow paths within accretionary prisms, contrasting stratigraphic and deformational framework along-strike in accretionary prisms, and the distribution and ecosystems of biological communities in accretionary prism settings is most important in interpreting the evolution of ancient complex sedimentary terrains and orogenic belts in terms of subduction-related processes. This book is a collection of interdisciplinary papers documenting the geological, geophysical, geochemical, and paleontological features of modern accretionay prisms and trenches in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, based on many submersible dive cruises, ODP drilling projects, and geophysical surveys during the last 10 years. It also includes several papers presenting the results of systematic integrated studies of recent to ancient on-land accretionary prisms in comparison to modern analogues. The individual chapters are data and image rich, providing a major resource of information and knowledge from these critical components of convergent margins for researchers, faculty members, and graduate and undergraduate students. As such, the book will be a major and unique contribution in the broad fields of global tectonics, geodynamics, marine geology and geophysics, and structural geology and sedimentology.

Lake District Mountain Landscape is a spectacular photographic perspective on the Lake District from award-winning mountain photographer and filmmaker Alastair Lee. More than five years in the making, it is a work of extraordinary commitment and originality. With an emphasis on the mountain heights, Lee captures the otherworldliness and majesty of the 'English Alps' in all seasons and conditions. An experienced climber, Lee brings all his skill and tenacity to the task of capturing sunrise from the summits of the highest peaks in England, moonlight on icy slopes and seas of cloud filling the familiar valleys of Lakeland. Ascents of seemingly unscalable crags such as Pillar and Gimmer Crag are celebrated, and 360-degree panoramas in ethereal upland light from high peaks including Helvellyn, Bowfell and Great Gable are complemented by a series of identifying sketches. In a book which is full of revelations for Lakelanders and visitors alike, Alastair Lee renews and redefines the magic of this much-loved landscape.

This book contains the proceedings of a symposium held at the College of Charleston. Charleston. South Carolina. USA. 16-20 June. 1986. The seed for this symposium arose from a group of physiologists. soil scientists and biochemists that met in Leningrad USSR in July 1975 at the 12th Botanical Conference in a Session organized by Professor B.B. Vartepetian. This group and others later conspired to contribute to a book entitled Plant Life in Anaerobic Environments (eds. D.D. Hook and R.M.M. Crawford. Ann Arbor Science. 1978). Several contributors to the book suggested in 1983 that a broad-scoped symposium on wetlands would be useful (a) in facilitating communication among the diverse research groups involved in wetlands research (b) in bringing researchers and managers together (c) and in presenting a comprehensive and balanced coverage on the status of ecology and management of wetlands from a global perspective. With this encouragement. the senior editor organized a planning committee that encompassed expertise from many disciplines of wetland scientists and managers. This committee, with input from their colleagues around the world, organized a symposium that addressed almost every aspect of wetland ecology and management.

On the basis of a total of thirteen case examples from the Tien Shan, Karakorum, Himalaya and Tangula Shan (central Tibet), the risk potential and hazards are inferred from the development of landscape during the Quaternary. The history of glaciers can be seen as of central importance for this. The Ice Age glacial erosion created V-shaped valleys, which with their steep flanks - as a consequence of the interglacial formation of V -valleys - have prepared and brought about landslides as well as rockslides and the hazards, combined with them. The same is true for the moraines, which the gla ciers have deposited high-up in the valley flanks and related loose stone deposits. Dry and wet mass movements follow after heavy precipitation, especially in the semi-arid investigation areas, and are catastrophes for the settlements and the communication routes in the valley floors. Their key-forms are debris cones and debris slopes, as well as mudflows and alluvial fans. In addition to the Ice Age glaciation history, as a preparatory, indirect factor, the Holocene to present glaciation history is, as a result of the danlming-up of glacier- and moraine lakes and their outbursts, a direct risk factor. The examples presented of acute and already occurred cases of damage were inves tigated in the years 1989-1994. Acknowledgements The authors wish to thank the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), the Max Planck-Gesellschaft (MPG), the Volkswagen-Stiftting (VW) and the Deutscher Aka demischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) for the financial support for the field-work."

Morphotectonics, the relation between geomorphology and (neo)tectonics is fundamental to the understanding of landscape evolution. Stressing mainly the quantitative interpretation of field observations, this monograph compares the morphological structure of drainage systems, river courses, glacial forms, volcanic landscapes and mass movements with joint orientations. The latter are indicative of the neotectonic stresses; and thus inferences on the genesis of the morphological forms can be drawn. The data on outcrops on all six continents and on islands in all major oceans have been acquired to a large extent by the author himself. The book, therefore, represents a first-hand account of the work and its relevance which has been done worldwide over the last 30 years.

No other disjunct pieces of land present such striking similarities as the widely sepa 1 rated regions with a mediterranean type of climate, that is, the territories fringing the Mediterranean Sea, California, Central Chile and the southernmost strips of South Mrica and Australia. Similarities are not confined to climatic trends, but are also reflected in the physiognomy ofthe vegetation, in land use patterns and frequently in the general appearance of the landscape. The very close similarities in agricultural practices and sometimes also in rural settlements are dependent on the climatic and edaphic analogies, as well as on a certain commonality in qdtural history. This is certainly true for the Mediterranean Sea basin which in many ways represents a sort of ecological-cultural unit; this is also valid for CaUfornia and Chile, which were both settled by Spaniards and which showed periods of vigorous commercial and cultural interchanges as during the California gold rush. One other general feature is the massive interchange of cultivated and weed species of plants that has occurred between the five areas of the world that have a mediterranean-type climate, with the Mediterranean basin region itself as a major source. In spite of their limited territorial extension, probably no other parts of the world have played a more fundamental role in the history of mankind. Phoenician, Etruscan, Hellenic, Jewish, Roman, Christian andArab civilizations, among others, haveshapedmanyofman's present attitudes, including his position and perception vis-a-vis nature."

The first single, comprehensive source for locating North American public prairies, grasslands, and savannas, Prairie Directory of North America is a guide unlike any other. First published in 2001, the book uniquely catalogs the continent's most well-known prairie sites by country and state for easy reference. With the addition of over three hundred newly located, preserved, or restored sites, the second edition is the prairie enthusiast's ideal guide to locating countless North American sites-from the well-documented to the remote. Readers can use the guide to plan both convenient visits to close-to-home prairies and journeys to sites well across the continent. Also included is an expanded state-by-state index, ideal for locating specific prairies in any given state.
The victim of destructive plowing and construction at the hands of European settlers, North American grassland ecosystems that once spanned the entire continent have suffered degradation and fragmentation. With the Prairie Directory as a guide, however, ecologists, environmental scientists, and tourists can experience the essence of this ancient ecosystem and, in some locations, even its vastness. The book lists tiny, hidden half-acre prairies spared by the plow as well as popular sites covering millions of acres. It documents prairies hidden deep in forests or in plain sight in American Indian reservations. The only one of its kind, this book will allow readers to experience the prairie as a colorful, fragrant, wildlife-rich North American landscape.

Despite impressive innovations by some states, western water laws and institutions now in place were designed chiefly for an earlier era and have not adapted to the new demands and stresses on water resources. In Water and the Arid Lands of the Western United States the authors explore the nature of water demands in the agricultural and municipal sectors and set forth prescriptions for the west to move away from its historical reliance on expensive supply-side projects and toward better management of existing supplies. Six cases studies by experts in the field illustrate specific examples of water management issues. Taking as foci the Central Valley of California, the High Plains of Texas, and the Upper Basin of the Colorado River, three of the case studies examine problems faced by the large urban areas of southern California; Tucson, Arizona; and Denver, Colorado. A concluding chapter suggests practical policy options and politically feasible institutional changes for maximizing the efficiency of water use and minimizing the conflict associated with the reallocation of limited water supplies.

Remote sensing is the study of a region from a distance, particularly from an airplane or a spacecraft. It is a tool that can be used in conjunction with other methods of research and investigation. This tool is especially applicable to the study of the deserts and arid lands of the Earth because of their immense size and their inaccessibility to detailed study by conventional means. In this book examples are given of the utility of aerial photographs and space images in the study of semi-arid, arid, and hyper-arid terrains. Emphasis is placed on the physical features and terrain types using examples from around the world. The authors I have called upon to prepare each chapter are renowned specialists whose contributions have received international recognition. To the general reader, this book is a review of our knowledge of the relatively dry parts of the Earth, their classification and varied features, their evolution in space and time, and their development potentials. To the specialist, it is a detailed account of the deserts and arid lands, not only in North America, but also their relatively unknown counterparts in North Africa, Australia, China, India, and Arabia.

The idea for this volume came during the dryland sessions of the Association of American Geographers meeting in San Diego in April, 1992. The large number of papers devoted to aeolian processes and landforms indicated to me that aeolian geomorphology had come of age and the last 15 years or so had produced a plethora of papers, books, and edited volumes on all aspects of aeolian geomorphology. Chapter one is my tentative attempt to place develop ments in aeolian geomorphology in a historical perspective and to contemplate some thoughts about the future. The fourteen papers selected address a wide range of issues ranging from micro-scale studies devoted to aeolian dust, sediment transport, and rock varnish in ventifacts to medium-scale studies of dunes and dune forms, reverse desertification, and macro-scale studies of ergs and sand transport pathways. The American Southwest, particularly the spectacular and unique Mojave Desert of California, is featured prominently in seven chapters. I hope this volume provides students and colleagues some new perspectives in aeolian geomorphology as well as pathways for future work."

Hillslopes occupy most the landscape. Studies of process mechanisms and rates have become sufficiently numerous to allow a systematic study of slopes. Only by making a synthesis of quantitative process studies and relating them to the development of slope forms can the shape of the landscape be understood and the separate effects of lithology and climate assessed. In the introductory part of this book, the choice of appropriate system and scale is discussed, and models for uplift and erosion evaluated. Attention is thus focused on the dynamic equilibrium of the slope profile and its erosional development over time. Part I then examines the forces encouraging hillslope movement and the resistances opposing movement. Part 2 considers processes of rock instability, soil instability, wash, solution and soil creep. Each is discussed in terms of its mechanism and rate of operation, and the slope provides it produces. Part 3 outlines how this systematic approach may be applied to areas of different climate and the extent to which there is an assemblage of processes characteristic of each area. In part 4, the process evidence and models are combined into theoretical sequences of slope profile development, and the effect of contour curvature in modifying these profiles on spurts and in hollows is examined.

Asian river basins are undergoing rapid transformation. This volume considers the implications of the environmental change-development nexus for water management, river health and hazard awareness. As Biswas and Tortajada (2011) have recently commented, water management in Asia will likely change more in the next twenty years than in the last 2000 years. Critical environmental trends include decreasing flows of water and sediment due to dam construction and increased water extraction, land use change (especially forest removal), encroachment and degradation of floodplain and wetland environments, increased water demand and concerns about water security, urban expansion and associated pollution of rivers and contamination of groundwater reserves. These challenges are being reframed by new approaches to water management which represent a transition from engineering-dominated approaches towards integrated water management, from technology transfer to adaptive technologies. The volume comprises an introduction and five chapters. Brierley and Callum reframe approaches to river repair within emerging theories of in ecology and earth science which regard nature as a complex adaptive system replete with inherent uncertainties. These ideas are mirrored in the four case study chapters which deal with water governance in the Mekong Basin (Hirsch); hybrid adoption of water resource technologies in India (Barbanente et al.); determination of sediment dynamics in Java Rijsdijk); and ecological conservation imperatives in the headwaters of the Yellow, Yangtze and Mekong rivers in western China (Li et al.).

During the past century approximately fifty percent of the world's wetlands have been destroyed, largely due to human activities. Increased human population has lead to shrinkage of wetland areas, and data show that as they shrink, their important functions decline. Reduced wetland area causes more flooding in Spring, less available water during drought, greater risk of water pollution, and less food production and reduced carbon storage. Much of the remaining pristine wetland systems are found in the world's largest wetlands, and yet these areas have received surprisingly little scientific research or attention. This volume presents the views of leading experts on each of the world's largest wetland systems. Here, this international team of authors share their understanding of the ecological dynamics of large wetlands and their significance, and emphasise their need of conservation.

Tree Islands of the Everglades brings together for the first time experts in anthropology, ecology, geology, paleontology, wildlife, and landscape modelling to review the state of our understanding of the small, forested islands that are a feature of most large wetlands. Although tree islands can be found in wetlands around the world, only in the Florida Everglades have their unique and complex origins, structure, and functions been investigated. Although these biodiversity hotspots are important to the survival of many plants and animals in the Everglades, most of them have been lost since the 1940s as a result of poor water management. Consequently, the restoration of tree islands will be a key performance measure for the success of the ongoing Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. Tree Islands of the Everglades reviews the geologic origin of different kinds of tree islands and presents competing hypotheses about their subsequent development. It also describes their vegetation and factors controlling the composition of their vegetation, their fauna, their unique geochemistry, and their use by Native Americans. Throughout, the importance of recurring wet years (intensive flooding) and dry years (frequent fires) are emphasized for understanding changes in tree island flora and fauna. Although they have received very little attention tree islands in The Everglades and other comparable wetlands around the world are a key feature of these wetlands and understanding the status or health of tree islands is central to understanding their overall condition.

This book will be of particular interest to ecologists, environmentalists, geologists and wildlife biologists with an interest in wetlands, especially wetland preservation and restoration.

This is a detailed study of how the Somerset Levels, originally a large tract of marsh, were drained and reclaimed to becomes one of the most agriculturally productive areas of south-west England. The story of the draining of this region brings to light significant comparisons and contrasts with other reclaimed lowlands and extends our knowledge of one of the processes by which the British landscape has changed. This is an important book, which brings together information on an area that has until now received very little attention; it also shows just how early massive reclamation began. It will be of interest to both geographers and historians.

This volume was first published in 1981. The history of man's use of arid lands is a sad record of deterioration of the natural resource base and of low and declining living standards for the 300 million people who live in them. One prerequisite to meeting the challenge of reversing the deterioration and of raising living standards is a sound knowledge of the natural ecosystems.

North American deserts-lands of little water-have long been home to a surprising diversity of aquatic life, from fish to insects and mollusks. With European settlement, however, water extraction, resource exploitation, and invasive species set many of these native aquatic species on downward spirals. In this book, conservationists dedicated to these creatures document the history of their work, the techniques and philosophies that inform it, and the challenges and opportunities of the future. A precursor to this book, Battle Against Extinction, laid out the scope of the problem and related conservation activities through the late 1980s. Since then, many nascent conservation programs have matured, and researchers have developed new technologies, improved and refined methods, and greatly expanded our knowledge of the myriad influences on the ecology and dynamics of these species. Standing between Life and Extinction brings the story up to date. While the future for some species is more secure than thirty years ago, others are less fortunate. Calling attention not only to iconic species like the razorback sucker, Gila trout, and Devils Hole pupfish, but also to other fishes and obscure and fascinating invertebrates inhabiting intermittent aquatic habitats, this book explores the scientific, social, and political challenges of preserving these aquatic species and their habitats amid an increasingly charged political discourse and in desert regions characterized by a growing human population and rapidly changing climate.

This volume describes important sites in the Pleistocene deposits of the Thames terrace system laid down by the Thames and its tributaries. It correlates the Thames sequence with deposits found elsewhere in Britain, on the European continent and on the ocean floor.

Many people have contributed to the production of this book, and I wish to acknowledge the following colleagues who have, over the past 15 years, contributed much discussion, preprints, thin sections, rock samples, and unpublished and/or difficult-to- obtain information: Steve Bergman, Roger Clement, Howard Coopersmith, Barry Dawson, Alan Edgar, Tony Erlank, Steve Haggerty, Barry Hawthorne, Bram Janse, Viktoria Komilova, Sergei Kostrovitskii, Henry Meyer, Peter Nixon, Nick Rock, Mike Skinner, Patricia Sheahan, Simon Shee, Barbara Scott Smith, Andy Spriggs, Ken Tainton, Larry Taylor, Nikolai Vladykin, Allan Woolley, and Peter Wyllie. Special thanks go to Henry Meyer, for providing many hours of microprobe time at Purdue University, and to Mike Skinner, for samples and the opportunity to examine the Anglo-American Research Laboratory collection of orangeites. Particular thanks are expressed to Ken Tainton for permission to quote data from his Ph.D. thesis. Particular gratitude is expressed to Sam Spivak for drafting and photographic work and to Anne Hammond for preparing many polished thin sections of these difficult rocks. Their dedication, skills, and attention to detail are greatly appreciated by the author. Others from Lakehead University who helped materially during the production of this work include Reino Viitala (thin sections), Alan MacKenzie (electron microscopy), and Shelley Moogk-Pickard (trace element analysis). Carl Hager is thanked for assistance in using the Purdue microprobe.

Annual desert plant species of unrelated taxa in the Negev Desert of Israel have developed complementary sets of adaptations and survival strategies as ecological equivalents with physiological, morphological and anatomical resemblances, in the various stages of their life cycles. After 40 years of research in hot deserts Yitzchak Gutterman provides a comprehensive treatise of such adaptations and strategies. In doing so he covers the following topics: post-maturation primary seed dormancy, which prevents germination of maturing seeds before the summer; seed dispersal mechanisms with escape or protection strategies; cautious or opportunistic germination strategies; seedling drought tolerance. The day-length is an important factor in regulating flowering as well as the phenotypic plasticity of seed germination which is also affected by maternal factors.

Forests have histories that need to be told. This examination of wood and woodlands in East and Southeast Asia brings together case studies from China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Sumatra to explore continuities in the history of forest management across these regions as well as the distinctive qualities of human-forest relations within each context. With a general introduction to forest histories in East and Southeast Asia and a multidisciplinary set of authors, The Cultivated Forest constructs alternative lineages of forest knowledge that aim to transcend the frameworks imposed by colonial or national histories. Across these regions, forests were sites of exploitation, contestation, and ritual just as they were in Europe and America. This volume puts studies of Asian forests into conversation with global forest histories.

This accessible and engaging text explores the relationship between philosophy, science and physical geography. It addresses an imbalance that exists in opinion, teaching and to a lesser extent research, between a philosophically enriched human geography and a perceived philosophically empty physical geography. The text challenges the myth that there is a single self-evident scientific method that can, and is, applied in a straightforward manner by physical geographers. It demonstrates the variety of alternative philosophical perspectives and emphasizes the difference that the real world geographical context and the geographer make to the study of environmental phenomenon. This includes a consideration of the dynamic relationship between human and physical geography. Finally, the text demonstrates the relevance of philosophy for both an understanding of published material and for the design and implementation of studies in physical geography. This edition has been fully updated with two new chapters on field studies and modelling, as well as greater discussion of ethical issues and forms of explanation. The book explores key themes such as reconstructing environmental change, species interactions and fluvial geomorphology, and is complimented throughout with case studies to illustrate concepts.

Eastern African rain forests are remarkable in their high level of endemism. Miocene uplift of the central African plateau separated these montane and coastal forests from the main Guineo-Congolian forest of west and central Africa. Since then, stable Indian Ocean temperatures maintained a region of high rainfall throughout Pleistocene droughts that devastated forest elsewhere on the continent. Relics of the former Pan-African rain forest survived here, the study of which provides a unique insight into tropical evolutionary processes. This book brings together research on the animals, plants and geography of this intriguing residual forest, and highlights the need for effective management practices to conserve its exceptional biodiversity in the face of increasing pressure for land for cultivation.