This book provides a unique perspective on the destruction - both natural and human-caused - of coral reef ecosystems. Reconstructing the ecological history of coral reefs, the authors evaluate whether recent dramatic changes are novel events or part of a long-term trend or cycle. The text combines principles of geophysics, paleontology, and marine sciences with real-time observation, examining the interacting causes of change: hurricane damage, predators, disease, rising sea-level, nutrient loading, global warming and ocean acidification. Predictions about the future of coral reefs inspire strategies for restoration and management of ecosystems. Useful for students and professionals in ecology and marine biology, including environmental managers.

This book offers an in-depth study of two well-known models of "avalanche" dynamics, modified minimally by the inclusion of relaxation. Many complex systems respond to continuous inputs of energy by accumulation of stress over time, interrupted by sudden energy releases called avalanches. The first model studied is the viscoelastic interface driven over disorder, which is shown to display the fundamental features of friction. In the mean-field limit, the friction force derived semi-analytically is compatible with laboratory experiments (displaying both velocity weakening and contact aging). In two dimensions, large-scale numerical simulations are in good agreement with the basic features of real earthquakes (Gutenberg-Richter Law, aftershock migration). The second model is a non-Markovian variant of Directed Percolation, in which we observe that the universality class is only partly modified by relaxation, a promising finding with respect to our first model.

At present, constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment are a widely used technology for treatment of various types of wastewaters. The International Water Association (then International Association on Water Pollution Research and Control) recognized wetlands as useful tools for wastewater treatment and est- lished the series of biennial conferences on the use of wetland systems for water pollution control in 1988. In about 1993, we decided to organize a workshop on nutrient cycling in natural and constructed wetlands with the major idea to bring together researchers working on constructed and also natural wetlands. It was not our intention to compete with IWA conferences, but the workshop should rather complement the series on treatment wetlands by IWA. We believed that the exchange of information obtained from natural and constructed wetlands would be beneficial for all participants. And the time showed that we were correct. The first workshop took place in 1995 at T?ebo? in South Bohemia and most of the papers dealt with constructed wetlands. Over the years we extended the topics on natural wetlands (such as role of wetlands in the landscape or wetland restoration and creation) and during the 6th workshop held at T?ebo? from May 30 to June 3, 2006, nearly half of 38 papers presented during the workshop dealt with natural wetlands. This workshop was attended by 39 participants from 19 countries from Europe, Asia, North and South Americas and Australia. The volume contains 29 peer-reviewed papers out of 38 papers which were presented during the workshop.

First published in 1966 these collected papers, written by the distinguished and visionary climatologist Hubert H. Lamb, describe how climates come about and give a history of climatic changes from the last ice-age to the 1960s.

First published in 1988, this is a reissue of a groundbreaking collection of essays written by Hubert Lamb, one of the world's foremost experts on weather and climate and a uniquely authoritative voice in the history of climatology. Hubert Lamb is able to provide a mature assessment of the effect of weather on people, and vice versa. His is a uniquely authoritative voice in the current debates about today's environment and the prospects for the future.

After a general introduction the book is divided into three parts. The first part consists of a chronological series of portraits of climate and its impact on human affairs and the environment. These extend from the warm climates of the geological past to the current drought in Africa. There are several studies of the last few centuries and, in particular, of the various effects of the so-called ?little Ice Age?. The second part is concerned with the causes and mechanisms of climate and weather changes, including chapters discussing Christmas weather, fronts and volcanoes. In the final part Hubert Lamb looks to the future, and attempts to put into perspective some of the pessimistic forecasts currently available. The text, which is consistently authoritative but always readable, is augmented by numerous maps, diagrams and photographs.

This book is an original and novel contribution to flood hazard assessment, climate change and land use change and is intended to serve both as an effective source of information and a valuable basis for priority setting and further technical, financial and political decisions regarding flood hazard assessment. The study area is located on the floodplain of the Ubaye River in the Barcelonnette area, part of the Alpes de Haute Provence in southeast France. The book offers a comparative overview of the major challenges faced when dealing with flood hazards. The research presented is intended to promote a deeper understanding of how climate change and land use change processes have evolved from past to present, and how they affect the flow regime of the Ubaye River based on sound and reproducible scientific arguments. The methodology implemented ranges from remote sensing interpretation to hydrodynamic modeling and includes the application of spatial and statistical modeling. The results of this research provide essential information for policymaking, decision-making support and flood hazard planning in the Barcelonnette area.

Although tropical rain forests form the world’s most species-rich ecosystems, their origin and history remain unclear, except on the very short timescale of the last 40 000 years or so. This book provides the first comprehensive review of the history of tropical rain forests on a long term geological timescale, commencing with the origin of the angiosperms over 100 million years ago, which today overwhelmingly dominate these forests. Tropical rain forest evolution is discussed in a global context within an up to date plate tectonic, palaeogeographical and palaeoclimatic framework, primarily by reference to the record of fossil pollen and spores. A particularly important aspect of this book is that in addition to published literature, it relies heavily on unpublished palynological data generated for petroleum companies during the course of hydrocarbon exploration programmes. Without access to such data the book could not have been written. The main text of the book reviews the evolution of tropical rain forests on a continent by continent basis, culminating with a global synthesis of their history in relation to the changing positions of the world’s tectonic plates and changing climates. This section also establishes the age of the great tropical rain forest blocks and identifies the world’s oldest tropical rain forests. The final chapter compares 20th Century tropical rain forest destruction with prehistoric forest clearance in temperate regions, and looks for analogues of the present phase of destruction within the geological record before considering long term implications of total rain forest destruction. The book will be of interest to all concerned with tropical rain forests, especially biologists, botanists, ecologists, and students of evolution. It will be valuable for postgraduates and advanced undergraduates, as well as stratigraphers, palaeobotanists, palynologists, and petroleum geologists.

The Economic Geology of Iran is a complete and comprehensive book about mineral deposits, energy and water resources of Iran. Dr. Mansour Ghorbani has travelled to each of the huge variety of locations that feature the resources covered, personally verifying the details of them all.

The book starts by describing the geography and physiography of Iran as well as its various climatic regions and the diverse corresponding vegetation. Then the book gives an excellent overview of the geology of the country, followed by the history of mining in Iran up to now. The author describes also the metallogenic and mineralization phases of Iran, its mineral zones and belts, and, more generally, the distribution of mineral deposits in the country. Dr. Ghorbani gives us also an analysis of the position of Iran in terms of global mineral resources, as well as the role that the country s mineral, energy and natural resources play in its overall economy. The book finishes with also provides a complete list of Iranian mineral deposits.

This book is a perfect source of information for all students and researchers in the field of geo-science at the university level but also for mining and oil companies that would like to work, invest and get involved in such businesses in Iran.

Our coasts provide a home and livelihoods for millions of people; many of the world's biggest cities are along coastlines. Yet these precious areas face increasing threats from irresponsible development and the potential dangers of climate change. This volume explores the wide spectrum of coastal hazards, from high-magnitude, low-frequency events like tsunamis and hurricanes, to longer-term processes like urban regeneration and changing agricultural practices. International case studies range from mitigation measures in the Azores Archipelago to managing a coastal resort in South Wales, to tsunami early warning systems in the Indian Ocean Region. The resulting collection spans approaches from social science, engineering, planning, geology and biology and presents an integrated approach for assessing the impact of, and response to, coastal hazards. It will be of interest to all those involved in strategies for the environmental management of coastlines.

'It's a preposterous plan. Still, if you do get up it, it'll be the hardest thing that's been done in the Himalayas.' So spoke Chris Bonington when Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker presented him with their plan to tackle the unclimbed West Wall of Changabang - the Shining Mountain - in 1976. Bonington's was one of the more positive responses; most felt the climb impossibly hard, especially for a two-man, lightweight expedition. This was, after all, perhaps the most fearsome and technically challenging granite wall in the Garhwal Himalaya and an ascent - particularly one in a lightweight style - would be more significant than anything done on Everest at the time. The idea had been Joe Tasker's. He had photographed the sheer, shining, white granite sweep of Changabang's West Wall on a previous expedition and asked Pete to return with him the following year. Tasker contributes a second voice throughout Boardman's story, which starts with acclimatisation, sleeping in a Salford frozen food store, and progresses through three nights of hell, marooned in hammocks during a storm, to moments of exultation at the variety and intricacy of the superb, if punishingly difficult, climbing. It is a story of how climbing a mountain can become an all-consuming goal, of the tensions inevitable in forty days of isolation on a two-man expedition; as well as a record of the moment of joy upon reaching the summit ridge against all odds. First published in 1978, The Shining Mountain is Peter Boardman's first book. It is a very personal and honest story that is also amusing, lucidly descriptive, very exciting, and never anything but immensely readable. It was awarded the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize for literature in 1979, winning wide acclaim. His second book, Sacred Summits, was published shortly after his death in 1982.

This thesis proposes a new raft-type wave-powered desalination device that can convert wave power into hydraulic energy and use reverse osmosis (RO) to directly desalinate seawater. Both analytical and numerical methods are used to study the hydrodynamic characteristics of the device. Further, the thesis investigates the maximum power extraction and multiple parameter effects on power absorption and averaged permeate water flux. Lastly, it proposes and assesses two power extraction enhancing strategies. The thesis offers a valuable and important reference guide to ocean-wave-and-structure interaction and wave-powered seawater desalination for scientists and engineers alike.

Recent landslide events demonstrate the need to improve landslide forecasting and early warning capabilities in order to reduce related risks and protect human lives. In this thesis, local and regional investigations were carried out to analyse landslide characteristics in the Swabian Alb region, and to develop prototypic landslide early warning systems.
In the local study area, an extensive hydrological and slope movement monitoring system was installed on a seasonally reactivated landslide body located in Lichtenstein-
Unterhausen. Monitoring data was analysed to assess the influence of rainfall and snow-melt on groundwater conditions, and the initiation of slope movements.
The coupled hydrology-slope stability model CHASM was applied to detect areas most prone to slope failures, and to simulate slope stability using a variety of input data. Subsequently, CHASM was refined and two web-based applications were developed: a technical early warning system to constantly simulate slope stability integrating rainfall measurements, hydrological monitoring data and weather forecasts; and a decision-support system allowing for quick calculation of stability for freely selectable slope profiles. On the regional scale, available landslide inventory data were analysed for their use in evaluation of rainfall thresholds proposed in other studies. Adequate landslide events were selected and their triggering rainfall and snow-melting conditions were compared to intensity-duration and cumulative thresholds. Based on the results, a regional landslide early warning system was developed and implemented as a webbased application.
Both, the local and the regional landslide early warning systems are part of a holistic and integrative early warning chain developed by the ILEWS project, and could easily be transferred to other landslide prone areas.

Groundwater Contamination in Coastal Aquifers: Assessment and Management first describes groundwater contamination in coastal aquifers and then delves into specific topics surrounding various hydrogeochemical processes. Next, the book covers case studies of groundwater quality assessment using recent techniques, explains the various pollutants and contaminants in coastal aquifers, and covers management and remediation methods to control contamination in coastal aquifers. This key reference encompasses various topics in broader perspectives on groundwater contamination in coastal aquifers, providing a significant contribution to the field of hydrogeology.

The Arctic is now experiencing some of the most rapid and severe climate change on earth. Over the next 100 years, climate change is expected to accelerate, contributing to major physical, ecological, social, and economic changes, many of which have already begun. Changes in arctic climate will also affect the rest of the world through increased global warming and rising sea levels.

The volume addresses the following major topics:

- Research results in measuring and observing aspects of the Arctic climate system and its processes across a range of time and space scales

- Representation of cryospheric, atmospheric, and oceanic processes in models, including assimilation of observations into models

- Our understanding of the role of the Arctic in the global climate system, its response to large-scale climate variations, and the processes involved.

Who has rights to forests and forest resources? In recent years governments in the South have transferred at least 200 million hectares of forests to communities living in and around them . This book assesses the experience of what appears to be a new international trend that has substantially increased the share of the world's forests under community administration. Based on research in over 30 communities in selected countries in Asia (India, Nepal, Philippines, Laos, Indonesia), Africa (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana) and Latin America (Bolivia, Brazil, Guatemala, Nicaragua), it examines the process and outcomes of granting new rights, assessing a variety of governance issues in implementation, access to forest products and markets and outcomes for people and forests . Forest tenure reforms have been highly varied, ranging from the titling of indigenous territories to the granting of small land areas for forest regeneration or the right to a share in timber revenues. While in many cases these rights have been significant, new statutory rights do not automatically result in rights in practice, and a variety of institutional weaknesses and policy distortions have limited the impacts of change. Through the comparison of selected cases, the chapters explore the nature of forest reform, the extent and meaning of rights transferred or recognized, and the role of authority and citizens' networks in forest governance. They also assess opportunities and obstacles associated with government regulations and markets for forest products and the effects across the cases on livelihoods, forest condition and equity.Published with CIFOR

This thesis includes a wealth of cave maps, as well as photos of the caves and karst morphologies. At the heart of the thesis is the important discovery of a flank margin cave with speleothem hiatuses and fossil invertebrate associations. The analysis of the structural and karst morphological elements surveyed in the main explored caves in Monti di Capo San Vito has made it possible to identify both the state of control of the processes of karstification in tectonic phases during the Plio-Pleistocene upliftings and the kinematic character of some karstified structures, linked at two speleogenetic phases. Furthermore, the surveying of karst forms on the relict sea-cliffs and particularly the exceptional discovery and dating of marine and continental incrustations in the Rumena cave, has yielded essential advances in our knowledge of past climatic events and eustatic level changes in the Mediterranean, as well as their influence on the evolution of the coastal belt.

Much of the world's tropical timber is still supplied from natural forest, but under current systems of management the forests are rapidly becoming exhausted. Unless management practices change to become genuinely sustainable, neither the forests nor the essential contribution of the timber industry to many economies will survive. Duncan Poore reviews the extent to which natural forests are already being sustainably managed for timber production, and looks at how these practices can be enlarged. He places management for timber in the wider context of tropical forest conservation and outlines a strategy for further action. Thoroughly researched and accessibly written, this book will be useful for everyone working or interested in the subject of tropical forests. Foreword by Dato Dr B.C.Y. Freezailah Originally published in 1989

Recent and dramatic flooding in places as far apart as Bangladesh and North Wales are example. of what could become commonplace if sea levels rise. Most scientists are predicting a rise of about one metre and this book, based on research carried out for the Commonwealth governments, describes in simple terms what in. likely to happen as a result and where the worst effects will be.Martin Ince, a well-known scientific journalist, deals with the accuracy of our knowledge and the possible errors in assessment. He considers the different kinds of damage that higher seas could cause, inundation, increased salination, coral damage, increased flood and surge damage and so on. Brief case studies are included covering the UK, the Maldives, North America, Bangladesh, Guyana, Kiribati, The Netherlands, Italy, Egypt and Australasia.The book ends with an examination of the scientific and technical developments which could make the problems easier to deal with and, above all, set. out the policies on which governments must agree.Originally published in 1990

Most of the world's population lives on or near the coasts. Every nation not completely landlocked has used the sea as its supposedly self-cleansing garbage dump. Now the effects are being felt. There is not a coast in the world which is not dangerously polluted. Sewage, oil, plastics, industrial effluents, radioactive waste have been added to ungoverned development, all of which are busily destroying otherwise robust inshore eco-systems. Hinrichsen, basing his work on United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) research and his own extensive travels, has described the situation in the Mediterranean, the Gulf, the Indian Ocean, the South-East Asian Seas and the Eastern Pacific. He covers both the disasters and the growing successes in dealing with them, and he points the way to the sort of international deal needed to rescue a vast resource in danger of complete destruction. His book is both a call to action and a sign of hope.Originally published in 1990

The story of the Snowdonia National Park and the Society, dedicated to conserving and enhancing its unique landscape, is one which will fascinate and inform those who live and work within it as well as being of interest to visitors, be they picnickers or sightseers or committed hill walkers, climbers, canoeists and mountain bikers. This book commemorates the fortieth anniversary of the Snowdonia Society and is a record of its sometimes turbulent history and the ever-changing but still inspiring landscape of the National Park. Created in 1951, the Snowdonia National Park is a landscape of rugged grandeur, great natural diversity and cultural associations going back thousands of years. The vision of its founders was that this very special region should be protected from harmful development for all time. From the beginning, however, there were problems? Out of these difficulties grew the idea of an independent society dedicated to conserving and enhancing the landscape. Today the Snowdonia Society has a membership of over 2,500 and has a close working relationship with both the Snowdonia National Park Authority and the Council for National Parks. This lively narrative chronicles the story of the Snowdonia Society ? its successes and failures, its internal conflict and the personalities involved ? as well as discussing the wider issues which have affected this unique landscape over the last forty years. This lavishly illustrated book will appeal to anyone who loves the rugged landscape of Snowdonia, published in dual language text of English and Welsh.

This book is a basic account of the life cycles and life history strategies of the major groups of desert arthropods. It covers a wide variety of topics including an overview of major adaptations in desert arthropods, characteristic features of deserts, a comprehensive review of life history theory, and a detailed description of embryonic and postembryonic development. The book also provides an in-depth discussion of the life history traits in these animals including development time, growth rates and patterns, age and size at maturity, size and number of offspring, sex ratios, costs associated with reproduction and longevity, and explains how these traits are inextricably connected by various trade-offs including those between current reproduction and survival, current and future reproduction, and between number, size and sex of offspring. Finally, the relationship between behavioral ecology and life history traits is discussed.

The American landscape is an extremely complex terrain born from a history of collective and individual experiences. These created environments, which all may be called metropolitan landscapes, constantly challenge students and professionals in the fields of architecture, design and planning to consider new ways of making lively public places. This book brings together varied voices in urban design theory and practice to explore new ways of understanding place and our position in it.

Soil degradation is real and global, even if the evidence is not so easy to glean. Degradation poses comparable risks to greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and nonhuman animal extinctions. Few have noticed soil degradation as the problem it has become, except most indigenous peoples in their struggles for survival.

With a population of more than eighteen million people, Mexico City is a major metropolitan area where the effects of urban development on air quality are of immediate concern. Air pollution exposures and effects on forests in the Mexico City Air Basin are in many respects similar to those reported in the Los Angeles, California Air Basin. Studies of air pollution impacts on forests in these two regions may serve as models for urban areas all over the world. Although scientists have studied air pollution and its effects on forests and vegetation in the Mexico City Air Basin for years, this book reviews and synthesizes this body of work for the first time. This synthesis is particularly valuable as air pollution increases at an alarming rate along with global urbanization. A thorough discussion of regional geology, climate and hydrology, historical natural resource utilization, and sociological factors provide the context for evaluating air pollution impacts on the highly valued forests surrounding this megacity. The environmental and ecological consequences of chronic exposure to biologically important pollutants are considered in various case studies. Finally, the editors discuss the state of air pollution research in the Mexico City Air Basin and the outlook for the health and sustainability of forests within the Basin.