This unique volume, organized alphabetically by country, provides a current overview of the general geology of Europe and Asia, excluding the Arab countries and Israel. Articles primarily contain information about the stratigraphy, structure, tectonics and natural resources of each country, as well as a history of geological exploration and other issues unique to each country. Additional articles cover international subjects such as Europe, Asia, the Alps, Caucasus, Himalayas and Tien Shan mountains. Many articles are new syntheses, e.g. those on Iceland, Burma and the Philippines; some are first-time descriptions in English, e.g. those on Estonia, Moldova, Bosnia and Turkmenistan; others are published for the first time ever in any language e.g. those articles on Italy, Korea and Vietnam. Each entry is typically written by a native geologist or a geologist with extensive experience in the region, and entries include representative figures illustrating main geologic features and a selected bibliography of relevant publications generally accessible in libraries. Articles are written assuming some general geological background. The Encyclopedia will serve as a valuable source book for libraries, and will be a key reference for academic and professional personnel in industrial exploration firms and governmental agencies, as well as for university students.

The book provides a comprehensive overview of the hydrology of the Nile River, especially the ecohydrological degradation and challenges the basin is facing, the impact of climate change on water availability and the transboundary water management issues. The book includes analysis and approaches that will help provide different insights into the hydrology of this complex basin, which covers 11 countries and is home to over 300 million people. The need for water-sharing agreements that reflect the current situations of riparian countries and are based on equitable water- sharing principles is stressed in many chapters.This book explores water resource availability and quality and their trends in the basin, soil erosion and watershed degradation at different scales, water and health, land use and climate change impact, transboundary issues and water management, dams, reservoirs and lakes. The link between watershed and river water quantity and quality is discussed pointing out the importance of watershed protection for better water resource management, water accessibility, institutional set-up and policy, water demand and management. The book also presents the water sharing sticking points in relation to historical treaties and the emerging water demands of the upstream riparian countries. The need for collaboration and identification of common ground to resolve the transboundary water management issues and secure a win-win is also indicated.

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Although numerous books have been written on both monitoring and modelling of coastal oceans, there is a practical need for an introductory multi-disciplinary volume to non-specialists in this field. The articles commisioned for this book, organized into four major themes, are written by experts in their disciplines while the text is intended for scientists who do not have extensive training in marine sciences and coastal zone management. As such, the articles in this monograph can be a valuable reference for practicing professionals. The first section introduces the complex physical processes with main emphasis on waste disposal in the coastal ocean. Following this, examples of instrumentation techniques that are commonly used for measuring different properties of oceans are discribed. Coastal and estuarine transport and dispersion modelling is introduced in the next section with examples from different parts of the world. The last section provides an overview of coastal disasters such as tropical cyclones, storm surges and oil spills.

This collection of essays and design case studies explores a range of ideas and best practices for adapting to dynamic waterfront conditions while incorporating nature conservation in urbanized coastal areas. The editors have curated a selection of works contributed by leading practitioners in the fields of coastal science, community resilience, habitat restoration, sustainable landscape architecture and floodplain management. By highlighting ocean-friendly innovations and strategies being applied in coastal cities today, this book illustrates ways to cohabit with many other species who share the waterfront with us, feed in salt marshes, bury their eggs on sandy beaches, fly south over cities along the Atlantic Flyway, or attach themselves to an oyster reef. This book responds to the need for inventive, practical, and straightforward ways to weather a changing climate while being responsible shoreline stewards.

The Danube River Basin is shared by 19 countries and there is no river basin in the world shared by so many nations. Covering an area of about 800,000 km, it is Europe's second largest river basin and home to 83 million people of different cultures, languages and historical backgrounds.

Management of common water sources and overcoming difficulties caused by droughts and floods requires co-operation between these countries. In the past twenty years political turbulence has caused an increase in the number of countries included, making co-operation difficult at times. Nevertheless several projects were launched and a number of reports were produced. In 2008, at the 22nd Working Meeting of the Regional Hydrological Co-operation of the Danube Countries in the framework of IHP/UNESCO at the XXIVth Conference of the Danubian Countries, it was decided that these reports would be summarised in one special publication. It was also agreed to include additional reports serving the common interest.

This publication therefore brings together the reports and papers related to regional co-operation. It is the result of a major collaboration and examines a broad range of topics. These include hydrological forecasting and hydro-meteorological extremes, global climate change and hydrological processes, water management, and developments in hydrology. The book includes the efforts of many hydrologists and technical staff from different Universities and Agencies from all countries of the Danube River Basin. "

This book draws together a series of studies of spit geomorphology and temporal evolution from around the world. The volume offers some unique insights into how these landforms are examined scientifically and how we as humans impact them, offering a global perspective on spit genesis and evolution. Spits are unique natural environments whose evolution is linked to the adjacent coast and near shore morphology, sediment supply, coastal dynamics and sea-level change. Over the past century, Global Mean Sea Level (GMSL) has risen by 10 to 20 centimetres and many coastal spits represent the first sentinel against coastal submersion. Scientific research indicates that sea levels worldwide have been rising at a rate of 3.5 millimetres per year since the early 1990s, roughly twice the average speed of the preceding 80 years. This trend, linked to global warming will undoubtedly cause major changes in spit morphology. Spits are highly mobile coastal landforms that respond rapidly to environmental change. They therefore represent a signature of past environmental change and provide a landform indicator of climate change.

This wide-ranging selection of original papers covers many aspects of desertification including environmental and weather factors, land management policy, groundwater resources, understanding biodiversity in fragile ecosystems, technological approaches to the study and remedy of desertification.

This PhD looks at Integrated Coastal Zone Management in Baten Bay, Indonesia. Recommendations are given on how environmental information and stakeholder participation in the coastal EIA process can be improved.

Unprecedented levels of wealth, technology and institutional capacity can forge a just, peaceful and ecologically resilient future. However, the authors argue, social polarization, geo-political conflict and environmental degradation are threatening the long-term well-being of humanity and the planet. Global Sustainability explores the alternative futures that could emerge from the resolution of these antagonisms.
Based on extensive international and interdisciplinary research, the book identifies the perils of market-driven scenarios and considers the possibility of the failure of conventional approaches. It also, however, presents a vision of the possibility of a 'Great Transition' in which revised human values and development goals bring a new stage of civilization. It will be essential reading for all scholars and professionals interested in the future of the environment, international affairs, and sustainable development.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203166264

It has been increasingly recognized that trees and vegetation in urban areas provide a number of ecological services beyond beautifying cities. The purpose of urban forestry is to use trees and natural habitat patches to ameliorate negative environmental impacts of cities and to contribute to the creation of more livable, ecological sustainable eco-cities. Ecology, Planning, and Management of Urban Forests takes an international approach to sharing knowledge about the management of urban forests that has been learned through studies in many different regions. This allows the reader to evaluate methods and management that are appropriate for particular geographic, environmental and socio-political contexts. Urban forests are also approached on regional and landscape scales to encompass more natural environments in and around cities, rather than within arbitrary municipal boundaries.

High mountains, polar expanses, volcanic peaks are exciting and special environments. 13 leading international geographers explore different aspects of these environments - disorientation, exploration, native knowledge, polar research. This is the first book to do this.High places - be they mountain peaks or the vast expanses of the polar latitudes - have always captured the human imagination. Inaccessible, extreme, they are commonly invested with awe and reverence, as places of physical challenge, intense experience. Increasingly, they are also treated as unique locations for science."High Places" explores the fascinating geographies of these special environments, revealing how senses are challenged, objectivities exposed, cultural assumptions laid bare. Whether walking the summit of Pico de Orizaba, the fourth highest volcano in the northern hemisphere; recounting the tale of the American explorer Charles Wilkes, charged with 'immoral mapping' in Antarctica; or exploring the 200,000 year old Greenland ice core; the international contributors reveal the richness and significance of these unique locations. Embracing Europe, Asia, North and Central America, Antarctica and the Arctic, "High Places" will interest geographers, historians of science, and those interested in polar/mountain studies, landscape, culture and environment.

Environmental Physics is a comprehensive introduction to the physical concepts underlying environmental science. The importance and relevance of physics is emphasised by its application to real environmental problems with a wide range of case studies. Applications included cover energy use and production, global climate, the physics of living things, radioactivity, environmental remote sensing, noise pollution and the physics of the Earth. The book makes the subject accessible to those with little physics background, keeping mathematical treatment straightforward. The text is lively and informative, and is supplemented by numerous illustrations, photos, tables of useful data, and a glossary of key terms.

The Middle Parana river is one of the largest in the world. Exceptionally rich in fauna and flora, it provides researchers with a glimpse into an ecosystem yet undisturbed by human civilization. This fascinating book covers all the key aspects of the Parana s fluvial limnology and ecology, arranged in discrete and easily navigable sections. First, the physical and chemical environment is explained, then the river s plant life, followed by its invertebrate life, and finally the vertebrates that inhabit the river.

Presenting the best poems from the nationwide Places of Poetry project, selected from over 7,500 entries Poetry lives in the veins of Britain, its farms and moors, its motorways and waterways, highlands and beaches. This anthology brings together time-honoured classics with some of the best new writing collected across the nation, from great monuments to forgotten byways. Featuring new writing from Kayo Chingonyi, Gillian Clarke, Zaffar Kunial, Jo Bell and Jen Hadfield, Places of Poetry is a celebration of the strangeness and variety of our islands, their rich history and momentous present. 

Urbanization affects wetlands in direct and indirect ways. Over the past several decades it has become increasingly apparent that unmanaged runoff is the primary threat to the country's watershed resources.

Wetlands and Urbanization: Implications for the Future is the result of a ten year research project focused on the understanding and managing the impacts of urban stormwater on wetlands. The book documents the background, methods, and results of the research and uses the information to draw conclusions about managing wetland ecosystems in urban areas. The project culminates in a set of comprehensive guidelines for the management of wetland hydrology.

While the focus of this research is regional in nature, its applications are broad. First, the research shows how to measure and assess the impact of urbanization on wetlands. Secondly, it presents scientific approaches available for use in an integrated assessment of wetland condition. And thirdly, it provides guidelines for biomonitoring wetlands using multiple indicators.

Wetlands and Urbanization presents an integrated watershed approach to the scientific evaluation of the impact of landscape urbanization on wetland functions. It associates the source of impact (the landscape) with the sink (the wetland), relates findings to implications for future planning and management of watersheds and provides a model for future comprehensive investigations of wetland impacts from urbanization.

This book offers an overview of recent scientific and professional literature on urban greening and urban ecology, focusing on diverse disciplines such as landscape architecture, geography, urban ecology, urban climatology, biodiversity conservation, urban governance, architecture and urban hydrology. It includes contributions in which academics, public policy experts and practitioners share their considerable knowledge on the multi-faceted aspects of greening cities. The greening of cities has witnessed a global resurgence over the past two decades and has made a significant contribution to urban liveability and sustainability, as well as increasing resilience. As urban greening efforts continue to expand, it is useful to promote recent advances in our understanding of various aspects of planning, design and management of urban greenery, but at the same time, it is also important to realize that there are important gaps in our knowledge and that further research is needed. The book is organized in three main parts: concepts, functions and forms of urban greening. The first part examines the historical roots of greening cities and how the burgeoning field of urban ecology can contribute useful principles and strategies to guide the planning, design and management of urban greening. The second part shifts the focus to the diverse range of services - the functions - provided by urban greening, such as those related to urban climate, urban biodiversity, human health, and community building. The final part explores conventional, often neglected, but important forms of urban greenery such as urban woodlands and urban farms, as well as relatively recent forms of urban greenery like those integrated with buildings and waterways. It offers a ready reference resource for researchers, practitioners and policy-makers to grasp the critical issues and trigger further studies and applications in the quest for high-performance green cities.

Coastal and marine ecosystems, some severely degraded, other still pristine, control rich resources of inshore environments and coastal seas of Latin America's Pacific and Atlantic margins. Conflicts between the needs of the region's nations and diminishing revenues and environmental quality have induced awareness of coastal ecological problems and motivated financial support for restoration and management.
The volume provides a competent review on the structure, processes and function of 22 important Latin American coastal marine ecosystems. Each contribution describes the environmental settings, biotic components and structure of the system, considers trophic processes and energy flow, evaluates the modifying influence of natural and human perturbations, and suggests management needs. Although the focus of the book is on basic ecological research, the results have application for coastal managers.

Applied Geography offers an invaluable introduction to useful research in physical, environmental and human geography and provides a new focus and reference point for investigating and understanding problem-orientated research. Forty-nine leading experts in the field introduce and explore research which crosses the traditional boundary between physical and human geography. A wide range of key issues and contemporary debates are within the books main sections, which cover:
natural and environmental hazards
environmental change and management
challenges of the human environment
techniques of spatial analysis
Applied geography is the application of geographic knowledge and skills to identify the nature and causes of social, economic and environmental problems and inform policies which lead to their resolution.

This book examines the politics of community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) in Namibia. CBNRM and similar forms of conservation across southern Africa have long been studied for their potential benefits as domestic policy tools to help improve sustainable development. However, they have often failed to achieve their stated goals. By assessing the initiation, design, implementation and outcomes of CBNRM, the book argues that communities are often unable to attain the degree of empowerment that these forms of resource governance promise. It also considers the impact of climate change on CBNRM programmes, and the responses of international actors involved in their governance. In doing so, the book demonstrates how the power imbalances that are built into the global political economy have ensured that those most marginalized in society are no better off as a result of this new form of resource governance. It will appeal to all those interested in CBNRM, conservation studies and environmental governance in Africa, as well political economy and international relations.

This text argues that the scale of deforestation wrought by West African farmers during the 20th century has been vastly exaggerated and global analyses have unfairly stigmatized them and obscured their more sustainable, landscape-enriching practices. On a country by country basis (covering Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo and Benin) and using historical and social anthropological evidence, it illustrates that more realistic assessments of forest cover change, and more respectful attention to local knowledge and practices, are necessary bases for effective and appropriate environmental policies.

In 1909, while dreaming of the Himalaya, Norwegian mountaineer Alf Bonnevie Bryn and a fellow young climber, the Australian George Ingle Finch, set their sights on Corsica to build their experience. The events of this memorable trip form the basis of Bryn's acclaimed book Tinder og banditter - 'Peaks and Bandits', with their boisterous exploits delighting Norwegian readers for generations. Newly translated by Bibbi Lee, this classic of Norwegian literature is available for the first time in English. Although Bryn would go on to become a respected mountaineer and author, and Finch would become regarded as one of the greatest mountaineers of all time - a legend of the 1922 Everest expedition - Peaks and Bandits captures them on the cusp of these achievements: simply two students taking advantage of their Easter holidays, their escapades driven by their passion for climbing. As they find themselves in unexpected and often strange places, Bryn's sharp and jubilant narrative epitomises travel writing at its best. Balancing its wit with fascinating insight into life in early twentieth-century Corsica, the infectious enthusiasm of Bryn's narrative has cemented it as one of Norway's most treasured adventure books. Peaks and Bandits embodies the timeless joy of adventure.