NATO Advanced Research Workshop "Environmental Protection Against Radioactive Pollution" was held in Almaty on September 16-19, 2002. Experts from Azerbaijan, Denmark, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Norway, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, USA, Uzbekistan and the IAEA have participated and made presentations. The Workshop was organized parallel to the "2nd Eurasia Conference on Nuclear Science and its Application" held in Almaty on September 16-19, 2002 that was organized by Institute of Nuclear Physics of Kazakhstan with Turkish Atomic Energy Authority and National Academy of Science of Azerbaijan, National Academy of Science of Kyrgyzstan, Institute of Nuclear Physics of Uzbekistan. So, the number of participants for the Workshop was rather high. The NATO Advanced Research Workshop generated important interactions and provided a mechanism for scientists of different nations and of varied disciplines to discuss challenges that confront many countries around the world. The reports presented at the Workshop were published in this NATO Science Series. The main directions of the presented reports were as follows; General estimation of the radioactive contamination of the territories and radiation hazardous objects, including former military test sites, areas influenced due to Chernobly and Mayak accidents, and territories of oil fields; Techniques and procedures of radioecological monitoring; Techniques of determination of radionuclide concentrations and its species in the environment.

This book reviews alternative and renewable energy resources in order to pave the way for a more sustainable production in the future. A multi-disciplinary team of authors provides a comprehensive overview of current technologies and future trends, including solar technologies, wind energy, hydropower, microbial electrochemical systems and various biomass sources for biofuel production. In addition, the book focuses on solutions for developing countries. Conventional energy sources are finite, and estimates suggest that they will be exhausted within a few decades. Finding a solution to this problem is a global challenge, and developing countries in particular are still highly dependent on fossil fuels due to their rapidly growing populations accompanied by a huge growth in primary energy consumption. Moreover, the most common conventional energy sources (coal and petroleum) are non-sustainable since their combustion exponentially increases greenhouse gas emissions. As such, there is a pressing need for clean energy based on alternative or renewable resources, not only to ensure energy supplies at an affordable price but also to protect the environment.

Uniquely focused on the contributions smart cities can make to climate change resilience, Urban Climate Adaptation and Mitigation offers evidence-based scientific solutions for improving cities' abilities to prepare for, recover from, and adapt to global climate-related events. Beginning with the observation of global environmental change, this book explores what sustainable smart projects are, how they are adopted and evaluated, and how they can address climate change challenges. It brings together a wide variety of disciplines such as planning, transportation, and waste management to address issues related to climate change adaptation and mitigation in cities.In general, many social science researchers lack cohesive, broad-based literature knowledge; Urban Climate Adaptation and Mitigation bridges this gap and informs different types of stakeholders on how they can enhance their preparation abilities to enable real-time responses and actions. Therefore, it is a valuable reference for researchers, professors, graduate students, city planners, and policy makers. Application-focused throughout, this book explores the complexities of urban systems and subsystems to support researchers, planners, and decision makers in their efforts toward developing more climate-resilient smart cities.

In the modern semiconductor industry, there is a growing need to understand and combat potential radiation damage problems. Space applications are an obvious case, but, beyond that, today's device and circuit fabrication rely on increasing numbers of processing steps that involve an aggressive environment where inadvertant radiation damage can occur. This book is both aimed at post-graduate researchers seeking an overview of the field, and will also be immensely useful for nuclear and space engineers and even process engineers. A background knowledge of semiconductor and device physics is assumed, but the basic concepts are all briefly summarized. Finally the book outlines the shortcomings of present experimental and modeling techniques and gives an outlook on future developments.

Nowadays, environmental issues including air and water pollution, climate change, overexploitation of marine ecosystems, exhaustion of fossil resources, conservation of biodiversity are receiving major attention from the public, stakeholders and scholars from the local to the planetary scales. It is now clearly recognized that human activities yield major ecological and envir- mental stresses with irreversible loss of species, destruction of habitat or c- matecatastrophesasthemostdramaticexamplesoftheire?ects.Infact, these anthropogenic activities impact not only the states and dynamics of natural resources and ecosystems but also alter human health, well-being, welfare and economic wealth since these resources are support features for human life. The numerous outputs furnished by nature include direct goods such as food, drugs, energy along with indirect services such as the carbon cycle, the water cycle and pollination, to cite but a few. Hence, the various ecological changes our world is undergoing draw into question our ability to sustain economic production, wealth and the evolution of technology by taking natural systems into account. The concept of "sustainable development" covers such concerns, although no universal consensus exists about this notion. Sustainable development - phasizes the need to organize and control the dynamics and the complex - teractions between man, production activities, and natural resources in order to promote their coexistence and their common evolution. It points out the importance of studying the interfaces between society and nature, and es- ciallythecouplingbetweeneconomicsandecology.Itinducesinterdisciplinary scienti?c research for the assessment, the conservation and the management of natural resources.

This is the first book to examine comprehensively the chlorine industry and its effects on the environment. It covers not only the history of chlorine production, but also looks at its products, their effects on the global environment, and the international legislation which controls their use, release, and disposal. Individual chapters are dedicated to subjects such as releases of organochlorines into the environment, and the environmental impact of ozone depletion, providing simple explanations of these complex issues. These are backed up with case studies of landmark events in the history of the chlorine industry - for example the Seveso explosion or the Yusho and Yu-Cheng mass poisonings. With a clear, concise text and numerous compilations of critical data, this book will prove an invaluable source reference for environmental scientists, students, and policy makers with an interest in this subject.

Based on the empirical analysis of the effectiveness of four provincial centres for the diffusion of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), a market mechanism for emission reductions, Miriam Schroeder scrutinizes the strengths and weaknesses of hybrid actors' performance on the local Chinese carbon market.

The book addresses the question of whether the currently available instruments of international environmental and international humanitarian law are applicable to climate conflicts. It clarifies the different pathways leading from climate change to conflict and offers an analysis of international environmental law embedded within the international doctrine of state responsibility. It goes on to discuss whether climate change amounts to an issue covered by Art. 2.4 UN Charter - the prohibition of the use of force. It then considers the possible application of international humanitarian law to climate conflicts. The book also offers a definition of the term "climate conflict", drawing on legal as well as peace and conflict studies.

An introduction to the principles of climate change science with an emphasis on the empirical evidence for climate change and a warming world. Additional readings are given at the end of each chapter. A list of "Things to Know" opens each chapter. Chapters are arranged so that the student is first introduced to the scientific method(s), examples of the use of the scientific method from other sciences drawn from the history of science with an emphasis on climate science. Climate science is treated in each chapter based on the premise of global warming. Chapter treatments on the atmosphere. biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and anthroposphere and their inter-relationships are given.

The debate about the existence of climate change seems finally at an end. We now have to decide what to do about it. Here, James Garvey argues that the ultimate rationale for action on climate change cannot be simply economic, political, scientific or social, though no doubt our decisions should be informed by such things. Instead, climate change is largely a moral problem. What we should do about it depends on what matters to us and what we think is right. This book is an introduction to the ethics of climate change. It considers a little climate science and a lot of moral philosophy, ultimately finding a way into the many possible positions associated with climate change. It is also a call for action, for doing something about the moral demands placed on both governments and individuals by the fact of climate change. This is a book about choices, responsibility, and where the moral weight falls on our warming world. Articulate, provocative and stimulating, this timely book will make a significant contribution to one of the most important debates of our time .

Forests and vegetation emit biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) into the atmosphere which, once oxidized, can partition into the particle phase, forming secondary organic aerosols (SOAs). This thesis reports on a unique and comprehensive analysis of the impact of BVOC emissions on atmospheric aerosols and climate. A state-of-the-art global aerosol microphysics model is used to make the first detailed assessment of the impact of BVOC emissions on aerosol microphysical properties, improving our understanding of the role of these emissions in affecting the Earth's climate. The thesis also reports on the implications for the climate impact of forests. Accounting for the climate impacts of SOAs, taken together with the carbon cycle and surface albedo effects that have been studied in previous work, increases the total warming effect of global deforestation by roughly 20%.

This book provides two state-of-the-art quantitative techniques to determine ultra-trace rare earth elements (REEs) in natural carbonates using solution nebulization-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (SN-ICPMS) and laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) with respective applications were presented in this dissertation. These techniques were applied to natural carbonates, including corals and stalagmites, to understand volcano eruptions and the impacts on modern biosystem and paleoclimate regimes. In the first SN-ICPMS protocol, direct measurements for femtogram quantity carbonate samples without chemical separation steps can offer accurate and high-precision analysis (+/-1.9-6.5%, 2 ) with a high sample throughput of 8-10 samples/hr routinely. Application to modern Porites corals collected from South China Sea region, the anomalies of REE contents and Al/Ca ratios associated with micro-domain images, register modern coral reefs could be exacerbated by volcanic eruptions. In the second protocol, a high-sensitivity quantitative open-cell LA-ICPMS technique has been established to allow direct sampling on stalagmite surface in the atmospheric air. This technique improved limits of detection down to sub-ng/g range and promises analyses of carbonate REE profiles at the single digit parts-per-billion (ppb) levels. Application to a 15-cm stalagmite collected from East Timor reveals two peaks of REE contents by at least one order of magnitude, possibly due to volcanic ash preserved in stalagmite. Both improved SN-ICPMS and LA-ICPMS techniques highlight the high-sensitivity and high-temporal-resolution carbonate REE analyses for corals and stalagmites, with great potential to other natural carbonates such as travertine, tufa, and flowstone, benefit our understanding of paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental dynamics.

The term Little Ice Age' was originally used by glaciologists to describe the most recent major glacial advance of the Holocene. Subsequently, the Little Ice Age' has come to be associated with a period of advances of European glaciers between about 1450 to 1850, as well as with relatively cooler temperatures. The issue of whether or not this concept remains accurate is a major theme of many of the papers included in this volume. The main geographical focus is on the North Atlantic and European sectors, and includes research from a number of different palaeoclimatic fields. Examples are the use of documentary sources, early instrumental records, grain-harvest data, fossil-insect data, ice-core records, glacial evidence, lichenometry, synoptic climatology, and also the human dimensions of climate change. The papers presented reflect state-of-the-art knowledge, as well as thought-provoking new insights into these subject areas. The book will be of value to all those interested in the above topics and in the overall themes of climate variability and global change.

This book demonstrates the measurement, monitoring and mapping of environmental contaminants in soil & sediment, surface & groundwater and atmosphere. This book explores state-of-art techniques based on methodological and modeling in modern geospatial techniques specifically focusing on the recent trends in data mining techniques and robust modeling. It also presents modifications of and improvements to existing control technologies for remediation of environmental contaminants. In addition, it includes three separate sections on contaminants, risk assessment and remediation of different existing and emerging pollutants. It covers major topics such as: Radioactive Wastes, Solid and Hazardous Wastes, Heavy Metal Contaminants, Arsenic Contaminants, Microplastic Pollution, Microbiology of Soil and Sediments, Soil Salinity and Sodicity, Aquatic Ecotoxicity Assessment, Fluoride Contamination, Hydrochemistry, Geochemistry, Indoor Pollution and Human Health aspects. The content of this book will be of interest to researchers, professionals, and policymakers whose work involves environmental contaminants and related solutions.

Conceptual Boundary Layer Meteorology: The Air Near Here explains essential boundary layer concepts in a way that is accessible to a wide number of people studying and working in the environmental sciences. It begins with chapters designed to present the language of the boundary layer and the key concepts of mass, momentum exchanges, and the role of turbulence. The book then moves to focusing on specific environments, uses, and problems facing science with respect to the boundary layer.

The first single-volume reference of its kind, this comprehensive handbook provides background information and analysis on the full range of contemporary ocean use issues. Coverage includes the development of ocean law, the evolving uses of oceans, data on living and non-living ocean resources, the environmental impact of pollution, and competing national claims over ocean exploration. The volume also summarizes the most current research available on the uses of oceans, incorporates the salient portions of the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention in the topical surveys and analyses presented, and discusses all of the other major international conventions that have dealt with global ocean or marine affairs. Students, researchers, and agency staff concerned with the political and legal dimensions of ocean use will find this an indispensable source.

The handbook begins with an overview of the world's oceans and their physical and geographic features. The next two chapters survey the international conferences that have been held on ocean use and explore the historical development of international principles on the law of the sea. Ocean resources and their economic and political management form the focus of the following four chapters, with separate chapters on living and non-living resources and deep seabed mining. The final chapters address ocean environmental protection and pollution prevention and the implications of various uses of the ocean: military, navigation and transport, and marine scientific research. The text is accompanied by numerous charts and tables, end-of-chapter references, and seven appendixes which contain valuable supplemental information such as a chronological list of conventions and treaties on the law of the sea, national legislation on exclusive economic zones, bilateral fishery agreements, and more.

Written by a distinguished international scientist, who has made fundamental contributions on the climatic relationship between air pollution and meteorology, the book provides a compendium of realistic examples of air pollution behaviour. After commencing with a general survey he takes us through a study of diffusion mechanisms including pollution from industrial chimneys and road traffic. Air pollution meteorology covers boundary layer scaling, pre-processing meteorological data, air quality management, urban meteorology, and atmospheric chemistry (oxides of nitrogen are central to ozone chemistry) with accounts of typical air pollution episodes and a brief dictionary of air pollutants.
Provides a compendium of realistic examples of air pollution behaviourIncludes a comprehensive study of diffusion mechanisms, including pollution from industrial chimneys and road trafficCovers boundary layer scaling, pre-processing meteorological data, air quality management, urban meteorology, air pollution and atmospheric chemistry

Reconstruction of the climate variability of the past 500 years is a topic of great scientific interest not only in global terms, but also at regional and local levels. This period is interesting on account of the increasing influence of anthropogenic forcing and its overlap with natural factors. The Polish Climate in the European Context: An Historical Overview summarises the results of research into climate variability based on a combination of instrumental, documentary, dendrochronological and borehole data from Poland.

The first part of the book provides a Central European perspective of research in these fields, which forms the general background for a presentation of the state of the art of climatic change studies in Poland during the past 500 years (Part 2). This is followed by a selection of papers dealing mainly with different aspects of climate variability in Poland and Central Europe (Part 3).

"This book is a valuable tool integrating Polish, Central and Eastern European climate research into the global context. It is, as such, a must for climate researchers worldwide." (Gaston Demaree, Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium)

"This volume marks a significant step forward in our understanding of European climatic history." (Christian Pfister, University of Bern)"

This book provides a concise, yet comprehensive overview of the many facets relating to human health risk assessments in relation to chemical exposure problems. It presents some very important tools and methodologies that can be used to address chemical exposure and public health risk management problems in a consistent, efficient, and cost-effective manner. On the whole, the book represents a collection and synthesis of the principal elements of the risk assessment process that may be used to more effectively address issues pertaining to human exposures to chemicals found in modern societies. This also includes an elaboration of pertinent risk assessment concepts and techniques/methodologies for performing human health risk assessments. Written for both the novice and the experienced, the subject matter of this book is an attempt at offering a simplified and systematic presentation of public health risk assessment methods and application tools - all these facilitated by a layout that will carefully navigate the user through the major processes involved. A number of illustrative example problems are interspersed throughout the book, in order to help present the book in an easy-to-follow, pragmatic manner.

This volume examines legal matters regarding the prevention and fighting of historical pollution caused by industrial emissions. "Historical pollution" refers to the long-term or delayed onset effects of environmental crimes such as groundwater or soil pollution. Historical Pollution presents and compares national legal approaches, including the most interesting and effective mechanisms for managing environmental problems in relation with historical pollution. It features interdisciplinary and international comparisons of traditional and alternative justice mechanisms. This book will be of interest to researchers in criminology and criminal justice and related areas, such as politics, law, and economics, those in the public and private sectors dealing with environmental protection, including international institutions, corporations, specialized national agencies, those involved in the criminal justice system, and policymakers.

Most of the Earth's biosphere is characterized by low temperatures. Vast areas (>20%) of the soil ecosystem are permanently frozen or are unfrozen for only a few weeks in summer. Permafrost regions occur at high latitudes and also at high ele- tions; a significant part of the global permafrost area is represented by mountains. Permafrost soils are of global interest, since a significant increase in temperature is predicted for polar regions. Global warming will have a great impact on these soils, especially in northern regions, since they contain large amounts of organic carbon and act as carbon sinks, and a temperature increase will result in a release of carbon into the atmosphere. Additionally, the intensified release of the clima- relevant tracer gas methane represents a potential environmental harzard. Significant numbers of viable microorganisms, including bacteria, archaea, p- totrophic cyanobacteria and green algae, fungi and protozoa, are present in per- frost, and the characteristics of these microorganisms reflect the unique and extreme conditions of the permafrost environment. Remarkably, these microorg- isms have been reported to be metabolically active at subzero temperatures, even down to ?20 DegreesC.

Homer speaks of lightning bolts after which 'a grim reek of sulphur bursts forth' and the air was '?lled with reeking brimstone'. (Homer 3000 BC). The odour was not actually the smell of sulphur dioxide associated with burning sulphur, but rather was the ?rst recorded detection of the presence of another strong odour, that of ozone (O ) in Earth's atmosphere. These molecules were formed by the passage of 3 lightning through the air, created by splitting the abundant molecular oxygen (O ) 2 molecules into two, followed by the addition of each of the free O atoms to another O to form the triatomic product. In fact, most of the ozone molecules present 2 in the atmosphere at any time have been made by this same two-step splitti- plus-combination process, although the initiating cause usually begins with very energetic solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation rather than lightning. Many thousands of years later, the modern history of ozone began with its synthesis in the laboratory of H. F. Schonbein in 1840 (Nolte 1999), although the positive con?rmation of its three-oxygen atom chemical formula came along sometime later. Scienti?c interest in high-altitude stratospheric ozone dates back to 1881 when Hartley measured the spectrum of ozone in the laboratory and found that its ability to absorb UV light extended only to 293nm at the long wavelength end (Hartley 1881a).

Mercury (Hg) is one of the most toxic heavy metals, harmful to both the environment and human health. Hg is released into the atmosphere from natural and anthropogenic sources and its emission control has caused much concern. This book introduces readers to Hg pollution from natural and anthropogenic sources and systematically describes coal-fired flue gas mercury emission control in industry, especially from coal-fired power stations. Mercury emission control theory and experimental research are demonstrated, including how elemental mercury is oxidized into oxidized mercury and the effect of flue gas contents on the mercury speciation transformation process. Mercury emission control methods, such as existing APCDs (air pollution control devices) at power stations, sorbent injection, additives in coal combustion and photo-catalytic methods are introduced in detail. Lab-scale, pilot-scale and full-scale experimental studies of sorbent injection conducted by the authors are presented systematically, helping researchers and engineers to understand how this approach reduces the mercury emissions in flue gas and to apply the methods in mercury emission control at coal-fired power stations. Readers will arrive at a comprehensive understanding of various mercury emission control methods that are suitable for industrial applications. The book is intended for scientists, researchers, engineers and graduate students in the fields of energy science and technology, environmental science and technology and chemical engineering.

The ever-diversifying field of aerosol effects on climate is comprehensively presented here, describing the strong connection between fundamental research and model applications in a way that will allow both experienced researchers and those new to the field to gain an understanding of a wide range of topics. The material is consistently presented at three levels for each topic: (i) an accessible "quick read" of the essentials, (ii) a more detailed description, and (iii) a section dedicated to how the processes are handled in models. The modelling section in each chapter summarizes the current level of knowledge and what the gaps in this understanding mean for the effects of aerosols on climate, enabling readers to quickly understand how new research fits into established knowledge. Definitions, case studies, reference data, and examples are included throughout. Aerosols and Climate is a vital resource for graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, senior researchers, and lecturers in departments of atmospheric science, meteorology, engineering, and environment. It will also be of interest to those working in operational centers and policy-facing organizations, providing strong reference material on the current state of knowledge.