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Books > Earth & environment > Earth sciences > The hydrosphere
This volume, derived from the 1999 International Tsunami Symposium, presents a unique look at the state of tsunami research at the end of the 20th century. It displays recent progress both in data recovery and reconstructions of historical tsunamis and in detail examination of recent disasters. It shows the tsunami community using both traditional methods of data gathering - searching archives and attempting to simulate past events - and integrating modern technologies - side-scan sonar, GPS, global communications, supercomputers - in the quest to understand tsunamis and improve mankind's ability to mitigate the disastrous consequences of these unpredictable and unstoppable events. It chronicles recent advances in mitigation efforts while illuminating the continuing need for increased efforts. The papers range from descriptive texts for the non-specialists to fairly technical discussions for those familiar with tsunami research. Audience: This book will be of interest to researchers and graduate students involved in natural hazards research, physical oceanography, seismology, environmental impact assessment and risk assessment.
This book explores water resources management issues in China and possible solutions. It analyzes a wide range of general and specific topics, providing case studies and a balanced review of the past and present situation as well as future developments. The book begins with a general introduction and an overview of hydrology, water resources, and development issues in China. It then presents a management framework, including a management system, management institutions, river basin management, water pricing, water rights, and groundwater management, and discusses its implementation, covering water resources allocation and regulation in the Yellow River, integrated water affair management reforms, and agricultural water management in northern China. The last section focuses on the current reforms and hot topics, with strong emphasis on stringent water resource strategies applied to the river and lake principle system, recycled water use and water resources asset management, as well as climate change impacts, and concludes with a summary of the many changes in the water sector in China and a look at the road ahead and the areas that still need to be reformed.
Making hydrological measurements in the field is an essential part of water resources planning and management. This book is an introduction to the practical skills and knowledge required to take measurements and to manage data collection programmes. The author draws on 30 years of experience of working in tropical countries, based with the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology at Wallingford, UK. After describing the general principles of working with observers, teams and road vehicles in the remote areas of tropical countries (and how to avoid some of the pitfalls) the author discusses in detail various methods of measuring rainfall, streamflow and evaporation. The book is well illustrated with diagrams of hydrological equipment and how to use it, together with photographs of field installations in countries as far afield as Kenya, Ecuador and Sri Lanka, among others. Field Hydrology will be essential reading for water resource professionals, academics, NGOs and fieldworkers.
This book summarizes unique research findings on the hydrodynamic behavior of ice particles (ice crystals, snow, graupel and hailstones) in the atmosphere. The fall behavior of ice hydrometeors determines how and how fast a mixed-phase cloud can grow or dissipate. The book discusses how the authors used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods and numerical simulations to determine these behaviors, and presents these computations along with numerous detailed tables and illustrations of turbulent flow fields. It also examines the implications of the results for the general atmospheric sciences as well as for climate science (since the cloud problem is the source of the greatest uncertainty in model-based climate predictions). As such it allows readers to gain a clear and comprehensive understanding of how particles fall in clouds and offers insights into cloud physics and dynamics and their impact on the climate..
India has 7,500 km of coastline with diverse habitats and rich biota. Coastal ecosystems, unfortunately, are experiencing wide range of pressures due to siltation, eutrophication, coastal development, aquaculture and climate change. Those species that adapt to these pressures will expand their living boundaries while others may fade away. Accordingly, the study of coastal biodiversity is of great concern globally and constitutes an important element of global change research. Gujarat has 1,600 km of coastline, reportedly with rich diversity of seaweeds. Previously published accounts on seaweed biodiversity were mainly in the form of checklists, the earliest among these being the checklist of Krishnamurthy and Joshi prepared in the early 1970s. The more recent checklists are based almost entirely on secondary information. The present book entitled Seaweeds of India - The Diversity and Distribution of Seaweeds of Gujarat Coast is a timely publication based wholly on primary data. Data were collected through extensive and systematic ? eld studies conducted by the authors during different seasons over a three year period. The authors collected nearly 200 species of seaweeds belonging to 100 genera of Chlorophyta, Phaeophyta and Rhodophyta. Twenty-four of the species are new to Gujarat coast and three are new to Indian waters. The book contains high-quality images of the different species in their existing habitats. Brief taxonomical descriptions, together with information on ecology, distribution, seasonality and abundance, are covered for each of the species.
African papyrus (Cyperus papyrus L.) wetlands provide water, food and materials to millions of people, and perform important landscape functions such as water and nutrient storage, habitat provision for fish, birds and other wildlife. They are also an integral part of the culture of African wetland communities. With an increasing demand for food, papyrus wetlands are at risk of conversion to agriculture and losing these ecosystem services. Combining increased agricultural production with wetland conservation is urgently needed. The research presented in this book consisted of two parts. First, field experiments investigated nitrogen and phosphorus retention, showing that papyrus grows faster with disturbance from human activities or flooding, but produces less biomass and stores less nutrients. Then, a dynamic simulation model (Papyrus Simulator) based on the hydrological and ecological wetland processes showed that assimilation, mortality, decay, re-translocation, nutrient inflow and soil porosity were the most influential factors. The model demonstrated that controlled harvesting can increase nutrient retention by up to 40%, but overharvesting leads to the release of nutrients. These findings can help determining optimum harvesting strategies for constructed and natural wetlands, and contribute to the quantification of ecosystem services and an evidence-based adaptive management approach for African wetland landscapes.
The management of common pool resources and publicly-owned areas is fraught with difficulty. This book explores the long, complex, and frequently contentious history of public lands management in the United States in order to draw lessons for the emerging field of marine spatial planning (MSP). The author first establishes that these two seemingly different settings are in fact remarkably similar, drawing on established theories of policy analysis. The work then examines the management of US National Forests over the past 120 years, including three place-based case studies, to discover recurring themes. The analysis shows how different management approaches evolved over time in response to changing laws and cultural norms, producing outcomes favored by different constituencies. This history also reveals the ambiguities and contradictions inherent in multiple-use management of any public space. Next, the book analyzes recent efforts to advance MSP, both in the US and globally, showing how they mirror past experiences in National Forest management, including similar disagreements among stakeholders. In conclusion the author suggests how those within ocean-related sectors - government, academia, industry, and environmental groups - might achieve their individual and collective goals more effectively based on lessons from the public lands setting.
This book introduces systematically the cryospheric science, covering the formation, development, evolution, and research methods of each component of the cryosphere, the interaction between the cryosphere and the other spheres of the climate system and the anthroposphere, and the hot topics of social and economic sustainable development and geopolitics. The authors are world-renowned experts and scientists working in the related fields. They have a deep understanding and accurate grasp of the basic theory, evolution mechanism, and international frontiers of the cryosphere, as well as rich teaching experience, which makes this book suitable also as textbook for graduate students. It is also the first book that introduces the knowledge of cryospheric science systematically. In addition to theoretical knowledge, the book also introduces field work and experimental analysis. It should be of interests for the scholars and graduate student working in the fields of geography, hydrology, geology, geomorphology, atmosphere, ecology, environment, oceanography, and regional economic and social sustainable development.
Coupled atmosphere-ocean models are at the core of numerical climate models. There is an extraordinarily broad class of coupled atmosphere-ocean models ranging from sets of equations that can be solved analytically to highly detailed representations of Nature requiring the most advanced computers for execution. The models are applied to subjects including the conceptual understanding of Earth's climate, predictions that support human activities in a variable climate, and projections aimed to prepare society for climate change. The present book fills a void in the current literature by presenting a basic and yet rigorous treatment of how the models of the atmosphere and the ocean are put together into a coupled system. The text of the book is divided into chapters organized according to complexity of the components that are coupled. Two full chapters are dedicated to current efforts on the development of generalist couplers and coupling methodologies all over the world.
Coupled atmosphere-ocean models are at the core of numerical climate models. There is an extraordinarily broad class of coupled atmosphere-ocean models ranging from sets of equations that can be solved analytically to highly detailed representations of Nature requiring the most advanced computers for execution. The models are applied to subjects including the conceptual understanding of Earth's climate, predictions that support human activities in a variable climate, and projections aimed to prepare society for climate change. The present book fills a void in the current literature by presenting a basic and yet rigorous treatment of how the models of the atmosphere and the ocean are put together into a coupled system. The text of the book is divided into chapters organized according to complexity of the components that are coupled. Two full chapters are dedicated to current efforts on the development of generalist couplers and coupling methodologies all over the world.
Water Environment Modeling covers the formulations and applications of mathematical models that simulate water flow and chemical transport in rivers, lakes, groundwater, estuaries, coastal, and ocean waters. These models are used to evaluate the response of water environment to human interventions and serve as useful analytical tools for water pollution control and resource management. Simple and comprehensive modeling techniques and their practical applications are presented with examples and exercises, most of which are derived from actual case studies. In general, simple models can be solved analytically and comprehensive models require numerical solutions. While simple models are usually adopted for preliminary assessment of a particular water environment, comprehensive models are used to provide detailed spatial and temporal variations of pollutants in complex environments. The system-based models in the forms of integral equations are introduced as an alternative modeling approach. This textbook is ideal for advanced undergraduate students and graduate students in civil and environmental engineering and related academic fields. It is also suitable as a reference book for practicing engineers and scientists. Authors: Clark C.K. Liu is Emeritus Professor of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of Hawaii and former Environmental Engineering Director of US National Science Foundation. Pengzhi Lin is Professor of State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering at Sichuan University. He is the author of Numerical Modeling of Water Waves (CRC Press, 2008). Hong Xiao is Professor and Vice Director of Hydroinformatics Institute of the State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering at Sichuan University.
Sound waves are the only practical means of remote investigation of the sea and its bottom and transmission in seawater. Underwater acoustics has become one of the major technologies used in the exploration and exploitation of the oceans for scientific, industrial, or military/naval purposes. It is widely employed in the fields of ocean engineering, seafloor mapping, defence, oceanography, navigation, and fisheries. Dr Xavier Lurton is a renowned specialist in underwater acoustics. He has worked in this field as a scientist, engineer, project manager and teacher since 1981 and has participated in many scientific projects, systems developments and at-sea cruises. In the second edition of his book, Dr Lurton provides an updated and extended introduction to underwater acoustics, including coverage of the physical processes and their basic modeling, different underwater acoustic systems and their practical applications and a description and assessment of the various technologies. Dr Lurton has extensive experience as a lecturer in undergraduate and postgraduate schools, including naval academies. This book is based on his direct, first-hand experience of the many aspects of underwater acoustics in seas around the world, at the forefront of current research and development efforts.
Tidal freshwater forested wetlands are unique wetland systems. Occupying low relief coastal areas which are subject to both upland runoff and tidal flooding, these systems are especially vulnerable to pressure from human development and to climate change impacts of sea-level rise and increased drought/flood frequency. Yet to date the ecological dynamics, distribution, and conservation status of these communities is poorly understood.This book draws together the latest findings from investigators focusing on the hydrological processes, community organization, and stress physiology of freshwater, tidally influenced land-margin forests of the southeastern United States. It describes the land use history that led to the restricted distribution of these wetlands, and provides descriptions of the hydrology, soils, biogeochemistry, and physiological ecology of these systems, highlighting the similarities shared among tidal freshwater forested wetlands.
Water Environment Modeling covers the formulations and applications of mathematical models that simulate water flow and chemical transport in rivers, lakes, groundwater, estuaries, coastal, and ocean waters. These models are used to evaluate the response of water environment to human interventions and serve as useful analytical tools for water pollution control and resource management. Simple and comprehensive modeling techniques and their practical applications are presented with examples and exercises, most of which are derived from actual case studies. In general, simple models can be solved analytically and comprehensive models require numerical solutions. While simple models are usually adopted for preliminary assessment of a particular water environment, comprehensive models are used to provide detailed spatial and temporal variations of pollutants in complex environments. The system-based models in the forms of integral equations are introduced as an alternative modeling approach. This textbook is ideal for advanced undergraduate students and graduate students in civil and environmental engineering and related academic fields. It is also suitable as a reference book for practicing engineers and scientists. Authors: Clark C.K. Liu is Emeritus Professor of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of Hawaii and former Environmental Engineering Director of US National Science Foundation. Pengzhi Lin is Professor of State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering at Sichuan University. He is the author of Numerical Modeling of Water Waves (CRC Press, 2008). Hong Xiao is Professor and Vice Director of Hydroinformatics Institute of the State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering at Sichuan University.
The oceans cover over 70% of our planet. They are host to a biodiversity of tremendous wealth. Its preservation is now a global priority featuring in several international conventions and a confirmed objective of European policies and national strategies. Understanding the dynamics and the uses of the marine biodiversity is a genuine scientific challenge. Fourteen international experts have got together and identified five priority research themes to address the problem, based on analysing the state of knowledge.
Chapters are authored by leading experts from around the world, including Greece, Chile, Australia, Canada and Australia, while an international Editorial Board ensures continued high quality and rigorous peer review of published articles. The ever increasing interest in work in oceanography and marine biology and its relevance to global environmental issues, especially global climate change and its impacts, creates a demand for authoritative reviews summarizing the results of recent research. This series remains one of the most cited sources in marine science and oceanography.
This volume presents a review of global progress made towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6): Clean Water and Sanitation, part of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It builds on the latest data and statistics provided by the UN and other international organizations through chapters written by a wide variety of authors, including representatives of government ministries and departments, members of international organizations specializing in this area, academics and senior professionals. The book details how SDG 6 is being approached in a number of geographic regions, with each chapter describing developments in a particular region or country. Supporting case studies presented in the book illustrate progress, achievements and challenges that remain in the effort to reach SDG 6 by 2030. The book is intended for academics/researchers, scientists, policymakers, practitioners, and all stakeholders working at the global, regional, national and local levels who support or are engaged with the implementation of SDG 6.
This book discusses new and innovative trends and techniques in the removal of toxic and or refractory pollutants through various environmental biotechnological processes from wastewater, both at the laboratory and industrial scale. It focuses primarily on environmentally-friendly technologies which respect the principles of sustainable development, including the advanced trends in remediation through an approach of environmental biotechnological processes from either industrial or sewage wastewater. Features: Examines the fate and occurrence of refractory pollutants in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and the potential approaches for their removal. Highlights advanced remediation procedures involving various microbiological and biochemical processes. Assesses and compares the potential application of numerous existing treatment techniques and introduces new, emerging technologies. Removal of Refractory Pollutants from Wastewater Treatment Plants is suitable for practicing engineers, researchers, water utility managers, and students who seek an excellent introduction and basic knowledge in the principles of environmental bioremediation technologies.
Stochastic hydrogeology, which emerged as a research area in the late 1970s, involves the study of subsurface, geological variability on flow and transport processes and the interpretation of observations using existing theories. Lacking, however, has been a rational framework for modeling the impact of the processes that take place in heterogeneous media and for incorporating it in predictions and decision-making. This book provides this important framework. It covers the fundamental and practical aspects of stochastic hydrogeology, coupling theoretical aspects with examples, case studies, and guidelines for applications.
This book highlights recent advances in the discipline of biogeochemistry that have directly resulted from the development of critical zone (CZ) science. The earth's critical zone (CZ) is defined from the weathering front and lowest extent of freely circulating groundwater up through the regolith and to the top of the vegetative canopy. The structure and function of the CZ is shaped through tectonic, lithologic, hydrologic, climatic, and biological processes and is the result of processes occurring at multiple time scales from eons to seconds. The CZ is an open system in which energy and matter are both transported and transformed. Critical zone science provides a novel and unifying framework to consider those coupled interactions that control biogeochemical cycles and fluxes of energy and matter that are critical to sustaining a habitable planet. Biogeochemical processes are at the heart of energy and matter fluxes through ecosystems and watersheds. They control the quantity and quality of carbon and nutrients available for living organisms, control the retention and export of nutrients affecting water quality and soil fertility, and influence the ability for ecosystems to sequester carbon. As the term implies, biogeochemical cycles, and the rates at which they occur, result from the interaction of biological, chemical, and physical processes. However, finding a unifying framework by which to study these interactions is challenging, and the different components of bio-geo-chemistry are often studied in isolation. The authors provide both reviews and original research contributions with the requirement that the chapters incorporate a CZ framework to test biogeochemical theory and/or develop new and robust predictive models regarding elemental cycles. The book demonstrates how the CZ framework provides novel insights into biogeochemistry.
Originally published in 1975, this extensive bibliography has been drawn from archaeological, botanical, geological, meteorological and zoological sources. It covers those studies which deal with periods of time for which modern observational data are not available. Included sources range from those which make minor contributions to our understanding of North American paleoclimates to those whose impacts upon this understanding have been considerable.
Published in 1968: The author not only pioneered modern-style village surveys in both England and India, but also modern style urban surveys and studies in India. There he broke new ground in his remarkable first-hand researches on agricultural labour, village economics, depressed or "Untouchable" classes in town and country, and human and industrial relations in India's first steel town, Jamshedpur. In the text of this book we reproduce thirty-five of the author's papers - in whole, in part, or in summary.
Water and wastewater treatment normally take place in a series of continuous flow units, each designed to perform a step of the intended purification process - typically involving coagulation or flocculation, sedimentation or filtration, and disinfection. The flow pattern governs the residence/contact time, turbulence levels, collisions and shear to which different fluid portions are subjected in their passage through the unit. The efficiency of a given unit depends as much on the relevant physical, chemical or biological reaction as on the flow pattern taking place inside. This combined effect of flow features on process efficiency is often overlooked in teaching the design of water and wastewater treatment units, and so it is not uncommon to find treatment units in operating in a cost-ineffective way, causing health and environmental problems. This book introduces engineering students to concepts and practical measures associated with the rational design of treatment units, leading to more realistic and potentially optimal solutions for new units as well as for retrofitting existing units. Key basic concepts and suitable analytical tools are described, illustrated and worked through using practical examples. Engineering undergraduates and graduates should benefit from the book while undertaking standalone modules on the topic and/or supplementary classes of existing courses on unit treatment processes. The book may also be useful for technical and engineering staff involved in designing and/or retrofitting units for better cost-effectiveness and footprint reduction of the water and wastewater treatment sector.
Bioremediation: A Sustainable Approach to Preserving Earth's Water discusses the latest research in green chemistry practices and principles that are involved in water remediation and the quality improvement of water. The presence of heavy metals, dyes, fluoride, dissolved solids and many other pollutants are responsible for water pollution and poor water quality. The removal of these pollutants in water resources is necessary, yet challenging. Water preservation is of great importance globally and researchers are making significant progress in ensuring this precious commodity is safe and potable. This volume illustrates how bioremediation in particular is a promising green technique globally. Features: Addresses bioremediation of all the major water pollutants Approaches the chemistry of water and the concept of water as a renewable resource from a green chemistry aspect Discusses environmental chemistry and the practice of industrial ecology Explains the global concern of adequate high quality water supplies, and how bioremediation can resolve this Explores sustainable development through green engineering
Market: Ocean dynamicists and acousticians. "Useful to scientists or students interested in ocean dynamical modelling, acoustic propagation modelling, and particularly to those interested in the union of these fields (which is likely to be become increasingly important)." Revue de livre With complete chapters contributed by leading authorities, this work offers a comprehensive overview of current combined research in acoustics and oceanography. Following an introduction on ocean variability, acoustic propagation, and coupled models, subsequent chapters present up-to-date coverage of the developing relationship between ocean science and ocean acoustics, including an extensive review of state-of-the-art three-dimensional models. |
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