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Books > Earth & environment > Earth sciences > The hydrosphere
>The rich fossil record of the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains of the United States is a gold mine for interested scientists. The last thirty million years of Earth history are superbly chronicled by a succession of fossil assemblages extending from the St. Lawrence River to Florida. Marine scientists, paleontologists, and systematic biologists alike need a thorough guide to interpret this history. Cenozoic Seas: The View from Eastern North America analyzes the changing geography, the arrival and departures of ecosystems and species, and the affect of climate on living things. The author classifies all of the region's fossil-bearing formations and their contents within a logical, descriptive framework of space and time, providing a clear path for those studying evolution and extinction within specific communities of organisms. The book is also an excellent field guide for fossil collectors, providing detailed information for all species illustrated. Many organisms have never before been illustrated in a book on fossil shells.
It presents a new approach to set fish quota based on holistic ecosystem modeling (the CoastWeb-model) and also a plan to optimize a sustainable management of the Baltic Sea including a cost-benefit analysis. This plan accounts for the production of prey and predatory fish under different environmental conditions, professional fishing, recreational fishing and fish cage farm production plus an analysis of associated economic values. Several scenarios and remedial strategies for Baltic Sea management are discussed and an "optimal" strategy motivated and presented, which challenges the HELCOM strategy that was accepted by the Baltic States in November 2007. The strategy advocated in this book would create more than 7000 new jobs, the total value of the fish production would be about 1600 million euro per year plus 1000 million euro per year related to the willingness-to-pay to combat the present conditions in the Baltic Sea. Our strategy would cost about 370 million euro whereas the HELCOM strategy would cost about 3100 million euro per year. The "optimal" strategy is based on a defined goal - that the water clarity in the Gulf of Finland should return to what it was 100 years ago.
Thermodynamics is used increasingly in ecology to understand the system properties of ecosystems because it is a basic science that describes energy transformation from a holistic view. In the last decade, many contributions to ecosystem theory based on thermodynamics have been published, therefore an important step toward integrating these theories and encouraging a more wide spread use of them is to present them in one volume. An ecosystem consists of interdependent living organisms that are also interdependent with their environment, all of which are involved in a constant transfer of energy and mass within a general state of equilibrium or dis-equilibrium. Thermodynamics can quantify exactly how "organized" or "disorganized" a system is - an extremely useful to know when trying to understand how a dynamic ecosystem is behaving. A part of the Environmental and Ecological (Math) Modeling series, Thermodynamics and Ecology is a book-length study - the first of its kind - of the current thinking on how an ecosystem can be explained and predicted in terms of its thermodynamical behavior. After the introductory chapters on the fundamentals of thermodynamics, the book explains how thermodynamic theory can be specifically applied to the "measurement" of an ecosystem, including the assessment of its state of entropy and enthalpy. Additionally, it will show economists how to put these theories to use when trying to quantify the movement of goods and services through another type of complex living system - a human society.
Qanat is a gently sloping subterranean canal, which taps a water-bearing zone at a higher elevation than cultivated lands. A qanat consist of a series of vertical shafts in sloping ground, interconnected at the bottom by a tunnel with a gradient flatter than that of the ground. From the air, this system looks like a line of anthills leading from the foothills across the desert to the greenery of an irrigated settlement. Qanat engages a variety of knowledge and its studying entails an interdisciplinary approach. In a traditional realm, qanats are embraced by a socio-economic system which guarantees their sustainability. The facets of this socio-economic system operate closely together and make it possible for the qanats to remain into future. Veins of the Desert shows that digging a qanat requires a variety of sciences and technologies, though at a glance qanat is just a horizontal tunnel which drains out groundwater. Qanat is a feat of technology left from our ancestors; hidden underground, but its technical importance is apparent, not less valuable than such surface structures as bridges, castles, towers, etc. Qanat enjoys extended structures and sometimes its length reaches tens of kilometers. It passes through geological formations and faces different conditions and obstacles, so the qanat masters' efforts to solve these problems led to the accumulation of knowledge in terms of qanat construction over time, which has been handed down from generation to generation. Qanat is one of the most complicated traditional technologies, which require knowledge on nature ranging from groundwater to management. This indigenous technology used to bring water efficiently from tens of kilometers away to the thirsty lands. This book also gives insight into cultural and social heritages, which have crystalized around this technique. This cultural heritage still influences social life of the people living in such regions as central plateau of Iran where qanat has been the only means of supplying water. This technology is the focal point of the genesis of a particular civilization in the arid and semi-arid regions of Iran. The harsh environment drove those people to invent the technology of qanat and the know-how revolving around it. Qanat carries a tradition of science and technology which used to be practiced in order to overcome the technical obstacles in qanat construction. Thus, qanat is not only an irrigational means, but it should be seen as a technical and cultural legacy which deserves more attention. This book is a small encyclopedia on qanat system, providing the readers with easy answers to their questions about different aspects of this ancient technology.
The new edition of a bestseller, Water Flow in Soils bridges the fields of soil physics-where descriptions of water flow tend to be microscopic- and hydrology - where they tend to be macroscopic. Unlike other physics laden texts, this work conveys the fundamental concepts of water flow in soils with clear and essentially nonmathematical explanations. Using abundant illustrations, figures, and equations, the author introduces soil water flow, taking both a phenomenological and analytical approach. He elegantly elucidates the basic and advanced principles of water movement in soils.
Hidden problems, buried deep in the pipe networks of water distribution systems, are very serious potential threats to water quality. Microbial Quality of Water Supply in Distribution Systems outlines the processes and issues related to the degradation of water quality upon passage through networks of pipes, storage reservoirs, and standpipes on its way to the consumer. The risks associated with biofilm accumulation, bacteria, and other contaminants are discussed in great detail. In addition to its excellent microbiological coverage of organisms in drinking water and biofilms in distribution systems, Microbial Quality of Water Supply in Distribution Systems provides clear treatments of the technical and public communication issues most commonly affecting the quality of water and water supply systems. The inclusion of numerous case histories in this new book makes it a complete reference source for anyone concerned with water quality and water distribution systems.
Creating Freshwater Wetlands, Second Edition clearly demonstrates the step-by-step processes required to restore or create freshwater wetlands. It presents practical advice on choosing sites, getting help, attracting and stocking wildlife, selecting plants, and wetland operation and maintenance. This is an excellent book on one of the most fascinating ecosystems on the planet.
Mathematical models are the effective tool to solve different tasks predicting pollutant movement. The finite difference method is the oldest, but still remains widely used in hydrogeological practice. However, this method is not very useful to construct the new transport models because it cannot approximate the shape of remediation elements exactly. Therefore the book is concerned with the FEM (Finite Element Method) and BEM (Boundary Element Method), and also with the comparison of advantages of these methods in groundwater hydrology. The combination of the BEM and the random-walk particle tracking method, which seems to be a very useful tool to model the spread of pollution in groundwater, are also presented. The computer programmes have been developed on the basis of the theoretical backgrounds of these methods. They use the Visual C++ programming language for Windows 95/NT platform and will be included in the book.
Watershed Health Monitoring: Emerging Technologies is a concise reference that defines the concept of watershed health and explains that monitoring the health of watersheds is a critical precursor to adaptive resource management on a watershed basis. The focus of the text is a clear description of an innovative "Closed Loop" model that specifies four key aspects of successful monitoring programs: political linkages and support, sound scientific assessment techniques, a community education and awareness component; and a sustainable cost-recovery framework achieved through partnership. Divided into two sections, the book begins with an introduction that defines watershed health, explains how monitoring fits into watershed planning and management, describes frequent shortfalls of monitoring programs around the world (with an emphasis on North America) and proposes a "Closed Loop" approach that will help ensure successful programs. Subsequent chapters detail each component of the "Closed Loop" model with special emphasis on scientific assessment. The second part features a set of six case studies that describe successful real-world applications of the "Closed Loop" approach to watershed monitoring. Written in an easily understood manner with the practitioner in mind, Watershed Health Monitoring balances the need for a detailed yet concise treatment of the topic of watershed health monitoring. It is the first book to recognize the multidisciplinary nature of successful monitoring programs-programs that go far beyond science.
Compiled with the help of an internationally acclaimed panel of experts, the Ocean Engineering Handbook is the most complete reference available for professionals. It offers you comprehensive coverage of important areas of the theory and practice of oceanic/coastal engineering and technology. This well organized text includes five major sections: Marine Hydro Dynamics and Vehicles Control, Modeling Considerations, Position Control Systems for Offshore Vessels, Applications of Computational Intelligence in the Ocean's Environment, and Fiber Optics in Oceanographic Applications. Designed to be used as a traditional handbook, it thoroughly covers position control theory and implementations and offers a close look at the present state of ocean engineering. With 200 tables and over 100 figures, the Ocean Engineering Handbook will give you a head start in many aspects of oceanic engineering.
This is the only book series devoted to explaining the full range of specialized areas required of water and wastewater plant operators. Each volume is designed to give operators the basic knowledge of a subject needed for certification, licensure, and improved job performance. Checkpoints, self-tests and a final examination with questions based on actual operator certification exams provide a practical review. All books are clearly illustrated with key ideas and highlighted points throughout. Electronics explains the fundamental structure and operation of the electronic hardware that underlies many automated processes in a treatment plant. It provides an introduction to electrical circuits, diodes, transistors, and transformers, which are explained in the context of device control.
Drawing on the authors' combined experience of more than 30 years, Advanced Onsite Wastewater Systems Technologies explores use of these technologies on a wide-scale basis to solve the problems associated with conventional septic tank and drain field systems. The authors discuss a regulatory and management infrastructure for ensuring long-term, reliable applications of onsite systems for wastewater management. The book and its supporting web-site (www.advancedonsitesystems.com) are an information catalog for advanced onsite wastewater technologies. This combination offers tools that will help onsite wastewater professionals communicate effectively with each other and their clients, thus minimizing the confusion and misunderstandings often related to the use of advanced onsite systems. The authors provide an overview of advanced onsite systems technologies and compare them to conventional onsite systems and centralized wastewater systems. They present key concepts for decentralized wastewater solutions and information on advanced onsite wastewater treatment and effluent dispersal technologies currently available. The book delineates a management, regulatory, and planning framework for adopting the use of advanced onsite systems technologies as alternatives to conventional septic systems and centralized collection and treatment plants. It concludes with an exploration of the future of advanced onsite systems technologies and their uses. A toolbox for service professionals, regulators, and community planners, the book highlights objective methods to assess the performance of technologies and examples of real-world applications. The authors detail a solution-driven and performance-based regulatory framework for the use of advanced onsite systems as a true alternative to centralized collection and treatment plants and offer guidance on how to plan for future growth with such systems. They answer the age-old question of "what to do when the land doesn't pe
Offers a systematic and unified approach to the classical theories and recent techniques of multilayered aquifer systems. Clarifies governing principles and facilitates industrial problem solving. Uses the automated numerical Laplace inversion procedure to simplify mathematical materials.
Spatial Thinking in Environmental Contexts: Maps, Archives, and Timelines cultivates the spatial thinking "habit of mind" as a critical geographical view of how the world works, including how environmental systems function, and how we can approach and solve environmental problems using maps, archives, and timelines. The work explains why spatial thinking matters as it helps readers to integrate a variety of methods to describe and analyze spatial/temporal events and phenomena in disparate environmental contexts. It weaves together maps, GIS, timelines, and storytelling as important strategies in examining concepts and procedures in analyzing real-world data and relationships. The work thus adds significant value to qualitative and quantitative research in environmental (and related) sciences. Features Written by internationally renowned experts known for taking complex ideas and finding accessible ways to more broadly understand and communicate them. Includes real-world studies explaining the merging of disparate data in a sensible manner, understandable across several disciplines. Unique approach to spatial thinking involving animated maps, 3D maps, GEOMATs, and story maps to integrate maps, archives, and timelines—first across a single environmental example and then through varied examples. Merges spatial and temporal views on a broad range of environmental issues from traditional environmental topics to more unusual ones involving urban studies, medicine, municipal/governmental application, and citizen-scientist topics. Provides easy to follow step-by-step instructions to complete tasks; no prior experience in data processing is needed.
This book provides a comprehensive description of the latest theory-supported numerical technologies, as well as scientific and engineering applications for water surface waves. Its contents are crafted to cater to a step-by-step learning of computational wave dynamics and ocean wave modeling. It provides a comprehensive description from underlying theories of free-surface flows, to practical computational applications for coastal and ocean engineering on the basis of computational fluid dynamics (CFD).The text may be used as a textbook for advanced undergraduate students and graduate students to understand the theoretical background of wave computations, and the recent progress of computational techniques for free-surface and interfacial flows, such as Volume of Fluid (VOF), Constrained Interpolation Profile (CIP), Lagrangian Particle (SPH, MPS), Distinct Element (DEM) and Euler-Lagrange Hybrid Methods.It is also suitable for researchers and engineers who wish to apply CFD techniques to ocean modeling and practical coastal problems involving sediment transport, wave-structure interaction and surf zone flows.
A journey through time and around the world to uncover water's true nature, and how it can help us adapt to climate change. Trouble with water – increasingly frequent, extreme floods and droughts – is one of the first obvious signs of climate change. Meanwhile, urban sprawl, industrial agriculture and engineered water infrastructure are making things worse. As our control attempts fail, we are forced to recognize an eternal truth: sooner or later, water always wins. Award-winning science journalist Erica Gies follows water 'detectives' as they search for clues to water's past and present. Their tools: cutting-edge science and research into historical ecology, animal life, and earlier human practices. Their discoveries: a deeper understanding of what water wants and how accommodating nature can protect us and other species. Modern civilizations tend to speed water away. We have forgotten that it must flex with the rhythms of the earth, and that only collaboration with nature will allow us to forge a more resilient future.
This book was first published in 2005. When an oceanic tidal wave that is primarily active on the water surface passes an ocean shelf or a region with a seamount, it is split into a less energetic surface wave and other internal modes with different wavelengths and propagation speeds. This cascading process, from the barotropic tides to the baroclinic components, leads to the transformation of tidal energy into turbulence and heat, an important process for the dynamics of the lower ocean. Baroclinic Tides demonstrates the analytical and numerical methods used to study the generation and evolution of baroclinic tides and, by comparison with experiments and observational data, shows how to distinguish and interpret internal waves. Strongly non-linear solitary internal waves, which are generated by internal tidal waves at the final stage of their evolution, are investigated in detail. This book is intended for researchers and graduate students of physical oceanography, geophysical fluid dynamics and hydroacoustics.
Bringing together a multidisciplinary set of scholars and diverse case studies from across the globe, this book explores the management, governance, and understandings around water, a key element in the assemblage of hydrosocial territories. Hydrosocial territories are spatial configurations of people, institutions, water flows, hydraulic technology and the biophysical environment that revolve around the control of water. Territorial politics finds expression in encounters of diverse actors with divergent spatial and political-geographical interests; as a result, water (in)justice and (in)equity are embedded in these socio-ecological contexts. The territory-building projections and strategies compete, superimpose and align to strengthen specific water-control claims of various interests. As a result, actors continuously recompose the territory's hydraulic grid, cultural reference frames, and political-economic relationships. Using a political ecology focus, the different contributions to this book explore territorial struggles, demonstrating that these contestations are not merely skirmishes over natural resources, but battles over meaning, norms, knowledge, identity, authority and discourses. The articles in this book were originally published in the journal Water International.
Climate hazards are the world's most widespread, deadliest and costliest natural disasters. Knowledge of climate hazard dynamics is critical since the impacts of climate change, population growth, development projects and migration affect both the impact and severity of disasters. Current global events highlight how hazards can lead to significant financial losses, increased mortality rates and political instability. This book examines climate hazard crises in contemporary Asia, identifying how hazards from the Middle East through South and Central Asia and China have the power to reshape our globalised world. In an era of changing climates, knowledge of hazard dynamics is essential to mitigating disasters and strengthening livelihoods and societies across Asia. By integrating human exposure to climate factors and disaster episodes, the book explores the environmental forces that drive disasters and their social implications. Focusing on a range of Asian countries, landscapes and themes, the chapters address several scales (province, national, regional), different hazards (drought, flood, temperature, storms, dust), environments (desert, temperate, mountain, coastal) and issues (vulnerability, development, management, politics) to present a diverse, comprehensive evaluation of climate hazards in Asia. This book offers an understanding of the challenges climate hazards present, their critical nature and the effort needed to mitigate climate hazards in 21st-century Asia. Climate Hazard Crises in Asian Societies and Environments is vital reading for those interested and engaged in Asia's development and well-being today and will be of interest to those working in Geography, Development Studies, Environmental Sciences, Sociology and Political Science.
The author simplifies the necessary theoretical background as much as possible and provides all derivational details of the theoretical background as worked examples. He uses this method to explore how the derivations were generated for those who need to know while allowing others to easily skip them and still benefit and learn from the practical applications of the mathematical approaches. Containing 51 tables and 323 figures, the book covers both the breadth and the depth of currently applied aquifer flow and contaminant transport modeling solutions.
This detailed exposition gives background and context to how modern biogeography has got to where it is now. For biogeographers and other researchers interested in biodiversity and the evolution of life on islands, Biogeology: Evolution in a Changing Landscape provides an overview of a large swathe of the globe encompassing Wallacea and the western Pacific. The book contains the full text of the original article explored in each chapter, presented as it appeared on publication. Key features: Holistic treatment, collecting together a series of important biogeographical papers into a single volume Authored by an expert who has spent nearly three decades actively involved in biogeography Describes and interprets a region of exceptional biodiversity and extreme endemism The only book to provide an integrated treatment of Wallacea, Melanesia, New Zealand, the New Zealand Subantarctic Islands and Antarctica Offers a critique of fashionable neo-dispersalist arguments, showing how these still suffer from the same weaknesses of the original Darwinian formulation. The chapters also include analysis of many major theoretical and philosophical issues of modern biogeographic theory, so that those interested in a more philosophical approach will find the book stimulating and thought-provoking.
Originally published in 1973. This collection of essays looks at the 'quantitative revolution' and the 'new geography' by some of the geographers who had a significant part in those innovations and looks ahead to further developments. The views in the chapters are diverse and offer a fascinating glimpse of the discipline of geography as the subject was undergoing such change and becoming more socially committed. They cover theory, spatial-systems theory, forecasting, human ecology and climatology alongside the teaching of the subject. The concerns of the contemporary geographer come across and are of interest today as these areas have developed still more.
Originally published in this form in 1971, the content of this book was originally part of a larger composite volume 'Water, Earth and Man' (1969) which provided a synthesis of hydrology, geomorphology and socio-economic geography. This volume brings together the systematic theme of geomorphology while maintaining a link with the original book which emphasised the benefit of the study of water being considered in the widest sense within the physical and social environments.
Originally published in this form in 1971, the content of this book was originally part of a larger composite volume 'Water, Earth and Man' (1969) which provided a synthesis of hydrology, geomorphology and socio-economic geography. This volume brings together the systematic theme of physical hydrology while maintaining a link with the original book which emphasised the benefit of the study of water being considered in the widest sense within the physical and social environments.
Filling a long-standing need for a desk reference that synthesizes current research, Land Use Effects on Streamflow and Water Quality in the Northeastern United States reviews and discusses the impact of forest management, agriculture, and urbanization. The book provides a gateway to the diverse scientific literature that is urgently needed to understand and solve ubiquitous watershed management problems. The authors use an in-depth approach that focuses on the science behind sound management principles and practices. The book begins with a summary of the scientific principles and processes that define and govern the interactions between activities on land and conditions in streams, lakes, and estuaries. Building on these principles, later chapters progress from basic science to small-scale, controlled field experiments to landscape-scale studies and their watershed management implications. This nested format parallels the development of watershed management projects and solutions. The deliberate integration of land use history, ecology, hydrology, chemistry, and resource management avoids the artificial separation of inter-related watershed characteristics and tracks causes and effects over realistic time scales. The authors present the hydrologic and water quality principles on which to construct management plans for water supply watersheds across a wide range of sizes, configurations, and time scales. Rigorously reviewed by a distinguished panel of scientists and watershed managers, the book benefits from their collective experience across the full range of watershed science and management. It provides a diverse audience with the opportunity to update and expand their knowledge in critical areas of watershed science and management. |
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