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Books > Earth & environment > Earth sciences > The hydrosphere
Water Policy Science and Politics: An Indian Perspective presents the importance of politics and science working together in policymaking in the water sector. Many countries around the developed and developing world, including India, are experiencing major water scarcity problems that will undoubtedly increase with the impacts of climate change. This book discusses specific topics in India's water, agriculture and energy sectors, focusing on scientific aspects, academic and political discourse, and policy issues. The author presents cases from the interrelated sectors of water resources, supplies, sanitation, and energy and climate, including controversial topics that illustrate how science and politics can work together.
First explored by naturalist William Bartram in the 1760s, the St. Johns River stretches 310 miles along Florida's east coast, making it the longest river in the state. The first "highway" through the once wild interior of Florida, the St. Johns may appear ordinary, but within its banks are some of the most fascinating natural phenomena and historic mysteries in the state. The river, no longer the commercial resource it once was, is now largely ignored by Florida's residents and visitors alike. In the first contemporary book about this American Heritage River, Bill Belleville describes his journey down the length of the St. Johns, kayaking, boating, hiking its riverbanks, diving its springs, and exploring its underwater caves. He rediscovers the natural Florida and establishes his connection with a place once loved for its untamed beauty. Belleville involves scientists, environmentalists, fishermen, cave divers, and folk historians in his journey, soliciting their companionship and their expertise. River of Lakes weaves together the biological, cultural, anthropological, archaeological, and ecological aspects of the St. Johns, capturing the essence of its remarkable history and intrinsic value as a natural wonder.
The Indian Ocean Nodule Field: Geology and Resource Potential, Second Edition, provides a view of the most recent studies along with classical theories starting from the 1960s. New concepts, hypotheses and critical appreciation of the state-of-the-art knowledge on nodule formation and resource management are featured in this new edition. The economy of the Indian Ocean has vast potential and yet it is one of the least studied oceans. Garnering economic advantage out of mineral resources from deep oceans has been a long cherished dream for the mining community. The availability of 5-metal rich polymetallic (manganese) nodules in specific areas of the Indian Ocean has lured researchers to discover more about their processes of formation, growth, distribution and enrichment.
This book discusses how aquatic microbial communities develop interactive metabolic coordination both within and between species to optimize their energetics. It explains that microbial community structuration often includes functional stratification among a multitude of organisms that variously exist either suspended in the water, lodged in sediments, or bound to one another as biofilms on solid surfaces. The authors describe techniques that can be used for preparing and distributing microbiologically safe drinking water, which presents the challenge of successfully removing the pathogenic members of the aquatic microbial community and then safely delivering that water to consumers. Drinking water distribution systems have their own microbial ecology, which we must both understand and control in order to maintain the safety of the water supply. Since studying aquatic microorganisms often entails identifying them, the book also discusses techniques for successfully isolating and cultivating bacteria. As such, it appeals to microbiologists, microbial ecologists and water quality scientists.
This unique volume offers an up-to-date overview of all the main aspects of groundwater in the Nile Delta and its fringes, as well as latest research findings. The themes covered include: * Nile Delta aquifer formation and its characteristics * The use of the groundwater in the Nile Delta and its implications * Sedimentology and hydrogeophysical characteristics * Groundwater investigations and aquifer characterization using current direct resistivity and induced polarization * Groundwater contamination and degradation * Saltwater intrusion and its control * Delineation of groundwater flow and seawater intrusion using various techniques, including one-dimensional subsurface temperature profiles, geoelectrical resistivity, and integrated subsurface thermal regime and hydrogeochemical data * Modeling of groundwater and of saltwater intrusion in the Nile Delta aquifer * Excessive pumping and groundwater quality assessment for irrigation and drinking purposes * Groundwater management for sustainability in the Nile Delta. The volume appeals to postgraduate students, researchers, scientists, professionals, decision makers and planners.
The establishment of clean, safe water is one of the major challenges facing societies around the globe. The continued urbanization of human populations, the increasing manipulation of natural resources, and the resulting pollution are driving remarkable burden on water resources. Increasing demands for food, energy, and natural resources are expected to continue to accelerate in the near future in response to the demands of these changing human populations. In addition, the complexity of human activities is leading to a diversity of new chemical contaminants in the environment that represent a major concern for water managers. This will create increased pressure on both water quantity and quality, making it increasingly difficult to provide a sustainable supply of water for human welfare and activities. Although protection of water resources is the best long-term solution, we will also need innovative novel approaches and technologies to water treatment to ensure an adequate superior quality resource to meet these needs. Solving tomorrow's water issues will require unique approaches that incorporate emerging new technologies. Great advances have been made in the area of nanotechnology. Due to their unique physical and chemical properties, nanomaterials are extensively used in antibacterial medical products, membrane filters, electronics, catalysts, and biosensors. Nanoparticles can have distinctly different properties from their bulk counterparts, creating the opportunity for new materials with a diversity of applications. Recent developments related to water treatment include the potential use of carbon nanotubes, nanocompositae, nanospheres, nanofibers, and nanowires for the removal of a diversity of chemical pollutants. By exploiting the assets and structure of these new materials, such as increased surface area, high reactivity, and photocatalytic action, it will be possible to create technologies that can be very efficient at removing and degrading environmental pollutants. Understanding and using these unique properties should lead to innovative, cost-effective applications for addressing the complexities of emerging needs for water treatment and protection. Although still in the early stages, research into the application of nanotechnology shows great promise for solving some of these major global water issues. This comprehensive text describes the latest research and application methods in this rapidly advancing field.
From riverine operations in the American Civil War and China in the 1860s to the major fleet engagements of the World Wars, plus more recent naval actions in the Falklands/Malvenas War and Gulf War, Lindberg and Todd methodically show how geography has shaped the strategy, tactics, and tools of naval warfare. Alfred T. Mahan was perhaps the first naval professional to recognize and acknowledge fully the influence of geography on navies and naval warfare. Many of his principles of seapower were inherently geographical and influenced both what kind of naval force a state would possess and how it would be utilized. In the time that has passed since Mahan made his observations, naval warfare and navies have experienced major technological changes, yet geographical factors continue to exert their influence on how navies fight, how they are structured, and the design of the ships that they deploy. After providing a comprehensive review of geostrategic theory and its application to naval warfare, the book is organized by major operational environments in which such warfare occurs--the high seas, littoral regions, and inland waterways. Lindberg and Todd illustrate how such geographical factors as distance, location, surface, and subsurface conditions influence naval operations, including fleet-to-fleet engagements, amphibious assault, coastal defense, logistical support, and riverine actions. A separate chapter takes an in-depth look at the ways in which geography influences navies themselves with issues such as primary mission type, force structure development, and ship design. Through the use of historical case studies, this volume applies long held geographical concepts to fundamental naval theories and practices to illustrate just how pervasive geography's influence has been during the past 140 years.
Against a background of extensive multi-disciplinary oceanographic investigations over a number of years, together with the long-term establishment of a Society and Institute, extensive information is available from studies undertaken in the estuarine and coastal waters of the Basque Country.
"A beautifully written informal account of the Tampa Bay region."--Library Journal "A colorful history of Tampa Bay, the Hillsborough River which flows into it, and the cities of Tampa and St. Petersburg, together with their smaller satellite communities."-- Publishers Weekly From its idyllic source in the Green Swamp, the Hillsborough River winds past columns of cypress and matted shrubs and opens into Tampa Bay, part of Florida's urbanized, publicized western Suncoast. The river is not a long one, but the size of its legend in contemporary America is far-reaching. Many factors have made the area special: its natural history; its successive waves of immigrants; its wars, booms, and depressions. The cigar industry, banana exporting, cattle raising, fishing, and retirement have attracted many settlers in search of the "Golden Ibis." All too often the vision has proved elusive, but for some, like Henry Plant and Doc Webb, the spectacular was possible. For others, like the Seminoles, a way of life ended. In a narrative that is as exciting to read as it is historically compelling, Gloria Jahoda traces the Hillsborough River's origin to prehistoric times, chronicles the arrivals of the conquistadores, the missionaries, and the marauders greedy for civilizing and for treasure, and points out how 20th-century ambitions threaten to destroy the environment as surely as earlier encroachment annihilated native peoples. Gloria Jahoda, who lived in Tallahassee, Florida, was the author of The Other Florida, The Road to Samarkand, and the novels Annie and Delilah's Mountain. She died in 1980. River of the Golden Ibis was originally published in 1973.
This highly relevant text documents the first international meeting focused specifically on high-resolution atmospheric and oceanic modeling. It was held recently at the Earth Simulator Center in Yokohama, Japan. Rather than producing a standard conference proceedings volume, the editors have decided to compose this volume entirely of papers written by invited speakers at the meeting, who report on their most exciting recent results involving high resolution modeling.
The book presents a state-of-the-art overview of current developments in the field in a way accessible to attendees coming from a variety of fields. Relevant examples are turbulence research, (environmental) fluid mechanics, lake hydrodynamics and atmospheric physics. Topics discussed range from the fundamentals of rotating and stratified flows, mixing and transport in stratified or rotating turbulence, transport in the atmospheric boundary layer, the dynamics of gravity and turbidity currents eventually with effects of background rotation or stratification, mixing in (stratified) lakes, and the Lagrangian approach in the analysis of transport processes in geophysical and environmental flows. The topics are discussed from fundamental, experimental and numerical points of view. Some contributions cover fundamental aspects including a number of the basic dynamical properties of rotating and or stratified (turbulent) flows, the mathematical description of these flows, some applications in the natural environment, and the Lagrangian statistical analysis of turbulent transport processes and turbulent transport of material particles (including, for example, inertial and finite-size effects). Four papers are dedicated to specific topics such as transport in (stratified) lakes, transport and mixing in the atmospheric boundary layer, mixing in stratified fluids and dynamics of turbidity currents. The book is addressed to doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers, but also to academic and industrial researchers and practicing engineers, with a background in mechanical engineering, applied physics, civil engineering, applied mathematics, meteorology, physical oceanography or physical limnology.
Eustatic High-Frequency Sea Level Cycles and Habitat Heterogeneity: Basinal-Regional-Global Implications presents the current understanding and future directions of the research on Cretaceous sea level cycles in a single source. This reference work is for beginners, graduates, and postgraduates who are interested in the subject and intend to venture into serious research. This hybrid text/reference is for beginners, academics, and professionals who intend to document sea level dynamics on long and short time scales and resultant habitat and paleobiodiversity changes.
This book presents a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art research on water treatment methods for the removal of cyanobacteria, taste and odour compounds, and cyanotoxins. The topics covered include practically all technologies that are currently used or are in a state of research and development e.g. membrane filtration, adsorption, biological treatment, chemical disinfection-oxidation, advanced oxidation processes, reviewing their effects on cyanotoxins with regards to degradation, detoxification, mineralization and relative mechanisms. The book highlights strong and weak points regarding the applicability of these techniques on a large scale, discusses issues regarding the quality of treated water, and identifies research gaps and future research needs on the topic. Topics covered include: * Introduction to cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins * Cyanotoxins and human health * Physical treatment for the removal of cyanobacteria/cyanotoxins * Biological treatment for the destruction of cyanobacteria/cyanotoxins * Conventional disinfection and/or oxidation processes * Advanced oxidation processes * Removal and/or destruction of taste and odour compounds. * Integrated drinking water processes. * Transformation products of cyanobacterial metabolites during water treatment. The book concludes with a section of case studies and real life examples, followed by a review of the research gaps and future perspectives. This book has been developed within the frame of the COST-funded CYANOCOST Action http://cyanocost.com/index.php and is edited by experienced scientists in the field. Chapters are authoritative and written by an internationally recognized team of experts in specific research topics related to water treatment for purification from cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins.
Understanding and protecting our environment is a key component of
environmental development, yet access to a wide range of
high-quality information is currently based on very limited data
due to lack of the exchange of data between source and recipient.
The book examines a new concern in water quality policy, namely aquatic micropollutants. Micropollutants are chemicals detected in small concentrations in waterbodies today, originating from pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, or detergents, among others. Since the regulation of micropollutants is a fairly new issue, it has been largely neglected in social sciences. However, the search for appropriate solutions is of high political relevance at both the national and international levels, with many open questions arising that concern the most adequate governance structures and steering mechanisms. Solutions suitable for classical, macro-pollutants, such as nutrients, do not necessarily apply to micropollutants because of the diversity of compounds and sources, and for technical, financial, and societal reasons. The book addresses this knowledge gap by investigating the steering mechanisms at hand and their prospect for problem solving. In this regard, the research provides a systematic depiction and comparison of policy designs in place for the reduction of micropollutants in the Rhine basin. Moreover, the study yields insights into the governance structures in place, into actors' responsibilities and constellations, and policy processes regarding micropollutants. The study is furthermore embedded into broader theoretical questions of policy research. More precisely, this research is a contribution to policy analysis that aims to achieve more optimal policy results by providing for a better understanding of the nature of policy designs and the social mechanisms behind the choice of them. Despite the intrinsic aim of policy analysis at contributing to more optimal policy outcomes, there remains a lack of research regarding analytical tools that enable an ex-ante assessment of policy designs' problem-solving abilities. To explore such a research path, this book proposes a novel index of policy comprehensiveness for quantifying the prospective performance of policy designs in alleviating an underlying policy issue, e.g. reducing pollutants in waters. Furthermore, the book uncovers the social mechanisms behind policymaking and turns to the question: In which social settings is it possible to achieve a comprehensive policy design? Compared to purely micro-level explanations, the advantage of the network approach is that it goes beyond the mere aggregation of policy actors' attributes by taking into consideration actors' interdependencies. In order to take the network approach seriously, the study systematically links the structure of a policy network with comprehensive policy designs. Network concepts, such as coalition structure, interconnectedness, and belief similarity, are employed from policy change research here in order to explore the link between structural network characteristics and comprehensive policy design. By studying how network structures affect policy design, the book critically examines the explanatory value of the network approach.
This book explores ancient efforts to explain the scientific, philosophical, and spiritual aspects of water. From the ancient point of view, we investigate many questions including: How does water help shape the world? What is the nature of the ocean? What causes watery weather, including superstorms and snow? How does water affect health, as a vector of disease or of healing? What is the nature of deep-sea-creatures (including sea monsters)? What spiritual forces can protect those who must travel on water? This first complete study of water in the ancient imagination makes a major contribution to classics, geography, hydrology and the history of science alike. Water is an essential resource that affects every aspect of human life, and its metamorphic properties gave license to the ancient imagination to perceive watery phenomena as the product of visible and invisible forces. As such, it was a source of great curiosity for the Greeks and Romans who sought to control the natural world by understanding it, and who, despite technological limitations, asked interesting questions about the origins and characteristics of water and its influences on land, weather, and living creatures, both real and imagined.
This book presents a model for describing the hierarchical concept of China's water rights structure, one which takes into account pioneering theories on natural resources and environmental institutional economics. It highlights the basic theory of water rights, with a view to helping Chinese policymakers acquire a deeper understanding of water rights and the need for a reform program in the long-term development of water-poor China. To do so, it draws on three main sources: Cheung SNS's "Economic Explanation", Douglas C. North's "New Economic History" and Ray Huang's "Macro History". The book makes two essential contributions: it elaborates the hierarchical water governance structure in China, which originated in the Qin Dynasty that unified the country 2000 years ago and has been employed without interruption ever since; further, it constructs a choice model for water governance structures and advances the logic of making structural choices with minimum transaction costs under constraint conditions, while also explaining the inherent nature of China's choice for the hierarchical structure from the perspectives of management cost and cooperation cost. As such, the book enriches and builds on the theories of the "water governance" school represented by Karl Marx, Karl Wittfogel and Ray Huang, laying the foundation for the further study of water rights theory in contemporary China.
This unique volume presents up-to-date information and the latest research findings on unconventional water resources in Egypt and their connections to agriculture. It investigates how to cope with the severe shortage of water and how to improve the irrigation system's efficiency. The main aspects addressed include: * History of drainage and drainage projects in Egypt * Towards the integration of irrigation and drainage water * Assessment of drainage systems and environmental impact assessment of irrigation projects * Maximizing the reuse of agricultural drainage water and agricultural waste to improve irrigation efficiency * Developing alternative water resources, such as desalination, for greenhouses * Drainage water quality assessment, microbial hazards and improvement of green and cost-effective technologies for treatment of agricultural drainage water and wastewater for reuse in irrigation * Towards the sustainable reuse of water resources in Egypt * Options for securing water resources in Egypt, and challenges and opportunities for policy planners This book and the companion volume Conventional Water Resources and Agriculture in Egypt are vital resources for researchers, environmental managers and water policy planners - and for all those seeking information on wastewater reuse, green and cost-effective technologies for improving water quality.
Based on the famed French explorer's film series, Jean-Michel Cousteau: Ocean Adventures , these are the definitive guides to America's 13 National Marine Sanctuaries and Marine National Monuments. Each installment conducts a grand adventure through each of the four regions of the National Marine Sanctuary system, combining engaging descriptions, stunning photography, and behind-the-scenes stories from the Ocean Futures Society expedition team. Intelligent inquiries into the health of the world's oceans are provided along with an overview of several incredible underwater treasures. Conveying the beauty of the ocean and the specific measures being put into effect to preserve it, this inspirational collection also features detailed, practical information for planning visits to the sanctuaries. Included in this volume are the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and Papahanaumokuakea National Marine Sanctuary.
This book gathers technical and scientific contributions from leading researchers, academics, and lecturers, focusing on water management, water pollution and water structures in the Czech Republic. It discusses a variety of water resources management issues, from stormwater management in urban areas, water quantity, hydraulics structures and hydrodynamic modeling, to flood protection, presenting state-of-the-art developments for addressing a range of problems. Edited and authored by pioneers in the field who have been at the cutting edge of water management development in the Czech Republic, this book is of interest to environmental professionals, including scientists and policymakers both in the Czech Republic and around the globe.
Fish die. Seagulls starve. Economies wither. And that's just in the coastal villages. El Nino--The Christ Child--and its climatological opposite, La Nina, are global events so powerful and strange they virtually have personalities. Many remember the El Nino seasons of 1982-83 and 1997-98, which brought floods, tornadoes, droughts, and snow to unusual locales. Increased study of these Tropical Pacific phenomena, also known as ENSO (the El Nino and Southern Oscillation), has now enabled scientists to predict the ENSO state as much as 12 to 18 months in advance and has helped to shape weather prediction in general. Here, the basic causes and effects of El Nino and La Nina are carefully chronicled for anyone in search of accurate and current information on these natural phenomena. Chapters are devoted to the history of ENSO; its influence on global weather and on the United States, including the ecosystem; and how governments and industries worldwide are utilizing new weather data to harness ENSO's economic impact, rather than be saddled by it. A chronology tours key events, from the 15th century diary observations of colonists in Ecuador and Peru to recent events like the devastating El Nino of 1997-98, which was responsible for 23,000 deaths and $33 billion in damages. Biographies of important researchers, illustrations and maps, and an extensive bibliography help make this a total guide to these magnificent natural cycles.
In 1997 sixty-two containers fell off the cargo ship Tokio Express after it was hit by a rogue wave off the coast of Cornwall, including one container filled with nearly five million pieces of Lego, much of it sea themed. In the months that followed, beachcombers started to find Lego washed up on beaches across the south west coast. Among the pieces they discovered were octopuses, sea grass, spear guns, life rafts, scuba tanks, cutlasses, flippers and dragons. The pieces are still washing up today.
This volume addresses the latest results of the Major Water Program of the Chinese Government which aims at the restoration of polluted water environments and sustainable management of water resources in China. It specifically summarizes the results of the BMBF-CLIENT project "Management of Water Resources in Urban Catchments" and the related MoST project "Key Technologies and Management Modes for the Water Environmental Rehabilitation of a Lake City from the Catchment Viewpoint" in Chaohu. The project is conducted by the Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research UFZ, Technische Universitat Dresden, German and Chinese companies (WISUTEC, AMC, bbe Moldaenke, itwh, OpenGeoSys e.V., HC System and EWaters) in close cooperation with Tongji University, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology of Academy of Sciences, Institute for Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chaohu Lake Management Authority. The book explains the development of concepts and solutions for sustained water quality improvement in Chaohu, combining urban water resource management, decentralized sanitation solutions, methods in water quality assurance, environmental information systems and groundwater modeling. |
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