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Books > Earth & environment > Earth sciences > The hydrosphere
A coastal sea area usually indicates a sea area between a continental shelf break with a water depth of about 200 m and the land shore. About 70% of global fish resources spend part of their life cycle in the coastal seas, which accounts for 90% of marine biomass yield. Freshwater and nutrients from the land have a great influence on the coastal seas, especially since more than half the human population lives within 100 km of a coast. Chemical reactions occur there rapidly between substances from the land as they encounter substances from the ocean. In terms of physics, a coastal sea acts as a boundary layer and kinetic energy is actively exchanged there. But if coastal oceanography were to be summed up in a single sentence, it would be the study that quantitatively makes clear the material transport in the coastal sea area'. Because the physical, chemical and biological processes relate to the material transport in the sea, it can be said the coastal oceanography is a genuinely interdisciplinary study. This book clarifies the quantitative material transport processes in the coastal sea area, mainly from a physical viewpoint.
Does there exist, deep within the earth's crust, a second biosphere-- composed of very primitive, thermophilic (heat-loving) bacteria, and containing more living matter than the entire surface? This idea, first proposed by the author in the early 1980s, is now supported by a growing body of evidence. The implications are astonishing: is the deep biosphere where life originated? Can Mars and other seemingly dead planets contain deep biospheres? Is there yet another--deeper, hotter--biosphere within the earth, based on silicon instead of carbon? This is the first book to explore this very controversial, intriguing theory.
In late August 1998, Kim Trevathan and his dog, Jasper, set out by
canoe on a long, slow trip down the 652 miles of the Tennessee
River, the largest tributary of the Ohio. Trevathan wanted to
experience the river in its entirety, from Knoxville's narrow,
winding channel, which flows past rocky bluffs, to the wide-open
waters of Kentucky Lake at its lower end.
Stimulated by Noah's Flood Hypothesis proposed by W. Ryan and W. Pitman in which a catastrophic inundation of the Pontic basin was linked to the biblical story, leading experts in Black Sea research (including oceanography, marine geology, paleoclimate, paleoenvironment, archaeology, and linguistic spread) provide overviews of their data and interpretations obtained through empirical scientific approaches. Among the contributors are many East European scientists whose work has rarely been published outside of Cyrillic. Each of the 35 papers marshals its own evidence for or against the flood hypothesis. No summary or overall resolution to the flood question is presented, but instead access is provided to a broad range of interdisciplinary information that crosses previously impenetrable language barriers so that new work in the region can proceed with the benefit of a wider frame of reference.
The emphasis now placed on the concept of sediment cells as boundaries for coastal defence groups, and the development of SMPs, should help CPAs realise the importance of natural processes at the coast when designing defence and protection schemes. However, this will only be the case where defence groups exist, and where CPAs take up the challenge of developing SMPs. Coastal landscapes have been produced by the natural forces of wind, waves and tides, and many are nationally or internationally important for their habitats and natural features. Past practices at the coast, such as the construction of harbours, jetties and traditional defence systems may have contributed to the deterioration of the coast. English Nature (1992) have argued that if practices and methods of coastal defence are allowed to continue, then coastlines would be faced with worsening consequences, including: The loss of mudflats and the birds which live on them Damage to geological Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and scenic heritage by erosion, due to the stabilisation of the coast elsewhere Cutting of sediment supplies to beaches resulting in the loss of coastal wildlife Cessation through isolation from coastal processes, of the natural operation of spits, with serious deterioration of rare plants, animals and geomorphological and scenic qualities (English Nature, 1992) A number of designations, provided by national and international legislation do exist to aid conservation.
The book addresses a weakness of current methodologies used in extreme value assessment, i.e. the assumption of stationarity, which is not given in reality. With respect to this issue a lot of new developed technologies are presented, i.e. influence of trends vs. internal correlations, quantitative uncertainty assessments, etc. The book not only focuses on artificial time series data, but has a close link to empirical measurements, in order to make the suggested methodologies applicable for practitioners in water management and meteorology.
Oceans play a pivotal role in our weather and climate. Ocean-borne
commerce is vital to our increasingly close-knit global community.
Yet we do not fully understand the intricate details of how they
function, how they interact with the atmosphere, and what the
limits are to their biological productivity and their tolerance to
wastes. While satellites are helping us to fill in the gaps,
numerical ocean models are playing an important role in increasing
our ability to comprehend oceanic processes, monitor the current
state of the oceans, and to a limited extent, even predict their
future state.
The authors describe the status of water resource use and water quality in Canada, the US and Mexico at the start of the third millenium. The book summarizes future water use and supply projections, plus the primary challenges currently facing water resource managers. The analysis regarding resource projections and management needs are derived from government reports and position papers published by private resource advocacy organizations. The report is organized to provide general information about North America, its water management infrastructure, water use by sector, water quality, and future infrastructure needs.
This book focuses on the interaction between shipping and the natural environment and how shipping can strive to become more sustainable. Readers are guided in marine environmental awareness, environmental regulations and abatement technologies to assist in decisions on strategy, policy and investments. You will get familiar with possible paths to improve environmental performance and, in the long term, to a sustainable shipping sector, based on an understanding of the sources and mechanisms of common impacts. You will also gain knowledge on emissions and discharges from ships, prevention measures, environmental regulations, and methods and tools for environmental assessment. In addition, the book includes a chapter on the background to regulating pollution from ships. It is intended as a source of information for professionals connected to maritime activities as well as policy makers and interested public. It is also intended as a textbook in higher education academic programmes.
This volume is one outcome of the 6th International Conference on Paleoceano graphy (ICP VI). The conference was held August 23-28, 1998 in Lisbon, Portugal. The meeting followed the traditional format of a small number of invited oral presentations complemented by a large number ofcontributed posters. Over 550 participants attended, representing thirty countries and nearly 450 posters were presented. The invited speakers addressed the main themes of the 5oral sessions. The session topics were: Polar-Tropical and Interhemisphere Linkages; Does the Ocean Cause, or Respond to, Abrupt Climatic Changes?; Biotic Responses to Major Paleoceanographic Changes; Past Warm Climates; and Innovations In Monitoring Ocean History. This is the first time in ICP history that the Conference Proceedings are published. The aim of the organisers with the publication of this book is two-fold: to provide a useful review of the field and to document the ideas/controversies raised during the con ference that may stimulate future work. The book reflects the initial intentions of the conference, but it is not a conven tional conference proceedings, given that the papers have been reviewed by formal exter nal referees. Each of the conference topics is introduced by a review article designed to summarize the state of the art in each theme followed by articles prepared by the invited speakers. As with most conference proceedings, each theme is covered heterogenously. Some topics have all the expected contributions, others are less well covered."
Since climate and land use strongly affect the runoff pattern and intensity of solute export, it is likely that some observations and conclusions formulated on the basis of investigations carried out in forested catchment may not be fully adequate to describe controls on solute export from agricultural watersheds. The primary objective of the present research is to better understand the flow paths that affect the fluxes of dissolved compounds from a small agricultural catchment during snowmelt. This book focuses on spring snowmelt, because this is the dominant hydrological event in many moderate and high latitude catchments and, thus, is regarded as a prominent factor influencing the quality of surface waters
This book deals with environmental effects on both sides of the border between Bangladesh and India caused by the Ganges water diversion. This issue came to my attention in early 1976 when news media in Bangladesh and overseas, began publications of articles on the unilateral withdrawal of a huge quantity of water from the Ganges River through the commissioning of the Farakka Barrage in India. I first pursued the subject professionally in 1984 while working as a contributor for Bangladesh Today, Holiday and New Nation. During the next two decades, I followed the protracted hydro-political negotiations between the riparian countries in the Ganges basin, and I traveled extensively to observe the environmental and ecological changes in Bangladesh as well as India that occurred due to the water diversion. The Ganges, one of the longest rivers of the world originates at the Gangotri glacier in the Himalayas and flows across the plains of North India. Eventually the river splits into two main branches and empties into the Bay of Bengal. The conflict of diversion and sharing of the Ganges water arose in the middle of the last century when the government of India decided to implement a barrage at Farakka to resolve a navigation problem at the Kolkata Port.
Arid-semiarid regions have suffered from sharp conflicts among water resource utilization, mining, and the environmental protection. Sustainable development in these regions requires a close coordination between economy, society and the environment. Based on systematic hydrogeological investigations, laboratory and in-situ tests, and application of innovative methodologies including theoretical analysis modeling and prediction to study water resource distribution (including surface water, groundwater, mine water and coal mine domestic water) in mining areas, this dissertation provides detailed analysis of the current situation and trend of water uses in domestic supply, agriculture and industry. It evaluates the status development and utilization, evolution trend, exploitation and utilization potential of water resources in Shen-Dong Coal Mine area, one of China's extra-large coal bases. Incorporated with the long and intermediate terms' development strategies of this area, the dissertation lays out a scientific allocation scheme of water resources in different hydrological years and proposes a planning mode of water resources development and utilization and a technical scheme for comprehensive water resources utilization to provide technical supports for the optimal allocation, rational exploitation, comprehensive utilization and scientific management of water resources. This dissertation is one of the best in Chang'an University because of the volume of reliable data, defensible scientific analysis, and world significance of the research results.
During the past decade many countries in the world have experienced droughts, with severe impacts on water urban supply systems. Because droughts are natural phenomena, water utilities must design and implement drought management plans. This topic was selected for the International Course on Drought Management Planning in Water Supply Systems, which took place in Valencia, Spain, on 9-12 December 1997, and was hosted by the Universidad Internacional Men ndez y Pelayo (UIMP). The contributions in this book have been carefully selected and presented in four sections: Introduction Water Supply Systems Modernization Drought Management in an Urban Context Practical Cases (Israel, USA, Italy, Spain) To achieve a well-balanced approach, authors were invited from academia as well as from consultancies and water utilities, and have wide experience in the subject. The book is mainly aimed at water supply engineers, working in utilities and consultancies.
Gas hydrates are both a huge energy resource and an environmental challenge. They have a significant impact on society because of their applications to the future of energy, protection of the environment and fuel transportation. Gas Hydrates opens up this fascinating, multidisciplinary field to non-specialists. It provides a scientific study of gas hydrates that considers their potential as an energy source while assessing the possible risk to the environment. The authors also examine the feasibility of using these natural compounds for storing and transporting gases such as methane and carbon dioxide. Diagrams and photos are used throughout Gas Hydrates to help readers understand the scientific and technical content. Each section has been designed so it can be read independently by academics and professionals in the oil and gas industry, as well as by all those with an interest in how hydrates combine to be an energy resource, an industrial challenge and a geological hazard.
Drought is one of the major natural hazards, resulting in significant economic, social, and environmental costs. In Europe, water shortage is an important problem in many regions. However, despite the increasing awareness of this hazard, there is no European drought policy and institutional frameworks to cope with drought situations are only weakly developed. This book is dedicated to furthering our understanding of the drought problem in Europe and to discussing policy and management options to mitigate its impacts. It covers aspects from the detection of water stress to the planning of mitigation strategies. The contributions are written by recognised experts in their field and represent a unique collection of papers on the topic. Audience: The book will be of benefit to scientists, managers, and politicians involved in problems related to water management, risk assessment, and spatial planning. Students in Earth Sciences, especially in geography, climatology, hydrology, and agriculture, will find useful material in this collection of papers.
The text of the Persian poet Rum - - ?, written some eight centuries ago, and reproduced at the beginning of this book is still relevant to many of our pursuits of knowledge, not least of turbulence. The text illustrates the inability people have in seeing the whole thing, the 'big picture'. Everybody looks into the problem from his/her vi- point, and that leads to disagreement and controversy. If we could see the whole thing, our understanding would become complete and there would be no cont- versy. The turbulent motion of the atmosphere and oceans, at the heart of the observed general circulation, is undoubtedly very complex and dif?cult to understand in its entirety. Even 'bare' turbulence, without rotation and strati?cation whose effects are paramount in the atmosphere and oceans, still poses great fundamental ch- lenges for understanding after a century of research. Rotating strati?ed turbulence is a relatively new research topic. It is also far richer, exhibiting a host of distinct wave types interacting in a complicated and often subtle way with long-lived - herent structures such as jets or currents and vortices. All of this is tied together by basic ?uid-dynamical nonlinearity, and this gives rise to a multitude of phen- ena: spontaneous wave emission, wave-induced transport, both direct and inverse energy scale cascades, lateral and vertical anisotropy, fronts and transport barriers, anomalous transport in coherent vortices, and a very wide range of dynamical and thermodynamical instabilities.
This guide details the techniques and numerical procedures required for numerical modelling of radioactivity dispersion in marine environments. The book goes beyond the basics of hydrodynamic modeling to analyze the latest trends in modeling.
Rivers of the World, vividly written and meticulously researched, is a rich and thorough treatment of some 200 of the world's rivers. In this comprehensive treatment of the major rivers of the world, author James R. Penn's purpose is not just to feature geographic data, but to tell a story of historical drama, poetic significance, and cultural relationships. The book shows glimpses of Chairman Mao boosting his image by swimming in the Yangtze; Indian middlemen residing on both sides of the Columbia River exacting tolls from travelers like Lewis and Clark; and, near the Dordogne in southwest France, Paleolithic cave art, paintings, and designs in rock shelters and subterranean caverns, which are textbook examples of early human creativity and artistic impulse. In nearly 200 entries ranging from a few paragraphs to several pages, Rivers of the World covers all of the great rivers of the world including the Nile, Niger, Amazon, and Mississippi, as well as smaller waterways that illustrate important themes or represent trends. The book includes bibliographies for each river.
This book commemorates the 70th birthday of Eugene Morozov, the noted Russian observational oceanographer. It contains many contributions reflecting his fields of interest, including but not limited to tidal internal waves, ocean circulation, deep ocean currents, and Arctic oceanography. Special attention is paid to studies on internal waves and especially those on tidal internal waves in the Global Ocean. These papers describe the most important open problems concerning experimental studies of internal waves and their theoretical, numerical, and laboratory modeling. Further contributions investigate the physics of surface waves and their interaction with internal waves. Here, the focus is on describing interaction processes between internal waves and deep currents in the ocean, especially currents of Antarctic Bottom Water in abyssal fractures. They also touch on the problem of oceanic circulation and related processes in fjords, including those occurring under sea ice. Given its breadth of coverage, the book will appeal to anyone interested in a survey of ocean dynamics, ranging from historic perspectives to modern research topics.
Integrated studies on the assessment and improvement of soil and water quality have to deal almost inevitably with issues of scale, since the spatial support of measurements, the model calculations and the presentation of results usually vary. This book contains the selected and edited proceedings of a workshop devoted to issues of scale entitled: Soil and Water Quality at Different Scales', which was held in 1996 in Wageningen. It is intended for environmental researchers, scientists and MSc and PhD students. Part 1 covers current issues and methodologies with scale related soil and water quality research. Part 2 covers agroecological and hydrological case studies in which scale transforms form an important part of the research chain. Part 3 consists of papers focusing on methodologies and up and downscaling. Part 4 contains review papers based on modellers' and statisticians' considerations as well as the papers and posters presented during the workshop. Part 5 consists of short research notes.
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