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Books > Earth & environment > Earth sciences > The hydrosphere
This book contains the lectures given in the International Course "Improving efficiency and reliability in water supply systems," hosted and sponsored by the Menendez Pelayo International University (U.I.M.P.) and co-sponsored by Aguas de Valencia, the British Council and the EC Cornett and Erasmus programmes. The short course took place in Valencia (Spain) in November 1994, with an attendance of more than one hundred delegates. We must not only acknowedge and thank Dr. Joaquin Azagra, as UIMP Director, but also his collaborators D. Luis Moreno and Lidia Lopez for their support in the preparation of the Course and during the course taking place. UIMP sponsorship allowed us to assemble in Valencia an eminent cadre of lecturers coming from all over the world, that covered in an ordered and precise fashion some of the more relevant aspects on efficiency and reliability in water supply systems. We are very thankful to all these leading lecturers for their invaluable cooperation. The publication of this book and the Spanish edition as well, have been made possible thanks to the sponsorship of both Polytechnic University of Valencia througout its Chancellor, Justo Nieto, and Aguas de Valencia throughout its General Director Alvaro Aguirre. We must also thank Kluwer Academic Publishers and especially their Publisher Petra van Steenbergen for her assistance, careful presentation and production of the book.
A timely review of state-of-the-art tsunami research, covering case studies and recent developments from various approaches. Provides a practical guide to improving operational tsunami warning systems and mitigating coastal hazard from tsunamis.
Computational hydraulics and hydrologic modeling are rapidly developing fields with a wide range of applications in areas ranging from wastewater disposal and stormwater management to civil and environmental engineering. The fields are full of promise, but while an abundance of literature now exists, it contains a plethora of new terms that are not always defined.
Coastal Informatics: Web Atlas Design and Implementation reviews and presents the latest developments in the emerging field of coastal web atlases through a series of case studies giving practical guidance on geographic data management and documentation through standards-based metadata, as well as making underlying geographic databases interoperable. Readers will find this book of practical use in Web atlas design, development and implementation, improving spatial thinking in the coastal context.
In order to provide water security in the twenty-first century, there is universal agreement that a continuation of current policies and extrapolation of trends is not an option. Also clear is that from both water supply and development perspectives, the world's arid and semi-arid regions are those currently and potentially experiencing the highest water stresses. One third of the world's land surface is classified as arid or semi-arid, and about half of all countries are directly affected in some way by problems of aridity. The hydrology of arid and semi-arid areas is also known to be substantially different from that in more humid regions. It is therefore essential that investigation methods appropriate to the former are developed and applied, and that strategies for arid and semi-arid region water resources development recognise the principal characteristics of in-situ hydrological processes.
The text covers the problems concerning optical properties and remote sensing of turbid and surface-polluted oceans and lakes. In four chapters Helgi Arst compares remote sensing data with data collected from similar examination of clean waters. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the main radiative and remote sensing characteristics and provides discussion on the properties of optically active substances (OAS) in the water and their variability and concentration, drawing on original data obtained in the Baltic Sea region. Chapter 2 focuses on the investigation of the influence of surface oil slicks on the reflection and absorption of solar radiation for both calm and ruffled sea surfaces. A model is provided for determining the temperature and the reflected component in upwelling rough seas. Chapter 3 provides remote sensing results obtained mainly for the Baltic Sea region, including some lakes. Correlations between the concentrations of OAS, water transparency and total remote sensing reflectance are investigated. Chapter 4 deals with subsurface irradiance and optical classification of turbid waters. This chapter analyses the different criteria of the euphotic depth, drawing on a semi-empirical model for the estimation of underwater light scattering. The conclusion provides discussion on the results obtained.
Egypt is a country of tremendous land resources but limited water resources The area of cultivated land is only 3.2% of the gross area. The river Nile is the main sources of water. In the recent years the Governement established large-scale agricultural projects in light of food security related to the population growth. Expansion of irrigated agriculture has to be predomantly relalized bt increasing the water use efficiency. In Egypt, the dominant irrigation method is surface irrigation, which covers approximately 83% of the irrigated areas. Surface irrigation or gravity methods are generally characterized by a low efficiency. One opportunity to increase the efficiency is to convert surface irrigation to modern irrigation systems, which are generaly highly expensive for a country like Egypt. Another option to increase the efficiency of surface irrigation systems is to convert the traditional irrigation method based on continuous flow to surge flow irrigation. Surge flow irrigation is the intermittent application of water to furrows in a series of relatively short on and off time periods. This study has been carried out to demonstrate the applicability of surge flow irrigation for water saving under the short field conditions that prevail in Egypt. The results indicate that surge flow irrigation is an effective irrigation method to save water and to increase crop production.
This wide-ranging selection of original papers covers many aspects of desertification including environmental and weather factors, land management policy, groundwater resources, understanding biodiversity in fragile ecosystems, technological approaches to the study and remedy of desertification.
An entertaining, instructive, diverse, and unusual book, Light and
Dark: An Exploration in Science, Nature, Art and Technology
encompasses a wide range of topics not normally found in one
book.
To date, a vast amount of the world's oceans remains uncharted. With water covering more than 70 percent of the Earth's surface, maritime and oceanographic exploration and research is vital. Oceanography and Coastal Informatics: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice is a critical source of academic knowledge centered on technologies, methodologies, and practices related to the biological and physical aspects of the ocean and coastal environments. This publication is divided into four sections: climate change and environmental concerns; data analysis and management; fisheries management and ecology; and GIS, geospatial analysis, and localization. This publication is an ideal reference source for oceanographers, marine and maritime professionals, researchers, and scholars interested in current research on various aspects of oceanography and coastal informatics.
Environmental politics has traditionally been a peripheral concern for international relations theory, but increasing alarm over global environmental challenges has elevated international society's relationship with the natural world into the theoretical limelight. IR theory's engagement with environmental politics, however, has largely focused on interstate cooperation in the late twentieth century, with less attention paid to how the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century quest to tame nature came to shape the modern international order. The ideal river examines nineteenth-century efforts to establish international commissions on three transboundary rivers - the Rhine, the Danube, and the Congo. It charts how the Enlightenment ambition to tame the natural world, and human nature itself, became an international standard for rational and civilized authority and informed our geographical imagination of the international. This relationship of domination over nature shaped three core IR concepts central to the emergence of early international order: the territorial sovereign state; imperial hierarchies; and international organizations. The book contributes to environmental politics and international relations by highlighting how the relationship between society and nature is not a peripheral concern, but one at the heart of international politics. -- .
Arid and semi-arid regions can be defined as environments in which water is the limit ing factor for bio-systems. This means that survival of life in these regions involves a constant struggle to obtain this limited commodity and draw the maximum benefit out of it. However, despite the difficulties for plants, animals, and man to live in, these regions, they are being utilized more and more because of the pressure of world population growth. This is expressed in the expansion of agricultural activities in desert lands as well as by the formation and rapid growth of urban and industrial centers. These trends result in a growing demand for water on the one hand, and the disposal of vast amounts of waste water, as well as other types of refuse, on the other. Meeting the first demand, namely, supplying water to the agricultural communities and urban centers, involves, in many instances, the over-exploitation and misuse of nat ural water resources. The surplus of waste water, sometimes highly loaded with toxic compounds, is likely to cause irreversible damage to the environment. The geoscientists and engineers face a challenge on two conflicting fronts. Success on one front, namely, in answering the full demand for water, may lead to an increase in the pollution of the environment by waste water."
This text is written by a number of authors from different countries and disciplines, affording the reader an invaluable and unbiased perspective on the subject of intensive groundwater development. Based on information gathered from the experience of many countries over the last decades, the text aims to present a clear discussion on the conventional hydrogeological aspects of intensive groundwater use, along with the ecological, legal, institutional, economic and social challenges. Divided into two main sections, the first group of authors put forward the positive and negative aspects of intensive groundwater use, whilst a second group provide an overview of the situation specific countries face as a consequence of this phenomenon. Fully revised and up-to-date, Groundwater Intensive Use makes a significant number of discoveries in a subject area that is topical in today's climate.
A stand-alone working document, Stormwater Effects Handbook: A Toolbox for Watershed Managers, Scientists, and Engineers assists scientists and regulators in determining when stormwater runoff causes adverse effects in receiving waters. This complicated task requires an integrated assessment approach that focuses on sampling before, during, and after storms. The Handbook supplies assessment strategies, sample testing and collection methods, and includes illustrative figures and tables.
The inspiration for "Lessons From The Ocean" came as a result of many walks on the beach at sunset. It was during these "quiet times" with God that much was revealed to Donalyn about the similarities that exist between the ocean and beach, and what happens in everyday life. After a dear friend encouraged her to write these down, Donalyn realized that this could be something that would uplift, encourage and inspire others. Her wish is that you would enjoy reading it and contemplating it as much as she did actually accruing this over several years. Donalyn Knight is the Founder and President of The Spirited Athlete, Inc. She taught for 38 years at Seminole High School in Sanford, Fl and has over 16 years of extensive athletic coaching experience. While at Seminole High School, she has been awarded over 12 Coach of the Year Awards, Teacher of the Year for Seminole High School and Seminole County and was inducted into the SHS Coaches' Hall of Fame there, being presented with The Doc Terwilleger Award. This past year the school named the Outstanding Female Athlete Award after Donalyn. She has worked with Olympic and Professional athletes and served as Fellowship of Christian Athletes Liaison to the WNBA Orlando Miracle. She also worked for USAirways in the evenings for 20 years. Her love of flying, working with people and helping them with their travel needs was something she really enjoyed. Now retired from teaching and the airline, Donalyn is growing The Spirited Athlete which is in it's 8th year. The company has a motivational and inspirational product line as well as presenting college-bound athlete seminars, coaches' seminars, etc. It is obvious by her endeavors that she has a real zest for life and that is directly related to her relationship with her Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. "To serve Him above all through whatever it is that I'm doing is the highest privilege of all To God Be the Glory "
" ... as soon as one has traversed the greater part of the wild sea, one comes upon such a huge quantity of ice that nowhere in the whole world has the like been known." "This ice is of a wonderful nature. It lies at times quite still, as one would expect, with openings or large fjords in it; but sometimes its movement is so strong and rapid as to equal that of a ship running before the wind, and it drifts against the wind as often as with it." Kongespeilet - 1250 A.D. ("The Mirror of Kings") Modern societies require increasing amounts influence on the water mass and on the resulting of scientific information about the environment total environment of the region; therefore, cer tain of its characteristics will necessarily be in whieh they live and work. For the seas this information must describe the air above the sea, included."
An exploration of the relationship between river behaviour and environmental change. The research involves a wide range of disciplines including geomorphology, geophysics, archaeology, palaeoecology, engineering and planning.
Understanding the Oceans brings together an internationally
distinguished group of authors to consider the enormous advances in
marine science that have been achieved since the voyages of HMS
Challenger a century ago. The whole book draws inspiration from the
seminal contribution made by the research conducted on those
voyages, and each contributor considers the significance of the
findings, relating them to the exciting developments of today and
tomorrow.
ICe in the Ocean examines sea ice and icebergs and their role in the global climate system. It is comprehensive textbook suitablefor students, pure and applied researchers, and anyone interested in the polar oceans; the distribution of sea ice; the mechanisms of growth, development and decay; the thermodynamics and dynamics of sea ice; sea ice deformation and ridge-building; the role of marginal ice zones; the characteristics of icebergs; and the part played by sea ice in the climate system and in the transport of pollutants. An extensive reference list and recommendations for further reading and numerous illustrations, and add to the usefulness of the text.
Addressing the techno-socio-economic challenges involved in the
protection, conservation, recycling and equitable utilization of
water as an economic good, this text explores the linkages and
dynamics of interactions involving water, and includes the
following key topic areas: dynamics of interactions involving
water; water quality; augmentation and conservation of water
resources; wastewater reuse systems; use of water in agriculture;
industrial and municipal uses of water; water pollution; economics
and management of water supplies; etiology of water-related
diseases; climate change impacts on water resources and paradigms
of water resource management.
This book explores how a long-term innovation can take place based on historical analyses of the development of reverse osmosis (RO) membrane from the early 1950s to the mid-2010s. The RO membrane is a critical material for desalination that is a key to solve water shortages becoming serious in many places of the world. The authors conducted in-depth field studies as well as analyses of rich archival data to demonstrate how researchers, engineers, managers, entrepreneurs, and policymakers interacted each other for this material innovation to be realized. A series of historical analyses in this book uncovered that initial government supports, strategic niche markets, emergence of breakthrough technology, and company-specific rationales played significant roles for companies to overcome four types of uncertainty, technological, market, competition, and social/organizational ones, and enabled the companies to persistently invest in the development and commercialization of the RO membrane. This book depicts that innovation does not arise on a sudden, but that it is actualized through long lasting process with turns and twists, which is driven by many non-economic rationales beyond economic motives.
Fully updated and expanded into two volumes, the new edition of Groundwater Contamination explains in a comprehensive way the sources for groundwater contamination, the regulations governing it, and the technologies for abating it. Volume 1 covers all major contaminants and explains the hydrology and data used to determine the extent of pollution. Volume 2 discusses aquifer management, including technologies to control and stabilize multiple influxes into the water table. This volume outlines strategies for stormwater control and groundwater restoration. A number of case histories on site analysis and remediation based on DOE and state documents are included. Among the many new features of this edition are a full discussion of risk assessment, the preparation of groundwater protection plans, and references linking the text to over 2,300 water-related Web sites.
Since human beings first appeared on the earth, we have changed land cover and land use for our own purposes, such as conveniences and high productivity. As a result of the land cover and land use changes, many serious environmental problems occur on the earth. Studying meteorological and hydrological effects of vegetation and land cover/use changes helps us to understand the environmental changes and problems happening near the earth surface, because the vegetation distributes the solar energy and water on the earth surface into atmosphere and geosphere. Subsurface hydrological responses to land cover and land use changes have drawn only regional environmental concerns, although global change caused by biosphere change has been studied in various scientific fields. The changes in land cover and land use alter water, solute and heat cycles in basins and elements of those balances, including evapotranspiration, groundwater recharge rate, discharge rates into rivers or ocean and soil moisture content, which are directly or indirectly related to the global environmental issues. Therefore, the changes in biosphere may substantially alter the subsurface hydrological system. For instance, increased groundwater recharge rates following clearing forest into grasses might be one consequence resulting in rising water tables and salinization.
The applications of stochastic methods in design by reliability include the better utilisation of hydrological information. With statistical methods one can evaluate the safety component of hydraulic systems. Based on these, extra safety features can be added to ensure the reliable performance of an hydraulic system. One such example is the design of a dam, which features a number of random variables, each with a very distinct and quite different probability function. This book reports on developments in stochastic hydraulics across a wide range of applications, including river hydraulics, sediment transportation, waves and coastal processes, hydrology, hydraulic works and structure, and environmental hydraulics. |
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