Geografia

Dams profoundly impact the geomorphology of rivers by altering the natural patterns of water, sediment and energy flow in rivers. These changes have a largely negative impact on aquatic and riparian ecosystems upstream and downstream of the dam. Natural dams also impact river geomorphology, although with positive and negative repercussions for aquatic and riparian organisms.

In 2002, the 33rd Binghamton Geomorphology Symposium convened under the theme "Dams and Morphology," and featured invited papers and contributed posters on topics of natural dams, artificial dams, and dam removal....

The theory of the Earth's climate evolution based on universal chemical-physical laws of matter-energy transformation is presented in the book. It shows how the process of Earth's core separation has led to formation and evolution of the hydrosphere and atmosphere. Having analyzed the processes of heat transfer in the atmosphere, the writers developed the adiabatic theory of the greenhouse effect, which was applied for analysis of climatic changes on the Earth. The influence of changes in climate on formation of mineral deposits and development of life on Earth was considered and presented...

The nature of global change in the Pacific Basin is poorly known compared to other parts of the world. Climate, Environment, and Society in the Pacific during the Last Millennium describes the climate changes that occurred in the Pacific during the last millennium and discusses how these changes controlled the broad evolution of human societies, typically filtered by the effects of changing sea level and storminess on food availability and interaction. Covering the entire period since AD 750 in the Pacific, this book describes the influences of climate change on environments and...

More than 20 countries generate electricity from geothermal resources and about 60 countries make direct use of geothermal energy. A ten-fold increase in geothermal energy use is foreseeable at the current technology level.

Geothermal Energy: An Alternative Resource for the 21st Century provides a readable and coherent account of all facets of geothermal energy development and summarizes the present day knowledge on geothermal resources, their exploration and exploitation. Accounts of geothermal resource models, various exploration techniques, drilling and production technology are...

Glaciotectonism is an important component of modern glacial theory, gaining widespread recognition within the past 25 years. This book is outcome of compiling maps of glaciotectonic structures and landforms for North America and central Europe, which is the basis for better understanding the role of glaciotectonism as a key component of glacial theory.

Glaciotectonism is intented to provide a comprehensive review and description of glaciotectonic phenomena. The subject matter is arranged in three broad sections. First, definitions, principles, and methodologies of glaciotectonics...

The contents of this monograph are two-scope. First, it intends to provide a synthetic but complete account of the thermodynamic and kinetic foundations on which the reaction path modeling of geological CO2 sequestration is based. In particular, a great effort is devoted to review the thermodynamic properties of CO2 and of the CO2-H2O system and the interactions in the aqueous solution, the thermodynamic stability of solid product phases (by means of several stability plots and activity plots), the volumes of carbonation reactions, and especially the kinetics of dissolution/precipitation...

The Juneau Icefield Research Project (JIRP) was formed to find a prototype area to study Alaska's coastal glaciers and trends in climatic change. For the past 57 years JIRP has conducted a systematic study of key receding and advancing glaciers, including Lemon Creek and Taku Glaciers. From this study, a model has been developed to study the mass balance of these glaciers and their relation to general atmospheric circulation. Taku's mass balance was expected to provide a meaningful assessment of flakier climate relations and environmental trends, specifically the increase in atmospheric trace...

Polynyas are relatively ice-free regions when compared to the areas around them, and have been suggested as being foci for energy transfer between the atmosphere and ocean, ice "factories," and critical areas with respect to polar ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles. This volume presents an integrated, multidisciplinary review of polynyas in both the Arctic and Antarctic. It emphasizes the meteorology, ice dynamics, oceanography, biological components, chemistry, and modeling of these systems, particularly with respect to their roles in polar processes and distributions. The various...

Historically, climate fluctuations, such as the Little Ice Age, show that interglacial climate chage in not entirely stable, but responds to even subtle changes in radiative forcing. Through research, it has been made clear that even an abrupt change of climate within years is not just a theoretical possibility but has in fact happened in the prehistoric past. It is therefore clear that in principal it could happen again. Human civilaization has exploded under the mild and relatively stable climatic conditions that have prevailed over the last 11,000 years.

This book focuses on revisiting...

West Africa and the eastern Atlantic stretching from Mauritania in the north to Namibia in the south offer a large latitudinal stretch incorporating nearly symmetrical climatic gradients from the Equator. On the time scale of Quaternary Glacial and Interglacial cycles, today, we possess well-documented and recently published marine sedimentary records showing changes in oceanic and atmospheric circulations and terrestrial fluxes. Deep-sea sediment records contain a wide range of palaeoenvironmental indicators like oxygen and carbon isotopes, alkenones, foraminiferal and other planktonic...

A participatory and integrated procedure for the planning of water resources is presented and illustrated through its application to a real-world case study: the planning of a trans-boundary, multi-purpose, regulated lake. Methods and concepts from Hydrology, System Analysis, Optimal Control, Decision and Negotiation Theory are presented and framed in a comprehensive and coherent procedure for the efficient development of the decision-making process. Relevant theoretical and mathematical aspects are briefly presented for the non-expert reader, as well as all those practical details that are...

Adsorption of Metals by Geomedia II serves as a needed resource for this topic which has received much attention during the past 25 years. The book provides an in-depth review of the field, followed by numerous chapters that document the current status of adsorption research for a variety of metals by geomedia ranging from individual minerals to sediments and soils. Adsorption mechanisms are detailed and precipitation is presented as a distinct sorption process. Virtually all factors affecting the extent of metal adsorption are examined, including the effects of selected anions,...

This volume Coniferous Forests is the last in the series Ecosystem of the World.

Conifers and coniferous forests are an important element around us and attract our interest. This volume starts with an account of the history and distribution of the conifers. In six chapters the most important areas in Asia, Europe, North and South America with conifers forest are described covering boreal, temperate, tropical as well as mountainous regions. The descriptions are made out from a biome and an ecosystem perspective. Also detailed accounts on tree species other vegetation is...

This book presents some fundamental concepts behind the basic theories and tools of discrete element methods (DEM), its historical development, and its wide scope of applications in geology, geophysics and rock engineering. Unlike almost all books available on the general subject of DEM, this book includes coverage of both explicit and implicit DEM approaches, namely the Distinct Element Methods and Discontinuous Deformation Analysis (DDA) for both rigid and deformable blocks and particle systems, and also the Discrete Fracture Network (DFN) approach for fluid flow and solute transport...

To many of us, the Earth's crust is a relic of ancient, unknowable history. But to a geologist, stones are richly illustrated narratives, telling gothic tales of cataclysm and reincarnation. For more than four billion years, in beach sand, granite, and garnet schists, the planet has kept a rich and idiosyncratic journal of its past. Fulbright Scholar Marcia Bjornerud takes the reader along on an eye-opening tour of Deep Time, explaining in elegant prose what we see and feel beneath our feet. Both scientist and storyteller, Bjornerud uses anecdotes and metaphors to remind us that our home is a...

The intriguing theory of a land bridge linking Siberia and Alaska during the coldest pulsations of the Ice Ages had been much debated since the idea was first proposed in 1589. But proof of the land bridge-now named Beringia after eighteenth-century Danish explorer Vitus Bering-eluded scientists until an inquiring geologist named Dave Hopkins emerged from rural New England and set himself to the task of solving the mystery. This compelling blend of science, biography, and history follows the life story of the eclectic Hopkins as he solves this mystery-and creates an international stir that...

The dramatic history of planet Earth and the rocky road to understanding the past

• A probing account of the history of the earth and an introduction to the many eccentric characters that have attempted to understand its origins.
• Full of fascinating anecdotes about 19th century explorers and natural philosophers who first carved up Earth's history just as others were carving up the globe.
• Unravels the fascinating history of rock strata and the implications they have had on accepted theories on the Earth's life.
• Considers the future of the earth, and what a...

Field Techniques in Glaciology and Glacial Geomorphology is the first text to provide this essential information in a single comprehensive volume.

Coverage includes:

• The role of field data acquisition in the broader disciplines of glaciology and glacial geomorphology
• Logistical preparations for fieldwork
• Field techniques in glaciology such as investigations on ice and meltwaters
• Field techniques in glacial geomorphology ranging from investigations on glacial landforms and sediments
• International case studies show each method in...

A fascinating and vital area of research, the geography of information describes the role of information as both economic and commercial product and its distribution and movement across boundaries of cyberspace and conventional geography. Written by a pioneer in telecommunications geography research, this prize winning title (AAG award 2003) applies information geography to the world of high-tech, examining the latest wrinkles in the Internet, Silicon Valley, mobile telephony, and other key areas.

• the first book to provide both a context for the geography of information and a...

Originally published in 1989, Karst Geomorphology and Hydrology became the leading textbook on karst studies. This new textbook has been substantially revised and updated.

The first half of the book is a systematic presentation of the dissolution kinetics, chemical equilibria and physical flow laws relating to karst environments. It includes details of the many environmental factors that complicate their chemical evolution, with a critique of measurement of karst erosion rates. The second half of the book looks at the classification system for cave systems and the influence of...