The idea for organizing an Advanced Study Institute devoted largely to neutron star timing arose independently in three places, at Istanbul, Garching and Amster- dam; when we became aware of each other's ideas we decided to join forces. The choice of a place for the Institute, in Turkey, appealed much to us all, and it was then quickly decided that Qeme would be an excellent spot. When the preparations for the Institute started, early in 1987, we could not have guessed how timely the subject actually was. Of course, the recently dis- covered QPO phenomena in accreting neutron stars and half a...

by JULIEN IE HOFFMAN One of the earliest coronary physiologists was Scaramucci who, in 1695, postu lated that during systole the contracting myocardium inhibited coronary blood flow. Since then, the many contributions that have been made to our knowledge of the coronary circulation can be arbitrarily divided into three phases based on advances in technical methods. The early phase of research into the coronary circulation, done with great difficulty with crude methods, may be regarded as ending in the 1940s, and it included major discoveries made by such well known investigators as Georg von...

Glaciers or ice sheets are natural accumulations of ice possessing in- trinsic motion, which have appeared on the Earth's land surface as a result of the accumulation and transformation of precipitation 2]. Only a very small portion of the surface of the land is now covered by glaciers, and at low latitudes they are found justat high elevations, on mountain slopes. However, glaciers are known to play very important roles in shaping the topography of the Earth, in determiningits past, present, and future climate, and in creating the state of the world Ocean. Recently there has also been a...

The problem of ice destruction comes most frequently to our attention in engineering glaciology and ice engineering because it is essential in the solution of many problems in the polar regions of the Earth. Ice destruction (like the destruction of any other material, in principle) is a complex problem at the junction of solid-state physics, continuum mechanics, and materials science. Ice, particularly sea ice, is characterized by known anomalies that can be explained by the simultaneous occurrence of solid, liquid and gaseous phases. Even minor temperature fluctuations cause changes in the...

Few scientists doubt the prediction that the antropogenic release of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will lead to some warming of the earth's climate. So there is good reason to investigate the possible effects of such a warming, in dependence of geographical and social economic setting. Many bodies, governmental or not, have organized meetings and issued reports in which the carbon dioxide problem is defined, reviewed, and possible threats assessed. The rate at which such reports are produced still increases. However, while more and more people are getting involved in the 'carbon dioxide...

Proceedings of the Symposium on Glacier Fluctuations and Climatic Change, held in Amsterdam, June 1-5, 1987

3 new biota and extinction of others, and extensive soil erosion reaching almost catastrophic proportions have led to desertification of many upland areas and abandonment by local populations. The role of climatic change as opposed to deforestation and sheep grazing in creating these new environments has proved a further issue of great controversy. While our understanding of historic environmental changes remains inadequate, our knowledge of processes that are modifying the present-day landscape is also sparse and selective. Little is known of active periglacial processes, slope...

The problem of ice destruction comes most frequently to our attention in engineering glaciology and ice engineering because it is essential in the solution of many problems in the polar regions of the Earth. Ice destruction (like the destruction of any other material, in principle) is a complex problem at the junction of solid-state physics, continuum mechanics, and materials science. Ice, particularly sea ice, is characterized by known anomalies that can be explained by the simultaneous occurrence of solid, liquid and gaseous phases. Even minor temperature fluctuations cause changes in the...

Glaciers or ice sheets are natural accumulations of ice possessing in trinsic motion, which have appeared on the Earth's land surface as a result of the accumulation and transformation of precipitation 2]. Only a very small portion of the surface of the land is now covered by glaciers, and at low latitudes they are found justat high elevations, on mountain slopes. However, glaciers are known to play very important roles in shaping the topography of the Earth, in determiningits past, present, and future climate, and in creating the state of the world Ocean. Recently there has also been a...