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Books in Earth and planetary sciences

Elsevier's Earth and Planetary Sciences collection brings together pioneering research on the complexities of our planet and beyond. Covering topics from Earth's structural dynamics and ecosystems to planetary exploration, these titles support advancements in geoscience, environmental science, and space studies, offering essential insights for researchers, professionals, and students.

BooksJournals

    • Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard and Risk Analysis

      • 1st Edition
      • October 24, 2024
      • Katsuichiro Goda + 3 more
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 4 4 3 1 8 9 8 7 6
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 4 4 3 1 8 9 8 8 3
      Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard and Risk Analysis: Towards Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience covers recent calls for advances in quantitative tsunami hazard and risk analyses for the synthesis of broad knowledge basis and solid understanding of interdisciplinary fields, spanning seismology, tsunami science, and coastal engineering. These new approaches are essential for enhanced disaster resilience of society under multiple hazards and changing climate as tsunamis can cause catastrophic loss to coastal cities and communities globally.This is a low-probability high-consequence event, and it is not easy to develop effective disaster risk reduction measures. In particular, uncertainties associated with tsunami hazards and risks are large. The knowledge and skills for quantitative probabilistic tsunami hazard and risk assessments are in high demand and are required in various related fields, including disaster risk management (governments and local communities), and the insurance and reinsurance industry (catastrophe model).

    • Coal and Coalbed Gas

      • 2nd Edition
      • January 24, 2024
      • Romeo M. Flores + 1 more
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 3 2 3 8 5 9 3 7 0
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 3 2 3 8 5 9 3 8 7
      Coal and Coalbed Gas: Future Directions and Opportunities, Second Edition introduces the latest in coal geology research and the engineering of gas extraction. Importantly, the second edition examines how, over the last 10 years, research has both changed focus and where it is conducted. This shift essentially depicts "a tale of two worlds"—one half (Western Europe, North America) moving away from coal and coalbed gas research and production towards cleaner energy resources, and the other half (Asia–Pacific region, Eastern Europe, South America) increasing both research and usage of coal. These changes are marked by a precipitous fall in coalbed gas production in North America; however, at the same time there has been a significant rise in coal and coalbed gas production in Australia, China, and India. The driver for higher production and its associated research is a quest for affordable energy and economic security that a large resource base brings to any country like Australia’s first large-scale coalbed gas to liquid natural gas projects supplying the demand for cleaner burning LNG to the Asian-Pacific region. Since the last edition of this book, global climate change policies have more forcibly emphasized the impact of methane from coal mines and placed these emissions equal to, or even more harmful than, CO2 emissions from fossil fuels in general. Governmental policies have prioritized capture, use, and storage of CO2, burning coal in new highly efficient low emission power plants, and gas pre-drainage of coal mines. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries and China are also introducing new research into alternative, non-fuel uses for coal, such as carbon fibers, nanocarbons, graphene, soil amendments, and as an unconventional ore for critical elements. New to this edition: Each chapter is substantially changed from the 1st edition including expanded and new literature citations and reviews, important new data and information, new features and materials, as well as re-organized and re-designed themes. Importantly, three new chapters cover global coal endowment and gas potential, groundwater systems related to coalbed gas production and biogenic gas generation as well as the changing landscape of coal and coalbed gas influenced by global climate change and net-zero carbon greenhouse gas emissions. FOREWORD When I reviewed the first edition of this book, my initial thought was, "Do we need another book on coal geology?" and then I read it and realised, "Yes, we need this book" and my students downloaded copies as soon as it was available. So now we come to 2023, and a lot has happened in the past decade. For a different reason we might ask if we still need this book, or even coal geoscientists and engineers, as the world aims for rapid decarbonisation of the energy sector and a reduction of coal as a feedstock for industrial resources, like steel manufacture. Natural gas is earmarked as a transition fuel to enable the shift to renewables. In some basins, the source of that gas is directly from coalbed gas production or from conventional reservoirs that were charged by coal and terrestrial organic source rocks. Although the transition is escalating, there are projections that coal will remain part of our future, even after 2050, and can also provide alternative non-fuel resources (e.g., critical elements and carbon-based nanomaterials). Between now and then, we’d best ensure that we extract and utilise coal and coalbed gas as efficiently and safely as possible, that we mitigate any environmental and social impact of the process, and that we improve our certainty of predicting the behaviour of the material and material impacts. To do this we need to understand coal as a material and the inherent variability of its quality and behaviour as a source rock and host of coalbed gas. One can change the technologies but not the geological ground conditions or coal character of the targeted resource. The authors have taken on this ambitious endeavour during their careers and have attempted to capture their knowledge gained from first-hand experience in countries around the world and comprehensive review of published material, within this book. At least three generations of knowledge are drawn upon here. Tim Moore was a student of both Romeo Flores and his supervisor John Ferm, who was the "Warrior of Gentleness" when it came to coal research, teaching, and supervision. This book also reflects the broad and multidisciplinary aspects of coal geology and coal science and provides the tenets for one to understand different disciplines and how they interact to form an integrated view of the resource—technically... economically, and politically. Each chapter takes the reader through different concepts, first setting the scene by examining the status of coal and coalbed gas in a carbon-conscious world, then looking at the science behind coal as a source of gas and as a reservoir- in its own right. Further reading leads to learning about geological settings and the processes through time that led to present-day endowments around the globe and this theme continues throughout the book with detailed examples from different countries. Personally, I like the emphasis on the depositional environments that lead to peat accumulation and preservation—it’s all about the ingredients—which leads nicely into the world of coal macerals and minerals, and why they matter. Coalification and its role in changing the chemistry and material properties of coal is covered from a reservoir perspective, as is the role of biogenic processes. These have produced some of the enormous gas resources we exploit today and could also provide a future circular economy for neo-biogenic gas. The role of groundwater in this past and potentially future endeavour is presented, along with possible adverse effects where there is unexpected communication with regional and local aquifers and surface assets that detract from environmental and social licence. In addition to describing the geology and engineering technologies required to explore for, access, and utilise these resources, the book also provides insights into geostatistical and economic modelling for reserves estimation and challenges as reservoirs become more geologically and politically complex for extraction and alternatively, for injection and carbon sequestration. The final chapters revisit and integrate concepts presented in the book in order to examine global gas production and the geographic shifts in production and research that have occurred over the past decade(s). The also show how government and the market play a role, and project future trends. The authors provide discussion points for the outlook of coal as a fuel feedstock in a carbon-constrained world and the ongoing search for options and alternative non-fuel uses of coal while highlighting the important role that coal and coalbed gas still play during the transition period and beyond. There is much to learn from this book, which is based on decades of observing and interpreting patterns and trends in coal and coal-bearing basins. There is a growing trend towards using machine learning and artificial intelligence to find patterns in data and provide solutions. I’d suggest that domain intelligence, such as that provided in this book, is critical to supervising this process and is required for understanding and validating the outputs upon which many decisions are made and will continue to be made in the future. So yes, we need this book and I invite you to read, learn, and form your own ideas. If you find any gaps—write about them. Joan S. Esterle Emeritus Professor Vale Chair of Coal Geosciences The University of Queensland, AustraliaMay 2023

    • Space Geodesy for Environmental Monitoring Volume

      • 1st Edition
      • Volume 65
      • August 21, 2024
      • English
      • Hardback
        9 7 8 0 4 4 3 3 1 4 6 0 5
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 4 4 3 3 1 4 6 1 2
      Space Geodesy for Environmental Monitoring Volume, Volume 65 in the Advances in Geophysics series, highlights new advances in the field, with this new volume presenting interesting chapters written by an international board of authors and covering topics such as GNSS for natural hazard mitigation, Space & Earth Data for Global Sea level change monitoring: Current Approaches, Challenges, and Future Prospects, and Crowdsourcing GNSS for geophysical applications.

    • GNSS Monitoring of the Terrestrial Environment

      • 1st Edition
      • July 31, 2024
      • Yosuke Aoki + 1 more
      • English
      GNSS Monitoring of the Terrestrial Environment: Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Climate Change presents the application of GNSS technologies to natural hazards on Earth. The book details the background theory of the GNSS techniques discussed and takes the reader through applications and implementation. Tables comparing GNSS with other geodetic techniques, such as SAR, VLBI, SLR, and conventional geodetic methods such as strainmeters, tiltmeters, and leveling surveys are also included. The book concludes with a chapter bridging both parts, discussing the relationship between earthquakes, volcanism, and climate change.The book is aimed at academics, researchers, and advanced students working in the fields of remote sensing technologies or natural hazards. It is divided into two parts, with the first covering the monitoring of earthquakes, volcanoes, and applications of GNSS signals to better understand earthquakes and volcanism, while the second part covers monitoring climate change with GNSS.

    • The Indian Ocean and its Role in the Global Climate System

      • 1st Edition
      • April 18, 2024
      • Caroline C. Ummenhofer + 1 more
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 1 2 8 2 2 6 9 8 8
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 1 2 8 2 3 2 8 6 6
      The Indian Ocean and its Role in the Global Climate System provides an overview of our contemporary understanding of the Indian Ocean (geology, atmosphere, ocean, hydrology, biogeochemistry) and its role in the climate system. It describes the monsoon systems, Indian Ocean circulation and connections with other ocean basins. Climatic phenomena in the Indian Ocean are detailed across a range of timescales (seasonal, interannual to multi-decadal). Biogeochemical and ecosystem variability is also described. The book will provide a summary of different tools (e.g., observations, modeling, paleoclimate records) that are used for understanding Indian Ocean variability and trends. Recent trends and future projections of the Indian Ocean, including warming, extreme events, ocean acidification and deoxygenation will be detailed. The Indian Ocean is unique and different from other tropical ocean basins due to its geography. It is traditionally under-observed and understudied, yet plays a fundamental role for regional and global climate. The vagaries of the Asian monsoon affect over a billion people and a third of the global population live in the vicinity of the Indian Ocean. It is also particularly vulnerable to climate change, with robust warming and trends in heat and freshwater observed in recent decades. Advances have recently been made in our understanding of the Indian Ocean’s circulation, interactions with adjacent ocean basins, and its role in regional and global climate. Nonetheless, significant gaps remain in understanding, observing, modeling, and predicting Indian Ocean variability and change across a range of timescales. As such, this book is the perfect compendium to any researcher, student, teacher/lecturer in the fields of oceanography, atmospheric science, paleoclimate, environmental science, meteorology and geology, as well as policy managers and water resource managers.

    • Handbook of Mineral Spectroscopy, Volume 2

      • 1st Edition
      • April 22, 2023
      • J. Theo Kloprogge
      • English
      • Hardback
        9 7 8 0 1 2 8 0 4 5 2 0 6
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 1 2 8 0 4 5 2 1 3
      Handbook of Mineral Spectroscopy, Volume Two: Infrared Spectra, a Four Volume Set presents a database of Infrared spectra, showing both full spectra and high-resolution spectral regions with band component analyses of rock-forming and major ore minerals. IR of minerals is a very powerful technique for analyzing the different vibrational modes of minerals (in particular functional groups) but also the local environment of atoms in a crystal structure. The book includes a section on silicates and one on non-silicates, subdivided according to the normal mineral classes. This book is a go-to guide for anyone working with minerals and can be used for research and writing or as a handbook in the laboratory while running analyses of minerals.

    • Cognitive Archaeology, Body Cognition, and the Evolution of Visuospatial Perception

      • 1st Edition
      • June 9, 2023
      • Emiliano Bruner
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 3 2 3 9 9 1 9 3 3
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 3 2 3 9 9 3 8 4 5
      Cognitive Archaeology, Body Cognition, and the Evolution of Visuospatial Perception offers a multidisciplinary and comprehensive perspective on the evolution of the visuospatial ability in the human genus. It presents current topics in cognitive sciences and prehistoric archaeology, to provide a bridge between evolutionary anthropology and neurobiology. This book explores how body perception and spatial sensing may have evolved in humans, as to enhance a “prosthetic capacity” able to integrate the brain, body, and technological elements into a single functional system. It includes chapters on touch and haptics, peripersonal space, parietal lobe evolution, somatosensory integration, neuroarchaeology, visual behavior, attention, and psychometrics. Cognitive Archaeology, Body Cognition, and the Evolution of Visuospatial Perception represents an essential resource for evolutionary biologists, anthropologists, archaeologists, and neuroscientists who are interested in the role of body perception and spatial ability in human cognition.

    • Machine Learning in Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences

      • 1st Edition
      • June 27, 2023
      • Hossein Bonakdari + 2 more
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 4 4 3 1 5 2 8 4 9
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 4 4 3 1 5 2 8 5 6
      Machine Learning in Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences: Theoretical and Practical Applications is a practical guide on implementing different variety of extreme learning machine algorithms to Earth and environmental data. The book provides guided examples using real-world data for numerous novel and mathematically detailed machine learning techniques that can be applied in Earth, environmental, and planetary sciences, including detailed MATLAB coding coupled with line-by-line descriptions of the advantages and limitations of each method. The book also presents common postprocessing techniques required for correct data interpretation. This book provides students, academics, and researchers with detailed understanding of how machine learning algorithms can be applied to solve real case problems, how to prepare data, and how to interpret the results.

    • Artificial Intelligence in Earth Science

      • 1st Edition
      • April 26, 2023
      • Ziheng Sun + 2 more
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 3 2 3 9 1 7 3 7 7
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 3 2 3 9 7 2 1 6 1
      Artificial Intelligence in Earth Science: Best Practices and Fundamental Challenges provides a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to AI workflows for solving problems in Earth Science. The book focuses on the most challenging problems in applying AI in Earth system sciences, such as training data preparation, model selection, hyperparameter tuning, model structure optimization, spatiotemporal generalization, transforming model results into products, and explaining trained models. In addition, it provides full-stack workflow tutorials to help walk readers through the whole process, regardless of previous AI experience. The book tackles the complexity of Earth system problems in AI engineering, fully guiding geoscientists who are planning to implement AI in their daily work.

    • Air Pollution Calculations

      • 2nd Edition
      • September 17, 2023
      • Daniel A. Vallero
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 4 4 3 1 3 9 8 7 1
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 4 4 3 1 3 9 8 8 8
      Air Pollution Calculations: Quantifying Pollutant Formation, Transport, Transformation, Fate and Risks, Second Edition enhances the systems science aspects of air pollution, including transformation reactions in soil, water, sediment and biota that contribute to air pollution. This second edition will be an update based on research and actions taken since 2019 that affect air pollution calculations, including new control technologies, emissions measurement, and air quality modeling. Recent court cases, regulatory decisions, and advances in technology are discussed and, where necessary, calculations have been revised to reflect these updates. Sections discuss pollutant characterization, pollutant transformation, and environmental partitioning. Air partitioning, physical transport of air pollutants, air pollution biogeochemistry, and thermal reactions are also thoroughly explored. The author then carefully examines air pollution risk calculations, control technologies and dispersion models. The text wraps with discussions of economics and project management, reliability and failure, and air pollution decision-making.

Related subjects

Atmospheric science

Computers in geosciences

Earth surface processes

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Geochemistry and petrology

Geology

Geophysics

Geotechnical engineering engineering geology

Marine science and technology

Mineral processing

Space and planetary science