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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.

    • El Nino, La Nina, and the Southern Oscillation

      • 1st Edition
      • Volume 46
      • S. George Philander
      • English
      El Nino and the Southern Oscillation is by far the most striking phenomenon caused by the interplay of ocean and atmosphere. It can be explained neither in strictly oceanographic nor strictly meteorological terms. This volume provides a brief history of the subject, summarizes the oceanographic and meteorological observations and theories, and discusses the recent advances in computer modeling studies of the phenomenon.
    • Atmosphere, Ocean and Climate Dynamics

      An Introductory Text
      • 1st Edition
      • Volume 43
      • John Marshall + 1 more
      • English
      For advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students in atmospheric, oceanic, and climate science, Atmosphere, Ocean and Climate Dynamics is an introductory textbook on the circulations of the atmosphere and ocean and their interaction, with an emphasis on global scales. It will give students a good grasp of what the atmosphere and oceans look like on the large-scale and why they look that way. The role of the oceans in climate and paleoclimate is also discussed. The combination of observations, theory and accompanying illustrative laboratory experiments sets this text apart by making it accessible to students with no prior training in meteorology or oceanography.
    • Clays, Muds, and Shales

      • 1st Edition
      • Volume 44
      • C.E. Weaver
      • English
      This book provides a comprehensive and critical summary of clay mineral literature that relates to geology and geologic processes, making it useful both as a reference book for geologists and as a text for the specialist.The book encompasses the full scope of clay-shale geology. An introductory chapter provides basic background terminology and classification. This is followed by a relatively long chapter on the structure and composition of the various clay minerals. Chapter 3 provides an introduction to soil formation, chemical weathering, microbial alteration and the pedogenic formation of clay minerals. Chapters 4 and 5 cover the continental and marine transport, and deposition of clays. Both mechanisms and examples are presented, ranging from biodepositional to the nepheloid layer. Chapter 6 reviews data on the low to high temperature formation of clay minerals from marine volcanics, and the growth of authigenic clays in shallow marine, brackish, and evaporite environments. Chapter 7, Diagenesis Metamorphism, covers both burial diagenesis and the processes occurring during the conversion of shale to clay. Chapter 8 discusses the formation of authigenic-diageneti... formation of clays in sandstones. Chapter 9 describes the temperal distribution of clay minerals in North and South America, Europe, Africa and the Atlantic Ocean. The clay suites are related to factors such as continental drift, tectonics, climate and environment. The final brief chapter covers compaction, lithification and some general features of shales.The book is liberally sprinkled with x-ray patterns, chemical analyses, and SEM and TEM pictures, in addition to hundreds of examples.
    • Groundwater Resources Assessment

      • 1st Edition
      • Volume 38
      • J. Balek
      • English
      The development of environmentally sound groundwater resources has recently become a high priority throughout the world. Many countries are currently developing comprehensive regulations for the management of groundwater resources. Within this framework an assessment of renewable groundwater resources is one of the most important factors.This book is based on the author's many years of experience in the assessment of surface and subsurface water resources, field experiments and computer oriented work, in both developed and developing countries. An environmental approach is followed. Groundwater resources are seen as a part of the aquatic ecosystem in which not only geology but the whole lithosphere, vegetation, surface resources and atmosphere play an equally important role.Both simple and advanced models are presented, which can also be applied to complicated geological structures where standard groundwater models fail to operate. Conceptual and stochastic models are presented in a form which the reader can use as a guide for further model development - an approach much in demand in regions where many different features and a variety of data are available. Experimental work leading to the identification of groundwater resources is also broadly discussed.The book will prove valuable to students at university level, researchers, institutes, departments, and consultancies involved in water resources.
    • Asbestos in the Natural Environment

      • 1st Edition
      • Volume 37
      • H. Schreier
      • English
      Asbestos minerals have novel properties which make them highly desirable for industrial use. While the health hazards of asbestos have long been recognized and are well documented in the medical literature, ecological and environmental research involving asbestos fibers has only been undertaken in the past 25 years and the significant deleterious effects of asbestos materials on soil and plant ecology has been much less well publicised.This book examines non-occupational exposure and environmental effects of asbestos relating to animal and plant growth in the natural environment. Major nutrient imbalances and excess concentrations of trace metals have been identified as main causes for the poor plant response. Given the complexity of the asbestos analysis and the extent of the problem, this book attempts to bring together the multitude of subjects pertaining to asbestos in the natural environment with the aim of contributing to a better understanding of the chemical characteristics of asbestos-rich materials and their effect on plant growth.
    • Surface Operations in Petroleum Production, II

      • 1st Edition
      • Volume 19B
      • J.O. Robertson + 2 more
      • English
      This second volume of Surface Operations in Petroleum Production complements and amplifies Volume I which appeared in 1987 and covered several aspects of oilfield technology. This second volume presents a detailed theoretical and practical exposition of surface oilfield practices, including gas flow rate measurement, cementing, fracturing, acidizing, and gravel packing. In today's era of specialization, these operations are generally left to service companies, denying field engineers and company managers direct detailed knowledge of the specific surface and subsurface operations. This book presents a comprehensive analysis which may be used by field engineers to analyze technical problems, specify the required surface and subsurface operations, and closely supervise the service company's work and post-treatment operation of the well.Another subject which has great economic consequences in all oilfields is corrosion of equipment. The book presents a comprehensive analysis of the theory of corrosion in the oilfield and methods that have proved effective for the retardation, or elimination, of corrosion. Quality control of injection waters in then covered. Three more topics are addressed: the first is offshore technology which is presented with reference to onshore oilfield operations, making a lucid presentation for field engineers who have no practical knowledge of the subject. The second is pollution control - an area of oilfield management which has assumed widespread importance in recent years. The last topic covered is the subject of underground storage of gas and oil. Underground fuel storage and retrieval is an active area of oilfield production management that utilizes the technology presented in this entire treatise. Finally, the technology of testing petroleum products and sample experiments for junior and senior petroleum engineering students are presented.This two-volume comprehensive treatise on modern oilfield technology thus provides not only a complete reference for field managers, engineers, and technical consultants, but will also serve academic needs in advanced studies of petroleum production engineering.
    • Mesoscale/Synoptic Coherent Structures in Geophysical Turbulence

      • 1st Edition
      • Volume 50
      • B.M. Jamart + 1 more
      • English
      The 20th Liège Colloquium was particularly well attended and these proceedings demonstrate the significant progress achieved in understanding, modelling, and observing geostrophic and near-geostrophic turbulence. The book contains more than 50 review papers and original contributions covering most aspects of the field of mesoscale/synoptic coherent structures in geophysical (oceanographic) turbulence. The properties of isolated vortices (generation, evolution, decay), their interactions with other vortices, with larger scale currents and/or with topography are investigated theoretically and by means of numerical and physical models. Observation of these dynamically important features in different parts of the world ocean are reported. Of particular interest will be the fourteen contributions by scientists from the USSR which emphasize the international character of the meeting. The book thus constitutes a useful and complete overview of the current state-of-the-art.
    • Enhanced Oil Recovery, II

      Processes and Operations
      • 1st Edition
      • Volume 17B
      • E.C. Donaldson + 2 more
      • English
      Written by foremost experts in the field, and formulated with attention to classroom use for advanced studies in reservoir characterization and processes, this book reviews and summarises state-of-the-art progress in the field of enhanced oil recovery (EOR). All of the available techniques: alkaline flooding; surfactant flooding; carbon dioxide flooding; steam flooding; in-situ combustion; gas injection; miscible flooding; microbial recovery; and polymer flooding are discussed and compared. Together with Volume I, it presents a complete text on enhanced recovery technology and, hence, is an almost indispensible reference text.This second volume compliments the first by presenting as complete an analysis as possible of current oilfield theory and technology, for accomplishment of maximum production of oil. Many different processes have been developed and field tested for enhancement of oil recovery. The emerging philosophy is that no single process is applicable to all petroleum reservoirs. Each must be treated as unique, and carefully evaluated for characteristics that are amenable to one or two of the proven technologies of EOR. This book will aid the engineer in field evaluation and selection of the best EOR technology for a given oilfield. Even the emerging technology of microbial applications to enhance oil recovery are reviewed and explained in terms that are easily understood by field engineers.The book is presented in a manner suitable for graduate studies. The only addition required of teachers is to supply example problems for class work. An appendix includes a reservoir mathematic model and program for general application that can also be used for teaching.