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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.

  • Enzymology of Disturbed Soils

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 26
    • S. Kiss + 2 more
    • English
    The disturbance of soils, like other phenomena of environmental pollution, encountered in so many areas all over the world, has become a subject of extensive concern and has led to a vast amount of literature in the field of enzymology, too.The book is the first comprehensive and updated review of the enzymological literature on three great categories of disturbed soils, including their remediation. The volume consists of three sections: I. Enzymology of oil-contaminated soils; II. Enzymology of soils affected by industrial emissions; and III, enzymology of technogenic soils. Within each section the reviewed studies are grouped by country.The volume will be of great value to soil scientists, environmental scientists, conservationists, and many other scientists in these and related fields.
  • Reactive Hydrocarbons in the Atmosphere

    • 1st Edition
    • C. Nicholas Hewitt
    • English
    The vast family of volatile organic compounds plays a central role in the chemistry of the Earth's atmosphere. Reactive Hydrocarbons in the Atmosphere provides comprehensive and up-to-date reviews covering all aspects of the behavior, sources, occurrence, and chemistry of these compounds. The book considers both biogenic and anthropogenic sources, plus their effects in the atmosphere at local, regional, and global scales.
  • Policy Issues in Modern Cartography

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 3
    • D.R. Fraser Taylor
    • English
    Policy Issues in Modern Cartography contains the views of national mapping agencies, legal scholars, the library community, the private sector and academia on these and many other important issues. The book begins with perspectives from national mapping agencies in Britain, Canada and the United States followed by a survey of the situation in Asia. The next three chapters deal primarily with legal issues such as copyright and intellectual property from both North American and European perspectives. Chapter 8 presents an important perspective on the key issues by a representative of the private sector followed by six chapters written primarily by academics including an important contribution by a map librarian. The volume concludes with an assessment of the challenges remaining.
  • Applications of Artificial Intelligence

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 47
    • English
    Since its first volume in 1960, Advances in Computers has presented detailed coverage of innovations in hardware and software and in computer theory, design, and applications. It has also provided contributors with a medium in which they can examine their subjects in greater depth and breadth than that allowed by standard journal articles. As a result, many articles have become standard references that continue to be of significant, lasting value despite the rapid growth taking place in the field.Volume 47 contains seven chapters. The first four cover artificial intelligence, which is the use of technology to perform tasks generally assumed to require human thinking. These chapters present natural language processing, visualization, and self-replication as machine implementations of human activities. The remaining three chapters cover other recent advances that are important to the information processing field.
  • Dynamic Soil-Structure Interaction

    Current Research in China and Switzerland
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 83
    • C. Zhang + 1 more
    • English
    Dynamic Soil-structure interaction is one of the major topics in earthquake engineering and soil dynamics since it is closely related to the safety evaluation of many important engineering projects, such as nuclear power plants, to resist earthquakes. In dealing with the analysis of dynamic soil-structure interactions, one of the most difficult tasks is the modeling of unbounded media. To solve this problem, many numerical methods and techniques have been developed. This book summarizes the most recent developments and applications in the field of dynamic soil-structure interaction, both in China and Switzerland.An excellent book for scientists and engineers in civil engineering, structural engineering, geotechnical engineering and earthquake engineering.
  • The Magnetic Field of the Earth

    Paleomagnetism, the Core, and the Deep Mantle
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 63
    • Ronald T. Merrill
    • Michael W. McElhinny + 1 more
    • English
    Topics involved in studies of the Earth's magnetic field and its secular variation range from the intricate observations of geomagnetism, to worldwide studies of archeomagnetism and paleomagnetism, through to the complex mathematics of dynamo theory. Traditionally these different aspects of geomagnetism have been studied and presented in isolation from each other. The Magnetic Field of the Earth draws together these major lines of inquiry into an integrated framework to highlight the interrelationships and thus to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the geomagnetic field.The text is organized so that paleomagnetists and dynamo theoreticians may both benefit from the results and arguments presented by the other. A particular example is the presentation of paleomagnetic results to illuminate the observational constraints on geodynamo theory. Conversely, dynamo theory is explained in such a way that paleomagnetists may utilize it to present their data more effectively. Other important features of the book include a discussion of planetary magnetic fields and their implications for dynamo theory and the most recent set of magnetic charts. This unique integrated approach to the subject will make The Magnetic Field of the Earth an invaluable reference book for all geophysicists, particularly those wishing to gain insight into alternative branches of research.
  • Paleoseismology

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 62
    • James P. McCalpin
    • English
    Paleoseismology (the study of "ancient" earthquakes) has become an important component of seismic risk analysis, which is mandated for nuclear power plants, dams, waste repositories, and other critical structures. This book is the first in the English language to be devoted solely to paleoseismology. It summarizes the development of the field from the 1960s to the present, encompassing material that is currently widely dispersed in journal articles. The 10 chapters included in this text span the entire range of techniques currently used in paleoseismic reconstruction, and are contributed by active practitioners at the forefront of paleoseismic research.
  • Borates

    Handbook of Deposits, Processing, Properties, and Use
    • 1st Edition
    • Donald E. Garrett
    • English
    This comprehensive reference is the first to cover industrially important borates, from deposits, through chemistry, mining, processing, and applications. The reference work begins with a listing of the 238 currently known borate minerals, their formulas, and properties. It features modern theories on the origin of borate deposits, their molecular structure and detailed descriptions of the world's borate deposits. Garrett describes the fascinating history of the discovery and development of borate deposits with anecdotes of how resourceful operators overcame obstacles in obtaining their minerals. Chapters on mining technology and processing detail the mineral's development from the earliest recorded times up to the sophisticated operations of the present day. The book also contains a comprehensive literature on boron isotope chemistry, their diverse applications, and productions and resource statistics for the world's largest industrial producers.
  • Analysis of Geophysical Potential Fields

    A Digital Signal Processing Approach
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 5
    • P.S. Naidu + 1 more
    • English
    When some useful information is hidden behind a mass of unwanted information we often resort to information processing used in its broad sense or specifically to signal processing when the useful information is a waveform. In geophysical surveys, in particular in aeromagnetic and gravity surveys, from the measured field it is often difficult to say much about any one specific target unless it is close to the surface and well isolated from the rest. The digital signal processing approach would enable us to bring out the underlying model of the source, that is, the geological structure. Some of the tools of dsp such as digital filtering, spectrum estimation, inversion, etc., have found extensive applications in aeromagnetic and gravity map analysis. There are other emerging applications of dsp in the area of inverse filtering, three dimensional visualization, etc.The purpose of this book is to bring numerous tools of dsp to the geophysical community, in particular, to those who are entering the geophysical profession. Also the practicing geophysicists, involved in the aeromagnetic and gravity data analysis, using the commercially available software packages, will find this book useful in answering their questions on "why and how?". It is hoped that such a background would enable the practising geophysicists to appreciate the prospects and limitations of the dsp in extracting useful information from the potential field maps. The topics covered are: potential field signals and models, digital filtering in two dimensions, spectrum estimation and application, parameter estimation with error bounds.
  • PVT and Phase Behaviour Of Petroleum Reservoir Fluids

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 47
    • Ali Danesh
    • English
    This book on PVT and Phase Behaviour Of Petroleum Reservoir Fluids is volume 47 in the Developments in Petroleum Science series. The chapters in the book are: Phase Behaviour Fundamentals, PVT Tests and Correlations, Phase Equilibria, Equations of State, Phase Behaviour Calculations, Fluid Characterisation, Gas Injection, Interfacial Tension, and Application in Reservoir Simulation.
  • Geoenvironmental Engineering

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 82
    • A.M.O. Mohamed + 1 more
    • English
    The new social and economic era calls for integration of ecology and economy in a system of cause and effect. The central element in this shift is sustainable development. Fundamental to the achievement of sustainable development is the requirement for environmentally responsible waste management and restoration of the environment. Solutions to the complex problems confronted by waste management and environmental restoration industry are currently handled by the geoenvironmental engineering profession that needs a good background in soil biology, chemistry, mechanics, mineralogy, and physics. In recognition of this need, this book summarizes relevant aspects of various soil physics, mineralogy, and chemistry as well as the chemistry of pollutants. This treatment will provide sufficient background to students and practicing engineers to enable them to think about how to approach waste management and environmental restoration problems.
  • Microclimate for Cultural Heritage

    • 1st Edition
    • Dario Camuffo
    • English
    This is a useful microphysics handbook for conservators and specialists in physics, chemistry, architecture, engineering, geology and biology dealing with the environment and works of art. A rigourous treatment and a background familiarity with the underlying physics behind mathematics are covered, giving a detailed description and interpretation of the main microphysical phenomena, removing unsound popular beliefs. The basis are given for non-destructive diagnostics to evaluate causes of damage determined by atmoshpheric factors, as well as negative consequences of the unsound use of technology and mass tourism. To this aim, suggestions are given on the fundamental principles in designing heating, air conditioning, lighting and in reducing the deposition of pollutants on works of art. Theory and experience are coupled to describe the complex condensation mechanisms and the fundamental role played by water in the stone deterioration and the formation of crusts on monuments. Urban meteorology, air-surface interactions, atmospheric stability, dispersion and deposition of airborne pollutants are also key topics of this book, for which the main aim has been to make comprehensible to a wider audience a matter that is only familiar to a few specialists.This book combines a theoretical background with many years of accurate laboratory research, field surveys and practice. The first part, devoted to applied theory, is a concise treatise on microphysics, which includes a survey on the basic ideas which are necessary for environmental diagnostic and conservation. The second part of the book focuses on the practical utilisation and shows in detail how field surveys should be performed, with many suggestions and examples and the indication of some common errors that should be avoided.
  • Rock Coatings

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 6
    • R.I. Dorn
    • English
    Many rock coatings have been misunderstood by geographers and geologists alike for over a century, this is the first book that explains the variety of rock coatings found at the earth surface. For the achaeologist, it explains the variety of patination types found at the earth surface and the book also provides the first marriage of the stone conservation, archaeological, and earth science literature.In the last two hundred years there have been over 2000 papers written on fourteen general types of rock coatings by scholars from over a dozen disciplines including analytical chemistry, archaeology, botany, conservation of stone monuments, climatology, engineering, hydrology, geochemistry, geomorphology, landscape architecture, microbiology, mineralogy, pedology, oceanography, remote sensing, tectonics, and weathering. Yet, Rock Coatings provides the first synthesis of this interdisciplinary field.Rock Coatings is subdivided into three sections: firstly the introductory, the second section details the different types of rock coatings and the final section synthesizes the material and presents a general model to interpret the distribution of rock coatings found at the earth's surface.
  • Surface Production Operations, Volume 1:

    Design of Oil-Handling Systems and Facilities
    • 2nd Edition
    • Ken Arnold + 1 more
    • English
    In this new edition, experts Arnold and Stewart share their many years of in-the-field and class-room experience. Each chapter has been updated with the latest industry information. You will find new sections on:* Oil-and-water separation* Offshore-platform considerations* Factors affecting oil-and-gas separation* Potential operating problems* Scrubbers* Re-entrainment* Drain systems* Hydrocyclones * Multiphase pumps* Reciprocating pump operations* Water droplet sizeNew figures, photos, charts, and tables consolidate hours of details into “at-a-glance” illustrations. Example problems accompany the update text. With this volume’s clear presentation, you will understand the basic concepts and techniques needed to DESIGN, SPECIFY, and OPERATE oilfield surface production facilities. This manual carefully describes the equipment and processes commonly used in oil-water separating and treating systems. It also shows you how to select the appropriate piping and pumping systems. The authors’ insights and practical suggestions help you understand the art and science of handling produced liquids. With this reference in hand, you can organize the project with a better grasp of the complex parameters needed to design and operate an efficient production facility.
  • Hydrocarbon Exploration and Production

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 46
    • Frank Jahn
    • English
    This book on hydrocarbon exploration and production is the first volume in the series Developments in Petroleum Science. The chapters are: The Field Life Cycle, Exploration, Drilling Engineering, Safety and The Environment, Reservoir Description, Volumetric Estimation, Field Appraisal, Reservoir Dynamic Behaviour, Well Dynamic Behaviour, Surface Facilities, Production Operations and Maintenance, Project and Contract Management, Petroleum Economics, Managing the Producing Field, and Decommissioning.
  • Introduction to Marine Micropaleontology

    • 2nd Edition
    • B.U. Haq + 1 more
    • English
    This beautifully illustrated text book, with state-of-the-art illustrations, is useful not only for an introduction to the subject, but also for the application of marine microfossils in paleoceanographic, paleoenvironmental and biostratigraphic analyses. The recent revival of interest in marine micropaleontology worldwide in the wake of the development of sequence stratigraphic models has led to the decision to reissue the volume in its original, but paperback, form. The ideas expressed in various chapters of this second edition remain as valid today as they were when the book was first issued. The text, however, includes an updated Phanerozoic geologic time which has been considerably modified since the 1980s.
  • Life Sciences

    Life Support Systems Studies - I
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 20
    • R M Wheeler
    • English
    This publication contains 36 papers presented at four symposia during the Thirty-first COSPAR Scientific Assembly held in Birmingham, UK during 1996. Papers reflect the following symposia themes: life science support system studies; production, processing and waste recycling in a CELSS (Controlled Ecological Life Support System); biological effects of closure and recycling in a CELSS; nutrition and productivity for bioregenerative life support; integration of bioregenerative and physical/chemical processes for space life support systems. Findings presented in this volume will be a valuable resource for CELSS researchers for many years to come.
  • The Ocean Basins: Their Structure and Evolution

    • 2nd Edition
    • Open Open University
    • English
    This is an invaluable textbook, prepared by the Open University team and designed so that it can be read on its own or as part of the OU course. This second edition has been fully revised and updated including new colour illustrations increasing the striking spread of full colour diagrams throughout the book. The clarity of the text has been improved, providing comprehensive coverage of the evolution of ocean basins and their structure in a clear, concise manner aimed specifically at the student market.In this second edition the technological advances in fields as diverse as: - deep-towed instruments for `sniffing' hydrothermal plumes - mapping the sea-floor by sophisticated sonar techniques - three-dimensional imaging of crustal structure by seismic tomography - the use of satellites for navigation, and for making precise measurements of the height of the sea-surfaceThe first chapters describe the processes that shape the ocean basins, determine the structure and composition of oceanic crust and control the major features of continental margins. How the 'hot springs' of the oceanic ridges cycle chemical elements between seawater and oceanic crust is then explored. Sediment distributions are examined next, to demonstrate how sediments can preserve a record of past climatic and sea-level changes. Finally, the role of the oceans as an integral part of global chemical changes is reviewed.
  • Geology and hydrogeology of carbonate islands

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 54
    • Leonard H.L. Vacher + 1 more
    • English
    The Geology and Hydrogeology of Carbonate Islands presents a survey of more than 30 selected islands such as Bermuda, the Bahamas, the Florida Keys, coastal Yucatan, Barbados, the Caymans, Isla de Mona, islands of Polynesia, the Cooks, Guam, Niue, Nauru, Rottnest Island, the Houtman Abrolhos, islands of the Great Barrier Reef and many atolls including Enewetak, Tarawa, Diego Garcia, Mururoa, and the Cocos Islands. The book provides a wealth of observational data and a survey of interpretations on the issues within the intersection of carbonate geology (depositional architecture, diagenetic processes and dolomitization, Cenozoic sea-level history, karstification and blue holes) and island hydrology (distribution of fresh and brackish groundwater, dual-aquifer conceptualizations, modeling of island lenses, water budgets and water resources, effects of climatic variations, island karst, endo-upwelling).
  • Hydrocarbon Seals

    Importance for Exploration and Production
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 7
    • P. Møller-Pedersen + 1 more
    • English
    In January 1996 a total of 270 conference participants gathered for 3 days in Trondheim, Norway, to focus on and to discuss the complex topic of hydrocarbon seals particularly related to deformation zones and to caprocks. The conference was the first in Norway and one of the first in Europe to exclusively address this very important subject. The purpose of the conference was to present some of the most recent research results, to establish state-of-the-art with respect to understanding hydrocarbon seals and to discuss where to go from here to find some of the keys to successful future exploration and enhanced oil and gas recovery. Out of the presented papers and posters, 17 are compiled and published in this volume. These provide a good overview of and an introduction to the numerous aspects covered during the fruitful days in Trondheim.
  • Operational Oceanography

    The Challenge for European Co-operation
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 62
    • H.W.A. Behrens + 4 more
    • English
    GOOS is an international programme for a permanent global framework of observations, modelling and analysis of ocean variables which are needed to support operational services around the world. The EuroGOOS strategy has two streams: the first is to improve the quality of marine information in European home waters, and the second is to collaborate with similar organisations in other continents to create a new global ocean observing and modelling system that will provide the open ocean forecasts needed to achieve the best possible performance by local marine information services everywhere. The EuroGOOS strategy envisages our national agencies making a major contribution to that challenging task of globalizing ocean forecasting. The conference also provided an opportunity to take stock of the state of marine science and technology in Europe relevant to the EuroGOOS strategy, and the state of information services and customer needs.
  • Sedimentary Basins and Petroleum Geology of the Middle East

    • 1st Edition
    • A.E.M. Nairn + 1 more
    • English
    The wealth of petroleum has made the Middle East one of the most actively explored regions of the world. The volume of geological, geophysical and geochemical data collected by the petroleum industry in recent decades is enormous. The Middle East may be a unique region in the world where the volume of subsurface data and information exceeds that based on surface outcrop.This book reviews the tectonic and geological history of the Middle East and the regional hydrocarbon potential on a country by country basis in the context of current ideas developed through seismic and sequence stratigraphy and incorporating the ideas of global sea level change.Subsurface data have been used as much as possible to amplify the descriptions.The paleogeographic approach provides a means to view the area as a whole. While the country by country approach inevitably leads to some repetition, it enhances the value of the volume as a teaching tool and underlines some of the changing lithologies within formations carrying the same name.
  • Precambrian Ore Deposits of the East European and Siberian Cratons

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 30
    • C. Gillen + 1 more
    • English
    "Precambrian Ore Deposits of the East European and Siberian Cratons" is a sequel to "Precambrian Geology of the USSR" published in 1993 (English edition), in which the main emphasis was on the stratigraphy, magmatism and metamorphism of Precambrian assemblages in both ancient cratons (East European and Siberian) as well as in Phanerozoic fold belts and mobile regions. Mineral deposits associated with Precambrian structures were mentioned only in passing, since space restrictions in the earlier work did not allow even a brief outline of major deposits. The present book fills that gap.
  • African Basins

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 3
    • R.C. Selley
    • English
    Following on from the first 2 books in the series, Sedimentary Basins of the World, which covered Chinese Sedimentary Basins (Volume 1) and South Pacific Sedimentary Basins (Volume 2), comes Volume 3, on African Basins.Africa covers a larger land area than the USA, Europe, India and the ASEAN nations put together. It is rich in natural resources, including oil, gas, coal and nearly every metalliferous mineral. Yet Africa is still one of the least explored continents.This book brings together in one volume, concise reviews of basins previously documented in a vast array of diffuse literature. It also contains some of the first detailed accounts of several basins which have never before been described in such depth. These include the onshore Owambo, Iullemmeden, and Sudanese rift basins, and the offshore basins of southern Africa.The contributions are by authors, and teams of authors, with great knowledge and experience of the basins that they describe.The thirteen chapters are arranged in 3 parts covering North Africa, Central Africa and Southern Africa and the book is illustrated by maps, cross-sections, stratigraphic sections and seismic lines. Each chapter includes a comprehensive bibliography and the book concludes with a subject index.For academic geologists researching the geology of Africa, and for industrial geologists seeking natural resources within African sedimentary rocks, this book is an invaluable source of information.
  • Simulating Oil Entrapment in Clastic Sequences

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 16
    • J. Wendebourg + 1 more
    • English
    The book introduces procedures for simulating migration and entrapment of oil in three dimensions in sequences of sandstones and shales.A principal purpose is to show how simulation experiments can represent oil migration routes and predict places where oil may be trapped in sandstones and intercalated shales.The book derives the differential equations used to represent three-dimensional motions of porewater and oil in sedimentary sequences, and shows how the equations may be transformed into finite form for numerical solution with computers. There is emphasis on the graphic display of solutions, and results of example theoretical and actual applications are presented.The book is directed to geologists who have backgrounds in mathematics and computing and who are engaged in oil exploration and production.
  • Offshore Pioneers: Brown & Root and the History of Offshore Oil and Gas

    • 1st Edition
    • Joseph A. Pratt + 2 more
    • English
    Fifty years ago, in November 1947, Brown & Root helped Kerr-McGee build the first out-of-sight-land offshore platform that produced oil. The date is widely celebrated as the birth of the modern offshore industry. In the years since this historic occasion, Brown & Root has continued to pioneer in the design and construction of offshore pipelines and platforms. Along with the rest of the offshore industry, the company has helped develop technology capable of finding and producing oil in deepwater and in harsh environments around the world.This history puts a human face on the process of technological change. Using the words of many of those who took part in Brown & Root's offshore activities, this book recounts their efforts to find practical ways to recover offshore oil. Building on lessons learned in the Gulf of Mexico before and after World War II, the company's personnel adapted offshore technologies to conditions encountered in Venezuela, the Middle East, Alaska, and other regions before becoming one of the first engineering and construction companies to confront the challenge of North Sea development in the 1960's.Through times of boom and bust in the oil industry, the search for effective technology had continued. The process has not always been smooth, but the results have been impressive. As we enter a new and exciting era in offshore technology, the history of the first fifty years of the industry provides a useful context for understanding current and future events.
  • Deformation and Progressive Failure in Geomechanics

    • 1st Edition
    • A. Asaoka + 2 more
    • English
    Progressive failure has been a classical problem in the field of geotechnical engineering and has attracted considerable attention in connection with slope stability and foundation problems. It is associated with strain localization or shear banding and is also related to damage in material structures. As knowledge of the progressive failure mechanism increases, it is now necessary to establish effective communications between researchers and engineers.The International Symposium on Deformation and Progressive Failure in Geomechanics provided an opportunity for discussing recent advances in this area.A total of 136 papers were contributed from 22 countries. As well as these, the symposium proceedings also contain 8 interim technical reports on the subject by the members of the Asian Technical Committee of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering and the Japanese Geotechnical Society National Committee on Progressive Failure in Geo-structures.
  • The Biogeography of the Oceans

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 32
    • English
    This is a special volume on ocean biogeography containing chapters bringing the wealth of knowledge of Russian scientists to a global audience. Ocean biogeography was the subject of much marine research carried out by the former USSR, where extensive facilities were provided on a world-wide scale. Volume 32 is devoted to the geographical and vertical distribution of life in the open oceans, including the great depths. The contributions range widely from plankton and squid to the bottom fauna of the bathyal, abyssal, and hadal zones. This volume will help bridge the gap between Russian and western marine biogeographers and will be of interest to a wide range of marine biologists. Advance in Marine Biology contains up-to-date reviews of all areas of marine science, including fisheries, science and macro/micro fauna. Each volume contains peer reviewed papers detailing the ecology of marine regions.
  • Elements of Petroleum Geology

    • 2nd Edition
    • Richard C. Selley
    • English
    This third edition of Elements of Petroleum Geology is completely updated and revised to reflect the vast changes in the years since publication of the First Edition. This book is a useful primer for geophysicists, geologists, and petroleum engineers in the oil industry who wish to expand their knowledge beyond their specialized area. It is also an excellent introductory text for a university course in petroleum geoscience. Elements of Petroleum Geology begins with an account of the physical and chemical properties of petroleum, reviewing methods of petroleum exploration and production. These methods include drilling, geophysical exploration techniques, wireline logging, and subsurface geological mapping. After describing the temperatures and pressures of the subsurface environment and the hydrodynamics of connate fluids, Selley examines the generation and migration of petroleum, reservoir rocks and trapping mechanisms, and the habit of petroleum in sedimentary basins. The book contains an account of the composition and formation of tar sands and oil shales, and concludes with a brief review of prospect risk analysis, reserve estimation, and other economic topics.
  • Geological Risk and Uncertainty in Oil Exploration

    Uncertainty, Risk and Strategy
    • 1st Edition
    • Ian Lerche
    • English
    Oil exploration is a high-risk game. With worldwide drilling success of only 10% and a typical price tag of $15 million per well, it is no surprise the oil industry seeks better methods of managing financial risk. Geological Risk and Uncertainty in Oil Exploration answers this need by identifying the various uncertainties associated with basin analysis and incorporating this information into probabilistic models of basin evolution in relation to oil accumulation.Oil and gas explorationists, strategic resource economists, and petroleum professionals who deal with scientific uncertainty and risk issues will benefit from the books systematic treatment of how to quantify the uncertainty associated with a variety ofgeological, geophysical, and geochemical problems. The origin of uncertainties associated with flexural plate motion models, dynamical models of sediment evolution, thermal models of sediment maturation, hydrocarbon kinetic models, fault models, and models of basinal sediment fill and turbidite flows are detailed in the first section. The subsequent incorporation of model uncertainties into probabilistic models of basin evolution and behavior constitutes the second half of the book. Throughout, the author interweaves a discussion of scientific probability, risk, and strategy within the context of improving our ability to assess strategic hydrocarbon resources.
  • Space Remote Sensing of Subtropical Oceans (SRSSO)

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 8
    • Cho-Teng Liu
    • English
    This volume contains the proceedings from the COSPAR Colloquium on "Space Remote Sensing of Subtropical Oceans" which took place between 12 and 16 September, 1996, at the Institute of Oceanography of the National Taiwan University. Included are contributions addressing the issue, from scientific points of views, of why the first scientific satellite of Taiwan, ROCSAT-1, should be equipped with the Ocean Colour Imager (OCI) for oceanographic investigations.
  • Classic Papers

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 27
    • English
    Articles in this Classic Papers volume are rewritten, up-dated and extended versions of papers published in previous volumes of Advances in Botanical Research, chosen because of the high citation of the original papers and the increase of knowledge in the field today.Boulter and Croy discuss the structure and biosynthesis of legume seed storage proteins, an area that has been revolutionized in recent years by advances in 3-D structural analysis and methods of gene manipulation.Raven writes about the significant progress made in our understanding of the biochemistry of inorganic carbon acquisition by marine autotrophs, and places this new information in evolutionary and biogeochemical contexts. Advances in biochemistry have also made impact on research into cyanotixons. Carmichael considers the expansion of cyanotoxin research in the light of the negative impact of these toxins on water quality and aquaculture industries.The structure and regulation of algal photosystems are discussed by Larkum and Howe. They write about the diversity of algal photochemical apparatus and light-harvesting strategy, which has only been appreciated with the use of molecular genetic approaches. Finally, Kunze, Saedler and Loonig review advances in the field of plant transposable elements and the mechanism of transposition. They cover the role of transposable elements in evolution and their use as molecular tools, the importance of which has only speculated on in the original paper in 1986.
  • Miocene Stratigraphy

    An Integrated Approach
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 15
    • A. Montanari + 2 more
    • English
    Integrated stratigraphy is essential for⧫ detailed paleoecologic studies of critical intervals in Earth history⧫ the calibration of the time scale for global use⧫ the establishment of Global Stratotype Sections and Points (GSSPs) for the definition of chronostratigraphic boundaries.This book constitutes an excellent and probably unique example of how interdisciplinary stratigraphic and geochronologic studies are approached with modern methodologies and techniques.It contains numerous unpublished, accurate radioisotopic dates of volcano-sedimentary layers interbedded in fossiliferous marine and continental Miocene sequences representing Mediterranean and Pacific environments. New, extremely detailed paleontologic data which constitute the basis for an accurate definition of the Miocene biostratigraphy, and the study of the ecologic evolution of Miocene marine environments are also included.The chapters are complimented by black-and-white photographs, graphic figures, and tables.Stratigrapher... paleontologists and sedimentologists plus geologists working in oil companies will certainly find this work of interest.
  • Plate Tectonics

    • 4th Edition
    • Kent C. Condie
    • English
    This comprehensive text has established itself over the past 20 years as the definitive work in its fields, presenting a thorough coverage of this key area of structural geology in a way which is ideally suited to advanced undergraduate and masters courses. The thorough coverage means that it is also useful to a wider readership as an up to date survey of plate tectonics.The fourth edition brings the text fully up to date, with coverage of the latest research in crustal evolution, supercontinents, mass extinctions. A new chapter covers the feedbacks of various Earth systems. In addition, a new appendix provides a valuable survey of current methodology.
  • Biological Oceanography: An Introduction

    • 2nd Edition
    • Carol Lalli + 1 more
    • English
    This popular undergraduate textbook offers students a firm grounding in the fundamentals of biological oceanography. As well as a clear and accessible text, learning is enhanced with numerous illustrations including a colour section, thorough chapter summaries, and questions with answers and comments at the back of the book. The comprehensive coverage of this book encompasses the properties of seawater which affect life in the ocean, classification of marine environments and organisms, phytoplankton and zooplankton, marine food webs, larger marine animals (marine mammals, seabirds and fish), life on the seafloor, and the way in which humans affect marine ecosystems. The second edition has been thoroughly updated, including much data available for the first time in a book at this level. There is also a new chapter on human impacts - from harvesting vast amounts of fish, pollution, and deliberately or accidentally transferring marine organisms to new environments. This book complements the Open University Oceanography Series, also published by Butterworth-Heineman... and is a set text for the Open University third level course, S330.
  • Geomorphological Hazards of Europe

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 5
    • C. Embleton + 1 more
    • English
    The Geomorphological Hazards of Europe contains an excellent balance of authoritative statements on the range and causes of natural hazards in Europe. Written in a clear and unpretentious style, it removes myths and concentrates on the basic facts.The book looks at the known distributions, processes and the underlying principles and focuses on the need for a true understanding of the scientific details so that a real contribution to hazard management can be made.A comprehensive treatment of scientific and management issues of hazards in Europe caused by natural or sometimes human induced earth surface processes are covered including floods, landslides, avalanches, glacier-, coastal-, karstic-, and volcanic hazards, soil erosion and subsidence.Leading researchers in the field of natural hazards and their mitigation have contributed to this nation by nation account covering 20 European countries. The individual chapters deal with the distribution of natural hazards within specific countries (quite often the first synthesis of the information available) and • provide a review of current research in the field• discuss the economic, engineering and policy responses in national hazard management• are complemented by an extensive bibliography.The volume is well illustrated with 207 figures of which 66 are photos and has an extensive general index and a complete index of place names. It is a major European contribution to the International Decade for Natural Disasters Reduction.The book will appeal to practitioners, managers, academicians, researchers, as well as graduate students in geomorphlogy, natural hazards research and environmental management.
  • Radiation from Black Holes, Future Missions to Primitive Bodies and Middle Atmospheric Fine Structures

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 19
    • C Day Et Al
    • English
    The majority of this volume is devoted to the subject of high energy radiation from galactic and extragalactic black holes. The volume also covers future space missions to primitive bodies and fine structures in the middle atmosphere and their origin. In total, 27 papers are presented, the final two included in the appendix emanating from the previous COSPAR meeting in Washington.
  • Earthquake Proof Design and Active Faults

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 81
    • Y. Kanaori
    • English
    On 17th January 1995 an inland earthquake of 7.2 magnitude occurred under Kobe city in central Japan. More than 5,500 people lost their lives. There was immense and serious damage to buildings. Researchers and engineers were shocked and astonished by the extent of the devastation and loss of life. Ground motions, generated by the event were far greater than the seismic standard for earthquake-proof designs in Japan.Recent academic progress in the fields of geology and geophysics, which would help to reduce the severity of seismic disasters, has not been sufficiently applied to the development of earthquake-proof designs.This book contains 13 original and innovative papersof interdisciplinary study spanning earthquake-proof technology and active fault science (seven of the papers cover topics concerning the 1995 Kobe earthquake).
  • Mechanics of Hydraulic Fracturing

    • 1st Edition
    • Ching H. Yew
    • English
    This book examines the underlying mechanics of creating a fracture from vertical or deviated wellbores and the propagation of a hydraulic fracture in the reservoir.
  • Coupled Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical Processes of Fractured Media

    Mathematical and Experimental Studies
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 79
    • O. Stephanson + 2 more
    • English
    This work brings together the results, information and data that emerged from an international cooperative project, DECOVALEX, 1992-1995. This project was concerned with the mathematical and experimental studies of coupled thermo(T) -hydro(H) -mechanical(M) processes in fractured media related to radioactive waste disposal.The book presents, for the first time, the systematic formulation of mathematical models of the coupled T-H-M processes of fractured media, their validation against theoretical bench-mark tests, and experimental studies at both laboratory and field scales. It also presents, for the first time, a comprehensive analysis of continuum, and discrete approaches to the study of the problems of (as well as a complete description of), the computer codes applied to the studies.The first two chapters provide a conceptual introduction to the coupled T-H-M processes in fractured media and the DECOVALEX project. The next seven chapters give a state-of-the-art survey of the constitutive models of rock fractures and formulation of coupled T-H-M phenomena with continuum and discontinuum approaches, and associated numerical methods. A study on the three generic Bench-Mark Test problems and six Test Case problems of laboratory and field experiments are reported in chapters 10 to 18. Chapter 19 contains lessons learned during the project.The research contained in this book will be valuable for designers, practising engineers and national waste management officials who are concerned with planning, design and performance, and safety assessments of radioactive waste repositories. Researchers and postgraduate students working in this field will also find the book of particular relevance.
  • Industrial Minerals and Their Uses

    A Handbook and Formulary
    • 1st Edition
    • Peter A. Ciullo
    • English
    This multi-authored handbook is a unique cross-industry resource for formulators and compounders, and an invaluable reference for the producers of formulated commodities and industrial minerals. Monographs on each of the common functional industrial mineralsùasbestos, barite, calcium carbonate, diatomite, feldspar, gypsum, hormite, kaolin, mica, nepheline syenite, perlite, pyrophyllite, silica, smectite, talc, vermiculite, wollastonite, and zeoliteùinclude an overview of natural and commercial varieties, market size, and application areas. These are supported by descriptions of mineral structures and the wedding of minerals and chemicals through mineral surface modification. This orientation to the minerals and their uses forms the foundation for chapters where they are presented in the context of the overall technology of various consuming industries. Each of these industry-specific presentations covers both the chemical and mineral raw materials used by the formulator, how these are combined, and relevant test methods. These chapters serve a dual purpose. Each clarifies for technologists the function and value of the mineral constituents of their products. Equally important, they provide a primer on the technology of industries other than their own, so that raw material, formulation, processing and testing considerations can be compared and contrasted.The book concludes with a formulary demonstrating how specific mineral and chemical ingredients are actually compounded in major application areas, and technical data on scores of commercial mineral products.
  • Advances in Marine Biology

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 31
    • English
    Advances in Marine Biology contains up-to-date reviews of all areas of marine science, including fisheries science and macro/micro fauna. Each volume contains peer-reviewed papers detailing the ecology of marine regions.
  • Thermal Modeling of Petroleum Generation: Theory and Applications

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 45
    • C. Barker
    • English
    Petroleum exploration has always been limited by the lack of adequate subsurface control. Exploration problems are usually problems of extrapolation i.e. to greater depth, to laterally equivalent rocks, or back through time.Models are widely used as a way of describing complex geological systems so that they can be treated quantitatively and used as the basis for extrapolations and predictions. Models consider, typically, a simplified geological system that can be described mathematically. It is very important to know what simplifying assumptions have been made, when these assumptions are valid, and under what conditions their use may not be appropriate. This requires an understanding of the concepts involved in building the model and how the model operates.Models are best used as a tool for probing the system and evaluating the sensitivity of the conclusions to possible uncertainties in the values of the input parameters. In a sense, models permit experimental petroleum geochemistry and allow the user to answer the What if? questions e.g. What if the geothermal gradient had been higher in the past? What if the organic matter type had been different?This book provides students, exploration geologists, and others who would like to use the available models, with a general idea of how the models work, what they can do, and what their limitations are.It also provides the information necessary to obtain the input data required by the commercial models.
  • Structure and Fate of Subducting Slabs

    • 1st Edition
    • Thorne Lay
    • English
    This book is a paperback reprint of Advances in Geophysics, Volume 35 (1994, Academic Press). It provides an overview of the dramatic progress made in illuminating the properties of deep slabs and the surrounding mantle since the introduction of the plate tectonics model to the earth sciences more than 25 years ago. The thermal and chemical characteristics of the subducted lithosphere are determined through thermal and petrological modeling, with seismological observations providing critical constraints on model parameters. Down-wellings of the oceanic lithosphere play a critical role in plate tectonics by recycling to the mantle material that has risen at mid-ocean ridges and cooled at the earth's surface. To assist future efforts in developing detailed thermal and petrological models of oceanic lithosphere down-wellings, this volume includes a comprehensive review of seismological observations and models. A range of seismological procedures are considered, from travel time constraints on seismic velocity anomalies in the subducting lithospheric slabs, to wave conversions and reflections off internal and external slab boundaries. An extensive reference list will be useful to earth science researchers and seismological specialists as a directory to most of the critical literature on slab structure.
  • Quantification and Prediction of Hydrocarbon Resources

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 6
    • A.G. Doré + 1 more
    • English
    The oil price shocks of the mid-1980s and their aftermath created radical changes in the petroleum industry, and underlined the need for reliable information on petroleum resources. Integration between the disciplines of petroleum geology, exploration geophysics, reservoir/petroleum engineering and economics became a necessity for resource management and strategic planning. This volume is designed to bring together some of the best techniques evolved to meet these challenges. The very broad scope of the volume, ranging from the macro (global) to micro (field and prospect) level, provides an overview of the thought processes currently prevalent in the industry and academia on the subject of resource quantification and prediction.This is one of the first books to cover the extensive assembly of hydrocarbon quantification and prediction techniques - of value to petroleum industry management, geoscientists, engineers and economists. Containing hundreds of illustrations, some in colour, the book is arranged in 26 chapters with a detailed subject index. Many service companies and university departments with links to the industry will also find much to interest them.
  • Structural Geology and Personal Computers

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 15
    • D.G. De Paor
    • English
    This book will help structural geologists keep abreast of rapid changes in work practices resulting from the personal computer revolution. It is organized into six parts: I Computer-Aided Learning; II Microstructural Analysis; III Analysis of Orientation Data; IV Strain and Kinematic Analysis; V Mathematical and Physical Modeling; VI Structural Mapping and GIS. The 45 contributing authors explain how to: set up computer-aided teaching and learning facilities on a low budget; illustrate tectonic strain concepts with a drawing program; integrate multimedia presentations into structural coursework; analyze microstructures with computer-aided microscopy; produce sophisticated stereonets with custom software for both the Mac and IBM PC; evaluate orientation data using a spreadsheet program; model the development of macrostructures and microstructures numerically; integrate structural and geophysical data; and apply PC technology to the production of structural maps, cross sections, and block diagrams. The editor's own contributions reveal the inner workings of his renowned structural research applications which are used in hundreds of universities worldwide. Commercial and non-commercial applications of particular interest to structural geologists are reviewed.This volume will prove an invaluable resource for professors, instructors, and research students, as well as research scientists in the public services and exploration industries. If you are such a person, have you lectured with the aid of a gyroscopic mouse? Or used Bézier curves to model heterogeneous deformation? Or analyzed a fold structure using a digital terrain model? If not, you'll need to rush out and buy this book before the next wave of new technology hits!
  • Carbonate Reservoir Characterization: A Geologic-Engineering Analysis, Part II

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 44
    • S.J. Mazzullo + 2 more
    • English
    This second volume on carbonate reservoirs completes the two-volume treatise on this important topic for petroleum engineers and geologists. Together, the volumes form a complete, modern reference to the properties and production behaviour of carbonate petroleum reservoirs.The book contains valuable glossaries to geologic and petroleum engineering terms providing exact definitions for writers and speakers. Lecturers will find a useful appendix devoted to questions and problems that can be used for teaching assignments as well as a guide for lecture development. In addition, there is a chapter devoted to core analysis of carbonate rocks which is ideal for laboratory instruction.Managers and production engineers will find a review of the latest laboratory technology for carbonate formation evaluation in the chapter on core analysis. The modern classification of carbonate rocks is presented with petroleum production performance and overall characterization using seismic and well test analyses. Separate chapters are devoted to the important naturally fractured and chalk reservoirs.Throughou... the book, the emphasis is on formation evaluation and performance.This two-volume work brings together the wide variety of approaches to the study of carbonate reservoirs and will therefore be of value to managers, engineers, geologists and lecturers.
  • Environmental Geomorphology

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 4
    • Mario Panizza + 1 more
    • English
    Geomorphology has now reached a certain level where the methodology, scientific content and resultsbeing published in the field make it worthy of being considered as a major environmental researcharea.In preparing Environmental Geomorphology, the author has given priority to methodology and illustrative case-histories. Schemes and classifications that would be ill-suited fora naturalistic, empirical and non-systematic discipline like geomorphology have been avoided.The concepts outlined in the text are based on a subdivision of geomorphological resources andhazards (as well as their links with man) together with the consequent risk and impactproblems.Each investigation, study or intervention concerning the environment, cannot ignoreeither the human context in which it occurs or man's history and prospects. It is necessary to have theright dialogue and relationship with the other disciplines making up this system so as to apply the mostsuitable methodologies and offer the most valid solutions.For some subjects covered in the book, specialists concerned with a particular section of environmental geomorphology were consulted. The text of eachchapter is accompanied by several illustrative schemes, figures and photographs, derived from realresearch and professional experiences.The volume is addressed both to university students studying topics of geomorphology as part of their syllabus, and to researchers and consultants(geologis... geographers, engineers, naturalists, etc.) working in the field.
  • Embankments on Organic Soils

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 80
    • J. Hartlén + 1 more
    • English
    More and more civil engineering constructions are being built on soft soils. As areas with better foundations are used up the necessity to be able to build structures on soft soils increases.The most troublesome of soft soils are organic soils due mainly to their high compressibility (much higher than in mineral soils), and also their very low shear strength. The large diversity of organic soils with respect to their origin as well as their properties make classification, testing, and engineering prediction of behaviour, very difficult. For this reason, engineers try, in general, to avoid constructing on deep layers of organic soils. If forced, by necessity, to do so, they manage with light structures e.g. embankments or low buildings.The authors of this book have been involved in a joint research project on the testing of embankments on organic soils. This was carried out in the North-Western part of Poland by the Swedish Geotechnical Institute and the Department of Geotechnics of Warsaw Agricultural University.The results of their research is presented in this new book and provides a valuable insight into this growing area in the field of engineering geology.