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Elsevier

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.

  • The Bearing Capacity of Building Foundations

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 21
    • A. Myslivec + 1 more
    • English
    The Bearing Capacity of Building Foundations describes the different ways of ultimate bearing capacity determination of building foundations. This four-chapter book considers the effect of a horizontal force acting on a foundation. It also examines a situation where, beneath the foundation level in the zone of influence of the foundation there are two layers of soil, including the case where the second, lower layer is formed by incompressible rock. A chapter explores the case where the subgrade consists of a number of heterogeneous strata of soil. The remaining chapters deal with the determination of the permissible load of a foundation and the safety factor, and also the contact stress in the foundation line, since this has a great influence on the dimensioning of foundation slabs. This book will prove useful to practicing civil engineers.

  • Methods of Foundation Engineering

    • 1st Edition
    • Z. Bažant
    • English
    Methods of Foundation Engineering covers the theory, analysis, and practice of foundation engineering, as well as its soil mechanics and structural design aspects and principles. The book is divided into five parts encompassing 21 chapters. Part A is of an introductory character and presents a brief review of the various types of foundation structures used in civil engineering and their historical development. Part B provides the theoretical fundamentals of soil and rock mechanics, which are of importance for foundation design. Part C deals with the design of the footing area of spread footings and discusses the shallow foundation methods. Part D describes the methods of deep foundations, while Part E is devoted to special foundation methods. Each chapter in Parts C to E starts with an introduction containing a synopsis of the matter being discussed and giving suggestions as to the choice of a suitable method of foundation. This is followed by a description of the methods generally used in practice. Simple analyses of structures, presented at the conclusion of each chapter, can be carried out by a pocket calculator. This book will prove useful to practicing civil and design engineers.

  • Practical and Applied Hydrogeology

    • 1st Edition
    • Zekâi Şen
    • English
    Applications in Hydrogeology for Geoscientists presents the most recent scientific developments in the field that are accessible yet rigorous enough for industry professionals and academic researchers alike. A multi-contributed reference that features the knowledge and experience of the field’s experts, the book’s chapters span the full scope of hydrogeology, introducing new approaches and progress in conceptualization, simulation of groundwater flow and transport, and progressive hydro-geophysical methods. Each chapter includes examples of recent developments in hydrogeology, groundwater, and hydrology that are underscored with perspectives regarding the challenges that are facing industry professionals, researchers, and academia. Several sub-themes—including theoretical advances in conceptualization and modeling of hydro-geologic challenges—connect the chapters and weave the topics together holistically. Advances in research are aided by insights arising from observations from both field and laboratory work.

  • Fossil Fungi

    • 1st Edition
    • Thomas N Taylor + 2 more
    • English
    Fungi are ubiquitous in the world and responsible for driving the evolution and governing the sustainability of ecosystems now and in the past. Fossil Fungi is the first encyclopedic book devoted exclusively to fossil fungi and their activities through geologic time. The book begins with the historical context of research on fossil fungi (paleomycology), followed by how fungi are formed and studied as fossils, and their age. The next six chapters focus on the major lineages of fungi, arranging them in phylogenetic order and placing the fossils within a systematic framework. For each fossil the age and provenance are provided. Each chapter provides a detailed introduction to the living members of the group and a discussion of the fossils that are believed to belong in this group. The extensive bibliography (~ 2700 entries) includes papers on both extant and fossil fungi. Additional chapters include lichens, fungal spores, and the interactions of fungi with plants, animals, and the geosphere. The final chapter includes a discussion of fossil bacteria and other organisms that are fungal-like in appearance, and known from the fossil record. The book includes more than 475 illustrations, almost all in color, of fossil fungi, line drawings, and portraits of people, as well as a glossary of more than 700 mycological and paleontological terms that will be useful to both biologists and geoscientists.

  • Geothermal Resources: An Energy Alternative

    • 1st Edition
    • H.K. Gupta
    • English
    Developments in Economic Geology, 12: Geothermal Resources: An Energy Alternative focuses on the consideration of geothermal resources as alternative energy sources. The publication first elaborates on the energy outlook, basic concepts, and heat transfer. Discussions focus on temperature, heat, and its storage, heat conduction, radiation, and convection, temperatures within the earth and heat flow, volcanoes and plate tectonics, geothermal resource assessment for the U.S., and recoverability from U.S. geothermal resources. The text then ponders on geothermal systems and resources, exploration techniques, and assessment and exploitation. Concerns cover drilling technology, reservoir physics and engineering, geological and hydrological techniques, geochemical techniques, and types of geothermal systems. The book takes a look at the world-wide status of geothermal resource utilization and the Cerro Prieto geothermal field in Mexico, including geothermal manifestations, transportation of steam, and environmental factors and waste disposal. The publication is a valuable reference for alternative energy experts and researchers interested in geothermal energy resources.

  • Understanding Geology Through Maps

    • 1st Edition
    • Graham Borradaile
    • English
    Understanding Geology through Maps guides young professional geologists and students alike in understanding and interpreting the world’s dynamic and varying geological landscapes through the liberal use of visual aids including figures, maps, and diagrams. This highly visual reference introduces the skills of interpreting a geological map and relating it to the morphology of the most important types of geological structure. Thoroughly revised, and with more international examples, it is ideal for use by students with a minimum of tutorial supervision. Maps of geological structures provide all of the realism of a survey map without the huge amount of data often present, so readers can develop or hone their skills without becoming overwhelmed or confused. In particular, emphasis is placed throughout on developing the skill of three-dimensional visualization so important to geologists.

  • Data Analysis Methods in Physical Oceanography

    • 3rd Edition
    • Richard E. Thomson + 1 more
    • English
    Data Analysis Methods in Physical Oceanography, Third Edition is a practical reference to established and modern data analysis techniques in earth and ocean sciences. Its five major sections address data acquisition and recording, data processing and presentation, statistical methods and error handling, analysis of spatial data fields, and time series analysis methods. The revised Third Edition updates the instrumentation used to collect and analyze physical oceanic data and adds new techniques including Kalman Filtering. Additionally, the sections covering spectral, wavelet, and harmonic analysis techniques are completely revised since these techniques have attracted significant attention over the past decade as more accurate and efficient data gathering and analysis methods.

  • Cloud Dynamics

    • 2nd Edition
    • Volume 104
    • Robert A. Houze Jr.
    • English
    As models of the Earth/atmosphere system and observations become ever more sophisticated, and concerns about climate change and societal impacts of extreme weather and its forecasting grow, understanding the role of clouds in the atmosphere is increasingly vital. Cloud Dynamics, Second Edition provides the essential information needed to understand how clouds affect climate and weather. This comprehensive book examines the underlying physics and dynamics of every specific type of cloud that occurs in the Earth's atmosphere, showing how clouds differ dynamically depending on whether they occur over oceans or mountains, or as parts of atmospheric storms, such as thunderstorms, tropical cyclones, or warm and cold fronts. Covering both the microphysical and macrophysical aspects of clouds, the book treats all of the physical scales involved in cloud processes, from the microscale of the individual drops and ice particles up to scales of storms in which the clouds occur. As observational technology advances with increasingly sophisticated remote sensing capabilities, detailed understanding of how the dynamics and physics of clouds affect the quantities being measured is of paramount importance. This book underpins the work necessary for proper interpretation of these observations, now and in the future.

  • Ocean Acoustic Propagation by Finite Difference Methods

    • 1st Edition
    • D. Lee + 1 more
    • English
    A concise guide to the theory and application of numerical methods for predicting ocean acoustic propagation, also providing an introduction to numerical methods, with an overview of those methods presently in use. An in-depth development of the implicit-finite-diff... technique is presented together with bench-mark test examples included to demonstrate its application to realistic ocean environments. Other applications include atmospheric acoustics, plasma physics, quantum mechanics, optics and seismology.

  • Phytolyth Analysis

    An Archaeological and Geological Perspective
    • 1st Edition
    • Dolores R. Piperno
    • English
    This is a methodological guide to the use of plant opal phytolith analysis in paleoenvironmental and paleoecological reconstruction. It is the first book-length treatment of this promising technique, which has undergone rapid development within the past few years and is now beginning to be used with considerable success by paleobotanists who serve the archaeological and paleontological research communities. It will be mandatory reading for all paleobotanists, paleoecologists, and archaeological scientists.

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