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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.

  • Air Pollution

    Meteorology Division
    • 1st Edition
    • R. S. Scorer
    • R. S. Scorer
    • English
    Air Pollution presents the fundamental mechanisms whereby pollution is diffused and transported in the atmosphere. This book aims to provide practitioners a correct basis for their decisions. Organized into seven chapters, this book starts with an overview of the diurnal variation of heat received and lost by the ground under clear sky. This text then describes the concept and interesting effects of fumigation, which is the sudden increase in low level pollution in the morning. Other chapters examine the mechanism of high level inversions, which set a limit to the upward dispersal of pollution and influence the effects of large sources of pollution. This book discusses as well the effects caused by valleys and sloping ground in low level accumulation of pollution. The final chapter deals with the repercussions of air pollution on health and damage to materials. This book is a valuable resource for industrial engineers, environmentalists, and scientists.
  • Environmental Oceanography

    An Introduction to the Behaviour of Coastal Waters
    • 1st Edition
    • Tom Beer
    • English
    Environmental Oceanography: An Introduction of the Behaviour of the Coastal Water covers the physical environment in coastal water. This book is composed of thirteen chapters, and begins with an overview of the coastal oceanography field. The succeeding chapters deal with the natural processes along the shore, the concept of wave and tides, water composition and circulation, and boundary layers. These topics are followed by discussions on ocean water flow, coastal meteorology, estuaries, and reefs. The final chapters present the application of direct and remote sensing and data analysis. This book will prove useful to divers, environmental managers, environmental administrators, and students.
  • Radiative Heat Exchange in the Atmosphere

    • 1st Edition
    • K. Ya. Kondrat'Yev
    • English
    Radiative Heat Exchange in the Atmosphere analyzes the concerns in thermal radiation and the radiation balance of the earth's surface and of the atmosphere. The text first covers the basic definitions and concepts, and then proceeds to discussing the development of basic theories of actinometric measurements of thermal radiation fluxes. Next, the selection deals with the absorption of long-wave radiation in the atmosphere. In the fourth chapter, the title covers the solution of the problem of radiative heat transfer in the atmosphere. Chapter 5 details the examination of the approximate methods of calculation of thermal radiation fluxes, while Chapter 6 discusses the problem of the atmosphere and the net radiation at the ground. The seventh chapter tackles the radiation balance, and the last chapter covers the features of the methods and the results of calculating temperature changes caused by radiation. The book will be of great use to researchers and practitioners of astrophysics and meteorology. Ecologists and other environmental scientist will also benefit from the text.
  • Finite Element Simulation in Surface and Subsurface Hydrology

    • 1st Edition
    • George F. Pinder + 1 more
    • English
    Finite Element Simulation in Surface and Subsurface Hydrology provides an introduction to the finite element method and how the method is applied to problems in surface and subsurface hydrology. The book presents the basic concepts of the numerical methods and the finite element approach; applications to problems on groundwater flow and mass and energy transport; and applications to problems that involve surface water dynamics. Computational methods for the solution of differential equations; classification of partial differential equations; finite difference and weighted residual integral techniques; and The Galerkin finite element method are discussed as well. The text will be of value to engineers, hydrologists, and students in the field of engineering.
  • Optimal Seismic Deconvolution

    An Estimation-Based Approach
    • 1st Edition
    • Jerry M. Mendel
    • English
    Optimal Seismic Deconvolution: An Estimation-Based Approach presents an approach to the problem of seismic deconvolution. It is meant for two different audiences: practitioners of recursive estimation theory and geophysical signal processors. The book opens with a chapter on elements of minimum-variance estimation that are essential for all later developments. Included is a derivation of the Kaiman filter and discussions of prediction and smoothing. Separate chapters follow on minimum-variance deconvolution; maximum-likelihood and maximum a posteriori estimation methods; the philosophy of maximum-likelihood deconvolution (MLD); and two detection procedures for determining the location parameters in the input sequence product model. Subsequent chapters deal with the problem of estimating the parameters of the source wavelet when everything else is assumed known a priori; estimation of statistical parameters when the source wavelet is known a priori; and a different block component method for simultaneously estimating all wavelet and statistical parameters, detecting input signal occurrence times, and deconvolving a seismic signal. The final chapter shows how to incorporate the simplest of all models—the normal incidence model—into the maximum-likelihood deconvolution procedure.
  • Interpreting Aerial Photographs to Identify Natural Hazards

    • 1st Edition
    • Charles E. Glass
    • English
    Authored by a world-renowned aerial photography and remote sensing expert, Geographic Aerial Photography: Identifying Earth-Surface Hazards Through Image Interpretation is the most practical and authoritative reference available for any professional or student looking for a reference on how to recognize, analyze, interpret and avoid – or successfully plan for – dangerous contingencies. Whether they are related to natural terrain, geology, vegetation, hydrology or land use patterns – it’s critical for you to be able to recognize dangerous conditions when and where they exist. Failure to adequately recognize and characterize geomorphic, geologic, and hydrologic dangers on the ground using aerial photography is one of the major factors contributing to due to natural hazards and disasters, damage to architectural structures, and often the subsequent loss of human life as a result. Aerial photographs provide one of the most prevalent, inexpensive and under-utilized tools to those with the knowledge and expertise to interpret them.
  • Measuring Ocean Currents

    Tools, Technologies, and Data
    • 1st Edition
    • Antony Joseph
    • English
    Measuring Ocean Currents: Tools, Technologies, and Data covers all major aspects of ocean current measurements in view of the implications of ocean currents on changing climate, increasing pollution levels, and offshore engineering activities. Although more than 70% of the Earth is covered by ocean, there is limited information on the countless fine- to large-scale water motions taking place within them. This book fills that information gap as the first work that summarizes the state-of-the-art methods and instruments used for surface, subsurface, and abyssal ocean current measurements. Readers of this book will find a wealth of information on Lagrangian measurements, horizontal mapping, imaging, Eulerian measurements, and vertical profiling techniques. In addition, the book describes modern technologies for remote measurement of ocean currents and their signatures, including HF Doppler radar systems, satellite-borne sensors, ocean acoustic tomography, and more. Crucial aspects of ocean currents are described in detail as well, including dispersion of effluents discharged into the sea and transport of beneficial materials—as well as environmentally hazardous materials—from one region to another. The book highlights several important practical applications, showing how measurements relate to climate change and pollution levels, how they affect coastal and offshore engineering activities, and how they can aid in tsunami detection.
  • Limit Analysis and Soil Plasticity

    • 1st Edition
    • Wai-Fah Chen
    • English
    Developments in Geotechnical Engineering, Volume 7: Limit Analysis and Soil Plasticity covers the theory and applications of limit analysis as applied to soil mechanics. Organized into 12 chapters, the book presents an introduction to the modern development of theory of soil plasticity and includes rock-like material. The first four chapters of the book describe the technique of limit analysis, beginning with the historical review of the subject and the assumptions on which it is based, and then covering various aspects of available techniques of limit analysis. The subsequent chapters deal with the applications of limit analysis to what may be termed “classical soil mechanics problems” that include bearing capacity of footings, lateral earth pressure problems, and stability of slopes. In many cases, comparisons of limit analysis solution and conventional limit equilibrium and slip-like solutions are also presented. Other chapters deal with the advances in bearing-capacity problem of concrete blocks or rock and present theoretical and experimental results of various concrete bearing problems. The concluding chapter examines elastic-plastic soil and elastic-plastic-frac... models for concrete materials. This book is an ideal resource text to geotechnical engineers and soil mechanics researchers.
  • Managing Ocean Environments in a Changing Climate

    Sustainability and Economic Perspectives
    • 1st Edition
    • Kevin J. Noone + 2 more
    • English
    Managing Ocean Environments in a Changing Climate summarizes the current state of several threats to the global oceans. What distinguishes this book most from previous works is that this book begins with a holistic, global-scale focus for the first several chapters and then provides an example of how this approach can be applied on a regional scale, for the Pacific region. Previous works usually have compiled local studies, which are essentially impossible to properly integrate to the global scale. The editors have engaged leading scientists in a number of areas, such as fisheries and marine ecosystems, ocean chemistry, marine biogeochemical cycling, oceans and climate change, and economics, to examine the threats to the oceans both individually and collectively, provide gross estimates of the economic and societal impacts of these threats, and deliver high-level recommendations.
  • Advances in Agronomy

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 121
    • English
    Advances in Agronomy continues to be recognized as a leading reference and a first-rate source for the latest research in agronomy. As always, the subjects covered are varied and exemplary of the myriad of subject matter dealt with by this long-running serial.