Books in Global change

Addressing climate change, land use, and atmospheric transformations, this portfolio supports climate scientists, ecologists, and policy experts. It features cutting-edge research, modelling techniques, and case studies on the impacts of global change, equipping researchers to develop adaptive strategies and policies for a resilient and sustainable future.

Mountains: Witnesses of Global Changes
Research in the Himalaya and Karakoram: SHARE-Asia Project
1st Edition
Volume 10
July 9, 2007
Renato Baudo + 2 more
English
From an environmental point of view, mountains are particularly sensitive and important for monitoring the state of health of our planet. Only through distribution of meteoclimatic and atmospheric composition monitoring points in mountain regions, coupled with modelling simulations, will we be able to thoroughly analyze complex pollutant transport mechanisms and better understand imminent global changes. The Himalayan-Karakoram range. For its elevation and geographic location, represents one of the ideal places for studying long-range pollutant transport systems on a regional scale and for monitoring changes index by mechanisms that act on global scale through monsoon circulation.The Ev-K2-CNR committee with this book reached its objective of creating a unique opportunity for dialogue between major environmental scientists and experts, highlighting the close relationship between diverse themes with a common underlying thread: in-depth comprehension of the environmental phenomena which are determining the health of our planet.
Global Warming and Global Cooling
Evolution of Climate on Earth
1st Edition
Volume 5
July 2, 2007
O.G. Sorokhtin + 2 more
English
The theory of the Earth's climate evolution based on universal chemical-physical laws of matter-energy transformation is presented in the book. It shows how the process of Earth's core separation has led to formation and evolution of the hydrosphere and atmosphere. Having analyzed the processes of heat transfer in the atmosphere, the writers developed the adiabatic theory of the greenhouse effect, which was applied for analysis of climatic changes on the Earth. The influence of changes in climate on formation of mineral deposits and development of life on Earth was considered and presented based on modeling of typical climatic regimes. It shows that the anthropogenic effect on the Earth's global temperature is negligible in comparison with the effect of global forces of nature.
The Climate of Past Interglacials
1st Edition
Volume 7
December 8, 2006
F. Sirocko + 3 more
English
Historically, climate fluctuations, such as the Little Ice Age, show that interglacial climate chage in not entirely stable, but responds to even subtle changes in radiative forcing. Through research, it has been made clear that even an abrupt change of climate within years is not just a theoretical possibility but has in fact happened in the prehistoric past. It is therefore clear that in principal it could happen again. Human civilaization has exploded under the mild and relatively stable climatic conditions that have prevailed over the last 11,000 years. This book focuses on revisiting the past and to study climate and environment in a suite of experiments where boundary conditions are similar but not identical to today so we can learn about the climate-environment system, its sensitivity, thresholds and feedback. The palaeoclimate community holds an important key to scientific information on climate change that provides a basis for appropriate adaptation and mitigation strategies. The authors of this book have taken up this challenge and summarize their results in this special volume. It presents state-of-the-art science on new reconstructions from all spheres of the Earth System and on their synthesis, on methodological advances, and on the current ability of numerical models to simulate low and high frequency changes of climate, environment, and chemical cycling related to interglacials.
Global Climate Change and Response of Carbon Cycle in the Equatorial Pacific and Indian Oceans and Adjacent Landmasses
1st Edition
Volume 73
December 8, 2006
Hodaka Kawahata + 1 more
English
To understand the global warming mechanism, global mapping of primary production was carried out under the GCMAPS program. The program was concerned with marine and terrestrial environmental changes, which affect carbon cycle on the regional and global scales. On the regional scale, warm phase of ENSO (El Niño / Southern Oscillation) has been shown to affect economic activities in many countries. The keyword for understanding mechanism of global warming is ‘primary productivity’. The earth observation satellites (EOS) like the ADEOS of Japan, and the SeaWiFS, Sea Star and Terra of the U.S.A. provided much required data for modeling and verification of primary production estimates on both land and ocean.The knowledge gained during the GCMAPS program has been documented in this book. Interpretation of the data suggests that global warming, which causes temperature and sea level rise, and changes in climate and ecosystems, is likely to have the largest influence on mankind. The first half of this book discuss changes in marine environments. Physical and chemical oceanographic properties of the equatorial Pacific and Indian Oceans are presented. Changes in partial pressure of carbon dioxide, flux and composition of settling particles and biological communities in the surface ocean have also been discussed. In addition to this, over hundred years of environmental records based upon coral skeletons are presented. Estimations of primary production and its utilization in validating satellite imagery data were conducted in the western North Pacific. Primary productivity estimates based upon the validated satellite imagery are presented on the global scale. Climate change modeling of primary production in global oceans is also presented.The latter half of this book deals with changes in terrestrial environments. Primary productivity estimates for different types of ecosystems (e.g., forest, grassland) are presented together with soil carbon dynamics. Also, biomass and productivity estimation and environmental monitoring based upon remote sensing techniques are presented with a model analysis of the relationship between climate perturbations and carbon budget anomalies in global terrestrial ecosystems. This book elucidates integrated aspects of the global carbon cycle involving marine and terrestrial environments.
Driving Climate Change
Cutting Carbon from Transportation
1st Edition
September 15, 2006
Daniel Sperling + 1 more
English
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing global society. The debate over what to do is confounded by the uncertain relationship between increasing greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, and the impact of those changes on nature and human civilization. Driving Climate Change will provide professionals and students alike with the latest information regarding greenhouse emissions while presenting the most up-to-date techniques for reducing these emissions. It will investigate three broad strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions: 1) reducing motorized travel, 2) shifting to less energy intensive modes, and 3) changing fuel and propulsion technologies. Findings will be presented by the leaders in the field with contributions from professors, researchers, consultants and engineers at the most prominent institutions - commercial, academic and federal - dealing with environmental research and policy.
Green Trading Markets:
Developing the Second Wave
1st Edition
June 8, 2005
Peter C. Fusaro + 1 more
English
The United States accounts for 25% of the Global Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. To keep pace with growing electricity demands, the U.S and developing countries are turning more to coal-fired generation with correspondingly greater GHG emissions and other forms of pollution. Therefore, it is imperative to focus on what can be done to reverse this trend. At the same time, technologies for renewable energy generation and energy efficiency are available, and increasingly, these are being deployed on a cost-competitive basis. Environmental financial trading and the markets offer a solution and a way forward through Green Trading!Environmenta... financial trading began in the U.S in 1995 and has since spread to many countries. Green Trading Markets provides valuable information on continued U.S innovations in the context of the global development of green commodity markets.
Carbon Dioxide Capture for Storage in Deep Geologic Formations - Results from the CO² Capture Project
Vol 2 - Geologic Storage of Carbon Dioxide with Monitoring and Verification
1st Edition
January 5, 2005
David C Thomas + 1 more
English
Over the past decade, the prospect of climate change resulting from anthropogenic CO2 has become a matter of growing public concern. Not only is the reduction of CO2 emissions extremely important, but keeping the cost at a manageable level is a prime priority for companies and the public, alike. The CO2 capture project (CCP) came together with a common goal in mind: find a technological process to capture CO2 emissions that is relatively low-cost and able be to be expanded to industrial applications. The Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage Project outlines the research and findings of all the participating companies and associations involved in the CCP. The final results of thousands of hours of research are outlined in the book, showing a successful achievement of the CCP’s goals for lower cost CO2 capture technology and furthering the safe, reliable option of geological storage. The Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage Project is a valuable reference for any scientists, industrialists, government agencies, and companies interested in a safer, more cost-efficient response to the CO2 crisis.
Mitigating Climate Change: Flexibility Mechanisms
1st Edition
December 18, 2001
T. Jackson
English
This compendium contains a collection of key papers from the journal Energy Policy, offering a valuable reference point on the role of flexibility mechanisms in the mitigation of climate change. Originally published between December 1999 and August 2001, all of these articles concern particular aspects of the Kyoto mechanisms or variations on the theme of flexibility that have evolved elsewhere.For better or for worse, flexibility mechanisms have become a part of the institutional architecture of energy policy in the 21st Century.As the contributions to this compendium illustrate, this fact has both positive and negative connotations. Flexibility mechanisms have the potential to unleash exciting market-led emission reduction initiatives, and to promote both technological and institutional innovation. At the same time, the complexity of establishing credible and robust arrangements, in which practicality and viability are balanced with appropriate safeguards against loopholes and gaming, should not be underestimated. In the longer term, the flexibility mechanisms may turn out to be unhealthy distractions from the much more important task of restructuring domestic energy systems. Or they might just turn out to be indispensable instruments for achieving the deep cuts in emissions that climate change demands. One thing, however, is abundantly clear: climate policy has guaranteed that energy policy will never be the same again.
CO2 in Seawater: Equilibrium, Kinetics, Isotopes
1st Edition
Volume 65
October 15, 2001
R.E. Zeebe + 1 more
English
Carbon dioxide is the most important greenhouse gas after water vapor in the atmosphere of the earth. More than 98% of the carbon of the atmosphere-ocean system is stored in the oceans as dissolved inorganic carbon. The key for understanding critical processes of the marine carbon cycle is a sound knowledge of the seawater carbonate chemistry, including equilibrium and nonequilibrium properties as well as stable isotope fractionation.Presen... the first coherent text describing equilibrium and nonequilibrium properties and stable isotope fractionation among the elements of the carbonate system. This volume presents an overview and a synthesis of these subjects which should be useful for graduate students and researchers in various fields such as biogeochemistry, chemical oceanography, paleoceanography, marine biology, marine chemistry, marine geology, and others.The volume includes an introduction to the equilibrium properties of the carbonate system in which basic concepts such as equilibrium constants, alkalinity, pH scales, and buffering are discussed. It also deals with the nonequilibrium properties of the seawater carbonate chemistry. Whereas principle of chemical kinetics are recapitulated, reaction rates and relaxation times of the carbonate system are considered in details. The book also provides a general introduction to stable isotope fractionation and describes the partitioning of carbon, oxygen, and boron isotopes between the species of the carbonate system. The appendix contains formulas for the equilibrium constants of the carbonate system, mathematical expressions to calculate carbonate system parameters, answers to exercises and more.
Advances in Chemical Conversions for Mitigating Carbon Dioxide
1st Edition
Volume 114
March 12, 1998
T. Inui + 4 more
English
Global environmental problems, especially global warming caused by the accelerative accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, are of great importance for humans. The world's population is now approaching 6 billion, and is still increasing. Developments in communication systems and transportation tools have made the circulation of information, technologies and materials easier, which results in rapid economic growth, particularly in the East and Southeastern Asian countries. Increased affluence leads to an increased consumption of fossil fuels. Inevitably, this leads to an increase in carbon dioxide emission and environmentally hazardous materials which in turn precipitates climatic changes on a global scale. Recent studies showed that the increase in carbon dioxide emission for last year was the highest in the past seven years, and the total amount of carbon dioxide emission from all over the world reached 6.5 billion tons. Furthermore, one cannot overlook the report which appeared recently in Nature, that the floor-area of the iceberg in the South Pole has already decreased by 25% in the past five decades.Over 260 scientists and engineers from 21 countries who had a strong interest and wished to contribute to solve the carbon dioxide problem attended this conference. The papers presented in this volume cover most of the possibilities of the chemical conversion of carbon dioxide.