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Elsevier

Books in Environmental sciences

The Environmental Sciences titles present critical research and insights into the complex interactions within natural ecosystems, climate systems, and human impacts on the environment. Covering areas such as biodiversity, sustainability, climate change, and resource management, these titles support scientific discovery and practical solutions for addressing today’s most pressing environmental challenges. This collection is essential for researchers, policymakers, and students dedicated to advancing environmental understanding and stewardship

  • Applied Drought Modeling, Prediction, and Mitigation

    • 1st Edition
    • Zekâi Şen
    • English
    Applied Drought Modelling, Prediction, and Mitigation provides a practical guide to new and recent methodologies for drought characterizations, change modeling, down-scaling, and future predictions. The modeling procedures covered by the book include recent advancements in regional drought extent, coverage, intensity, and water deficit predictions, which are increasingly significant given current climate change impacts on water resources. Each modeling procedure is explained theoretically prior to the mathematical derivation, and includes book examples, exercises, and case studies that supplement the applied and practical material, thus making the approaches accessible and applicable to the reader.

  • Basics in Human Evolution

    • 1st Edition
    • Michael P Muehlenbein
    • English
    Basics in Human Evolution offers a broad view of evolutionary biology and medicine. The book is written for a non-expert audience, providing accessible and convenient content that will appeal to numerous readers across the interdisciplinary field. From evolutionary theory, to cultural evolution, this book fills gaps in the readers’ knowledge from various backgrounds and introduces them to thought leaders in human evolution research.

  • Aeolian Dust and Dust Deposits

    • 1st Edition
    • Kenneth Pye
    • English
    Aeolian Dust and Dust Deposits explores the entrainment, dispersion, and deposition of aeolian dust and dust deposits, with emphasis on transport and deposition of dust derived by deflation of surface sediments and soils. Topics covered range from the mechanisms of fine-particle formation to dust sources, sinks, and rates of deposition. Dust-transporting wind systems are also discussed, along with the grain size, mineralogy, and chemical composition of aeolian dust. Comprised of nine chapters, this book begins with an overview of the general nature and significance of windborne dust as well as the importance of aeolian dust and loess. The next chapter deals with the mechanisms underlying the formation of fine particles, including glacial grinding, frost and salt weathering, and fluvial comminution. The reader is then introduced to dust entrainment, transport, and deposition, together with dust sources, sinks, and rates of deposition. Subsequent chapters focus on the implications of dust deflation, transport, and deposition; dust deposition in the oceans; and loess distribution and the thickness and morphology of loess deposits. This monograph is written primarily for research workers and advanced students in sedimentology, geomorphology, and Quaternary studies, but is also likely to be of value to soil scientists, meteorologists, planetary geologists, engineers, and others concerned with environmental management.

  • Animal Vigilance

    Monitoring Predators and Competitors
    • 1st Edition
    • Guy Beauchamp
    • English
    Animal Vigilance builds on the author’s previous publication with Academic Press (Social Predation: How Group Living Benefits Predators and Prey) by developing several other themes including the development and mechanisms underlying vigilance, as well as developing more fully the evolution and function of vigilance. Animal vigilance has been at the forefront of research on animal behavior for many years, but no comprehensive review of this topic has existed. Students of animal behavior have focused on many aspects of animal vigilance, from models of its adaptive value to empirical research in the laboratory and in the field. The vast literature on vigilance is widely dispersed with often little contact between models and empirical work and between researchers focusing on different taxa such as birds and mammals. Animal Vigilance fills this gap in the available material.

  • Environmental Factors in Neurodevelopmental and Neurodegenerative Disorders

    • 1st Edition
    • Michael Aschner + 1 more
    • English
    Environmental Factors in Neurodevelopmental and Neurodegenerative Disorders presents a state-of-the-art review of the effects of environmental contaminants on the development and degeneration of the human nervous system, brought together by world-leading experts in the field. Part One describes the adverse effects that the environment can have on neurological development, and how these effects may exhibit. Specific contaminants and their possible consequences of exposure are addressed (lead, methylmercury, alcohol), as well as specific disorders and the environmental factors associated with them, such as the effect of diet on attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders. Part Two tackles neurodegenerative disorders, specifically addressing their potential neurotoxic origins, and discussing the increasing interest in the effects that early exposure may have in later life. Environmental Factors in Neurodevelopmental and Neurodegenerative Disorders is an invaluable reference for those professionals working in the fields of toxicology, environmental health and neuroscience.

  • Principles and Dynamics of the Critical Zone

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 19
    • English
    Principles and Dynamics of the Critical Zone is an invaluable resource for undergraduate and graduate courses and an essential tool for researchers developing cutting-edge proposals. It provides a process-based description of the Critical Zone, a place that The National Research Council (2001) defines as the "heterogeneous, near surface environment in which complex interactions involving rock, soil, water, air, and living organisms regulate the natural habitat and determine the availability of life-sustaining resources." This text provides a summary of Critical Zone research and outcomes from the NSF funded Critical Zone Observatories, providing a process-based description of the Critical Zone in a wide range of environments with a specific focus on the important linkages that exist amongst the processes in each zone. This book will be useful to all scientists and students conducting research on the Critical Zone within and outside the Critical Zone Observatory Network, as well as scientists and students in the geosciences – atmosphere, geomorphology, geology and pedology.

  • Systems Biology in Toxicology and Environmental Health

    • 1st Edition
    • Rebecca Fry
    • English
    Systems Biology in Toxicology and Environmental Health uses a systems biological perspective to detail the most recent findings that link environmental exposures to human disease, providing an overview of molecular pathways that are essential for cellular survival after exposure to environmental toxicants, recent findings on gene-environment interactions influencing environmental agent-induced diseases, and the development of computational methods to predict susceptibility to environmental agents. Introductory chapters on molecular and cellular biology, toxicology and computational biology are included as well as an assessment of systems-based tools used to evaluate environmental health risks. Further topics include research on environmental toxicants relevant to human health and disease, various high-throughput technologies and computational methods, along with descriptions of the biological pathways associated with disease and the developmental origins of disease as they relate to environmental contaminants. Systems Biology in Toxicology and Environmental Health is an essential reference for undergraduate students, graduate students, and researchers looking for an introduction in the use of systems biology approaches to assess environmental exposures and their impacts on human health.

  • Sustainable Catalytic Processes

    • 1st Edition
    • Basudeb Saha + 2 more
    • English
    The development of catalysts is the most sophisticated art in chemical sciences. It can be read like a story book when the critical scientific contents are presented in a chronological manner with short and simple sentences. This book will meets these criteria. To address the sustainability issues of existing chemical manufacturing processes or producing new chemicals, researchers are developing alternate catalysts to eliminate toxic chemicals use and by-products formation. Sustainable Catalytic Processes presents critical discussions of the progress of such catalytic development. This book of contemporary research results in sustainable catalysis area will benefit scientists in both industries and academia, and students to learn recent catalysts/process development.

  • The Ecological Importance of Mixed-Severity Fires

    Nature's Phoenix
    • 1st Edition
    • Dominick A. DellaSala + 1 more
    • English
    The Ecological Importance of High-Severity Fires, presents information on the current paradigm shift in the way people think about wildfire and ecosystems. While much of the current forest management in fire-adapted ecosystems, especially forests, is focused on fire prevention and suppression, little has been reported on the ecological role of fire, and nothing has been presented on the importance of high-severity fire with regards to the maintenance of native biodiversity and fire-dependent ecosystems and species. This text fills that void, providing a comprehensive reference for documenting and synthesizing fire's ecological role.

  • Understanding Complex Ecosystem Dynamics

    A Systems and Engineering Perspective
    • 1st Edition
    • William S. Yackinous
    • English
    Understanding Complex Ecosystem Dynamics: A Systems and Engineering Perspective takes a fresh, interdisciplinary perspective on complex system dynamics, beginning with a discussion of relevant systems and engineering skills and practices, including an explanation of the systems approach and its major elements. From this perspective, the author formulates an ecosystem dynamics functionality-based framework to guide ecological investigations. Next, because complex system theory (across many subject matter areas) is crucial to the work of this book, relevant network theory, nonlinear dynamics theory, cellular automata theory, and roughness (fractal) theory is covered in some detail. This material serves as an important resource as the book proceeds. In the context of all of the foregoing discussion and investigation, a view of the characteristics of ecological network dynamics is constructed. This view, in turn, is the basis for the central hypothesis of the book, i.e., ecological networks are ever-changing networks with propagation dynamics that are punctuated, local-to-global, and perhaps most importantly fractal. To analyze and fully test this hypothesis, an innovative ecological network dynamics model is defined, designed, and developed. The modeling approach, which seeks to emulate features of real-world ecological networks, does not make a priori assumptions about ecological network dynamics, but rather lets the dynamics develop as the model simulation runs. Model analysis results corroborate the central hypothesis. Additional important insights and principles are suggested by the model analysis results and by the other supporting investigations of this book – and can serve as a basis for going-forward complex system dynamics research, not only for ecological systems but for complex systems in general.

  • Coastal Ocean Observing Systems

    • 1st Edition
    • Yonggang Liu + 2 more
    • English
    Coastal Ocean Observing Systems provides state-of-the-art scientific and technological knowledge in coastal ocean observing systems, along with guidance on establishing, restructuring, and improving similar systems. The book is intended to help oceanographers understand, identify, and recognize how oceanographic research feeds into the various designs of ocean observing systems. In addition, readers will learn how ocean observing systems are defined and how each system operates in relation to its geographical, environmental, and political region. The book provides further insights into all of these problem areas, offering lessons learned and results from the types of research sponsored and utilized by ocean observing systems and the types of research design and experiments conducted by professionals specializing in ocean research and affiliated with observing systems.

  • Coastal Zones

    Solutions for the 21st Century
    • 1st Edition
    • Juan Baztan + 5 more
    • English
    Coastal Zones: Solutions for the 21st Century bridges the gap between national and international efforts and the local needs for actions in communities where coastal zone challenges are faced daily. The solution-oriented approach covers issues of coastal zone management as well as responses to natural disasters. This work provides ideas on how to face the challenges, develop solutions, and localize management of common-pool resources. Coastal Zones targets academic stakeholders and coastal stakeholders who have local knowledge and experience but need a theoretical framework and a greater range of skills to make use of this experience.

  • Case Studies in Nanotoxicology and Particle Toxicology

    • 1st Edition
    • Antonietta M Gatti + 1 more
    • English
    Case Studies in Nanotoxicology and Particle Toxicology presents a highly-illustrated analysis of the most prominent cases on the adverse effects of nanoparticles and their impact on humans and the environment. This comprehensive reference demonstrates the possible risks imposed by managing and handling nanoparticles, showing the effects of involuntary inhalation or ingestion during their use and after their incineration. Through the use of numerous examples, readers will discover the possible risks and effects of working with nanoparticles, along with best practices to prevent these effects. The text is an essential reference for anyone working in the risk assessment of nanoparticles, including nanosafety professionals, occupational toxicologists, regulatory toxicologists, and clinicians.

  • Determination of Metals in Natural Waters, Sediments, and Soils

    • 1st Edition
    • T. R. Crompton
    • English
    Determination of Metals in Natural Waters, Sediments and Soils provides analytic labs with a comprehensive overview of the various methods available for analysis of metals and serves as a manual to determine metal concentrations in different media such as natural waters, waste waters, sediments and soils. The book begins with a discussion of sampling techniques and preservation and then covers metals in rivers, surface ground and mineral waters and metals in aqueous precipitation. It concludes with detailed information on analysis of metals in sediments. Determination of Metals in Natural Waters, Sediments and Soils provides a foundation for informed action by environmental interest groups and regulators and a starting point for further study by graduate students, professionals, and researchers.

  • Characterization and Treatment of Textile Wastewater

    • 1st Edition
    • Himanshu Patel + 1 more
    • English
    Characterization and Treatment of Textile Wastewater covers fundamental knowledge of characterization of textile wastewater and adsorbents; naturally prepared adsorption and coagulation process for removal of COD, BOD and color. This book is intended for everyone actively working on the environment, especially for researchers in textile wastewater, as the problem of disposal of textile influent is worldwide. Potential technical environmental persons like engineers, project managers, consultants, and water analysts will find this book immediately useful for fine-tuning performance and reliability. This book will also be of interest to individuals who want effective knowledge of wastewater, adsorption and coagulation.

  • Groundwater Arsenic Remediation

    Treatment Technology and Scale UP
    • 1st Edition
    • Parimal Pal
    • English
    Arsenic abatement from groundwater in locations with a central water distribution system is relatively simple. The real challenge is selecting the most effective and affordable treatment and scale up option for locations which lack the appropriate infrastructure. Groundwater Arsenic Remediation: Treatment Technology and Scale UP provides the latest breakthrough groundwater treatment technologies and modeling and simulation methods for project scale up and eventually field deployment in locations which lack the proper central water distribution system to ensure arsenic free groundwater.

  • Trait-Based Ecology - From Structure to Function

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 52
    • English
    The theme of this volume is Trait-Based Ecology - From Structure to Function.

  • Events of Increased Biodiversity

    Evolutionary Radiations in the Fossil Record
    • 1st Edition
    • Pascal Neige
    • English
    The fossil record offers a surprising image: that of evolutionary radiations characterized by intense increases in cash or by the sudden diversification of a single species group, while others stagnate or die out. In a modern world, science carries an often pessimistic message, surrounded by studies of global warming and its effects, extinction crisis, emerging diseases and invasive species. This book fuels frequent "optimism" of the sudden increase in biodiversity by exploring this natural phenomenon.Events of Increased Biodiversity: Evolutionary Radiations in the Fossil Record explores this natural phenomenon of adaptive radiation including its effect on the increase in biodiversity events, their contribution to the changes and limitations in the fossil record, and examines the links between ecology and paleontology’s study of radiation.

  • Bayesian Data Analysis in Ecology Using Linear Models with R, BUGS, and Stan

    • 1st Edition
    • Franzi Korner-Nievergelt + 5 more
    • English
    Bayesian Data Analysis in Ecology Using Linear Models with R, BUGS, and STAN examines the Bayesian and frequentist methods of conducting data analyses. The book provides the theoretical background in an easy-to-understand approach, encouraging readers to examine the processes that generated their data. Including discussions of model selection, model checking, and multi-model inference, the book also uses effect plots that allow a natural interpretation of data.Bayesian Data Analysis in Ecology Using Linear Models with R, BUGS, and STAN introduces Bayesian software, using R for the simple modes, and flexible Bayesian software (BUGS and Stan) for the more complicated ones. Guiding the ready from easy toward more complex (real) data analyses ina step-by-step manner, the book presents problems and solutions—including all R codes—that are most often applicable to other data and questions, making it an invaluable resource for analyzing a variety of data types.

  • Elephant Sense and Sensibility

    • 1st Edition
    • Michael Garstang
    • English
    Elephant Sense and Sensibility is a comprehensive treatment of the full range of elephant behavior. Beginning with chapters on evolution and the elephant’s brain, this book is an integrated presentation of the elephant’s capacity for memory, morality, emotion, empathy, altruism, language, intelligence, learning and teaching. Grounded primarily in scientific research, the book also draws upon anecdotal and visual evidence showing elephants thinking, acting, feeling and behaving in ways that we, as humans, recognize. This complete treatment of elephant behavior supported by the extensive literature, along with anecdotal and photographic material, provides an overview not available in any other text.

  • Environmental Remediation and Restoration of Contaminated Nuclear and Norm Sites

    • 1st Edition
    • L van Velzen
    • English
    Nuclear sites become contaminated with radionuclides due to accidents and activities carried out without due consideration for the environment. Naturally-occurring radioactive materials (NORM) released by industrial processes such as coal power production and fertilizer manufacture may also require clean-up. Environmental remediation and restoration aim to reduce exposure to radiation from contaminated soil or groundwater. This book provides a comprehensive overview of this area. Part 1 provides an introduction to the different types of contaminated site and their characteristics. Part 2 addresses environmental restoration frameworks and processes. Part 3 then reviews different remediation techniques and methods of waste disposal.

  • Food, Energy, and Water

    The Chemistry Connection
    • 1st Edition
    • Satinder Ahuja
    • English
    How will chemists of the future balance competing concerns of environmental stewardship and innovative, cost-effective product development? For chemists to accept the idea that environmental quality and economic prosperity can be intertwined, the concept of the food-energy-water nexus must first be integrated into underlying thought processes. Food, Energy and Water: The Chemistry Connection provides today’s scientists with the background information necessary to fully understand the inextricable link between food, energy and water and how this conceptual framework should form the basis for all contemporary research and development in chemistry in particular, and the sciences in general.

  • Introduction to International Disaster Management

    • 3rd Edition
    • Damon P. Coppola
    • English
    Introduction to International Disaster Management, Third Edition, continues to serve as the leading comprehensive overview of global emergency management. This edition provides practitioners and students alike with a comprehensive understanding of the disaster management profession by utilizing a global perspective and including the different sources of risk and vulnerability, the systems that exist to manage hazard risk, and the many different stakeholders involved. This update examines the impact of many recent large-scale and catastrophic disaster events on countries and communities, as well as their influence on disaster risk reduction efforts worldwide. It also expands coverage of small-island developing states (SIDS) and explores the achievements of the United Nations Hyogo Framework for Action (2005–2015) and the priorities for action in the Post-2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction currently under development. This useful, relevant text includes many changes that have occurred since the last edition for a better understanding of the rapidly advancing field of international disaster management.

  • Assessing and Measuring Environmental Impact and Sustainability

    • 1st Edition
    • Jiří Jaromír Klemeš
    • English
    Assessing and Measuring Environmental Impact and Sustainability answers the question “what are the available methodologies to assess the environmental sustainability of a product, system or process?” Multiple well-known authors share their expertise in order to give a broad perspective of this issue from a chemical and environmental engineering perspective. This mathematical, quantitative book includes many case studies to assist with the practical application of environmental and sustainability methods. Readers learn how to efficiently assess and use these methods. This book summarizes all relevant environmental methodologies to assess the sustainability of a product and tools, in order to develop more green products or processes. With life cycle assessment as its main methodology, this book speaks to engineers interested in environmental impact and sustainability.

  • Materials and Sustainable Development

    • 1st Edition
    • Michael F. Ashby
    • English
    This book, from noted materials selection authority Mike Ashby, provides a structure and framework for analyzing sustainable development and the role of materials in it. The aim is to introduce ways of exploring sustainable development to readers in a way that avoids simplistic interpretations and approaches complexity in a systematic way. There is no completely "right" answer to questions of sustainable development – instead, there is a thoughtful, well-researched response that recognizes concerns of stakeholders, the conflicting priorities and the economic, legal and social aspects of a technology as well as its environmental legacy. The intent is not to offer solutions to sustainability challenges but rather to improve the quality of discussion and enable informed, balanced debate.

  • Channels, Carriers, and Pumps

    An Introduction to Membrane Transport
    • 2nd Edition
    • Wilfred D. Stein + 1 more
    • English
    An introduction to the principles of membrane transport: How molecules and ions move across the cell membrane by simple diffusion and by making use of specialized membrane components (channels, carriers, and pumps). The text emphasizes the quantitative aspects of such movement and its interpretation in terms of transport kinetics. Molecular studies of channels, carriers, and pumps are described in detail as well as structural principles and the fundamental similarities between the various transporters and their evolutionary interrelationships. The regulation of transporters and their role in health and disease are also considered.

  • Disaster Planning for Libraries

    Process and Guidelines
    • 1st Edition
    • Guy Robertson
    • English
    Libraries are constantly at risk. Every day, many libraries and their collections are damaged by fire, flooding, high winds, power outages, and criminal behaviour. Every library needs a plan to protect its staff, sites and collections, including yours. Disaster Planning for Libraries provides a practical guide to developing a comprehensive plan for any library. Twelve chapters cover essential areas of plan development; these include an overview of the risks faced by libraries, disaster preparedness and responding to disasters, resuming operations after a disaster and assessing damage, declaring disaster and managing a crisis, cleaning up and management after a disaster and normalizing relations, staff training, testing disaster plans, and the in-house planning champion.

  • Advances in Control Systems

    Theory and Applications
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 1
    • C. T. Leondes
    • English
    Advances in Control Systems: Theory and Applications, Volume 1 provides information pertinent to the significant progress in the field of automatic control. This book presents several fundamental approaches to algorithms for the determination of optimum control inputs to a system. Organized into six chapters, this volume begins with an overview of the optimal method of controlling a given system with respect to the given criterion of performance. This text then summarizes some of the basic results of the maximum principle and illustrates how they may be exploited in control system studies. Other chapters consider the fundamental approach underlying almost all the existing works on the control of distributed parameter systems. This book discusses as well some important concepts in the theory of optimal control. The final chapter deals with the problem of controlling processes under the condition of uncertain changes in the process to be controlled. This book is a valuable resource for practicing engineers, applied mathematicians, and scientists.

  • Big Data in Ecology

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 51
    • English
    The theme of this volume is big data in ecology.

  • Advances in Control Systems

    Theory and Applications
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 6
    • C. T. Leondes
    • English
    Advances in Control Systems: Theory and Applications, Volume 6 provides information pertinent to the significant progress in the field of control and systems theory and applications. This book presents the higher level of automata, which represent the embodiment of the application of artificial intelligence techniques to control system design and may be described as self-organizing systems. Organized into four chapters, this volume begins with an overview of the existing technology in learning control system. This text then demonstrates how to apply artificial intelligence techniques to the designs of off-line and on-line learning control systems. Other chapters consider the decomposition methods and the associated multilevel optimization techniques applicable to control system optimization problems. This book discusses as well the complex optimal system control problems applied to the trajectory optimization problem. The final chapter deals with systems described by partial differential equations. This book is a valuable resource for control system engineers.

  • Advances in Control Systems

    Theory and Applications
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 3
    • C. T. Leondes
    • English
    Advances in Control Systems: Theory and Applications, Volume 3 provides information pertinent to the significant progress in the field of automatic control. This book presents the leading areas of application of some of the more advanced control techniques in the field of aerospace vehicles. Organized into six chapters, this volume begins with an overview of several topics, including space vehicle orbit determination, space vehicle rendezvous guidance and control methods, and reentry vehicle guidance and control. This text then examines the solution of the reference control input or trajectory problem by the quaslinearization or generalized Newton–Raphson operator technique. Other chapters consider the basic problem of existence of optimal control and discuss the application of Kalman filtering techniques to nonlinear system problems. This book discusses as well the role of existence theorems in optimal control. The final chapter deals with the application areas of state-space techniques. This book is a valuable resource for aerospace engineers.

  • Advances in Control Systems

    Theory and Applications
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 4
    • C. T. Leondes
    • English
    Advances in Control Systems: Theory and Applications, Volume 4 provides information pertinent to the significant progress in the field of automatic control. This book presents several fundamental approaches to algorithms for the determination of optimum control inputs to a system. Organized into six chapters, this volume begins with an overview of presents the method of sequential optimization including examples of its application. This text then examines the powerful direct method of Liapunov function techniques to the subject of the stability of stochastic dynamical systems. Other chapters consider the aspect of optimum control of large-scale complex system, which is the most striking characteristic in the evolution of the practice of control systems theory. This book discusses as well the basic techniques for the modification of the control problem. The final chapter deals with the problem of convergence properties of the method of gradients. This book is a valuable resource for engineers.

  • Advances in Control Systems

    Theory and Applications
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 5
    • C. T. Leondes
    • English
    Advances in Control Systems: Theory and Applications, Volume 5 provides information pertinent to the significant progress in the field of control and systems theory and applications. This book presents the problem of the optimal control of a system. Organized into six chapters, this volume begins with an overview of the fundamental conditions in the calculus of variations that are basic to the optimal control problem. This text then examines one of the basic problems in control and systems theory in general. Other chapters consider a number of rather basic results in optimal nonlinear filtering and describe the characteristic function of the state of vector of a nonlinear system. This book discusses as well a significant application area of control and systems theory, which is the optimal control of nuclear reactors. The final chapter deals with optimal control with bounds on the state variables. This book is a valuable resource for practicing engineers.

  • Advances in Control Systems

    Theory and Applications
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 7
    • C. T. Leondes
    • English
    Advances in Control Systems: Theory and Applications, Volume 7 provides information pertinent to the significant progress in the field of control and systems theory and applications. This book covers the important general area of computational problems in random and deterministic dynamic systems. Organized into six chapters, this volume begins with an overview of the controllability of a stochastic system. This text then presents a survey and status of methods for nonlinear minimal variance filtering. Other chapters consider some possible pitfalls and develop practical approximate nonlinear filters. This book discusses as well the area of computational problems and techniques for optimal nonlinear control problems. Computer simulation results are also included in order to show a number of the key results. The final chapter deals with the development of algorithms for the determination of the optimal control of distributed parameter systems, which pervades many areas of engineering endeavor. This book is a valuable resource for mathematicians and engineers.

  • Advances in Control Systems

    Theory and Applications
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 2
    • C. T. Leondes
    • English
    Advances in Control Systems: Theory and Applications, Volume 2 provides information pertinent to the significant progress in the field of automatic control. This book presents different methods for generating Liapunov functions, which is important in the analysis of nonlinear systems. Organized into five chapters, this volume begins with an overview of the reduction of the important method of Liapunov to a practical working tool for the analysis of complex nonlinear systems. This text then discusses applications of the rather powerful method of dynamic programming to a complex class of problems. Other chapters consider the mathematical theory of optimal control, which is often confronted with the task of solving a system of first-order ordinary differential equations. This book discusses as well the input–output relationship of multivariable linear systems or plants. The final chapter deals with a powerful technique for design by analysis of nonlinear systems. This book is a valuable resource for mathematicians and engineers.

  • Control and Dynamic Systems

    Advances in Theory and Applications
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 10
    • C. T. Leondes
    • English
    Control and Dynamic Systems: Advances in Theory and Applications, Volume 10 brings together diverse information on important progress in the field of control and systems theory and applications. This volume is comprised of contributions from leading researchers in the field. Topics discussed include the evaluation of suboptimal strategies using quasilinearization; aircraft symmetric flight optimization; aircraft maneuver optimization by reduced-order approximation; and differential dynamic programming. Estimation of uncertain systems; application of modern control and optimization techniques to transportation systems; and integrated system identification and optimization are also elucidated. Aerospace engineers and scientists and researchers in applied sciences will find the book interesting.

  • Control and Dynamic Systems

    Advances in Theory and Applications
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 12
    • C. T. Leondes
    • English
    Control and Dynamic Systems: Advances in Theory and Applications reviews progress in the field of control and dynamic systems theory and applications, with emphasis on filtering and stochastic control in dynamic systems. Topics include linear and nonlinear filtering techniques; concepts and methods in stochastic control; and discrete-time optical stochastic observers. The theory of disturbance-accommod... controllers is also presented. Comprised of nine chapters, this volume begins with an overview of filtering and stochastic control in dynamic systems, followed by a discussion on linear and nonlinear filtering techniques. The reader is then introduced to concepts and methods in stochastic control, as well as the innovations process and its applications to sensitivity analysis and system identification. Subsequent chapters focus on the status of observer theory and its major results as applied to discrete-time linear systems; the properties of the class of discrete-time Riccati equations that arise in the filtering problem; and the theory of disturbance-accommod... controllers. The identification of noise characteristics in a Kalman filter and estimation of adaptive minimum variance in discrete-time linear systems round out the book. This monograph will be useful to practicing technologists and research workers interested in filtering and stochastic control in dynamic systems.

  • Advances in Control Systems

    Theory and Applications
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 8
    • C. T. Leondes
    • English
    Advances in Control Systems: Theory and Applications, Volume 8 provides information pertinent to significant progress in the field of control and systems theory and applications. This book focuses on applications to large-scale systems. Organized into seven chapters, this volume begins with an overview of an effective algorithm for dynamic system organization with state variable constraints. This text then explores a number of effective techniques for the analysis and syntheses of final value control systems. Other chapters consider some significant problems associated with the practical application of Kalman Filter techniques. This book discusses as well the most significant and fundamental work on the international scene in the development of effective algorithms for dynamic system optimization. The final chapter deals with the application of modern control methods of complex industrial process control problems. This book is a valuable resource for mathematicians, control system engineers, physical scientists, economists, econometricians, and research workers.

  • Control and Dynamic Systems

    Advances in Theory and Applications
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 9
    • C. T. Leondes
    • English
    Control and Dynamic Systems: Advances in Theory and Applications, Volume 9 brings together diverse information on important progress in the field of control and systems theory and applications. This volume is comprised of contributions from leading researchers in the field. Topics covered include optimal observer techniques for linear discrete time systems; application of sensitivity constrained optimal control to national economic policy formulation; and modified quasilinearization method for mathematical programming problems and optimal control problems. Dynamic decision theory and techniques and closed loop formulations of optimal control problems for minimum sensitivity are also elaborated. Engineers and scientists in applied physics will find the book interesting.

  • Control and Dynamic Systems

    Advances in Theory and Applications
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 11
    • C. T. Leondes
    • English
    Control and Dynamic Systems: Advances in Theory and Applications reviews progress in the field of control and dynamic systems theory and applications. Topics include multistage models and fitting them to input/output data; computer-aided control systems design techniques; multilevel optimization of multiple arc trajectories; and nonlinear smoothing techniques. Solutions of dynamic games are also considered, and a survey of Soviet contributions to control theory is presented. Comprised of six chapters, this volume begins with a discussion on a number of important issues with respect to the modeling of a dynamic system, the beginning point for the resolution of the system synthesis problem. Issues with respect to the utilization of the Kalman filter as a concise model for the identification of a large class of dynamic systems are explored, along with computational and convergence issues. The application of computer-aided design techniques to control engineering problems is the subject of the next chapter. The book also evaluates multilevel systems optimization techniques and their application to a rather complex systems problem before concluding with an overview of the evolutionary growth of Soviet contributions to control theory. This monograph will be useful to mathematicians and engineers.

  • Human Physiology in Extreme Environments

    • 1st Edition
    • Hanns-Christian Gunga
    • English
    Human Physiology in Extreme Environments is the one publication that offers how human biology and physiology is affected by extreme environments while highlighting technological innovations that allow us to adapt and regulate environments. Covering a broad range of extreme environments, including high altitude, underwater, tropical climates, and desert and arctic climates as well as space travel, this book will include case studies for practical application. Graduate students, medical students and researchers will find Human Physiology in Extreme Environments an interesting, informative and useful resource for human physiology, environmental physiology and medical studies.

  • Mathematical and Physical Fundamentals of Climate Change

    • 1st Edition
    • Zhihua Zhang + 1 more
    • English
    Mathematical and Physical Fundamentals of Climate Change is the first book to provide an overview of the math and physics necessary for scientists to understand and apply atmospheric and oceanic models to climate research. The book begins with basic mathematics then leads on to specific applications in atmospheric and ocean dynamics, such as fluid dynamics, atmospheric dynamics, oceanic dynamics, and glaciers and sea level rise. Mathematical and Physical Fundamentals of Climate Change provides a solid foundation in math and physics with which to understand global warming, natural climate variations, and climate models. This book informs the future users of climate models and the decision-makers of tomorrow by providing the depth they need. Developed from a course that the authors teach at Beijing Normal University, the material has been extensively class-tested and contains online resources, such as presentation files, lecture notes, solutions to problems and MATLab codes.

  • Hazards, Risks, and Disasters in Society

    • 1st Edition
    • Andrew E. Collins + 4 more
    • English
    Hazards, Risks, and Disasters in Society provides analyses of environmentally related catastrophes within society in historical, political and economic contexts. Personal and corporate culture mediates how people may become more vulnerable or resilient to hazard exposure. Societies that strengthen themselves, or are strengthened, mitigate decline and resultant further exposure to what are largely human induced risks of environmental, social and economic degradation. This book outlines why it is important to explore in more depth the relationships between environmental hazards, risk and disasters in society. It presents challenges presented by mainstream and non-mainstream approaches to the human side of disaster studies. By hazard categories this book includes critical processes and outcomes that significantly disrupt human wellbeing over brief or long time-frames. Whilst hazards, risks and disasters impact society, individuals, groups, institutions and organisations offset the effects by becoming strong, healthy, resilient, caring and creative. Innovations can arise from social organisation in times of crisis. This volume includes much of use to practitioners and policy makers needing to address both prevention and response activities. Notably, as people better engage prevalent hazards and risks they exercise a process that has become known as disaster risk reduction (DRR). In a context of climatic risks this is also indicative of climate change adaptation (CCA). Ultimately it represents the quest for development of sustainable environmental and societal futures. Throughout the book cases studies are derived from the world of hazards risks and disasters in society.

  • Economic Growth and Sustainability

    Systems Thinking for a Complex World
    • 1st Edition
    • Karen L. Higgins
    • English
    How to sustain our world for future generations has perplexed us for centuries. We have reached a crossroads: we may choose the rocky path of responsibility or continue on the paved road of excess that promises hardship for our progeny. Independent efforts to resolve isolated issues are inadequate. Different from these efforts and from other books on the topic, this book uses systems thinking to understand the dominant forces that are shaping our hope for sustainability. It first describes a mental model - the bubble that holds our beliefs - that emerges from preponderant world views and explains current global trends. The model emphasizes economic growth and drives behavior toward short-term and self-motivated outcomes that thwart sustainability. The book then weaves statistical trends into a system diagram and shows how the economic, environmental, and societal contributors of sustainability interact. From this holistic perspective, it finds leverage points where actions can be most effective and combines eight areas of intervention into an integrated plan. By emphasizing both individual and collective actions, it addresses the conundrum of how to blend human nature with sustainability. Finally, it identifies primary three lessons we can learn by applying systems thinking to sustainability. Its metaphor-rich and accessible style makes the complex topic approachable and allows the reader to appreciate the intricate balance required to sustain life on Earth.

  • Climate Change Biology

    • 2nd Edition
    • Lee Hannah
    • English
    Climate Change Biology, 2e examines the evolving discipline of human-induced climate change and the resulting shifts in the distributions of species and the timing of biological events. The text focuses on understanding the impacts of human-induced climate change by drawing on multiple lines of evidence, including paleoecology, modeling, and current observation. This revised and updated second edition emphasizes impacts of human adaptation to climate change on nature and greater emphasis on natural processes and cycles and specific elements. With four new chapters, an increased emphasis on tools for critical thinking, and a new glossary and acronym appendix, Climate Change Biology, 2e is the ideal overview of this field.

  • Geoethics

    Ethical Challenges and Case Studies in Earth Sciences
    • 1st Edition
    • Max Wyss + 1 more
    • English
    Edited by two experts in the area, Geoethics: Ethical Challenges and Case Studies in Earth Sciences addresses a range of topics surrounding the concept of ethics in geoscience, making it an important reference for any Earth scientist with a growing concern for sustainable development and social responsibility. This book will provide the reader with some obvious and some hidden information you need for understanding where experts have not served the public, what more could have been done to reach and serve the public and the ethical issues surrounding the Earth Sciences, from a global perspective.

  • Coastal and Marine Hazards, Risks, and Disasters

    • 1st Edition
    • John F. Shroder + 2 more
    • English
    Sea and Ocean Hazards, Risks and Disasters provides a scientific approach to those hazards and disasters related to the Earth's coasts and oceans. This is the first book to integrate scientific, social, and economic issues related to disasters such as hazard identification, risk analysis, and planning, relevant hazard process mechanics, discussions of preparedness, response, and recovery, and the economics of loss and remediation. Throughout the book cases studies are presented of historically relevant hazards and disasters as well as the many recent catastrophes.

  • Learning from the Impacts of Superstorm Sandy

    • 1st Edition
    • J. Bret Bennington + 1 more
    • English
    Learning from the Impacts of Superstorm Sandy summarizes first results from studies of Superstorm Sandy, including: tide gauge measurements of storm surge, stable isotope variation in precipitation, analysis of the effect of beach nourishment among other factors on structural damage, and comparison with past storms through sediment analysis. This book gives a multi-dimensional treatment of scientific results of studies of Superstorm Sandy, and it is a valuable reference for oceanographers, coastal geologists, climatologists, dynamic meteorologists, paleotempostologists... sedimentary geologists, geomorphologists and emergency managers who need to better understand the storm and its effects in order to be prepared for similar events in the future.

  • Volcanic Hazards, Risks and Disasters

    • 1st Edition
    • Paolo Papale + 1 more
    • English
    Volcanic Hazards, Risks, and Disasters provides you with the latest scientific developments in volcano and volcanic research, including causality, impacts, preparedness, risk analysis, planning, response, recovery, and the economics of loss and remediation. It takes a geoscientific approach to the topic while integrating the social and economic issues related to volcanoes and volcanic hazards and disasters. Throughout the book case studies are presented of historically relevant volcanic and seismic hazards and disasters as well as recent catastrophes, such as Chile’s Puyehue volcano eruption in June 2011.

  • Hydro-Meteorological Hazards, Risks, and Disasters

    • 1st Edition
    • Paolo Paron
    • English
    Hydro-Meteorological Hazards, Risks, and Disasters provides an integrated look at major atmospheric disasters that have had and continue to have major implications for many of the world’s people, such as floods and droughts. . This volume takes a geoscientific approach to the topic, while also covering current thinking about some directly relevant social scientific issues that can affect lives and property. Hydro-Meteorological Hazards, Risks, and Disasters also contains new insights about how climate change affects hazardous processes. For the first time, information on the many diverse topics relevant to professionals is aggregated into one volume.

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