الصفحة 1
الصفحة 1
Neoproterozoic Geobiology and Paleobiology
The Neoproterozoic Era (1000-542 million years ago) is a geological period of dramatic climatic change and important evolutionary innovations. Repeated glaciations of unusual magnitude occurred throughout this tumultuous interval, and various eukaryotic clades independently achieved multicellularity, becoming more complex, abundant, and diverse at its termination. Animals made their first debut in the Neoproterozoic too. The intricate interaction among these geological and biological events is a centrepiece of Earth system history, and has been the focus of geobiological investigations in recent decades. The purpose of this volume is to present a sample of views and visions among some of the growing numbers of Neoproterozoic workers. The contributions represent a cross section of recent insights into the field of Neoproterozoic geobiology.
Hominin environments in the East African Pliocene : An assessment of the Faunal Evidence
This volume presents the work of researchers at many sites spanning the East African Pliocene. This volume aims to synthesize large amounts of faunal data, and to present the evolution of East African vertebrates in the context of environmental and climatic changes during the Pliocene.
Greenhouse gas emissions - fluxes and processes : Hydroelectric reservoirs and natural environments
In a time when an unquestionable link between anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and climatic changes has finally been acknowledged and * widely documented through IPCC reports, the need for precise estimates of greenhouse gas (GHG) production rates and emissions from natural as well as managed ecosystems has risen to a critical level.
Digital Terrain Modelling : Development and Applications in a Policy Support Environment
This book presents a set of papers on Digital Terrain Modelling for Policy Support which aims to be informative and stimulating for both developers and users of digital terrain models. It should also be useful for professi- als who are interested in the wider aspects of the applications of terrain models in support for policies and decision making. There is an increasing demand for regional and continental scale data for use in environmental modelling and spatial analysis to support envir- mental policy development and implementation. Important environmental processes act at regional and continental scales, for example climatic change inducing floods and soil erosion, and management of these pr- esses for the sustainable development of society requires policies to be - plied at the corresponding scales. One of the most important factors inf- encing these environmental processes which act on the earth’s surface is the surface topography, hence the need for extensive, harmonised digital terrain models.
Climatic Changes and Water Resources in the Middle East and North Africa
The subject is described and discussed in three main chapters and different case studies.All topics in this book are complimentary and contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the interactions between global climate change, world water cycle and water resources. A valuable and meaningful interdisciplinary mixture of topics is combined in this book.
Climatic Change and its Impacts : An Overview Focusing on Switzerland
This book focuses upon climate processes, variability and change and applies the general principles related to these issues, particularly in Switzerland. Although a small country, Switzerland is characterized by complex topography where climatic processes are often enhanced due to the presence of the Alps. In addition, there is a remarkable density of observational data in both the natural and social sciences that enable a comprehensive assessment of climate processes, their long-term trends and their impacts. This book is intended for students from the undergraduate level onwards and researchers interested in climate issues specific to the alpine region.
Climate Change Impacts for the Conterminous USA : An Integrated Assessment
In this volume, an improved Integrated Assessment methodology is used to analyse climate change impacts on agriculture, water resources, unmanaged ecosystems, irrigation, and land use in the United States and the economic implications of these impacts. This book contains a series of papers documenting the methods, models, analysis and results of this integrated assessment for a wide ranging set of scenarios describing future climate change. Innovations described include the integration of water resource and agricultural modeling and the refinement of an agriculture and land-use economics model to incorporate results from process-level ecosystem models of agriculture, water and natural ecosystem resources. Scenarios selected for this study address a range of uncertainties associated with choice of climate model, presence or absence of a ‘CO2-fertilization effect’, impacts on international trade in agricultural commodities and their consequences for producers and consumers.
Carbon and Its Domestication
Carbon is chemically versatile and is thus the body and soul of biological, geological, ecological and economic systems. Its appropriation by humans through diversion of its biogeochemical cycle has been a mainstay of development. This domestication is characterized by a number of thresholds: control of fire, development of agriculture, expansion of Europe, fossil-fuel use and biotechnology. All have exacted an environmental toll, not least being climatic change and biodiversity loss. Carbon management now and in the future is a ‘hot’ political issue.
Aeronomy of the Middle Atmosphere : Chemistry and Physics of the Stratosphere and Mesosphere
Provides a comprehensive view of the chemical, dynamical, and radiative processes that affect ozone and other chemicals in the stratosphere and mesosphere. Over recent decades our understanding of these processes has increased dramatically. The discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole has shown that human activities can lead to major changes in our environment.
