ALBERT

Description / Table of Contents: Contents:PART I: FRAMEWORK OF CLIMATE SCIENCE 1. Overview of Climate Science 2. Earth' Climate System Today 3. Climatic Archives, Data and Models PART II: TECTONIC-SCALE CLIMATE CHANGE 4. CO2 and Long-Term Climate 5. Plate Tectonics and Long-Term Climate 6. Greenhouse Climate From Greenhouse to Icehouse: The Last 50 Million Years PART III: ORBITAL-SCALE CLIMATE CHANGE 8. Astronomical Control of Solar Radiation 9. Insolation Control of Monsoons 10. Insolation Control of Ice Sheets 11. Orbital-Scale Changes in Carbon Dioxide and Methane 12. Orbital-Scale Interactions, Feedbacks, and Unsolved Problems PART IV: GLACIAL/DEGLACIAL CLIMATE CHANGE 13. The Last Glacial Maximum 14. Climate During and Since the Last Deglaciation 15. Millennial Oscillations of Climate PART V: HISTORICAL AND FUTURE CLIMATE CHANGE 16. Humans and Pre-Industrial Climate 17. Climate Changes During the Last 1000 Years 18. Climate Changes Since 1850 19. Causes of Warming over the Last 125 Years 20. Future Climatic Change

Description / Table of Contents: Early warning for geologic disasters is a subject of intensive research. Opening up the path for students and lecturers alike, this book presents innovative trends in geoscientific research in this subject. The book successfully fills a gap in this field. The past years have seen new technologies that could be utilized for early warning and real-time loss estimation. They include self-organizing sensor networks, new satellite imagery with high resolution, multi-sensor observational capacities, and crowd sourcing. From this and improved physical models, data processing and communication methodologies a significant step towards better early warning technologies has been achieved by research.At the same time, early warning systems became part of the disaster management practice for instance in Japan and Indonesia. This book marks the important point where:* Research activities continue to improve early warning * Experience with applications is expandingAt this critical point in development of early warning for geological disasters it is timely to provide a volume that documents the state-of-the-art, provides an overview on recent developments and serves as knowledge resource for researcher and practitioners.

Description / Table of Contents: Cover; Title; Copyright; Contents; List of Illustrations; Preface; PART ONE: What Has Controlled Earth's Climate?; CHAPTER ONE: Climate and Human History; PART TWO: Nature in Control; CHAPTER TWO: Slow Going for a Few Million Years; CHAPTER THREE: Linking Earth's Orbit to Its Climate; CHAPTER FOUR: Orbital Changes Control Ice-Age Cycles; CHAPTER FIVE: Orbital Changes Control Monsoon Cycles; CHAPTER SIX: Stirrings of Change; PART THREE: Humans Begin to Take Control; CHAPTER SEVEN: Early Agriculture and Civilization; CHAPTER EIGHT: Taking Control of Methane

Description / Table of Contents: CHAPTER NINE: Taking Control of CO[sub(2)]CHAPTER TEN: Have We Delayed a Glaciation?; CHAPTER ELEVEN: Challenges and Responses; PART FOUR: Disease Enters the Picture; CHAPTER TWELVE: But What about Those CO[sub(2)] "Wiggles"?; CHAPTER THIRTEEN: The Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Which One?; CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Pandemics, CO[sub(2)], and Climate; PART FIVE: Humans in Control; CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Greenhouse Warming: Tortoise and Hare; CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Future Warming: Large or Small?; CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: From the Past into the Distant Future; EPILOGUE; CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Global-Change Science and Politics

Description / Table of Contents: CHAPTER NINETEEN: Consuming Earth's GiftsAfterword to the Princeton Science Library Edition; Bibliography; Figure Sources; Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; K; L; M; N; O; P; R; S; T; U; V; W; Y

Description / Table of Contents: The impact on climate from 200 years of industrial development is an everyday fact of life, but did humankind''s active involvement in climate change really begin with the industrial revolution, as commonly believed? Plows, Plagues, and Petroleum has sparked lively scientific debate since it was first published--arguing that humans have actually been changing the climate for some 8,000 years--as a result of the earlier discovery of agriculture. The ""Ruddiman Hypothesis"" will spark intense debate. We learn that the impact of farming on greenhouse-gas levels, thousands of years before the i

Description / Table of Contents: Cartography and geographic information (GI) are remarkably appropriate for early warning (EW) and crises management (CM) needs. Use of geospatial technology has tremendously increased in the last several years. ICT has changed from just using maps created in advance to new approaches allowing individuals (decision-makers) to use cartography interactively, on the basis of individual users requirement. The new generation of cartographic visualizations based on standardisation, formal modelling, use of sensors, semantics and ontology, allows for better adaptation of information to the needs of the users. To design a new culture in pre-disaster and disaster management it is also needed to consider safety/security/privacy aspects of institutions and citizens. All this can be achieved only by demonstrating new research achievements, sharing best practices (e.g. in the health area) and working towards wider society acceptance of geospatial technology (e.g. with the help education and media).This book will outline research frontiers and applications of cartography and GI in EW and CM and document their roles and potentials in wider processes going on in information/knowledge-based societies.

Description / Table of Contents: Contents: Part 1 The European Backgroun - 1.1 Climate Change in Poland in the Past Centuries and its Relationship to European Climate: Evidence From Reconstructions and Coupled Climate Models.- 1. 2 Historical Climate in Central Europe During the Last 500 Years.- 1.3 Climatic Variations in the East European Plain During the Last Millennium: state-of-the-art.- 1.4 The Climate of Europe in Recent Centuries in the Context of the Climate of Mid to High Latitude Northern Hemisphere from Borehole Temperature Logs.- Part 2 The Climate of Poland in Recent Centuries: A Synthesis of Current Knowledge .-2.1 Instrumental Observations -2.2 Documentary Evidence.- 2.3 Dendrochronological Data.- 2.4 Geophysical Data .- 2.5 Summary and Concluding Remarks.- Part 3 The Climate of Poland and Europe in Recent Centuries: New Findings Results.- 3.1 Long-term Changes of Bioclimatic Conditions in Cracow (Poland).- 3.2 Climate Warming in the Czech Republic: Evidence Stored in Shallow Subsurface .- 3.3 History of the Gdansk Pre-instrumental and Instrumental Record of Meteorological Observations and Analysis of Selected Air Pressure Observations..- 3.4 A Composite Reconstruction of the Russian Arctic Climate Back to A.D. 1435.- 3.5 Growth/Climate Relationships in Tree-ring Widths of Picea abies in Lithuania and Poland.- 3.6 Multi-annual Variability of Cloudiness and Sunshine Duration in Cracow Between 1826 and 2005.- 3.7 Changes in Sea Surface Temperature of the South Baltic Sea (1854-2005).- 3.8 Ground Surface Temperature Histories Reconstructed from Boreholes in Poland: Implications for Spatial Variability.- 3.9 Precipitation Extremes and Disastrous Floods in Central Europe in July 1897.- 3.10 Summer Temperatures in the Tatra Mountains during the Maunder Minimum (1645-1715).- 3.11 Seasonal Differentiation of Maximum and Minimum Air Temperature in Cracow and Prague in the Period 1836-2007.- 3.12 Climate Changes in the Central and North-eastern Parts of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1656 to 1685.- 3.13 The Climate of Polish Lands as Viewed by Chroniclers, Writers and Scientists.- 3.14 Observations and Measurements of Precipitation in the Polish Province of Galicia in the Nineteenth Century.- 3.15 Variability of the European Climate on the Basis of Differentiation of Indicators of Continentalism.- 3.16 The First One Hundred Years (1791-1890) of the Wroclaw Air Temperature.

Description / Table of Contents: Contents: Part I. A Grammar of Turbulence: 1. Introduction; 2. Getting to know turbulence; 3. Equations for averaged variables; 4. Turbulent fluxes; 5. Conservation equations for covariances; 6. Large-eddy dynamics, the energy cascade, and large-eddy simulation; 7. Kolmogrov scaling, its extensions, and two-dimensional turbulence; Part II. Turbulence in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer: 8. The equations of atmospheric turbulence; 9. The atmospheric boundary layer; 10. The atmospheric surface layer; 11. The convective boundary layer; 12. The stable boundary layer; Part III. Statistical Representation of Turbulence: 13. Probability densities and distributions; 14. Isotropic tensors; 15. Covariances, autocorrelations, and spectra; 16. Statistics in turbulence analysis; Index.

Description / Table of Contents: Introduces turbulence in the atmosphere and in engineering flows to advanced students, and provides a reference work for atmospheric researchers.

Description / Table of Contents: The primary aim of Wood Structure and Environment is to reveal the hidden ecological richness in stems and roots from trees, shrubs and herbs. The detailed, lucid text will inspire researchers to consider the anatomic microcosm of wood plants and use it as a retrospective source of information, solving problems related to ecophysiology, competition, site conditions, population biology, earth science, wood quality and even human history.Dendrochronology and wood anatomy developed for decades as two independent scientific fields. It was only in the last decade that it was made clear that the dimension of time is the fourth dimension for both sciences and that it was demonstrated that wood anatomy and dendrochronology are perfect partners. The main aim of this book is to show the hidden ecological richness in stems and roots from trees, shrubs and herbs. It should encourage researchers to consider the anatomic microcosm of wood plants and use it as a retrospective source of information, solving problems related to ecophysiology, competition, site conditions, population biology, earth science, wood quality and even human history. Contens: 1 Introduction.- 2 Preparation of Wood and Herb Samples for Microscopic Analysis.- 3 Growth Zones and Stems in Relation to Genetic Ecological Factors.- 4 Modification of the Tree-Ring Anatomy Due to Ageing and the Position Within the Tree.- 5 Modification of the Tree-Ring Structure Due to Extreme Site Conditions.- 6 Modification of the Tree-Ring Structure Caused by Compression and Tension.- 7 Modification of the Tree-Ring Structure Due to Defoliation and Pollarding.- 8 Modification of the Tree-Ring Structure Due to Destructive Agents in Wood and Bark.- 9 Modification of the Tree-Ring Structure Due to Deformed Stems and Anastomosis.- 10 Modification of the Tree-Ring Structure Due to Wood Decay.

Description / Table of Contents: Numerous studies report that ultraviolet (UV) radiation is harmful to living organisms and detrimental to human health. Growing concerns regarding the increased levels of UV-B radiation that reach the earth's surface have led to the development of ground- and space-based measurement programs. Further study is needed on the measurement, modeling, and effects of UV radiation. The chapters of this book describe the research conducted across the globe over the past three decades in the areas of: (1) current and predicted levels of UV radiation and its associated impact on ecosystems and human health, as well as economic and social implications; (2) new developments in UV instrumentation, advances in calibration (ground- and satellite-based), measurement methods, modeling efforts, and their applications; and (3) the effects of global climate change on UV radiation.

Description / Table of Contents: Contents: 1. Introduction; 2. Iceland as a natural laboratory for earthquake prediction research; 3. The June 2003 earthquakes; 4. Emerging, new understanding on the release of earthquakes and the earthquake cycle; 5. Warnings ahead of earthquakes to governments and the public; 6. Application to other regions vulnerable to seismic hazards.

Description / Table of Contents: Eine effektive Klimapolitik muss nicht nur unerwünschten Klimawandel vermeiden, sondern auch Anpassungsstrategien umfassen. Diese sollen die negativen Auswirkungen von Klimaveränderungen für Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft mindern. Die Entwicklung neuer Technologien, die weltweit einen Beitrag zur Anpassung an den Klimawandel leisten können, bietet auch wirtschaftliche Chancen für deutsche Unternehmen. Diese acatech POSITION stellt spezifische Klimafolgen in sechs Schlüsselbereichen dar, darunter natürliche Ressourcen, Stadtentwicklung, Energie- und Gesundheitsversorgung. So wird ein Beitrag zur gegenwärtigen Anpassungsdiskussion geleistet. acatech möchte sowohl die Risiken als auch die Chancen der Folgen des Klimawandels in Deutschland aufzeigen, das Bewusstsein für die Bedeutung von Anpassungsmaßnahmen in der gesellschaftlichen Diskussion stärken und mit seinen Handlungsempfehlungen zur Entwicklung nachhaltiger Anpassungsstrategien beitragen.

Description / Table of Contents: The Handbook provides a comprehensive statement and reference point for hazard and disaster research, policy making, and practice in an international and multi-disciplinary context. It offers critical reviews and appraisals of current state of the art and future development of conceptual, theoretical and practical approaches as well as empirical knowledge and available tools. Organized into five inter-related sections, this Handbook contains sixty-five contributions from leading scholars. Section one situates hazards and disasters in their broad political, cultural, economic, and environmental context. Section two contains treatments of potentially damaging natural events/phenomena organized by major earth system. Section three critically reviews progress in responding to disasters including warning, relief and recovery. Section four addresses mitigation of potential loss and prevention of disasters under two sub-headings: governance, advocacy and self-help, and communication and participation. Section five ends with a concluding chapter by the editors.The engaging international contributions reflect upon the politics and policy of how we think about and practice applied hazard research and disaster risk reduction. This Handbook provides a wealth of interdisciplinary information and will appeal to students and practitioners interested in Geography, Environment Studies and Development Studies.

Description / Table of Contents: Contents: Treibhauseffekt & Co unter der Lupe - Ein kritischer Blick auf Statistiken, Messmethoden und Tatsachen aller Art - Welchen Klimaveränderungen müssen wir uns stellen?- Künftige Herausforderungen und Chancen von Wasserkraft bis Tourismus

Description / Table of Contents: Was uns wirklich bedroht und wie wir richtig damit umgehen. Nahezu täglich bringen uns die Medien neue Hiobsbotschaften: steigende Kriminalität, Vogelgrippe oder Elektrosmog. Wird unser Leben nicht immer gefährlicher, unsicherer, risikoreicher? Ortwin Renn, der international anerkannte Risikoforscher und renommierte Technik- und Umweltsoziologe, sagt: nein. Die durchschnittliche Lebenserwartung steigt beständig, in vielerlei Hinsicht geht es uns immer besser. Wie fürchten uns, so Renn, vor "falschen" Gefahren, verschließen aber die Augen vor Risiken, die uns und unsere Nachwelt erheblich bedrohen. Renn zeigt, welches diese sind, warum wir sie unterschätzen und wie wir im Sinne der Nachhaltigkeit verantwortungsvoll damit umgehen können.

Description / Table of Contents: Contents: Part I: Basic principles and theoretical basis ; Measuring vulnerability to promote disaster-resilient societies and to enhance adaptation: Conceptual frameworks and definitions ; Data, indicators and criteria for measuring vulnerability: Theoretical bases and requirements ; Part II: Vulnerability and environmental change ; Environmental components of vulnerability ; Crafting integrated early warning information systems: The case of drought ; Archetypical patterns of vulnerability to environmental change: An approach to bridging scales. Lessons learned from UNEP's Fourth Global Environment Outlook ; Part III: Global, national and sub-national assessment approaches ; Review of global risk index projects: conclusions for sub-national and local approaches ; The Global Risk Analysis for the 2009 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction ; Disaster risk hotspots: A project summary ; The WorldRiskIndex: A concept for the assessment of risk and vulnerability at global/national scales ; System of indicators of disaster risk and risk management for the Americas: Recent updating and application of the IDB-IDEA ; Multi-risk and vulnerability assessment of Europe's regions ; The evolution of the Social Vulnerability Index (SoVI) ; Disaster vulnerability assessment: The Tanzania experience ; Assessment of vulnerability to natural hazards and climate change in mountain environments ; Part IV: Local vulnerability assessment ; Community-based risk index: Pilot implementation in Indonesia ; Mapping vulnerability - Integration of GIScience and participatory approaches at the local and district levels ; Vulnerability assessment: The sector approach ; Self-assessment of coping capacity: Participatory, proactive and qualitative engagement of communities in their own risk management ; Part V: Institutional capacities, public sector vulnerability and dynamics of vulnerability ; Assessing institutionalized capacities and practices to reduce the risks of flood disaster ; Public sector fiscal vulnerability to disasters: The IIASA CATSIM model ; Dynamics of vulnerability: Relocation in the context of natural hazards and disasters ; Conclusion

Description / Table of Contents: Climate is changing, forced out of the range of the past million years by levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases not seen in the Earth's atmosphere for a very, very long time. Lacking action by the world's nations, it is clear that the planet will be warmer, sea level will rise, and patterns of rainfall will change. But the future is also partly uncertain -- there is considerable uncertainty about how we will arrive at that different climate. Will the changes be gradual, allowing natural systems and societal infrastructure to adjust in a timely fashion? Or will some of the changes be more abrupt, crossing some threshold or "tipping point" to change so fast that the time between when a problem is recognized and when action is required shrinks to the point where orderly adaptation is not possible? "Abrupt Impacts of Climate Change" is an updated look at the issue of abrupt climate change and its potential impacts. This study differs from previous treatments of abrupt changes by focusing on abrupt climate changes and also abrupt climate impacts that have the potential to severely affect the physical climate system, natural systems, or human systems, often affecting multiple interconnected areas of concern. The primary timescale of concern is years to decades. A key characteristic of these changes is that they can come faster than expected, planned, or budgeted for, forcing more reactive, rather than proactive, modes of behavior. "Abrupt Impacts of Climate Change" summarizes the state of our knowledge about potential abrupt changes and abrupt climate impacts and categorizes changes that are already occurring, have a high probability of occurrence, or are unlikely to occur. Because of the substantial risks to society and nature posed by abrupt changes, this report recommends the development of an Abrupt Change Early Warning System that would allow for the prediction and possible mitigation of such changes before their societal impacts are severe. Identifying key vulnerabilities can help guide efforts to increase resiliency and avoid large damages from abrupt change in the climate system, or in abrupt impacts of gradual changes in the climate system, and facilitate more informed decisions on the proper balance between mitigation and adaptation. Although there is still much to learn about abrupt climate change and abrupt climate impacts, to willfully ignore the threat of abrupt change could lead to more costs, loss of life, suffering, and environmental degradation. "Abrupt Impacts of Climate Change" makes the case that the time is here to be serious about the threat of tipping points so as to better anticipate and prepare ourselves for the inevitable surprises.

Description / Table of Contents: Ziel der Untersuchungen war es, Auswirkungen des Klimawandels auf den Wasserhaushalt ausgewählter Standorte in geschützten Biotopen Baden-Württembergs zu quantifizieren und Tendenzen der Bodenentwicklung unter dem Klimawandel aufzuzeigen. Hieraus werden Projektionen für die Vegetationsent­wicklung und den Naturschutzwert der untersuchten Biotope abgeleitet.Am Beispiel von zehn grundwasserfernen und zwei grundwasserbeeinflussten Bio­topen werden der derzeitige und der zukünftige Was­ser­haushalt miteinander ver­glichen. Als Unter­suchungs­gebiete wur­den vegetationsökologisch gut doku­mentierte Natur­schutzgebiete ausgewählt, die für den Biotoptyp, die jeweilige Region und das Land Baden-Württemberg typisch und repräsen­tativ sind und nach den regiona­lisierten Klimaszenarien für Baden-Württem­berg in unter­schiedlichem Ausmaß vom Klima­wandel betroffen sein sollen. Zusätzlich werden mögliche Auswirkungen des Klimawandels auf die Ufervegetation des Bodensees betrachtet.

Description / Table of Contents: Die Hochwasserereignisse der letzten Jahre haben gezeigt, wie anfällig unsere Gesellschaft gegenüber Naturgefahren ist. Wie lassen sich die entstandenen Schäden erfassen? Gibt es Möglichkeiten, sie in Zukunft zu vermeiden? Die Autor(inn)en des vorliegenden Buches haben Schäden und wichtige Einflussfaktoren von Hochwasser analysiert und daraus bundesweit einsetzbare Modelle für die Abschätzung von Schäden in Privathaushalten, Unternehmen und der Landwirtschaft entwickelt. Sie machen Vorschläge, wie Schäden und die Verletzbarkeit von Bauwerken standardisiert aufgenommen werden können. Aspekte der Schadensminderung fassen sie in einer web-basierten Broschüre zusammen und stellen sie Kommunen als Instrument zur Risikokommunikation zur Verfügung. Das Buch präsentiert Ergebnisse des interdisziplinären Projektes "Methoden zur Erfassung direkter und indirekter Hochwasserschäden" (MEDIS), das vom Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung gefördert wurde. Die Autor(inn)en kommen aus den Agrar- und Geowissenschaften, dem Bauingenieurwesen und der Ökonomie.

Description / Table of Contents: Contents: Model Hierarchy and Simplified Climate Models.- Describing Transports of Energy and Matter.- Energy Transport in the Climate System and its Parameterisation.- Initial Value and Boundary Value Problems.- Large-scale Circulation in the Ocean.- Large-scale Circulation in the Atmosphere.- Atmosphere-Ocean Interactions.- Multiple Equilibria in the Climate System.

Description / Table of Contents: Seit langem wachsen Zahl und Auswirkungen von Naturgefahren an. Kenntnisse und Analysen beschränkten sich bislang weitgehend auf sektorale Betrachtungen. Angestoßen durch die Diskussionen zum Klimawandel, und hier vor allem durch die geforderte Bereitstellung von eindeutigen Langfristvorhersagen, hat sich im wissenschaftlichen Umfeld die Sichtweise auf die Minderung der Auswirkungen von Naturgefahren gewandelt. Vorsorge umfasst nunmehr in stärkerem Maße die Nutzung von Erfahrungen und Daten vergangener Ereignisse, aber ebenso die Verwendung der Kenntnisse über zukünftige, für die Katastrophenvorsorge relevante Bedingungen. Schließlich werden Anstrengungen unternommen, die von vorneherein die Erwartungen und Bedürfnisse der Bevölkerung in von Natur - gefahren exponierten Regionen in die Gestaltung der Vorsorge aufnehmen. Alle Themen werden in Deutschland in verschiedensten Bereichen, von der Grundlagenforschung bis zur lokalen praktischen Umsetzung von Anpassungsstrategien, bearbeitet. Das 11. Forum möchte den Erfahrungsaustausch zwischen den Beteiligten fördern und alle Interessenten einladen, aktiv mit zu wirken.

Description / Table of Contents: Content:- Part I. Scientific Evidences of Climate Change and Societal Issues. Climate Change Evidences and Contrarian Viewpoints.- Carbon Emissions and Human Activities.- 4. Natural Climatic Archives: Overview and Discussion of Proxy Data.- 5. Chemistry and Physics of CO2.- Climate Change and U.S. Laws.- Climate Change and International Protocols.- Ethics and Environmental Policy.- Mass Media Roles in Climate Change Mitigation.- Energy Economics.- Emission Trading.- Venture Capital Investment and Trend in Clean Technologies.- Part II. Impact of Climate Change.- Carbon Liability.- Impacts of Climatic Changes on Biogeochemical Cycling in Terrestrial Ecosystems.- Climate Change and Dynamics of Soil Carbon Cycle.- Effects of Climate Change on Costal Flood.- Impact of Climate Change on Biodiversity.- Impacts of Climatic Changes on Water Quality and Fish Habitat in Aquatic Systems.- Part III. Energy Conservation.- Energy Efficient Design on Future Transportation Systems.- Building Design for Energy Conservation.- Thermal Energy Storage and Transport.- Greenhouse Gas Reduction from Chemical Processing.- Mobile and Arial Sources of Greenhouse Gases and Abatement Strategies.- Part IV. Alternative Energies.- Biochemical Conversion of Biomass.- Thermal Conversion of Biomass.- Hydrogen Production.- Nuclear Energy and Environmental Impact.- Harvesting Solar Energy using Inexpensive and Benign Materials.- Solar Concentrators.- Wind Energy.- Geothermal Energy.- Hydropower.- Part V. Advanced Combustion.- Carbon Capture and Sequestration.- Chemical Absorption.- Oxy-Fuel Combustion.- Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) .- Conversion of Syngas to Fuels.- Chemical Looping.- Integrated O2-Transport Membrane.- Part VI. Advanced Technologies.- Low Temperature Fuel Cells.- Solid Oxide Fuel Cells.- Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells.- Photocatalytic Reduction of CO2 and Water Splitting.- Geoengineering Strategy for Global Climate Stabilization.- Technological Options for Reducing Non-CO2 GHG Emissions.- Thermoacoustics.- Part VII. Education and Outreach.- Developing a Climate Literate Society Through Education.- An Introductory Course on Climate Change

Description / Table of Contents: Assessment of human casualties in earthquakes has become a topic of vital importance for national and urban authorities responsible for emergency provision, for the development of mitigation strategies and for the development of adequate insurance schemes. In the last few years important work has been carried out on a number of recent events (including earthquakes in Kocaeli, Turkey 1999, Niigata Japan, 2004, Sichuan, China 2008 and L'Aquila,Italy 2009). These events have created new and detailed casualty data, which has not until now been properly assembled and evaluated. This book draws the new evidence from recent events together with existing knowledge. It summarises current trends in the understanding of the factors influencing the numbers and types of casualties in earthquakes; it offers methods to incorporate this understanding into the estimation of losses in future events in different parts of the world; it discusses ways in which pre-event mitigation activity and post-event emergency management can reduce the toll of casualties in future events; and it identifies future research needs.

Description / Table of Contents: Contents: Preface 1. Introduction A Global Perspective 2. Earthquakes: an Epidemiological Perspective on Patterns and Trends 3. Earthquakes Casualty Research and Public Education 4. Disaster Casualties - Accounting for Economic Impacts and Diurnal Variation 5. A Global Earthquake Building Damage and Casualty Database Casualty Loss Modelling 6. Earthquake Casualty Models within the USGS Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) System 7. Loss Estimation Module in the Second Generation Software QLARM 8. Earthquake Casualties Estimation In Emergency Mode 9. Estimating Casualties for the Southern California Shakeout Lessons learnt from Regional Studies 10. Casualty Estimation due to Earthquakes: Injury Structure and Dynamics 11. Seismic Vulnerability and Collapse Probability Assessment of Buildings in Greece 12. Seismic Casualty Evaluation- the Italian Model an application to the L'Aquila 2009 Event 13. Mortality and Morbidity Risk in the L'Aquila, Italy Earthquake of 6 April 2009 and Lessons to be Learned 14. Major Factors controlling Earthquake Casualties as revealed via a Diversified Questionnaire Survey in Ojiya City for the Mid-Niigata Earthquake Exploring approaches to improving casualty modeling 15. Advances in Casualty Modelling facilitated by the USGS Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) System 16. Challenges in Collating Earthquake Casualty Field Data 17. Estimating Human Losses Earthquake Models: A Discussion 18. Trends in the Casualty Ratio of Injured to Fatalities in Earthquakes 19. Study of Damage to the Human Body caused by Earthquakes: Development of a Mannequin for the Thoracic Compression experiments and Cyber Dummy using Finite Element Method 20. A Different View on Human Vulnerability to Earthquakes: lessons from risk perception sudies Index

Description / Table of Contents: Contents: 1. Risk and uncertainty assessment in natural hazards L. J. Hill, R. S. J. Sparks and J. C. Rougier; 2. Quantifying natural hazard risk J. C. Rougier; 3. Model limitations: the sources and implications of epistemic uncertainty J. C. Rougier and K. J. Beven; 4. Expert elicitation and judgment W. P. Aspinall and R. M. Cooke; 5. Risk and uncertainty in hydrometeorological hazards T. L. Edwards and P. G. Challenor; 6. Hydrometeorological hazards under future climate change T. L. Edwards and P. G. Challenor; 7. Hydrological flood uncertainty and risk research J. Freer, K. J. Beven, J. Neal, G. Schumann, J. Hall and P. Bates; 8. Uncertainties in probabilistic seismic hazard assessment W. P. Aspinall; 9. Landslide and avalanche hazards T. K. Hincks, W. P. Aspinall, R. S. J. Sparks, E. A. Holcombe and M. Kern; 10. Tsunami hazard and risk T. K. Hincks, R. S. J. Sparks and W. P. Aspinall; 11. Risk and uncertainty assessment of volcanic hazards R. S. J. Sparks, W. P. Aspinall, H. S. Crosweller and T. K. Hincks; 12. Risk assessment and management of wildfires T. K. Hincks, B. D. Malamud, R. S. J. Sparks, M. J. Wooster and T. J. Lynham; 13. Technological facilities, infrastructure and hazardous materials, including some notes on space weather R. S. J. Sparks, W. P. Aspinall, N. A. Chapman, B. E. Hill, D. J. Kerridge, J. Pooley and C. A. Taylor; 14. Statistical aspects of risk characterization in ecotoxicology G. L. Hickey and A. Hart; 15. Social science perspectives on natural hazards risk and uncertainty S. Cornell and M. Jackson; 16. Human responses to natural hazard risk: considerations for improving the effectiveness of risk management systems H. S. Crosweller and J. Wilmshurst; Index

Description / Table of Contents: Contents: KEYNOTE: A tipping-elements expedition in the footsteps of Alexander von Humboldt ; EUROPE: Changes of the climate system in Europe ; From Utopia to common sense: global climate policy that could work ; Global warming below 2 °C relative to pre-industrial level: how might climate look like in Europe ; Sea level rise and coastal protection - adaptation strategies for sandy coasts ; Simulating the future - responses of ecosystems, key species, and European provenances to expected climatic trends and events ; Climate change effects on Vector-Borne diseases in Europe ; Vattenfall's experience with CCS Technology ; Adaptive governance within Europe - the need for integrated adaptation strategies ; POLAR REGIONS: Changes of the climate system in the polar regions ; Climate variability and glacier response at Vestfonna - a case study of arctic climate and glacier dynamics at Nordaustlandet (Svalbard) in recent years ; AFRICA: Downscaling of Future Climate Change for theMediterranean Region ; Solar Signals in African Climate since 1901 ; Climate Change and Land Use Conflicts in Northern Africa ; How Will the Future Climate of the Southern African Region Might Look Like: Results of a High-Resolution Regional Climate Change Projection ; Impacts of Global Change on the Hydrological Cycle in West and Northwest Africa ; Climate Change Adaptation in Africa and Asia: Challenges Ahead and Action Needed ; ASIA: Sustainability: Engaging in Global Change through Harmonious Adaptation in Asia ; Climate Change in Indian Sub-Continent and its Impact on Agriculture ; Observed and Projected Sea Level Rise, Impact on the Pacific and Indian Tropical Islands ; AMERICA: Regional Climate Change Scenarios in South America in the Late XXI Century: Projections and Expected Impacts ; Urban Latin America under Climate Change: Do Adaptation Strategies of City-Regions Respond to the Challenges? ; Climate Change in Brazil: The Impacts of Different Actors on the Creation of the National Policy ; Mountain Permafrost - A Valid Archive to Study Climate Change? Examples from the Rocky Mountains Front Range of Colorado, USA ; AUSTRALIA: Impacts of Climate Change in Australia ; Satellite Observations for Identifying Continental-Scale Climate Change over Australia

Description / Table of Contents: Providing an up-to-date synthesis of all knowledge relevant to the climate change issue, this book ranges from the basic science documenting the need for policy action to the technologies, economic instruments and political strategies that can be employed in response to climate change. Ethical and cultural issues constraining the societal response to climate change are also discussed. This book provides a handbook for those who want to understand and contribute to meeting this challenge. It covers a very wide range of disciplines core biophysical sciences involved with climate change (geosciences, atmospheric sciences, ocean sciences, ecology/biology) as well as economics, political science, health sciences, institutions and governance, sociology, ethics and philosophy, and engineering. As such it will be invaluable for a wide range of researchers and professionals wanting a cutting-edge synthesis of climate change issues, and for advanced student courses on climate change. - Contents: Part I. Climatic Trends: 1. Identifying, monitoring and predicting change in the climate system 2. The oceans and the climate system 3. Sea level rise and ice sheet dynamics 4. Carbon cycle trends and vulnerabilities Part II. Defining 'Dangerous Climate Change': 5. The impact of climate change on human societies 6. Impacts of climate change on the biotic fabric of the planet 7. Tipping elements: jokers in the pack 8. Linking science and action: targets, timetables and emission budgets Part III. Equity Issues: 9. The equity challenge and climate policy: responsibilities, vulnerabilities and inequality in the response to climate change 10. A long-term perspective on climate change: values and ethics Part IV. Mitigation and Adaptation Approaches: 11. Low-carbon energy technologies as mitigation approaches 12. Economic approaches and instruments 13. Geopolitics and governance 14. Adapting to the unavoidable Part V. Meeting the Challenge: 15. Integrating adaptation, mitigation and sustainable development 16. Mobilising the population 17. The human-Earth relationship: past, present and future

Description / Table of Contents: The book covers state-of-the-art considerations on how climate change has and will deliver impacts on major globalised biophysical and societal themes that will affect the way the world functions. Human activity has resulted in changes to atmospheric chemistry and land cover, and caused serious decline in biodiversity. Modifying biogeochemical cycles leads to complex feedbacks. The future climate will have impact on food security and agriculture, water supply and quality, storm and cyclone frequency, shoreline stability, biodiversity and the future of biological resources. Earth scientists might be asked to forecast any potential abrupt or environmental surprises. A sound knowledge of the Earth System will improve the chances of achieving this, by developing climate models that will reduce the degree of uncertainty in regional climate prediction. . This volume sets out a framework of research issues that show how the Earth sciences contribute to a better understanding of climate change and suggests where future research will best contribute to the wellbeing of society.The key topics discussed are: - climate change patterns over the last four glacial cycles; - the variability in climate over the last 1000 years; - impact that past climate change has had on societies; - the role of human activities in climate forcing; - the role of models in predicting future climate and how we can assess their merit; - the future and likely future climate trajectories.The book examines how climate change has and will deliver impacts on major globalized biophysical and societal themes that will affect the way the world functions. It shows how the Earth sciences contribute to a better understanding of climate change.

Description / Table of Contents: The devastating impacts of tsunamis have received increased focus since the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, the most destructive tsunami in over 400 years of recorded history. The tsunamis that occurred as a result of the earthquake in Japan in March 2011 further emphasized the need for detection, monitoring, and early-warning technologies. This professional reference is the first of its kind: it provides a globally inclusive review of the current state of tsunami detection technology and will be a much-needed resource for oceanographers and marine engineers working to upgrade and integrate their tsunami warning systems. It focuses on the two main tsunami warning systems (TWS): International and Regional. Featured are comparative assessments of detection, monitoring, and real-time reporting technologies. The challenges of detection through remote measuring stations are also addressed, as well as the historical and scientific aspects of tsunamis. It offers readers the only source of practical content on the technological details of the subject. It is written by a tsunami detection and monitoring expert who has 32 years of experience in the field.It provides a companion web site featuring multi-media components, timely updates on fast-paced technological developments, and an online forum where scientists can exchange ideas, discuss technological updates and provide the author with valuable feedback.The devastating impacts of tsunamis have received increased focus since the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, the most destructive tsunami in over 400 years of recorded history. This title provides a review of the current state of tsunami detection technology. It focuses on the two main tsunami warning systems (TWS): International and Regional.

Description / Table of Contents: Von der Rekonstruktion des Klimas über Landmanagement, Polarforschung, Erforschung der Ozeane und urbanen Räume, Energiekonzepte, Governancestrukturen, Erdbeobachtung, Erdsystemmodellierung bis hin zur Verfügbarkeit von Datensätzen, Capacity Building und Ausbildung der nächsten Generation von Wissenschaftlern greift die Broschüre vielfältige Themenbereiche auf, die sich im Rahmen der Forschung zum globalen Wandel ergeben. Forschung zum globalen Wandel ist Forschung für die globale Nachhaltigkeit. Damit stellt sich dieser Forschungsbereich insbesondere gesellschaftsrelevanter Problem- und Fragestellungen, die meist eine fächerübergreifende Herangehensweise erfordern. Die Broschüre zeigt anhand diverser Beispiele die Vielfältigkeit der deutschen Beiträge auf, deren internationale Einbindung sowie die Möglichkeit und in vielen Bereichen die Notwendigkeit der global koordinierten Herangehensweise mit Hilfe der Global Change Programme und ESSP.

Description / Table of Contents: A unique interdisciplinary study of the relationships between climate, hydrology and human society from 20,000 years ago to the present day within the Jordan Valley. It describes how state-of-the-art models can simulate the past, present and future climates of the Near East, reviews and provides new evidence for environmental change from geological deposits, builds hydrological models for the River Jordan and associated wadis and explains how present day urban and rural communities manage their water supply. The volume provides a new approach and new methods that can be applied for exploring the relationships between climate, hydrology and human society in arid and semi-arid regions throughout the world. It is an invaluable reference for researchers and advanced students concerned with the impacts of climate change and hydrology on human society, especially in the Near East.

Description / Table of Contents: This book provides the most current and comprehensive overview available today of the critical role of information systems in emergency response and preparedness. It includes contributions from leading scholars, practitioners, and industry researchers, and covers all phases of disaster management--mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery."Foundational" chapters provide a design framework and review ethical issues. "Context" chapters describe the characteristics of individuals and organizations in which EMIS are designed and studied. "Case Study" chapters include systems for distributed microbiology laboratory diagnostics to detect possible epidemics or bioterrorism, humantarian MIS, and response coordination systems. "Systems Design and Technology" chapters cover simulation, geocollaborative systems, global disaster impact analysis, and environmental risk analysis.Throughout the book, the editors and contributors give special emphasis to the importance of assessing the practical usefulness of new information systems for supporting emergency preparedness and response, rather than drawing conclusions from a theoretical understanding of the potential benefits of new technologies.

Description / Table of Contents: Technologien zur Abscheidung und Speicherung von CO2 (CCS) sind eine mögliche Option zur Reduzierung von Treibhausgasen. Ob das Potenzial von CCS als Klimaschutzoption in Deutschland zukünftig genutzt werden wird, hängt aber insbesondere davon ab, ob die Technologien in der Bevölkerung generell und vor Ort akzeptiert werden. Die vorliegende Veröffentlichung gibt einen Einblick in relevante Forschungsansätze und Ergebnisse wissenschaftlicher Untersuchungen zur Akzeptanz von CCS in Deutschland. Sie präsentiert zugleich die Ergebnisse eines Workshops am Wuppertal Institut und vermittelt einen Eindruck von den Herausforderungen bei der praktischen Umsetzung von Forschungsergebnissen und der Durchführung zukünftiger Forschung zur Technikakzeptanz.

Description / Table of Contents: Sozialwissenschaft

Description / Table of Contents: An earthquake can strike without warning and wreak horrific destruction and death, whether it's the cataclysmic 2008 Sichuan quake in China that killed tens of thousands or a future great earthquake on the San Andreas Fault in California, which scientists know is inevitable. Yet despite rapid advances in earthquake science, seismologists still can't predict when the Big One will hit. 'Predicting the Unpredictable' is the first book to explain why, exploring the fact and fiction behind the science - and pseudoscience - of earthquake prediction. Susan Hough traces the continuing quest by seismologists to forecast the time, location, and magnitude of future quakes - a quest fraught with controversies, spectacular failures, and occasional apparent successes. She brings readers into the laboratory and out into the field with the pioneers who have sought to develop reliable methods based on observable phenomena such as small earthquake patterns and electromagnetic signals. Hough describes attempts that have raised hopes only to collapse under scrutiny, as well as approaches that seem to hold future promise.She recounts stories of strange occurrences preceding massive quakes, such as changes in well water levels and mysterious ground fogs. She also ventures to the fringes of pseudoscience to consider ideas outside the scientific mainstream, from the enduring belief that animals can sense impending earthquakes to amateur YouTube videos purporting to show earthquake lights prior to large quakes. This book is an entertaining and accessible foray into the world of earthquake prediction, one that illuminates the unique challenges of predicting the unpredictable.

Description / Table of Contents: The field of paleoclimatology relies on physical, chemical, and biological proxies of past climate changes that have been preserved in natural archives such as glacial ice, tree rings, sediments, corals, and speleothems. Paleoclimate archives obtained through field investigations, ocean sediment coring expeditions, ice sheet coring programs, and other projects allow scientists to reconstruct climate change over much of earth's history. When combined with computer model simulations, paleoclimatic reconstructions are used to test hypotheses about the causes of climatic change, such as greenhouse gases, solar variability, earth's orbital variations, and hydrological, oceanic, and tectonic processes. This book is a comprehensive, state-of-the art synthesis of paleoclimate research covering all geological timescales, emphasizing topics that shed light on modern trends in the earth's climate. Thomas M.Cronin discusses recent discoveries about past periods of global warmth, changes in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, abrupt climate and sea-level change, natural temperature variability, and other topics directly relevant to controversies over the causes and impacts of climate change.

Description / Table of Contents: This book reviews results from the CAWSES program, including the evolution of solar radiation, solar influence on Earth's atmosphere, the importance of coupling mechanisms and middle and upper atmosphere climate signals, relative to natural variability.CAWSES (Climate and Weather of the Sun-Earth System) is the most important scientific program of SCOSTEP (Scientific Committee on Solar-Terrestrial Physics). CAWSES has triggered a scientific priority program within the German Research Foundation for a period of 6 years. Approximately 30 scientific institutes and 120 scientists were involved in Germany with strong links to international partners. The priority program focuses on solar influence on climate, atmospheric coupling processes, and space climatology. This book summarizes the most important results from this program covering some important research topics from the Sun to climate. Solar related processes are studied including the evolution of solar radiation with relevance to climate. Results regarding the influence of the Sun on the terrestrial atmosphere from the troposphere to the thermosphere are presented including stratospheric ozone, mesospheric ice clouds, geomagnetic effects, and their relevance to climate.Several chapters highlight the importance of coupling mechanisms within the atmosphere, covering transport mechanisms of photochemically active species, dynamical processes such as gravity waves, tides, and planetary waves, and feedback mechanisms between the thermal and dynamical structure of the atmosphere. Special attention is paid to climate signals in the middle and upper atmosphere and their significance relative to natural variability.

Description / Table of Contents: AA-LAVA.- Accelerometer.- Acid Rain.- Adaptation.- Airphoto and Satellite Imagery.- Albedo.- Antecedent Conditions.- Arsenic in Groundwater.- Asteroid.- Asteroid Impact.- Asteroid Impact Mitigation.- Asteroid Impact Predictions.- Automated Local Evaluation in Real Time (ALERT).- Avalanches.- Aviation (Hazards to).- Avulsion.- Base Surge.- Beach Nourishment (Replenishment).- Beaufort Wind Scale.- Biblical Events.- Body Wave.- Breakwaters.- Building Code.- Building Failure.- Buildings, Structures, and Public Safety.- Calderas.- Casualties Following Natural Hazards.- Challenges to Agriculture.- Civil Protection and Crisis Management.- Classification of Natural Disasters.- Climate Change.- Cloud Seeding.- Coal Fire (Underground).- Coastal Erosion.- Coastal Zone Risk Management.- Cognitive Dissonance.- Collapsing Soil Hazards.- Comet.- Communicating Emergency Information.- Community Management of Natural Hazards.- Complexity Theory.- Concrete Structures.- Convergence.- Coping Capacity.- Cost-Benefit Analysis of Natural Hazard Mitigation.- Costs (Economic) of Natural Hazards and Disasters.- Creep.- Critical Incident Stress Syndrome.- Critical Infrastructure.- Cryological Engineering.- Cultural Heritage and Natural Hazards.- Damage and the Built Environment.- Debris Avalanche.- Debris Flow.- Deep-seated Gravitational Slope Deformation.- Desertification.- Disaster Diplomacy.- Disaster Relief.- Disaster Research and Policy, History.- Disaster Risk Management.- Disaster Risk Reduction.- Disasters.- Dispersive Soil Hazards.- Doppler Weather Radar.- Dose Rate.- Drought.- Dust Bowl.- Dust Devil.- Dust Storm.- Dvorak Classification of Hurricanes.- Early Warning Systems.- Earthquake.- Earthquake Damage.- Earthquake Prediction and Forecasting.- Earthquake Resistant Design.- Economic Valuation of Life.- Economics of Disasters.- Education and Training for Emergency Preparedness.- Elastic Rebound Theory.- Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR).- El Niño/Southern Oscillation.- Emergency Management.- Emergency Mapping.- Emergency Planning.- Emergency Shelter.- Epicenter.- Epidemiology of Disease in Natural Disasters.- Erosion.- Erosivity.- Eruption Types (Volcanic Eruptions).- Evacuation.- Expansive Soils and Clays.- Expert (Knowledge-Based) Systems for Disaster Management.- Exposure to Natural Hazards.- Extensometers.- Extinction.- Extreme Value Theory.- Eyjafjallajökull Eruptions 2010.- Fault.- Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).- Fetch.- Fire and Firestorms.- Flash Flood.- Flood Deposits.- Flood Hazard and Disaster.- Flood Protection.- Flood Stage.- Floodplain.- Floodway.- Fog Hazard Mitigation.- Fog Hazards.- Föhn.- Forest and Range Fires.- Frequency and Magnitude of Events.- Frost Hazard.- Fujita Tornado Scale.- Fumarole.- Galeras Volcano, Colombia.- Gas-Hydrates.- Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Natural Hazards.- Geographic Information Technology.- Geohazards.- Geological/Geophysical Disasters.- Glacier Hazards.- Global Change and its Implications for Natural Disasters.- Global Dust.- Global Network of Civil Society Organizations for Disaster Reduction.- Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Natural Hazards.- Global Seismograph Network (GSN).- Haiti Earthquake 2010: Psychosocial Impacts.- Harmonic Tremor.- Hazard.- Hazard and Risk Mapping.- Hazardousness of a Place.- Heat Waves.- High-Rise Buildings in Natural Disaster.- Historical Events.- Hospitals in Disaster.- Human Impacts of Hazards.- Humanity as an Agent of Natural Disasters.- Hurricane (Typhoon, Cyclone).- Hurricane Katrina.- Hydrocompaction Subsidence.- Hydrograph, Flood.- Hydrometeorological Hazards.- Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015.- Hypocenter.- Ice and Icebergs.- Ice Storms.- Impact Airblast.- Impact Ejecta.- Impact Fireball.- Impact Firestorms.- Impact Tsunamis.- Impact Winter.- Inclinometers.- Indian Ocean Tsunami, 2004.- Induced Seismicity.- Information and Communication Technology.- Insect Hazards.- Insurance.- Integrated Emergency Management System.- Intensity Scales.- International Strategies for Disaster Reduction (IDNDR and ISDR).- Internet, World Wide Web and Natural Hazards.- Isoseismal.- Jökulhlaups.- Karst Hazards.- Krakatoa (Krakatau).- Lahar.- Land Degradation.- Land Subsidence.- Land Use, Urbanization, and Natural Hazards.- Landsat Satellite.- Landslide.- Landslide Dam.- Landslide Impacts.- Landslide Inventory.- Landslide Triggered Tsunami, Displacement Wave.- Landslide Types.- Land-Use Planing.- Lateral Spreading.- Lava.- Levee.- Lightning.- Liquefaction.- Livelihoods and Disasters.- Loess.- Macroseismic Survey.- Magma.- Magnitude Measures.- Marginality.- Marine Hazards.- Mass Media and Natural Disasters.- Mass Movement.- Megacities and Natural Hazards.- Mega-Fires in Greece (2007).- Mercalli, Giuseppe (1850-1914).- Meteorite.- Methane Release from Hydrate.- Mining Subsidence Induced Fault Reactivation.- Misconceptions About Natural Disaster.- Mitigation.- Modified Mercalli (MM) Scale.- Monitoring Natural Hazards.- Monsoons.- Montserrat Eruptions.- Mortality and Injury in Natural Disasters.- Mt Pinatubo.- Mud Volcanoes.- Mudflow.- Myths and Misconceptions in Disasters.- Natural Hazard.- Natural Hazards in Developing Countries.- Natural Radioactivity.- Neotectonics.- Nevado del Ruiz Volcano, Colombia 1985.- North Anatolian Fault.- Nuée Ardente.- Overgrazing.- Ozone.- Ozone Loss.- Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (PTWS).- Pahoehoe Lava.- Paleoflood Hydrology.- Paleoseismology.- Paraglacial.- Perception of Natural Hazards and Disasters.- Permafrost.- Piezometer.- Piping Hazard.- Planning Measures and Political Aspects.- Plate Tectonics.- Pore-Water Pressure.- Post Disaster Mass Care Needs.- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).- Primary Wave (P-Wave).- Probable Maximum Flood (PMF).- Probable Maximum Precipitation (PMP).- Psychological Impacts of Natural Disasters.- Pyroclastic Flow.- Queensland Floods (2010-2011) and Tweeting.- Quick Clay.- Quick Sand.- Radiation Hazards.- Radon Hazards.- Recovery and Reconstruction After Disaster.- Recurrence Interval.- Red Cross and Red Crescent.- Red Tides.- Reflections on Modeling Disaster.- Release Rates.- Religion and Hazards.- Remote Sensing of Natural Hazards and Disasters.- Reservoir, Dams, and Seismicity.- Resilience.- Richter, Charles Francis (1900-1985).- Rights and Obligations in International Humanitarian Assistance.- Rip Current.- Risk.- Risk Assessment.- Risk Governance.- Risk Perception and Communication.- Rock Avalanche (Sturzstrom).- Rockfall.- Rogue Wave.- Rotational Seismology.- Sackung.- Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Intensity Scale.- San Andreas Fault.- Santorini, Eruption.- Sea Level Change.- Secondary Wave (S-Wave).- Sedimentation of Reservoirs.- Seiche.- Seismic Gap.- Seismograph/Seismometer.- Seismology.- Shear.- Shield Volcano.- Sinkhole.- Slide and Slump.- Slope Stability.- Snowstorm and Blizzard.- Social-Ecological Systems.- Sociology of Disaster.- Solar Flares.- Solifluction.- Space Weather.- Storm Surges.- Storms.- Stratovolcanoes.- Structural Damage Caused by Earthquakes.- Structural Mitigation.- Subduction.- Subsidence Induced by Underground Extraction.- Sunspots.- Supernova.- Surge.- Susceptibility.- Tangshan, China (1976 Earthquake).- Tectonic and Tectono-Seismic Hazards.- Tectonic Tremor.- Thunderstorms.- Tidal Bores.- Tiltmeters.- Time and Space in Disaster.- Tohoku, Japan (2011 Earthquake and Tsunami).- Torino Scale.- Tornadoes.- Triggered Earthquakes.- Tsunami.- Tsunami Loads on Infrastructure.- Uncertainty.- United Nations Organizations and Natural Disasters.- Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE).- Unreinforced Masonry Buildings.- Urban Environments and Natural Hazards.- Usoi Landslide and Lake Sarez.- Vaiont Landslide, Italy.- Vesuvius.- Volcanic Ash.- Volcanic Gas.- Volcanoes and Volcanic Eruptions.- Vulnerability.- Warning Systems.- Waterspout.- Wenchuan, China (2008 Earthquake).- Wildfire.- World Economy, Impact of Disasters.- Worldwide Trends in Natural Disasters.- Zoning