ALBERT

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: As climate change makes the Arctic a region of key political interest, so questions of sovereignty are once more drawing international attention. The promise of new sources of mineral wealth and energy, and of new transportation routes, has seen countries expand their sovereignty claims. Increasingly, interested parties from both within and beyond the region, including states, indigenous groups, corporate organizations, and NGOs and are pursuing their visions for the Arctic. What form of political organization should prevail? Contesting the Arctic provides a map of potential governance optio

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: 1. Climatic Adaptation of Boreal and Temperate Tree Species -- 2. Dynamic Modelling of the Annual Cycle -- 3. The Annual Phenological Cycle -- 4. The Annual Cycle of Photosynthesis in Evergreen Conifers -- 5. The Annual Cycle of Frost Hardiness -- 6. Evolutionary Aspects of the Annual Cycle -- 7. Upscaling to Higher Levels of Organisation -- 8. The Annual Cycle Under Changing Climatic Conditions -- 9. Concluding Remarks

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: This book provides an overview of how boreal and temperate tree species have adapted their annual development cycle to the seasonally varying climatic conditions. Therefore, the frost hardy dormant phase, and the susceptible growth phase, are synchronized with the seasonality of the climate. The volume discusses the annual cycle, including various attributes such as timing of bud burst and other phenological events, seasonality of photosynthetic capacity or the frost hardiness of the trees. During the last few decades dynamic ecophysiological models have been used increasingly in studies of the annual cycle, particularly when projecting the ecological effects of climate change. The main emphasis of this volume is on combining modelling with experimental studies, and on the importance of the biological realism of the models

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: Constitutive Equation -- Micromechanics -- Variational Energy Formulation -- Anisotropy -- Governing Equation -- Analytical Solution -- Fundamental Solution and Integral Equation -- Poroelastodynamics -- Poroviscoelasticity -- Porothermoelasticity -- Porochemoelasticity -- Appendices -- Index

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: This book treats the mechanics of porous materials infiltrated with a fluid (poromechanics), focussing on its linear theory (poroelasticity). Porous materials from inanimate bodies such as sand, soil and rock, living bodies such as plant tissue, animal flesh, or man-made materials can look very different due to their different origins, but as readers will see, the underlying physical principles governing their mechanical behaviors can be the same, making this work relevant not only to engineers but also to scientists across other scientific disciplines. Readers will find discussions of physical phenomena including soil consolidation, land subsidence, slope stability, borehole failure, hydraulic fracturing, water wave and seabed interaction, earthquake aftershock, fluid injection induced seismicity and heat induced pore pressure spalling as well as discussions of seismoelectric and seismoelectromagnetic effects. The work also explores the biomechanics of cartilage, bone and blood vessels. Chapters present theory using an intuitive, phenomenological approach at the bulk continuum level, and a thermodynamics-based variational energy approach at the micromechanical level. The physical mechanisms covered extend from the quasi-static theory of poroelasticity to poroelastodynamics, poroviscoelasticity, porothermoelasticity, and porochemoelasticity. Closed form analytical solutions are derived in details. This book provides an excellent introduction to linear poroelasticity and is especially relevant to those involved in civil engineering, petroleum and reservoir engineering, rock mechanics, hydrology, geophysics, and biomechanics

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: "This book investigates the political conditions and policies most likely to bring about progress toward inclusive development, drawing on in-depth analyses of four cases studies with distinct development trajectories (Mexico, Indonesia, Chile and South Korea). While exclusion and differential inclusion have long been features of development in the Global South, economic globalization has introduced new forms with which Global South countries must grapple. The book highlights the main policy drawbacks of most official approaches: neglect of the need to enhance the role and capacity of states, the focus on certain types of poverty alleviation strategies, and the tendency to disregard the need for productive employment generating activities and rural development. Neglect of issues of power and politics, however, is the most glaring inadequacy. Teichman argues that making progress toward inclusive development is primarily a political struggle. It requires a committed leadership with broadly based societal support - an inclusive development coalition - which includes usually small but politically important middle classes."

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: "Drawing from four case studies (Mexico, Indonesia, Chile and South Korea), the book investigates the political conditions and policies most likely to bring about progress toward inclusive development. It argues that progress toward inclusive development is primarily a political struggle, one requiring a committed leadership with broadly based societal support, an inclusive development coalition."

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: Exploring the politics of inclusive development : towards a new conceptual approach / Sam Hickey, Kunal Sen, and Badru Bukenya -- The political determinants of economic growth : an analytical review / Kunal Sen -- The politics of what works for the poor in public expenditure and taxation / Paul Mosley -- Governing natural resources for inclusive development / Anthony Bebbington -- The politics of what works in service delivery / Claire Mcloughlin -- Political factors in the growth of social assistance / Armando Barrientos and Sony Pellissery -- The politics and process of rule of law systems in developmental states / Deval Desai and Michael Woolcock -- The gendered politics of securing inclusive development / Sohela Nazneen and Simeen Mahmud -- Ethnicity, state capacity, and development : reconsidering causal connections / Prerna Singh and Matthias vom Hau -- The politics of aid revisited : a review of evidence on state capacity and elite commitment / Arjan de Haan and Ward Warmerdam -- China in Africa : impacts and prospects for accountable development / Giles Mohan

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: "One of the world's leading economists of inequality, Branko Milanovic presents a bold new account of the dynamics that drive inequality on a global scale. Drawing on vast data sets and cutting-edge research, he explains the benign and malign forces that make inequality rise and fall within and among nations. He also reveals who has been helped the most by globalization, who has been held back, and what policies might tilt the balance toward economic justice. Global Inequality takes us back hundreds of years, and as far around the world as data allow, to show that inequality moves in cycles, fueled by war and disease, technological disruption, access to education, and redistribution. The recent surge of inequality in the West has been driven by the revolution in technology, just as the Industrial Revolution drove inequality 150 years ago. But even as inequality has soared within nations, it has fallen dramatically among nations, as middle-class incomes in China and India have drawn closer to the stagnating incomes of the middle classes in the developed world. A more open migration policy would reduce global inequality even further. Both American and Chinese inequality seem well entrenched and self-reproducing, though it is difficult to predict if current trends will be derailed by emerging plutocracy, populism, or war. For those who want to understand how we got where we are, where we may be heading, and what policies might help reverse that course, Milanovic's compelling explanation is the ideal place to start."--Provided by publisher

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: "This book aims to destroy the impression of cliffs as geological structures devoid of life, by reviewing information about the geology, geomorphology, microclimate, flora and fauna of both sea and inland cliffs. For the first time, evidence is presented to suggest that cliffs worldwide may represent an invaluable type of ecosystem, consisting of some of the least disturbed habitats on earth and contributing more to the biodiversity of a region than their surface coverage would indicate."--BOOK JACKET.

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: Die sozialwissenschaftliche Dissertation nimmt den derzeitigen DIY-Trend, konkret den Handarbeitstrend, in den Fokus. Welche individuellen Gründe und gesellschaftliche Entwicklungen bewegen die Menschen, wieder gemeinsam und/oder allein zu nähen und zu stricken, alte Dinge aufzuwerten oder anders zu nutzen bzw. einfach kreativ zu sein? Ist es der Wunsch nach dem Besonderen, die Abgrenzung von Anderen, der wiedererwachte Sinn für Gemeinschaft oder die Freude an der praktischen Arbeit? Und nicht zuletzt, gibt es eine Verbindung von Handarbeit zu einer nachhaltig orientierten Lebensweise? Ist Handarbeit eine soziale Innovation? Die Untersuchung basiert auf dem bereichsspezifischen Lebensstilkonzept, welches verschiedene gesellschaftliche Ebenen, die individuelle, gemeinschaftliche und gesellschaftliche Ebene, einschließt. Nach einer historischen Betrachtung der Handarbeit und einer ebenen-spezifischen Literaturschau einschließlich der Auswertung von Experteninterviews zum Thema Handarbeit erfolgt im empirischen Teil die Inhaltsanalyse von zwölf leitfadengestützten problemzentrierten Interviews mit Personen, die in ihrer Freizeit handarbeiten. Die Untersuchung bestätigt die forschungsleitenden Annahmen. Es wird deutlich, dass bei der Herausbildung der Affinität zur Handarbeit alle drei gesellschaftlichen Ebenen relevant sind: Individuelle Vorerfahrungen und Motivationen spielen ebenso eine Rolle wie die Gemeinschaft und Vernetzung mit Anderen.Gesellschaftlich betrachtet zeigt die Arbeit, dass die historischen Brüche in der Bedeutung der Handarbeit für deren heutigen Stellenwert relevant sind. Handarbeit - und im weiteren Sinne DIY - wird als soziale Innovation wahrgenommen und kann bewusstseinsbildend hinsichtlich nachhaltig orientierter Lebensweisen wirken.

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: Preface -- Contents -- Contributors -- Part I: Limnology, History and Comparative Legends -- 1: Pavin, the Birthplace of French Limnology (1770-2012), and Its Degassing Controversy (1986-2016) -- 1.1 Introduction -- 1.2 Analysis of Pavin Actors, History and Perception Through an Interdisciplinary and Intercomparative Approach -- 1.3 Pavin, a Typical Maar-Lake Above any Contamination Source -- 1.3.1 Pavin General Features -- 1.3.2 Pavin Compared to Other Lakes of the Cézallier Lake District -- 1.3.3 Pavin Compared to Other European Maar-Lakes -- 1.3.3.1 Eifel Lakes

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: 1.3.3.2 Italian Lakes -- 1.4 Pavin Scientific Exploration (1770-1985) -- 1.4.1 Chevalier's Expedition (1770) -- 1.4.2 Lecoq, the Great Auvergne Naturalist, Normalizes Pavin… with Fishes (1847-1871) -- 1.4.3 The First Golden Age of Science at Pavin: Berthoule, Delebecque, Martel, Bruyant (1880-1914) -- 1.4.3.1 Clermont Botanists and Zoologists Establish the Limnological Station at Besse -- 1.4.3.2 André Delebecque at Pavin (1892) -- 1.4.3.3 Edouard-Alfred Martel at Creux de Soucy (1892) -- 1.4.4 Pavin Meromixis Discovery by Olivier and Pelletier (1950-1960s)

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: 1.5 Pavin Acquires a Status of International Field Laboratory (1965-2000) -- 1.5.1 International Projects Select Pavin as a Pristine Lake (1965-1975) -- 1.5.2 Pavin, a Laboratory for Innovative Lake Research (1965-1986) -- 1.6 Maar Lakes Degassing Evidence in Cameroun and Italy -- 1.6.1 Nyos (21 August 1986) and Monoun (15 August 1984) Degassing Events and Their Effects on Populations -- 1.6.2 Ancient Degassing Events in Italian Maar-Lakes, Albano and Monticchio -- 1.6.2.1 The Albano Catastrophic Degassing and Spillover Event in Latium (398 BC)

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: 1.6.2.2 Monticchio Lakes (Southern Italy) and Their Pioneer Degassing Studies, 1777-1838 -- 1.7 Sensory Grid of Degassing in Maar-Lakes -- 1.8 Pavin Degassing Controversy (1986-2016) -- 1.9 Conclusions -- References -- 2: Pavin, A Rich but Fragmented History (200 AD-2016) -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Finding Pavin Puzzle Pieces -- 2.3 Pavin's History Highlights -- 2.3.1 Antiquity: A Pompeian Millstone Retrieved from Pavin Waters in 1909 -- 2.3.2 Early Antique and Medieval Worship Near Pavin, on the Vassivière Mountain

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: 2.3.3 Lacus pavens Terrifies the Whole Region Throughout the Sixteenth Century -- 2.3.3.1 The Terrible Explosion Witnessed at Vassivière by Besse People (28 August 1551 Pavin Event) -- 2.3.3.2 A Hazardous Abyss, Generating Storm, Thunder and Hail, Presented to Charles IX (1566) -- 2.3.3.3 Pavin Painted on the First Realistic Landscape Picture in France (1571-1579) -- 2.3.3.4 Pavin Marvelous Response to a Thrown Stone in Belleforest's Cosmographia Universalis (1575) -- 2.3.3.5 Lacus pavens, the Terrifying Lake, Is the Original Pavin Name (Banc 1605)

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: 2.3.4 The Admirable and Terrifying Pavens Gets Famous During the Seventeenth Century

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: Recent climate model simulations indicated that sulfate (SO4) formed from ship emissions may be one of the major contributors to the negative anthropogenic aerosol radiative forcing. Due to increasingly stringent regulations on the maximum sulfur content of ship fuels this contribution is expected to decrease strongly in the future. Possibly, nitrate (NO3) formation will compensate for part of the reduction, but measurements indicate that it may be crucial to include coarse mode particle interactions with condensable trace gases in order to quantify this effect. However, none of the aerosol (sub)models previously used for such assessments accounted for the coarse mode particle effects. This provided the motivation to extend one of those submodels, namely MADE, in the present work. The new submodel, MADE3, is based on the second generation of MADE, called MADE-in. It includes nine lognormal modes to represent three size ranges with three types of aerosol particles each. The associated increase in complexity w.r.t. to MADE and MADE-in required a complete revision of the code and careful reexamination of the underlying physical assumptions, as only the fine modes had been considered in the gas–particle interactions in the predecessor submodels. The main new features of MADE3 are the ability of coarse mode particles to take up condensing vapors and to coagulate with fine mode particles, and the gas–particle partitioning of chlorine, which is mainly contained in sea spray (SS) particles. In order to test the algorithms used in the new submodel it was run in a box model setup and the results were compared to those obtained in an analogous setup with the much more detailed, particle-resolved aerosol model PartMC-MOSAIC. The comparison was performed for an idealized marine boundary layer test case and showed improved performance of MADE3 over MADE in the representation of coarse mode particles and total aerosol composition. Subsequently, MADE3 was implemented into the atmospheric chemistry general circulation model EMAC. Due to the new mode structure this required extensive adaptations to other submodels, specifically to the one used for cloud and precipitation processing of aerosol particles. EMAC does not track interstitial aerosol particles separately from those immersed in cloud droplets, ice crystals, or precipitation. Hence, a sophisticated scheme was devised and implemented for the assignment of the in-cloud or in-precipitation aerosol to one of four possible modes, instead of just one possible mode in the MADE case. The coupled model, EMAC with MADE3, was thoroughly evaluated by comparison of simulation output to station network measurements of near-surface aerosol component mass concentrations, to airborne measurements of vertical aerosol mass mixing ratio and number concentration profiles, to ground-based and airborne measurements of particle size distributions, and to station network and satellite measurements of aerosol optical depth. Satisfactory agreement with the observations was obtained and it was thus shown that MADE3 is ready for application within EMAC. The results from an identically designed simulation with the predecessor submodel MADE led to the conclusion that a fraction of the secondary aerosol species partitions to the coarse modes in MADE3 and is thus removed more quickly from the atmosphere. Furthermore, a new evaluation method was developed, which allows for comparison of model output to size-resolved electron microscopy measurements of particle composition. Both submodels, MADE3 and MADE, were finally used in EMAC simulations of the effect of ship emissions on the atmospheric aerosol. As in previous studies for year 2000 conditions, SO4 was found to be the dominant species in the fine modes in this context. In contrast to SO4, the major fraction of ship emissions-induced near-surface NO3 was found to partition to the coarse modes in the MADE3 simulations. A similar amount of fine mode NO3 as in the present and former MADE simulations was also formed. Hence, fine mode particle growth due to ship emissions was also similar, and was reduced in idealized simulations of a future low-sulfur fuel scenario. Particle volume concentration decreased by about 1 % due to ship emissions in the MADE3 simulations, but not in the MADE simulations. This finding was independent of the fuel sulfur content. In summary, the inclusion of coarse mode particle interactions and the gas–particle partitioning of chlorine could alter prior conclusions on the climate effect of ship emissions-induced aerosol perturbations, mainly due to the differences in NO3 formation. This climate effect will be re-quantified in a follow-up study by coupling the MADE3 aerosol to a two-moment cloud microphysics scheme. Further planned applications of the new submodel include the quantification of climate effects of aerosol perturbations via their influence on ice clouds as well as simulations with boundary conditions specific to measurement campaigns. Results from the latter may lead to further model improvements and can also provide guidance for the interpretation of measurement results.

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: This book is about governing well for the future. It investigates the nature of, and the conditions for, prudent long-term democratic governance in a dynamic, complex, and uncertain world, the reasons why such governance is politically challenging, and how such challenges can best be tackled. In particular, it addresses the problem of 'short-termism' - or a 'presentist bias' - in policy-making; that is, the risk of governments placing undue weight on near-term considerations at the expense of a society's overall long-term welfare. As such, the book traverses both normative and empirical issues. The approach is primarily qualitative rather than quantitative.

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: This book considers a relatively new metric in complex systems, transfer entropy, derived from a series of measurements, usually a time series. After a qualitative introduction and a chapter that explains the key ideas from statistics required to understand the text, the authors then present information theory and transfer entropy in depth. A key feature of the approach is the authors' work to show the relationship between information flow and complexity. The later chapters demonstrate information transfer in canonical systems, and applications, for example in neuroscience and in finance. The book will be of value to advanced undergraduate and graduate students and researchers in the areas of computer science, neuroscience, physics, and engineering

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: Using full-colour palaeogeographical maps from the Cambrian to the present, this interdisciplinary volume explains how plate motions and surface volcanism are linked to processes in the Earth's mantle, and to climate change and the evolution of the Earth's biota. These new and very detailed maps provide a complete and integrated Phanerozoic story of palaeogeography. They illustrate the development of all the major mountain-building orogenies. Old lands, seas, ice caps, volcanic regions, reefs, and coal beds are highlighted on the maps, as well as faunal and floral provinces. Many other original diagrams show sections from the Earth's core, through the mantle, and up to the lithosphere, and how Large Igneous Provinces are generated, helping to understand how plates have appeared, moved, and vanished through time. Supplementary resources are available online, making this an invaluable reference for researchers, graduate students, professional geoscientists and anyone interested in the geological history of the Earth.

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- List of figures and tables -- Contributors -- Acknowledgements -- List of abbreviations -- 1 Governance of offshore oil and gas in the Arctic: between diversity and coexistence -- PART I: Globalization and supra-nationalism in the Arctic -- 2 Framing the problem in Arctic offshore hydrocarbon exploitation -- 3 Sustainable development in Arctic international environmental cooperation and the governance of hydrocarbon-related activities -- 4 The EU's role as a facilitator in the development of maritime environmental law in the Arctic: with focus on offshore hydrocarbon activities -- 5 Indigenous rights in the marine Arctic -- PART II: National perspectives on offshore regulations -- 6 Alaska and offshore hydrocarbon extraction: a legal and socio-economic review -- 7 Governance of offshore hydrocarbon activities in the Arctic and energy policies: a comparative approach between Norway, Canada and Greenland/Denmark -- 8 The Russian offshore oil and gas regime: when tight control means less order -- 9 The Arctic offshore hydrocarbon hiatus of 2015: an opportunity to revisit regulation around the pole -- PART III: State-based approach, sub-states entities and indigenous peoples -- 10 Offshore development and Inuit rights in Inuit Nunangat -- 11 Securing the coastal Sámi culture and livelihood -- 12 Indigenous modes of ownership: reopening the case for communal rights in Greenland -- PART IV: Regulatory instruments and enforcement -- 13 Impact benefit agreements and economic and environmental risk management in the Arctic -- 14 Impact and benefit a greements in Greenland -- 15 The interplay between environmental research and environmental regulation of offshore oil activities in Greenland -- 16 Towards an integrated and participatory governance of the Arctic marine areas -- Index

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: Mineralogy and Geology of Natural Zeolites was published in 1977. Dr. Fred Mumpton, a leader of the natural zeolite community for more than three decades, edited the original volume. Since the time of the original MSA zeolite short course in November 1977, there have been major developments concerning almost all aspects of natural zeolites. There has been an explosion in our knowledge of the crystal chemistry and structures of natural zeolites (Chapters 1 and 2), due in part to the now-common Rietveld method that allows treatment of powder diffraction data. Studies on the geochemistry of natural zeolites have also greatly increased, partly as a result of the interests related to the disposal of radioactive wastes, and Chapters 3, 4, 5, 13, and 14 detail the latest results in this important area. Until the latter part of the 20th century, zeolites were often looked upon as a geological curiosity, but they are now known to be widespread throughout the world in sedimentary and igneous deposits and in soils (Chapters 6-12). Likewise, borrowing from new knowledge gained from studies of synthetic zeolites and properties of natural zeolites, the application of natural zeolites has greatly expanded since the first zeolite volume. Chapter 15 details the use of natural zeolites for removal of ammonium ions, heavy metals, radioactive cations, and organic molecules from natural waters, wastewaters, and soils. Similarly, Chapter 16 describes the use of natural zeolites as building blocks and cements in the building industry, Chapter 17 outlines their use in solar energy storage, heating, and cooling applications, and Chapter 18 describes their use in a variety of agricultural applications, including as soil conditioners, slow-release fertilizers, soil-less substrates, carriers for insecticides and pesticides, and remediation agents in contaminated soils. Most of the material in this volume is entirely new, and Natural Zeolites: Occurrence, Properties, Applications presents a fresh and expanded look at many of the subjects contained in Volume 4. It is our hope that this new, expanded volume will rekindle interest in this fascinating and technologically important group of minerals, in part through the 'Suggestions for Further Research' section in each chapter.

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: This volume was prepared in conjunction with a short course, "Nanoparticles in the Environment and Technology," convened on the campus of the University of California, Davis, CA on December 8 and 9, 2001. Over the years, volumes in this series have taken a variety of forms. Many have focused on mature fields of investigation to draw together a comprehensive body of work and provide a definitive, up to date reference. A few, however, have sought to provide enough coverage of an emerging or re-emerging field to allow the reader to identify important and exciting gaps in current knowledge and opportunities for new research. This volume falls into the later category. Our primary goal in convening the short course and assembling this text is to invigorate future research. Early Reviews in Mineralogy dealt with specific groups of minerals, one (or two) volumes at a time. In contrast, this volume deals explicitly with the topic of crystal size in many different systems. Until recently, the special and complicated nature of the very smallest particles rendered them nearly impossible to study by conventional methods. Even today, the challenges associated with evaluating the size-dependence of a mineral's bulk and surface structures, properties, and reactivity are significant. However, ongoing improvements in sophisticated characterization, theory, and data analysis make particles previously described (often inaccurately) as "amorphous" (or even more mysteriously as "X-ray amorphous") amenable to quantitative evaluation. Thermochemical, crystal chemical, and computational chemical approaches must be combined to understand particles with diameters of 1 to 100 nanometers. Determination of the variation of structure, properties, and reaction kinetics with crystal size requires careful synthesis of size- and perhaps morphology-specific samples. These problems demand integration of mineralogical and geochemical approaches. Thus, it is appropriate that the current issue belongs to the era of Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry. Nanoparticles and the Environment targets naturally occurring, finely particulate minerals, many of which form at low temperature. Thus, many of the compounds of interest are those of the "clay fraction". Of course, there have been decades of critical work on the structures, microstructures, and reactivity of finely crystalline or amorphous minerals, especially oxides, oxyhydroxides, hydroxides, and clays. We will not summarize what is known in general about these (for this, the reader is referred to earlier Reviews in Mineralogy volumes). Rather, our goal is to focus on the features of these materials that stem directly or indirectly from their size. The term "nanoparticles" is much more than a re-labeling designed to align "clay" (sized) minerals with nanotechnology and its goals. The term signifies that the substance has physical dimensions that are small enough to ensure that the structure and/or properties and/or reactivity are measurably particle size dependent, yet the particle is large enough to warrant its distinction from aqueous ions, complexes, or clusters. The chemistry, physics, and geology of particles at this intermediate scale are unique, fascinating, and important. Of particular interest are those properties that emerge only after a cluster of atoms has grown beyond some specific size, and disappear once the particle passes out of the "nanoparticle" size regime. There are some compelling examples of size-dependent phenomena. It is well known that the melting temperature of nanocrystals (defined as crystals having properties intermediate between molecular and crystalline) decreases dramatically as the radius of the cluster decreases. Absorption and luminescence spectra for small crystals are determined by the quantum-size effect. Decreasing nanocrystal size correlates with increased total energy of band edge optical transitions. As a consequence, the color of some nanocrystals correlates strongly with their particle size. Current world-wide interest in "nanotechnology" and "nanomaterials" offers a unique opportunity for the Earth sciences. Both the level of visibility and the explosion of synthesis and characterization techniques in physics, chemistry, and materials science provide mineralogy and geochemistry with new opportunities. It is important for us to show that the "nano" field consists of more than micromachines and electronic devices, and that nanoscale phenomena permeate and often control natural processes. Why all the fuss about nanoparticles now? As increasing attention in engineering is focused on making smaller and smaller machines, questions about the fundamental processes that govern nanoparticle form, stability, and reactivity emerge. The geoscience community is well equipped to tackle the basic science concepts associated with these questions. However, we have our own reasons to study size-dependent phenomena. Size-dependent structure and properties of Earth materials impact the geological processes they participate in. This topic has not been fully explored to date. Chapters in this volume contain descriptions of the inorganic and biological processes by which nanoparticles form, information about the distribution of nanoparticles in the atmosphere, aqueous environments, and soils, discussion of the impact of size on nanoparticle structure, thermodynamics, and reaction kinetics, consideration of the nature of the smallest nanoparticles and molecular clusters, pathways for crystal growth and colloid formation, analysis of the size-dependence of phase stability and magnetic properties, and descriptions of methods for the study of nanoparticles. These questions are explored through both theoretical and experimental approaches. Nanoparticles participate in every crystallization reaction and they constitute a major source of surface area in environments where virtually every important reaction takes place on a surface. They are components of enzymes and key biomolecules and their presence may record the early existence of life. How can we not be fascinated by these remarkable, and special, forms of matter?

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: Plate tectonics caused a revolution in our understanding of the Earth. It has aided our understanding of why earthquakes and volcanoes are found in distinct locations, how oceans form and disappear, and how mountain ranges were built. In this volume, Peter Molnar explores the history and significance of plate tectonics

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: Plate tectonics caused a revolution in our understanding of the Earth. It has aided our understanding of why earthquakes and volcanoes are found in distinct locations, how oceans form and disappear, and how mountain ranges were built. In this volume, Peter Molnar explores the history and significance of plate tectonics. --