ALBERT

Description / Table of Contents: Three centuries (1670–1970) of appreciating physical landscapes / Thomas A. Hose / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 417, 1-23, 11 September 2015, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP417.15 --- Appreciating geology and the physical landscape in Scotland: from tourism of awe to experiential re-engagement / John E. Gordon and Matt Baker / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 417, 25-40, 12 January 2015, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP417.1 --- Waterfalls and the Romantic traveller / Brian J. Hudson / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 417, 41-57, 12 January 2015, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP417.9 --- The artist as geotourist: Eugene von Guérard and the seminal sites of early volcanic research in Europe and Australia / Ruth Pullin / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 417, 59-69, 15 December 2014, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP417.4 --- Landscape and geotourism on the Dutch coast in the seventeenth century as depicted by landscape artists / J. A. M. (Hanneke) van den Ancker and Pieter Dirk Jungerius / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 417, 71-82, 14 October 2015, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP417.14 --- Visitors to ‘the northern playgrounds’: tourists and exploratory science in north Norway / W. Brian Whalley and Anne F. Parkinson / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 417, 83-93, 17 September 2015, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP417.12 --- The role of local societies in early modern geotourism: a case study of the Chester Society of Natural Science and the Woolhope Naturalists’ Field Club / Cynthia V. Burek and Thomas A. Hose / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 417, 95-116, 6 February 2015, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP417.6 --- Geotourism: an early photographic insight through the lens of the Geologists’ Association / Jonathan G. Larwood / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 417, 117-129, 18 December 2014, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP417.7 --- The contribution of maps to appreciating physical landscape: examples from Derbyshire's Peak District / C. John Henry and Thomas A. Hose / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 417, 131-155, 7 September 2015, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP417.13 --- Three centuries of open access to the caves in Stoney Middleton Dale Site of Special Scientific Interest, Derbyshire / Mark A. Cope / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 417, 157-169, 30 October 2014, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP417.3 --- Geology and landscape in SW England in the late eighteenth century, as recorded in the travel journals of William George Maton (1774–1840) / John D. Mather / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 417, 171-185, 13 November 2014, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP417.8 --- The role of Carclaze tin mine in eighteenth and nineteenth century geotourism / Colin Bristow / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 417, 187-197, 11 February 2015, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP417.11 --- From tourism to geotourism: a few historical cases from the French Alpine foreland / Nathalie Cayla, Christophe Gauchon and Fabien Hobléa / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 417, 199-213, 11 February 2015, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP417.10 --- Rediscovering geoheritage, reinventing geotourism: 200 years of experience from the Sudetes, Central Europe / Piotr Migoń / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 417, 215-228, 13 November 2014, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP417.2 --- Appreciating loess landscapes through history: the basis of modern loess geotourism in the Vojvodina region of North Serbia / Djordjije A. Vasiljević, Slobodan B. Marković and Miroslav D. Vujičić / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 417, 229-239, 3 November 2014, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP417.5

Description / Table of Contents: For effusive volcanoes in resource-poor regions, there is a pressing need for a crisis response-chain bridging the global scientific community to allow provision of standard products for timely humanitarian response. As a first step in attaining this need, this Special Publication provides a complete directory of current operational capabilities for monitoring effusive eruptions. This volume also reviews the state-of-the-art in terms of satellite-based volcano hot-spot tracking and lava-flow simulation. These capabilities are demonstrated using case studies taken from well-known effusive events that have occurred worldwide over the last two decades at volcanoes such as Piton de la Fournaise, Etna, Stromboli and Kilauea. We also provide case-type response models implemented at the same volcanoes, as well as the results of a community-wide drill used to test a fully-integrated response focused on an operational hazard-GIS. Finally, the objectives and recommendations of the ‘Risk Evaluation, Detection and Simulation during Effusive Eruption Disasters’ working group are laid out in a statement of community needs by its members.

Description / Table of Contents: This book is a collection of contribution from experts involved in tsunami study for the purpose of covering its different aspects from generation to warning system to be applied in tsunami risk reduction. The presented chapters have been peer reviewed and accepted for publication. The content of the book consists of information on tsunami propagation from the open sea to the coast and coastal tsunami warning using deployed HF radar systems in different parts of North America and Japan. In this book, tsunami propagation, preliminary methods for evaluating the suitability of radar sites for tsunami detection using simulated tsunami velocities and factors affecting tsunami detectability are discussed and methods for reducing the false alarms are described. It further covers multi-scale meteorological systems resulted in meteo-tsunami and tsunami generation due to a landslide or a submarine volcanic eruption, where few case studies have been presented. The occurrence and characteristics of tsunami in Sweden, using paleo-tsunami events from different parts of the Scandinavia and finally challenges and opportunities for reducing losses to fast-arriving tsunamis in remote villages along Pakistan coast, with few examples are also discussed.

Description / Table of Contents: From paintings and food to illness and icebergs, science is happening everywhere. Rather than follow the path of a syllabus or textbook, Andrew Morris takes examples from the science we see every day and uses them as entry points to explain a number of fundamental scientific concepts – from understanding colour to the nature of hormones – in ways that anyone can grasp. While each chapter offers a separate story, they are linked together by their fascinating relevance to our daily lives. The topics explored in each chapter are based on hundreds of discussions the author has led with adult science learners over many years – people who came from all walks of life and had no scientific training, but had developed a burning curiosity to understand the world around them. This book encourages us to reflect on our own relationship with science and serves as an important reminder of why we should continue learning as adults.

Description / Table of Contents: Commercial application of chemical enhanced oil recovery (cEOR) processes is expected to grow significantly over the next decade. Thus, Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery (cEOR): A Practical Overview offers key knowledge and understanding of cEOR processes using an evidence-based approach intended for a broad audience ranging from field operators, researchers, to reservoir engineers dealing with the development and planning of cEOR field applications. This book is structured into three sections; the first section surveys overall EOR processes. The second section focuses on cEOR processes, while the final section describes the electrorheology technology. These sections are presented using a practical and realistic approach tailored for readers looking to improve their knowledge and understanding of cEOR processes in a nutshell.

Description / Table of Contents: This volume consists of some papers presented at the AMS Symposium held to honor the memory of the late Professor Michio Yanai as well as additional works inspired by his research. By the nature of this volume, many of the contributed papers describe the development of tropical meteorology over the past half-century or so in connection with Professor Yanai’s influence on it. While most of the chapters address specific areas and discuss timely issues, in this prologue I will describe some of Professor Yanai’s contributions during the early period of his career from my own point of view. As this is a personal reminiscence, I would like to emphasize how Professor Yanai influenced me. Both Professor Yanai and I became graduate students at the University of Tokyo to begin our career as meteorologists in 1956 and 1957, respectively. Since we studied and worked together so closely for a long time, in this article I will call him Yanai-san as I have done in our personal interactions.

Description / Table of Contents: Aerosols have a significant impact on technological processes and human activities. In many cases, aerosols are at the core of human health, environmental and technological problems (climate change and air quality). However, aerosols can be successfully used in industry and technology (new materials, fire suppression and fuel delivery). The current scientific status of aerosol modelling and simulation and measurements and some advances in computational techniques, particle measurement technologies and practical applications of aerosols are reviewed and considered in this book. This book also includes a number of case studies focused on analysis of optical thickness and air quality in various regions.

Description / Table of Contents: This edited book, Soil Contamination - Current Consequences and Further Solutions, is intended to provide an overview on the different environmental consequences of our anthropogenic activities, which has introduced a large number of xenobiotics that the soil cannot, or can only slower, decompose or degrade. We hope that this book will continue to meet the expectations and needs of all interested in diverse fields with expertise in soil science, health, toxicology, and other disciplines who contribute and share their findings to take this area forward for future investigations.

Description / Table of Contents: This issue contains 16 papers, presenting work on tsunami hazards, earthquakes, and related computational infrastructure. The integration of multihazard simulations and remotely sensed observations is providing enormous benefits to earthquake and tsunami research. Earthquakes cause damage, but also generate tsunamis, which create additional damage. Remotely sensed observations coupled with geologic field measurements and simulations contribute to our understanding of earthquake processes, which is necessary for mitigating loss of life and property from these damaging events. This book focuses on assimilation of remotely sensed observations to advance multihazards simulation. This capability provides a powerful virtual laboratory to probe earthquake behavior and the earthquake cycle. Hence, it offers a new opportunity to gain understanding of the earthquake nucleation process, precursory phenomena, and space-time seismicity patterns needed for breakthrough advances in earthquake forecasting and hazard quantification.

Description / Table of Contents: Geothermal energy means the natural heat energy from the Earth. The geothermal resources of the Earth are huge and unlike other conventional and renewable energy sources, geothermal energy has unique features; namely, it is available, stable at all times throughout the year, independent of weather conditions, and has an inherent storage capability. Geothermal energy is also considered to be an environmentally friendly clean energy source that could significantly contribute to the reduction of GHG emissions. The utilization of geothermal energy is usually divided into the part used for electricity generation and the part used for heating applications. Due to its important utilization and future prospects, various interesting topics of research related to geothermal energy are covered in this book. This book is the result of contributions from several researchers and experts worldwide. It is hoped that the book will become a useful source of information and basis for extended research for researchers, academics, policy makers, and practitioners in the area of geothermal energy.

Description / Table of Contents: In recent years, the topic of 3D reconstruction and modeling of complex architectures from remotely acquired multiple data sources has been of growing interest. This “democratization” of 3D modeling processes and the large availability of data is, however, not always followed by reliable, affordable and powerful tools for realizing photo-realistic, metric, re-usable and semantic-aware 3D products. This should be a motivation to research, design, develop and validate novel easy-to-use, ease-to-learn and a low-cost framework for 3D modeling and further understanding of virtual environments using multiple data sources, so that the whole 3D modeling community has access to an affordable, transferable, functional and usable framework of methods and tools. This challenge causes several problems that should be addressed: from improving and testing the technical capabilities of new capturing devices, to the solution of problems resultant from large image blocks, from delivering Building Information Modeling (BIM) standards in order to provide new management approaches to replacing existing visualization tools with new working experiences such as Virtual and Augmented Reality or game-engine technology.

Description / Table of Contents: Natural and environmental hazards research comprises a diverse set of subjects and methodologies and this book is no exception - offering the reader only a small glimpse into the physical and social processes that threaten human interests. Atmospheric Hazards-Case Studies in Modeling, Communication, and Societal Impacts explores atmospheric-based hazards through focused investigations ranging from a local to global perspective. Within this short compendium, the major scales of atmospheric motion are well represented with topics on microscale turbulent transport of pollutants, mesoscale events stemming from thunderstorm complexes, and synoptic scale extreme precipitation episodes. Chapters include discussions on modeling aspects for investigating hazards (pollution, regional climate models) and the forecasting and structure of high wind events (derechos), whereas others delve into hazard communication, preparedness, and social vulnerability issues (tornadoes, hurricanes, and lightning). Although the chapters are quite disparate upon first inspection, the topics are united through their interweaving of both the physical and societal mechanisms that create the atmospheric hazard and eventual disaster.

Description / Table of Contents: The aim of this book has been to explore the variety of phenomena associated with the major forms of the material, while laying the foundation for a clear and detailed working and understanding of the materials. We tried to present new types of advanced materials, which are currently a hot topic, and provide readers with a selective review of important improvements in the field. I believe that every chapter in this book presents the progress in the subject and describes the latest advances in microporous and mesoporous materials.

Description / Table of Contents: This book collects recent results about research activities on zeolites, from synthesis to application. It is composed of two sections. The first is devoted to articles and brief review articles on the synthesis of zeolite from fly ash and final application of these newly formed minerals to solve environmental problems. The second part of the book provides useful information on different applications both of natural and synthetic zeolites ranging from environmental pollution to industrial and commercial applications. The performance of zeolite molecular sieves, hollow titanium zeolites and luminescent zeolites is interesting considering the new frontiers reached by the research on zeolites. This book is a useful instrument for researchers, teachers and students who are interested in investigating innovative aspects of the studies on zeolite.

Description / Table of Contents: The book 'Applied Studies of Coastal and Marine Environments' is a collection of a number of high-quality and comprehensive work on coastal and marine environment. This book has an Introductory Chapter, followed by 15 chapters. Chapters 2 and 3 are devoted to coastal geological sedimentation and its impacts on marine environment. Consequently, Chapter 4 investigates neo-tectonic movement in the Pearl River Delta. Different aspects of the coastal pollution and its impacts are addressed in Chapter 5 through Chapter 13. Furthermore, coastal management is also discussed in Chapter 14, and monitoring the coastal environment using remote sensing and GIS techniques is reported in Chapter 15. Finally, Chapter 16 addresses the human history of maritime exploitation and adaptation process to coastal and marine environments. It is important to investigate the history of maritime exploitation and adaptation to environment coastal zone to learn how to explore the oceans.

Description / Table of Contents: When citizens take collaborative action to meet the needs of their community, they are participating in the social economy. Co-operatives, community-based social services, local non-profit organizations, and charitable foundations are all examples of social economies that emphasize mutual benefit rather than the accumulation of profit. While such groups often participate in market-based activities to achieve their goals, they also pose an alternative to the capitalist market economy. Contributors to Scaling Up investigated innovative social economies in British Columbia and Alberta and discovered that achieving a social good through collective, grassroots enterprise resulted in a sustainable way of satisfying human needs that was also, by extension, environmentally responsible. As these case studies illustrate, organizations that are capable of harnessing the power of a social economy generally demonstrate a commitment to three outcomes: greater social justice, financial self-sufficiency, and environmental sustainability. Within the matrix of these three allied principles lie new strategic directions for the politics of sustainability.Whether they were examining attainable and affordable housing initiatives, co-operative approaches to the provision of social services, local credit unions, farmers’ markets, or community-owned power companies, the contributors found social economies providing solutions based on reciprocity and an understanding of how parts function within the whole—an understanding that is essential to sustainability. In these locally defined and controlled, democratically operated organizations we see possibilities for a more human economy that is capable of transforming the very social and technical systems that make our current way of life unsustainable.

Description / Table of Contents: Updates in Volcanology - From Volcano Modeling to Volcano Geology is a new book that is based on book chapters offered by various authors to provide a snapshot of current trends in volcanological researches. Following a short Introduction, the book consists of three sections, namely, "Understanding the Volcano System from Petrology, Geophysics to Large Scale Experiments", "Volcanic Eruptions and Their Impact to the Environment", and "Volcanism in the Geological Record". These sections collect a total of 13 book chapters demonstrating clearly the research activity in volcanology from geophysical aspects of volcanic systems to their geological framework. Each chapter provides a comprehensive summary of their subject’s current research directions. This book hence can equally be useful for students and researchers.

Description / Table of Contents: Greenhouse Gases - Selected Case Studies, is a book which covers a range of topics. The long term effective management of the natural environment, requires a detailed understanding of greenhouse gases. This has both environmental and economic implications, especially where there is any anthropogenic involvement. Numerical models are often the tool and framework used for predicting the effects, both in the long-term and short-term, of greenhouse gases. However, the relevant atmospheric processes can vary quite considerably depending upon the spatial and temporal scales under consideration. For this reason for the past few decades, scientists, engineers, meteorologists and mathematicians have all been continuing to conduct research into the many aspects which influence greenhouse gases. These issues range from: industrial science, agricultural research, carbon dioxide and other emissions. This book reports the findings from recent research in greenhouse gases, primarily in the the form of case studies, particularly from an interdisciplinary perspective. The research was carried out by researchers who specialise in areas such as: energy production, emissions from livestock, chemical industry, and metallurgical process technology.

Description / Table of Contents: The rapid urbanization that began with industrialization has begun to cause many problems. New approaches are emerging today to minimize these problems and make urban areas more livable. These problems include insufficient social facilities in urban areas for increasing populations due to migration and unbalanced use of green areas, water, and energy resources due to urbanization. Careless consumption and the pollution of natural resources will cause people many more problems in the future than they do today in urban development. Many professional disciplines have noticed this unbalanced development in urban areas. Urban areas have larger populations than rural areas today. Urban areas are developed neglectfully. Sustainability is needed as a criterion for urban areas to develop in a more livable and healthy fashion. Sustainable urban development approaches are seen in many fields, ranging from land use to the use of natural resources in urban areas.

Description / Table of Contents: The topics of climate change, weather prediction, atmospheric sciences and other related fields are gaining increased attention due to the possible impacts of changes in climate and weather upon the planet. Concurrently, the increasing ability to computationally model the governing partial differential equations that describe these various topics of climate has gained a great deal of attention as well. In the current book, several aspects of these topics are examined to provide another stepping stone in recent advances in the fields of study and also focal points of endeavor in the evolving technology.

Description / Table of Contents: In high-temperature geochemistry and cosmochemistry, highly siderophile and strongly chalophile elements can be defined as strongly preferring metal or sulfide, respectively, relative to silicate or oxide phases. The highly siderophile elements (HSE) comprise Re, Os, Ir, Ru, Pt, Rh, Pd, and Au and are defined by their extreme partitioning (〉104) into the metallic phase, but will also strongly partition into sulfide phases, in the absence of metal. The HSE are highly refractory, as indicated by their high melting and condensation temperatures and were therefore concentrated in early accreted nebular materials. Within the HSE are the platinum-group elements (PGE), which include the six elements lying in the d-block of the periodic table (groups 8, 9, and 10, periods 5 and 6), i.e., Os, Ir, Ru, Pt, Rh and Pd. These six elements tend to exist in the metallic state, or bond with chalcogens (S, Se, Te) or pnictogens (P, As, Sb, Bi). Rhenium and Au do not necessarily behave as coherently as the PGE, due to their differing electronegativity and oxidation states. For these reasons, a clear definition between the discussion of the PGE and the HSE (PGE, Re and Au) exists in the literature, especially in economic geology, industrial, or bio-medical studies. The strongly chalcophile elements can be considered to include S, Se, and Te. These three elements are distinguished from other chalcophile elements, such as Cd or Pb, because, like the HSE, they are all in very low abundances in the bulk silicate Earth. By contrast with the HSE, S, Se, and Te all have far lower melting and condensation temperatures, classifying them as highly volatile elements. Moreover, these elements are not equally distributed within chondrite meteorite groups. Since their initial distribution in the Solar nebula, planetary formation and differentiation process have led to large fractionations of the HSE and strongly chalcophile elements, producing a range of absolute and relative inter-element fractionations. The chemical properties of the HSE, that set them apart from any other elements in the periodic table, have made them geochemical tracers par excellence. As tracers of key processes, the HSE have found application in virtually all areas of the physical Earth sciences. These elements have been used to inform on the nucleosynthetic sources and formation of the Solar System, planetary differentiation, late accretion addition of elements to planets, core-formation and possible core-mantle interaction, crust-mantle partitioning, volcanic processes and outgassing, formation of magmatic, hydrothermal and epithermal ore deposits, ocean circulation, climate-related events, weathering, and biogeochemical cycling. More recently, studies of strongly chalcophile elements are finding a similar range of applications. Their utility lies in the fact that these elements will behave as siderophile or strongly chalcophile elements under reducing conditions, but will also behave as lithophile or atmophile elements under oxidizing conditions, as experienced at the present day Earth’s surface. A key aspect of the HSE is that three long-lived, geologically useful decay systems exist with the HSE as parent (107Pd–107Ag), or parent–daughter isotopes (187Re–187Os and 190Pt–186Os). This volume is dedicated to some of the processes that can be investigated at high-temperatures in planets using the HSE and strongly chalcophile elements. While this volume is not dedicated to the practical applications of the HSE and strongly chalcophile elements, it would be remiss not to briefly discuss the importance of these elements in society. All of these elements have found important societal use, from the application of Au as a valued commodity in early societies, through to the present-day; the importance of S and Se in biological processes; the discovery and implementation of Pt, Pd, and subsequently other PGE to catalytic oxidation, and the importance of the anti-cancer drug cisplatin (cis-[Pt(NH3)2Cl2]) to anti-tumour treatments. The use of the PGE, most especially Pt, Pd and Rh, in the automotive industry to generate harmless gases has caused some potential collateral effects; the possible environmental impact and human health-risks from available PGE in the environment. An entire volume can (and should!) equally be written on the utility of the HSE and strongly chalcophile elements during low-temperature geochemistry. In this volume, a number of key areas are reviewed in the use of the HSE and strongly chalcophile elements to investigate fundamental processes in high-temperature geochemistry and cosmochemistry. It is divided into five parts. The first part of the volume concerns measurements and experiments. Chapter 1, by Brenan et al. (2016), provides an comprehensive overview of experimental constraints applied to understanding HSE partitioning under a range of conditions, including: liquid metal–solid metal; metal– silicate; silicate–melt; monosulfide solid solution (MSS)–sulfide melt; sulfide melt–silicate melt; silicate melt–aqueous fluid–vapor. Chapter 2, by Meisel and Horan (2016) provides a summary of analytical methods, issues specifically associated with measurement of the HSE, and a review of important reference materials. The second part of the volume concerns the cosmochemical importance of the HSE and strongly chalcophile elements. In their assessment of nucleosynthetic isotopic variations of siderophile and chalcophile elements in Solar System materials, Yokoyama and Walker (2016, Chapter 3) discuss some of the fundamentals of stellar nucleosynthesis, the evidence for nucleosynthetic anomalies in pre-Solar grains, bulk meteorites and individual components of chondrites, ultimately providing a synthesis on the different information afforded by nucleosynthetic anomalies of Ru, Mo, Os, and other siderophile and chalcophile elements. Chapter 4 concerns the HSE in terrestrial bodies, including the Earth, Moon, Mars and asteroidal bodies for which we have materials as meteorites. Day et al. (2016) provide a summary of HSE abundance and 187Os/188Os variations in the range of materials available and a synthesis of initial Solar System composition, evidence for late accretion, and estimates of current planetary mantle composition. The third part of the volume concerns our understanding of the Earth’s mantle from direct study of mantle materials. In Chapter 5, Aulbach et al. (2016) discuss the importance and challenges associated with understanding HSE in the cratonic mantle, providing new HSE alloy solubility modelling for melt extraction at pressures, temperatures, fO2 and fS2 pertaining to conditions of cratonic mantle lithosphere formation. Luguet and Reisberg (2016) provide similar constraints on non-cratonic mantle in Chapter 6, emphasizing the importance of combined geochemical and petrological approaches to fully understand the histories of mantle peridotites. The information derived from studies of Alpine peridotites, obducted ophiolites and oceanic abyssal peridotites are reviewed in Chapter 7 by Becker and Dale (2016). The fourth part of the volume focusses on important minerals present in the mantle and crust. Chapter 8 provides a broad overview of mantle chalcophiles. In this chapter, Lorand et al. (2016) emphasise that chalcophile and siderophile elements are important tracers that can be strongly affected by host minerals as a function of sulfur-saturation, redox conditions, pressure, temperature, fugacity of sulfur, and silicate melt compositions. Along a similar theme in Chapter 9, O’Driscoll and Gonzalez-Jimenez (2016) provide an overview of platinum-group minerals (PGM), pointing out that, where present PGM dominate the HSE budget of silicate rocks. Finally in this section, Harvey et al. (2016) examine the importance of Re–Os–Pb isotope dating methods of sulfides for improving our understanding of mantle processes (Chapter 10). The fifth and final part of the volume considers the important of the HSE for studying volcanic and magmatic processes. In Chapter 11, Gannoun et al. (2016) provide a synthesis of the most abundant forms of volcanism currently operating on Earth, including mid-ocean ridge basalts, volcanism unassociated with plate boundaries, and subduction zone magmatism. The volume is completed in Chapter 12 by Barnes and Ripley (2016), by an appraisal of the obvious importance of magmatic HSE ore formation in Earth’s crust.

Description / Table of Contents: The use of agent-based models (ABMs) and modelling for understanding landscape change and dynamics continues to grow. One reason for the popularity of ABMs is that they provide a framework to represent multiple, discrete, multi-faceted, heterogeneous actors (human or otherwise) and their relationships and interactions between one another and their environment, through time and across space. This special issue seeks to showcase innovative uses of ABMs for investigating and explaining landscape change and dynamics and to explore and identify how researchers in different disciplines can learn from one another to further innovate. Thus, this special issue will emphasise multidisciplinary dialogue between researchers using ABM in physical geography, hydrology, ecology, land change science, economics, alternative histories, archaeology, sociology, psychology and others. Innovation may come in the form of computational, conceptual, analytical, participatory or epistemological advances in the use of ABM for a range of aims and motivations associated with landscape change and dynamics. Modelling advances may include new ways of representing agent decisions and/or interactions, establishing and evaluating model structures and rules, presenting and visualising change, multi-scale analysis, comparative techniques, narrative methods, and more. The presentation of innovative agent-based modelling from diverse research backgrounds and perspectives will demonstrate opportunities for learning and enable dialogue to enhance future use of ABMs for understanding landscape change.

Description / Table of Contents: Rapid trend of industry and high technological progress are the main sources of the accumulation of hazardous wastes. Recently, nuclear applications have been rapidly developed, and several nuclear power plants have been started to work throughout the world. The potential impact of released hazardous contaminants into the environment has received growing attention due to its serious problems to the biological systems. The book Management of Hazardous Wastes contains eight chapters covering two main topics of hazardous waste management and microbial bioremediation. This book will be useful to many scientists, researchers, and students in the scope of development in waste management program including sources of hazardous waste, government policies on waste generation, and treatment with particular emphasis on bioremediation technology.

Description / Table of Contents: Many of the challenges facing farmers and human communities from hydrographical basins are not new. But, due to the fact that the nature and extents of the problems vary from one region to another and from one basin to another, the responses are highly diversified. There is no generally valid solution for all the problems. However, in addressing issues on ensuring the prevention or mitigation of the destructive consequences of flood damage or prolonged drought as for the optimal use of water by consumers, sustainable basin land use, biodiversity conservation, and environment protection as well, fourteen specialists and their colleagues present the state of the art in these important matters and new possible solutions to solve, identified from the scientific investigations undertaken.

Description / Table of Contents: The pervasive relevance of geospatial information and the development of emerging geospatial technologies offer new opportunity for bridging the gap between remote sensing scientific know-how and end users of products and services. Geospatial technology comprises tools and techniques dealing with the use of spatially referenced information, for the description and modeling of spatial and dynamic phenomena related to the Earth's environment. This book addresses environmental and social applications of geospatial technologies, thus also providing a multidisciplinary perspective on emerging geospatial techniques and tools. It consists of ten chapters offering insight into geospatial technology progress and trends. Authors present several application-oriented studies from various parts of the world, including applications in collaborative geomatics, geospatial statistics, GIS, agriculture, and natural hazard monitoring.

Description / Table of Contents: This Encyclopedia comprises the current knowledge in marine geosciences whereby not only basic but also applied and technical sciences are covered. Through this concept a broad scale of users in the field of marine sciences and techniques is addressed, from students and scholars in academia to engineers and decision makers in industry and politics. Globally growing demand of energy and mineral resources, reliable future projection of climate processes and the protection of coasts to mitigate the threats of disasters and hazards require a comprehensive understanding of the structure, ongoing processes and genesis of the marine geosphere. Beyond the “classical” research fields in marine geology in current time more general concepts have been evolved integrating marine geophysics, hydrography, marine biology, climatology and ecology. As an umbrella the term “marine geosciences” has been broadly accepted for this new complex field of research and the solutions of practical tasks in the marine realm.

Description / Table of Contents: Deep Crustal Seismic Reflection Profiling: Australia 1978–2015 presents the full suite of reflection profiles penetrating the whole crust carried in Australia by Geoscience Australia and various partners. The set of reflection data comprises over 16,000 km of coverage across the whole continent, and provides an insight into the variations in crustal architecture in the varied geological domains. Each reflection profile is presented at approximately true scale with up to 220 km of profile per page and overlap between pages. Each reflection section is accompanied by a geological strip map showing the configuration of the line superimposed on 1:1M geology. The compilation includes a suite of large-scale reflection transects groups of 1,000 km or more that link across major geological provinces, and an extensive bibliography of reports and relevant publications.

Description / Table of Contents: Part I Wind Turbine Blades --- Part II Enabling Technologies for Drivetrain and Gearbox Analysis --- Part III Tower and Support Structure --- Part IV Reliability and Preventive Maintenance of Offshore Wind Turbines --- Part V CFD Analysis of a Complete Offshore Wind Turbine --- Part VI Offshore Wind Farm Design --- Part VII Offshore Wind Decommissioning

Description / Table of Contents: I The Cellular Automaton Interpretation as a general doctrine: Motivation for this work --- Deterministic models in quantum notation --- Interpreting quantum mechanics --- Deterministic quantum mechanics --- Concise description of the CA Interpretation --- Quantum gravity --- Information loss --- More problems --- Alleys to be further investigated and open questions --- Conclusions --- II Calculation Techniques: Introduction to part II --- More on cogwheels --- The continuum limit of cogwheels, harmonic rotators and oscillators --- Locality --- Fermions --- PQ theory --- Models in two space-time dimensions without interactions --- Symmetries --- The discretised Hamiltonian formalism in PQ theory --- Quantum Field Theory --- The cellular automaton --- The problem of quantum locality --- Conclusions of part II --- Some remarks on gravity in 2+1 dimensions --- A summary of our views on Conformal Gravity --- Abbreviations.

Description / Table of Contents: Introduction.-Components of the Climate System --- Climate Change and Global Warming --- Essence of a Climate Model --- Simulating the Atmosphere --- Simulating the Ocean and Sea Ice --- Simulating Terrestrial Systems --- Bringing the System Together: Coupling and Complexity --- Model Evaluation --- Predictability --- Results of Current Models --- Usability of Climate Model Projections by Practitioners --- Summary and Final Thoughts

Description / Table of Contents: How do we talk about the environment? Does this communication reveal and construct meaning? Is the environment expressed and foregrounded in the new landscape of digital media? The Environment in the Age of the Internet is an interdisciplinary collection that draws together research and answers from media and communication studies, social sciences, modern history, and folklore studies. Edited by Heike Graf, its focus is on the communicative approaches taken by different groups to ecological issues, shedding light on how these groups tell their distinctive stories of "the environment". This book draws on case studies from around the world and focuses on activists of radically different kinds: protestors against pulp mills in South America, resistance to mining in the Sámi region of Sweden, the struggles of indigenous peoples from the Arctic to the Amazon, gardening bloggers in northern Europe, and neo-Nazi environmentalists in Germany. Each case is examined in relation to its multifaceted media coverage, mainstream and digital, professional and amateur. Stories are told within a context; examining the "what" and "how" of these environmental stories demonstrates how contexts determine communication, and how communication raises and shapes awareness. These issues have never been more urgent, this work never more timely. The Environment in the Age of the Internet is essential reading for everyone interested in how humans relate to their environment in the digital age.

Description / Table of Contents: Introduction --- Part 1: Asia is a key for sustainable low carbon society --- 1. GHG reduction potential in Asia --- 2. Transition to a low carbon future in China towards 2°C Global target --- 3. India’s GHG Emission Reduction and Sustainable Development --- 4. 80% reduction scenario in Japan --- 5. Potential of low carbon development in Vietnam, from practices to legal framework --- Part 2: Brigding the gap between modeling and real policy development --- 6. Designing a National Policy Framework for NAMAs -Lesson learnt from Thailand- --- 7. ‘Science-to-Action’ of the Sustainable Low Carbon City-region --- Part 3:Best parctices and recommendations in each sector to make it happen --- 8. Low Carbon Transport in India - Assessment of Best Practice Case Studies - --- 9. Potential of Reducing GHG Emission from REDD+ Activities in Indonesia --- 10. Fostering capacity development for ASIA leapfrog --- 11. Capacity development on GHG inventories in Asia -WGIA Workshop on Greenhouse gas Inventory in Asia- --- 12. Japan’s Comprehensive and Continual Support Package for the Creation of Scientific Climate Policies in Asia

Description / Table of Contents: Vorwort --- 1. Datenqualität - eine Managementaufgabe --- 2. Fallstudien zur Datenqualität --- 3. Methoden und Werkzeuge des Datenqualitätsmanagements --- 4. Erfolgsfaktoren und Sofortmaßnahmen --- Glossar

Description / Table of Contents: Preface --- 1 Dimensions and Units --- 2 Ordinary Differential Equations Models --- 3 Basic Partial Differential Equations Models --- Advanced Partial Differential Equations Models --- References --- Index

Description / Table of Contents: Introduction --- Part I: Concepts and Methods --- Methods --- Institutional Framework of Taking Action Against Land Degradation --- Part II: Global --- Global Extent Of Land Degradation --- Ground-Truthing of Land Degradation Mapping --- The Global Cost of Land Degradation --- Global Drivers of Land Degradation --- ELD in Global Rangelands --- Part III: Regional --- ELD in Sub-Saharan Africa --- ELD in Central Asia --- Part IV: Country Case Studies: Cost, Drivers and Action Against of Land Degradation --- Argentina --- Bhutan --- China --- Ethiopia --- India --- Kenya --- Niger --- Russia --- Senegal --- Tanzania and Malawi.-Uzbekistan --- Part V: Lessons Learnt and Implications --- What Can We Learn from the Cost of Inaction Against Land Degradation? --- What Can We Learn from the Success Stories of Addressing or Preventing Land Degradation? --- What are the Low-hanging Fruits for Addressing Land Degradation?.-What the World Needs to do to Build Momentum of Addressing Land Degradation?

Description / Table of Contents: Discrete conformal maps: Boundary value problems, circle domains, Fuchsian and Schottky uniformization: Alexander I. Bobenko, Stefan Sechelmann, Boris Springborn --- Discrete complex analysis on planar quad-graphs: Alexander I. Bobenko and Felix Günther --- Approximation of conformal mappings using conformally equivalent triangular lattices: Ulrike Bücking --- Numerical Methods for the Discrete Map Za: Folkmar Bornemann, Alexander Its, Sheehan Olver, and Georg Wechslberger --- A variational principle for cyclic polygons with prescribed edge lengths: Hana Kourimská, Lara Skuppin, Boris Springborn --- Complex Line Bundles over Simplicial Complexes and their Applications: Felix Knöppel and Ulrich Pinkall --- Holomorphic vector fields and quadratic differentials on planar triangular meshes: Wai Yeung Lam, Ulrich Pinkall --- Vertex normals and face curvatures of triangle meshes: Xiang Sun, Caigui Jiang, Johannes Wallner, and Helmut Pottmann --- S-conical cmc surfaces. Towards a unified theory of discrete surfaces with constant mean curvature: Alexander I. Bobenko and Tim Hoffmann --- Constructing solutions to the Björling problem for isothermic surfaces by structure preserving discretization: Ulrike Bücking and Daniel Matthes --- On the Lagrangian Structure of Integrable Hierarchies: Yuri B. Suris, Mats Vermeeren --- On the variational interpretation of the discrete KP equation: Raphael Boll, Matteo Petrera, and Yuri B. Suris --- Six topics on inscribable polytopes: Arnau Padrol and Günter M. Ziegler --- DGD Gallery: Storage, sharing, and publication of digital research data: Michael Joswig, Milan Mehner, Stefan Sechelmann, Jan Techter, and Alexander I. Bobenko

Description / Table of Contents: From the Contents: Overview concepts, approaches and challenges of integrated groundwater management --- Disentangling the complexity of a groundwater dependent socio-ecological system --- The scale of the groundwater issue internationally --- Groundwater law --- Groundwater regulation and integrated water planning

Description / Table of Contents: Introduction --- Part I Potted Review of Economic Theory: The Complex Evolving System --- 1. A Potted Review --- Part II Early Days: From Personal Awareness to Group Commitment --- 2. A personal story of awareness and perception --- 2.1 My first awareness breakthrough --- 2.2 Layers of awareness --- 2.3 My second burst of awareness --- 2.4 Defining a new society for myself --- 2.5 Key human values --- 2.6 Inside = outside --- 2.7 To be and to do --- 2.7 Welfare or wellbeing? --- 2.8 Business transformation --- 2.9 Leadership versus management --- 2.10 STIR Foundation - City of Tomorrow --- 2.11 Sustainocracy --- 2.12 City of Tomorrow --- 2.13 The Amsterdam internet congress --- 2.14 Key elements that define “sustainocratic” AiREAS --- 2.15 AiREAS --- 2.16 Commitment first --- 2.17 Territorial focus --- 2.18 Local AiREAS Eindhoven --- 2.19 First things first --- 2.20 Making visible the invisible --- 2.21 From idea to project --- 2.22 Conclusion about the coming about of AiREAS --- 2.23 Link with ethics and economies --- Part III “The Invisible made Visible”: science and technology --- An introduction by Marco van Lochem --- 3.1 The ILM --- 3.2. Variables measured --- 3.3.3. Instrumentation --- 3.3.1 The Airbox --- 3.3.2 PM (PM10, PM2.5, PM1) sensor --- 3.3.3 UFP sensor --- 3.3.4 Ozone sensor --- 3.3.5 NO2 sensor --- 3.3.6 Temperature sensor and relative humidity sensor --- 3.3.7 Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) --- 3.3.8 Experiences and recommendations --- 4 Data quality --- 4.1 Regular calibration and preventative maintenance --- 4.2 Experiences and recommendations --- 5 Locations and spatial sampling --- 5.1 Experiences and recommendations --- 6 Data management --- 6.1 The Airbox --- 6.2 Axians (1) --- 6.3 ECN --- 6.4 Axians (2) --- 6.5 Experiences and recommendations --- 7 Results --- 7.1 Initial tests of sensors --- 7.2 Evaluation of sensor precision --- 8 Scientific projects based on the ILM --- Part IV Experiences after 5 years of AiREAS and 1 year of ILM --- 9. The way things work at AiREAS --- 9.1 The workflow in AiREAS --- 9.2 Financial routine in AiREAS --- 9.3 Confidence based interaction --- 9.4 October 2013 general AiREAS participants meeting --- 9.5 Interpreting the ILM data --- 9.6 The transition --- 9.7 Communication --- 9.8 Benchmarking and referencing our practical ideologies --- 9.9 The royalty system --- 9.10 Some of the transformative issues --- 9.11 Conclusion. Index.

Description / Table of Contents: Chapter 1. Environmental Governance of the Baltic Sea: Identifying Key Challenges Research Topics and Analytical Approaches. Part 1: Interdisciplinary Case Studies of Environmental Governance --- Chapter 2. Eutrophication and the Ecosystem Approach to Management: A Case Study of Baltic Sea Environmental Governance --- Chapter 3. Fisheries: A Case Study of Baltic Sea Environmental Governance --- Chapter 4. Biological Invasions: a Case Study of Baltic Sea Environmental Governance --- Chapter 5. Governance of Chemicals in the Baltic Sea Region: A Study of Three Generations of Hazardous Substances --- Chapter 6. Oil Spills from Shipping: A Case Study of the Governance of Accidental Hazards and Intentional Pollution in the Baltic Sea --- Part 2: Cross-Case Analysis of Key Environmental Governance Challenges --- Chapter 7. The Ecosystem Approach to Management in Baltic Sea Governance: Towards Increased Reflexivity? --- Chapter 8. Science-Policy Interfaces in Baltic Sea Environmental Governance: Towards Regional Cooperation and Management of Uncertainty? --- Chapter 9. Risk Communication and the Role of the Public: Towards Inclusive Environmental Governance of the Baltic Sea? --- Chapter 10. Seeking Pathways Towards Improved Environmental Governance of the Baltic Sea

Description / Table of Contents: Part I The Urban Heat Island – Evidence, Measures and Tools --- Forecasting Models for Urban Warming in Climate Change --- Assessment Indication and Gold Standard --- Methodologies for UHI Analysis --- Decision Support Systems for Urban Planning --- Part II Pilot Actions in European Cities --- Counteracting Urban Heat Islands: Solutions for European Cities.

Description / Table of Contents: Introduction to the Assessment --- Past and Current Climate Change --- Past and Current Changes in the North Sea (and interface regions) --- Climate Change Projections --- Impacts of Current and Future Climate Change in Ecosystems --- Climate Impacts on Socio-economy

Description / Table of Contents: Introduction --- The Jordan Valley --- Projections And Objectives --- Meeting The Strategic Planning Objectives --- The Year 2050 --- Final Conclusions And Recommendations --- Colophon.

Description / Table of Contents: Some recent developments in ambit stochastics --- Functional and Banach space stochastic calculi. Path-dependent Kolmogorov equations associated with the frame of a Brownian motion --- Nonlinear Young integrals via fractional calculus --- A weak limit theorem for numerical approximation of Brownian semi-stationary processes --- Non-elliptic SPDEs and ambit fields: existence of densities --- Dynamic risk measures and path-dependent second order PDEs --- Pricing CoCos with a market trigger --- Quantification of model risk in quadratic hedging in finance --- Risk-sensitive mean-field type control under partial observation --- Risk aversion in modeling of cap-and-trade mechanism and optimal design of emission markets --- Exponential ergodicity of the jump-diffusion CIR process --- Optimal control of predictive mean-field equations and applications to finance --- Modelling the impact of wind power production on electricity prices by regime-switching Levy semistationary processes --- Pricing options on EU ETS certificates with a time-varying market price of risk model

Description / Table of Contents: Part I: Introduction --- 1. Balanced Urban Development: Is it a myth or reality? - Part II: Peri-Urbansation --- 2. Re-Ruralising the Urban Edge: Lessons from Europe, USA & the Global South --- 3. Nimbyism and Nature – Whose Backyard is it Anyway? - 4. Connecting Urban and Rural Futures Through Rural Design --- 5. Archaeology and Contemporary Dynamics for More Sustainable, Resilient Cities in the Peri-Urban Interface --- 6. Decontamination of Urban Run-off: Importance and Methods --- Part III: Peri-Urban Culture and Socio-Economy --- 7. Socio-economy of Peri-Urban Areas: The Case of Lisbon Metropolitan Area --- 8. Changing Economic Scenario of the Peri-Urban Area of Udaipur City, India --- 9. Community Stakeholder Viewpoints on Issues of Urbanisation along the River Ma Oya, Sri Lanka --- Part IV: Peri-Urban Landuse Planning --- 10. The role of peri-urban land use planning in resilient urban agriculture: a case study of Melbourne, Australia --- 11. Engaging Peri-Urban Landholders in Natural Resources Management.-12. Urban Farming Master Plan in Western Sydney - From Planning to Reality --- Part V: Urban Water Security --- 13. Study of urban water bodies in view of potential for micro-climatic cooling and natural purification of waste water --- 14. Groundwater Crisis in a Mega City – A Case Study of New Delhi, India --- 15. Safe Water Supply Determinants in Peri-Urban Communities of South-East Nigeria --- 16. Risks of Coal Seam and Shale Gas Extraction on Groundwater and Aquifers in Eastern Australia --- Part VI: Wastewater and Irrigation --- 17. Use of recycled water for irrigation of open spaces: Benefits and Risks --- 18. Global Experiences on Wastewater Irrigation: Challenges and Prospects --- 19. Impacts of Wastewater Reuse on Peri-Urban Agriculture: Case Study in Udaipur City, India --- Part VII: Urban Agriculture and Food Security --- 20. Urban Agriculture in Cuba: Alternative Legal Structures, Crisis and Change --- 21. High quality agricultural land in Western Australia – A new decision tool for planning --- 22. Food Efficient Planning and Design for Peri-urban Neighbourhoods --- 23. Role of Peri-urban Areas in the Food System of Kampala, Uganda --- Part VIII: Climate Change Impacts and Adaptations --- 24. Climate Change Adaptation Planning with Peri-Urban Local Government in Victoria, Australia --- 25. Awareness of Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation at Local Level in Punjab, Pakistan --- 26. Urbanisation, Nutrition and Food Security: A Climatological Perspective --- 27. Coastal Urban and Peri-Urban Indigenous People’s Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change --- Part IX: Legal, Policy and Institutional Challenges --- 28. Effect of Social and Institutional Fragmentation on Collective Action in Peri-urban Settings --- 29. Gentrification versus Territorialisation: The Peri-Urban Agriculture Area in Beirut --- 30. Reimagining the “Peri-Urban” in the Mega-Urban Regions of Southeast Asia --- Part X: Integrated Urban Development --- 31. Sustainability of Water Resources in Peri-urban Landscapes: Learning from the Journey of Engagement --- 32. Development of Future Management Options for the Hawkesbury River --- 33. Planning Development to Reduce Mosquito Hazard in Coastal Peri-Urban Areas: Case Studies in NSW, Australia --- 34. An Integrated Simulation and Visualisation Platform for the Design of Sustainable Urban Developments in a Peri-Urban Context --- 35. Options and Strategies for Balanced Development for Liveable Cities: An Epilogue

Description / Table of Contents: Atmospheric particulate matter (PM) is known to have far-ranging impacts, from human health to climate forcing. The characterization of emission sources and the quantification of specific source impacts to PM concentrations significantly enhance our understanding of and our ability to eventually predict the fate and transport of atmospheric PM and its associated impacts on humans and the environment. The source apportionment of PM has been realized through combinations of chemical analysis (of elemental tracers, particle size, isotopic composition, and organic composition via unique tracers and molecular fingerprints) and numerical modeling (e.g., diagnostic source ratios, chemical mass balance modeling, positive matrix factorization, and Monte Carlo simulations). Recent advances in source apportionment applications have contributed unique combinations of chemical and numerical techniques for determining the contributions of specific sources, including diesel exhaust and biomass burning. These advances also identify and help characterize the contributions of previously uncharacterized sources. Numerical modeling has also enabled estimations of contributions of emission sources to atmospherically processed PM in urban and rural regions.

Description / Table of Contents: China’s change to a new model of growth, now called the ‘new normal’, was always going to be hard. Events over the past year show how hard it is. The attempts to moderate the extremes of high investment and low consumption, the correction of overcapacity in the heavy industries that were the mainstays of the old model of growth, the hauling in of the immense debt hangover from the fiscal and monetary expansion that pulled China out of the Great Crash of 2008 would all have been hard at any time. They are harder when changes in economic policy and structure coincide with stagnation in global trade and rising protectionist sentiment in developed countries, extraordinarily rapid demographic change and recognition of the urgency of easing the environmental damage from the old model. China’s economy has slowed and there are worries that the authorities will not be able to contain the slowdown within preferred limits. This year’s Update explores the challenge of the slowdown in growth and the change in economic structure. Leading experts on China’s economy and environment review change within China’s new model of growth, and its interaction with ageing, environmental pressure, new patterns of urbanisation, and debt problems at different levels of government. It illuminates some new developments in China’s economy, including the transformational potential of internet banking, and the dynamics of financial market instability. China’s economic development since 1978 is full of exciting change, and this year’s China Update is again the way to know it as it is happening.

Description / Table of Contents: All available information on the most important metal- and diamond deposits in the Arctic has been assembled in a book (accompanied by a map) and in a database. These sources provide information on 28 diamond deposits and 207 large, very large and potentially large metal deposits, in regions north of 60oN in eight countries in the Arctic.

Description / Table of Contents: Bats in the Anthropocene --- Urbanisation and its effects on bats – a global meta-analysis --- Bats and roads --- Responses of tropical bats to habitat fragmentation, logging, and deforestation --- Insectivorous bats and silviculture: balancing timber production and bat conservation --- Bats in the anthropogenic matrix: Challenges and opportunities for the conservation of Chiroptera and their ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes --- Dark matters: the effects of artificial lighting on bats --- Bats and water: anthropogenic alterations threaten global bat populations --- White-nose syndrome in bats --- Zoonotic viruses and conservation of bats --- Impacts of Wind Energy Development on Bats: a Global Perspective --- Exploitation of Bats for Bushmeat and Medicine --- The conflict between pteropodid bats and fruit growers: species, legislation and mitigation --- Bats and buildings: The conservation of synanthropic bats --- Conservation ecology of cave bats --- The roles of taxonomy and systematics in bat conservation --- Networking networks for global bat conservation --- Cute, Creepy, or Crispy – how values, attitudes and norms shape human behavior toward bats. 

Description / Table of Contents: Überblick Verrechnungspreise --- Rechtliche Grundlagen der Verrechnungspreise --- Erstellung einer Verrechnungspreisdokumentation --- Funktions- und Risikoanalyse --- Verrechnungspreismethoden und Ökonomische Analyse --- Typische Problemfelder in Betriebsprüfungen

Description / Table of Contents: Phylogenetics and conservation biology: drawing a path into the diversity of life --- The value of phylogenetic diversity --- The PD phylogenetic diversity framework: linking evolutionary history to feature diversity for biodiversity conservation --- Reconsidering the loss of evolutionary history: how does non-random extinction prune the tree-of-life?- Phylogenetics and conservation in New Zealand: the long and the short of it --- What is the meaning of extreme phylogenetic diversity? The case of phylogenetic relict species --- Using phylogenetic dissimilarities among sites for biodiversity assessments and conservation --- Phylogenetic diversity measures and their decomposition: a framework based on hill numbers --- Split diversity: measuring and optimizing biodiversity using phylogenetic split networks --- The rarefaction of phylogenetic diversity: formulation, extension and application --- Support in area prioritization using phylogenetic information --- Assessing hotspots of evolutionary history with data from multiple phylogenies: an analysis of endemic clades from New Caledonia --- Representing hotspots of evolutionary history in systematic conservation planning for European mammals --- Priorities for conservation of the evolutionary history of amphibians in the cerrado --- Global spatial analyses of phylogenetic conservation priorities for aquatic mammals --- Metapopulation capacity meets evolutionary distinctness: spatial fragmentation complements phylogenetic rarity in prioritization. - Patterns of species, phylogenetic and mimicry diversity of clearwing butterflies in the Neotropics --- Conservation of phylogenetic diversity in Madagascar’s largest endemic plant family, Sarcolaenaceae --- The future of phylogenetic systematics in conservation biology: linking biodiversity and society

Description / Table of Contents: Foreword --- 1. Innovation for Marginalized Smallholder Farmers and Development: an Overview and Implications for Policy and Research --- Part 1 Innovation for the Rural Poor: Theory, Trends and Impacts --- 2. Institutional and technological innovations in polycentric systems –pathways for escaping marginality --- 3. Innovations for Food and Nutrition Security: Impacts and Trends --- 4. Psychology of Innovation: Innovating human psychology? --- 5. An optimization model for technology adoption of marginalized smallholders --- Part 2 Diversification of Agricultural Production and Income --- 6. The BRAC Approach to Small Farmers' Innovations --- 7. Agricultural Research and Extension Linkages in Amhara Region, Ethiopia --- 8. Transaction costs on the Ethiopian formal seed market and innovations for encouraging private sector investments --- 9. Agricultural Service Delivery Through Mobile Phone: Local innovations and Technological Opportunities in Kenya --- 10. Identification and Acceleration of Farmer Innovativeness in Upper East Ghana --- 11. Gender, social equity and innovations in smallholder farming systems: pitfalls and pathways --- 12. Assessing the Sustainability of Agricultural Technology Options for Poor Rural Farmers --- 13. Land Degradation and Sustainable Land Management Innovations in Central Asia --- 14. Biomass-based value web. A Novel Perspective for Emergng Bioeconomies in Sub-Saharan Africa --- Part 3 Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture --- 15. Adoption of Stress-tolerant Rice Varieties in Bangladesh --- 16. More than cereal based cropping innovations for improving food and livelihood security of poor small holders in marginal areas of Bangladesh --- 17. Integrated Rice-fish Farming System in Bangladesh: An Ex-Ante Value Chain Evaluation Framework --- 18. Technologies for Maize, Wheat, Rice and Pulses in Marginal Districts of Odisha and Bihar --- 19. Technological Innovations for Smallholder Farmers in Ghana --- 20. Potential impacts of yield increasing crop technologies on poverty reduction in two districts of Ethiopia

Description / Table of Contents: Chapter 1. Environmental Governance of the Baltic Sea: Identifying Key Challenges Research Topics and Analytical Approaches. Part 1: Interdisciplinary Case Studies of Environmental Governance --- Chapter 2. Eutrophication and the Ecosystem Approach to Management: A Case Study of Baltic Sea Environmental Governance --- Chapter 3. Fisheries: A Case Study of Baltic Sea Environmental Governance --- Chapter 4. Biological Invasions: a Case Study of Baltic Sea Environmental Governance --- Chapter 5. Governance of Chemicals in the Baltic Sea Region: A Study of Three Generations of Hazardous Substances --- Chapter 6. Oil Spills from Shipping: A Case Study of the Governance of Accidental Hazards and Intentional Pollution in the Baltic Sea --- Part 2: Cross-Case Analysis of Key Environmental Governance Challenges --- Chapter 7. The Ecosystem Approach to Management in Baltic Sea Governance: Towards Increased Reflexivity? --- Chapter 8. Science-Policy Interfaces in Baltic Sea Environmental Governance: Towards Regional Cooperation and Management of Uncertainty? --- Chapter 9. Risk Communication and the Role of the Public: Towards Inclusive Environmental Governance of the Baltic Sea? --- Chapter 10. Seeking Pathways Towards Improved Environmental Governance of the Baltic Sea

Description / Table of Contents: Introduction --- The Jordan Valley --- Projections And Objectives --- Meeting The Strategic Planning Objectives --- The Year 2050 --- Final Conclusions And Recommendations --- Colophon.

Description / Table of Contents: Introduction --- Part I Potted Review of Economic Theory: The Complex Evolving System --- 1. A Potted Review --- Part II Early Days: From Personal Awareness to Group Commitment --- 2. A personal story of awareness and perception --- 2.1 My first awareness breakthrough --- 2.2 Layers of awareness --- 2.3 My second burst of awareness --- 2.4 Defining a new society for myself --- 2.5 Key human values --- 2.6 Inside = outside --- 2.7 To be and to do --- 2.7 Welfare or wellbeing? --- 2.8 Business transformation --- 2.9 Leadership versus management --- 2.10 STIR Foundation - City of Tomorrow --- 2.11 Sustainocracy --- 2.12 City of Tomorrow --- 2.13 The Amsterdam internet congress --- 2.14 Key elements that define “sustainocratic” AiREAS --- 2.15 AiREAS --- 2.16 Commitment first --- 2.17 Territorial focus --- 2.18 Local AiREAS Eindhoven --- 2.19 First things first --- 2.20 Making visible the invisible --- 2.21 From idea to project --- 2.22 Conclusion about the coming about of AiREAS --- 2.23 Link with ethics and economies --- Part III “The Invisible made Visible”: science and technology --- An introduction by Marco van Lochem --- 3.1 The ILM --- 3.2. Variables measured --- 3.3.3. Instrumentation --- 3.3.1 The Airbox --- 3.3.2 PM (PM10, PM2.5, PM1) sensor --- 3.3.3 UFP sensor --- 3.3.4 Ozone sensor --- 3.3.5 NO2 sensor --- 3.3.6 Temperature sensor and relative humidity sensor --- 3.3.7 Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) --- 3.3.8 Experiences and recommendations --- 4 Data quality --- 4.1 Regular calibration and preventative maintenance --- 4.2 Experiences and recommendations --- 5 Locations and spatial sampling --- 5.1 Experiences and recommendations --- 6 Data management --- 6.1 The Airbox --- 6.2 Axians (1) --- 6.3 ECN --- 6.4 Axians (2) --- 6.5 Experiences and recommendations --- 7 Results --- 7.1 Initial tests of sensors --- 7.2 Evaluation of sensor precision --- 8 Scientific projects based on the ILM --- Part IV Experiences after 5 years of AiREAS and 1 year of ILM --- 9. The way things work at AiREAS --- 9.1 The workflow in AiREAS --- 9.2 Financial routine in AiREAS --- 9.3 Confidence based interaction --- 9.4 October 2013 general AiREAS participants meeting --- 9.5 Interpreting the ILM data --- 9.6 The transition --- 9.7 Communication --- 9.8 Benchmarking and referencing our practical ideologies --- 9.9 The royalty system --- 9.10 Some of the transformative issues --- 9.11 Conclusion. Index.

Description / Table of Contents: Introduction --- Foreword --- Chapter 1: Persuasive communication, by Jean-Paul Close, Jaap Ham --- Chapter 2: the AiREAS Proof of Principle - POP Relating air quality to health and lifestyle, by Jean-Paul Close, Nicolette Meeder, John Schmeitz --- Chapter 3: The backpack project, by Jean-Paul Close, Nicolette Meeder --- Chapter 4: New entrepreneurship, by John Schmeitz, Jean-Paul Close --- Chapter 5: Event linked communication, by Jean-Paul Close, Eric de Groot, Pierre Cluitmans --- Chapter 6: Multicultural context, by Jean-Paul Close, Rüstem Demir --- Chapter 7: Level 4 Sustainocratic regional development, by Jean-Paul Close

Description / Table of Contents: Introduction --- General reflections --- The Price of Everything and the Value of Nothing: sustainability ‘after the crisis’ --- Impacts of global trade flows --- Stocks and flows in the performance economy --- The Embeddedness of carbon in UK Lifestyles --- Ethics of Industrial Ecology --- Complexity and prediction --- Urban metabolism --- Industrial Symbiosis --- Industrial Ecology and the Solidarity Economy --- Industrial Ecology in Developing Countries --- Material Flow Analysis and Waste Management --- Social sciences in Industrial Ecology --- Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment --- Prospective Models of Society’s Future Metabolism --- Planetary boundaries and sustainable business --- Working with policymakers --- Portugal’s national waste plan --- The Industrial Ecology of the automobile

Description / Table of Contents: Introduction --- Relevant European drought and water scarcity policies --- The Governance Assessment Tool and its Use --- Eifel-Rur case study, Germany --- Somerset case study, the United Kingdom --- Brittany case study, France --- Flanders case study, Belgium --- Salland case study, The Netherlands --- Vechtstromen study, The Netherlands --- Crosscutting Perspective Agriculture --- Crosscutting Perspective Freshwater --- Crosscutting Perspective Nature --- Concluding Remarks

Description / Table of Contents: Part I: The Big Data Opportunity --- The Big Data Value Opportunity --- Introduction to the BIG Project --- Part II: The Big Data Value Chain: Enabling and Value Creating Technologies --- The Big Data Value Chain: Definitions, Concepts, and Theoretical Approaches --- Big Data Acquisition --- Big Data Analysis --- Big Data Curation --- Big Data Storage --- Big Data Usage --- Part III: Usage and Exploitation of Big Data --- Big Data Driven Innovation in Industrial Sectors --- Big Data in the Health Sector --- Big Data in the Public Sector --- Big Data in the Finance and Insurance Sectors --- Big Data in the Energy and Transport Sectors --- Big Data in the Media and Entertainment Sectors --- Part IV: A Roadmap for Big Data Research --- Cross-Sectorial Requirements Analysis for Big Data Research --- New Horizons for a Data-Driven Economy: Roadmaps and Action Plans for Technology, Businesses, Policy, and Society.                        

Description / Table of Contents: 1.Introduction --- 2. What Political Economy adds to Transformation Research --- 3. Why the Mainstream Economic Paradigm Cannot Inform Sustainability Transformations --- 4. Mapping an Emerging New Economic Paradigm in Practice --- 5. How to Work a Great Mindshift for Sustainability Transformations

Description / Table of Contents: Part I The Urban Heat Island – Evidence, Measures and Tools --- Forecasting Models for Urban Warming in Climate Change --- Assessment Indication and Gold Standard --- Methodologies for UHI Analysis --- Decision Support Systems for Urban Planning --- Part II Pilot Actions in European Cities --- Counteracting Urban Heat Islands: Solutions for European Cities.

Description / Table of Contents: From the Contents: Overview concepts, approaches and challenges of integrated groundwater management --- Disentangling the complexity of a groundwater dependent socio-ecological system --- The scale of the groundwater issue internationally --- Groundwater law --- Groundwater regulation and integrated water planning

Description / Table of Contents: Foreword --- Preface --- Cooperators --- Part 1 Radioactivity in the Terrestrial Environment --- Part 2 Decontamination and Radioactive Waste --- Part 3 Environmental Radiation and External Exposure --- Part 4 Radioactivity in Foods and Internal Exposure

Description / Table of Contents: Foreword --- Preface --- Cooperators --- Part 1 Active Faults --- Part 2 Seismic Source Modeling and Seismic Motion --- Part 3 Probabilistic Risk Assessment with External Hazards --- Part 4 Nuclear Risk Governance in Society

Description / Table of Contents: 1 An Overview of Our Research --- 2 Monitoring Inspection for Radioactive Substances in Agricultural, Livestock, Forest, and Fishery Products in Fukushima Prefecture --- 3 Rice Inspections in Fukushima Prefecture --- 4 Cesium accumulation in paddy field rice grown in Fukushima from 2011 to 2013: cultivars and fertilization --- 5 Physiological verification of the effect of potassium supply on the reduction of radiocesium content in rice grain --- 6 Consecutive Field Trials of Rice Cultivation in Partially Decontaminated Paddy Fields to Reduce Radiocesium Absorption in the Iitate Village in Fukushima Prefecture --- 7 Effects of “clean feeding” management on livestock products contaminated with radioactive cesium due to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident --- 8 Adverse effects of radiocesium on the promotion of sustainable circular agriculture including livestock due to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident --- 9 Wild boars in Fukushima after the nuclear power plant accident: Distribution of radiocesium --- 10 Contamination of Wild Animals: Microhabitat Heterogeneity and Ecological Factors of Radioactive Cesium Exposure in Fukushima --- 11 Translocation of radiocesium in fruit trees --- 12 The effects of radioactive contamination on the forestry industry and commercial mushroom-log production in Fukushima, Japan --- 13 Radiocesium in timber of Japanese cedar, and Japanese red pine, in the forests of Minamisoma, Fukushima --- 14 Ecosystem monitoring of radiocesium redistribution dynamics in a forested catchment in Fukushima after the nuclear power plant accident in March 2011 --- 15 Reduction of air radiation dose by ponding paddy fields --- 16 Collaboration Structure for the Resurrection of Iitate Village, Fukushima: A Case Study of a Nonprofitable Organization --- 17 Impacts of the nuclear power plant accident and the start of trial operations in Fukushima fisheries --- 18 Consumer evaluation of foods from the disaster affected area: Change in 3 years --- 19 Imaging Techniques for Radiocesium in Soil and Plants

Description / Table of Contents: This book is open access under a CC-BY license. The importance of the pharmaceutical industry in Sub-Saharan Africa, its claim to policy priority, is rooted in the vast unmet health needs of the sub-continent. Making Medicines in Africa is a collective endeavour, by a group of contributors with a strong African and more broadly Southern presence, to find ways to link technological development, investment and industrial growth in pharmaceuticals to improve access to essential good quality medicines, as part of moving towards universal access to competent health care in Africa. The authors aim to shift the emphasis in international debate and initiatives towards sustained Africa-based and African-led initiatives to tackle this huge challenge. Without the technological, industrial, intellectual, organisational and research-related capabilities associated with competent pharmaceutical production, and without policies that pull the industrial sectors towards serving local health needs, the African sub-continent cannot generate the resources to tackle its populations' needs and demands.    Research for this book has been selected as one of the 20 best examples of the impact of UK research on development. See http://www.ukcds.org.uk/the-global-impact-of-uk-research for further details

Description / Table of Contents: History --- A brief history of light --- Ibn Al-Haitham – Father of modern optics --- Optical Sources --- Femtosecond light --- Laser --- LED light --- Electron optics --- Applications --- Biophotonics --- Optical communication --- Optical astronomy --- Solar cells --- Optics in Remote Sensing --- Optics in nanotechnology --- Optics in art --- Eye --- Optics in medicine --- Optical illusions --- Quantum Optics --- Optical tests of foundations of physics --- Nonlinear Optics: Historical Perspectives and New Opportunities --- Quantum communication --- Nature of photon --- Atom optics --- Coherent effects: From EIT to slow light

Description / Table of Contents: Part I: DevOps: Conflict to Collaboration --- Chapter 1: DevOps in the Ascendency --- Chapter 2: IT Impasse --- Chapter 3: DevOps Foundations --- Part II: Essential DevOps Tooling --- Chapter 4: Build: DevOps Driven APIs --- Chapter 5: Test: Championing Quality - Continuously --- Chapter 6: Deploy --- Chapter 7: Manage: Agile Operations --- Part III: Tuning and Continuous Improvement --- Chapter 8: Practical DevOps --- Chapter 9: DevOps and Real World ROI --- Chapter 10: Ready, Set, DevOps!

Description / Table of Contents: Introduction 2 --- Physical Setting 6 --- Topography 8 --- Geologic Setting: Glaciers & Karst 11 --- Air Temperature 14 --- Precipitation 18 --- Snow 22 --- Watersheds & Value Comparison Units (VCUs) 27 --- Biological Setting 32 --- Biogeographic Provinces 34 --- Wetlands 39 --- Estuaries 41 --- Land Cover & Forest Vegetation 44 --- Old-growth & Second-growth Forest 51 --- Core Areas of High Biological Value 57 --- Index of Cumulative Ecological Risk 60 --- Anadromous Fish 66 --- Anadromous Fish Habitat 68 --- King (Chinook) Salmon 73 --- Red (Sockeye) Salmon 76 --- Silver (Coho) Salmon 79 --- Pink (Humpy) Salmon 82 --- Chum (Dog) Salmon 85 --- Steelhead Trout 88 --- Dolly Varden 91 --- Coastal Cutthroat Trout 95 --- Eulachon 99 --- Birds 108 --- Bird Species Richness 110 --- Important Bird Areas (IBAs) 114 --- Marine Bird Colonies 117 --- Marbled Murrelet 120 --- Kittlitz’s Murrelet 123 --- Shorebirds 126 --- Prince of Wales Spruce Grouse 129 --- Queen Charlotte Goshawk 132 --- Bald Eagle 135 --- Mammals 142 --- Mammal Species Richness 144 --- Northern Flying Squirrel 147 --- Sitka Black-tailed Deer 150 --- Alexander Archipelago Wolf 155 --- Brown Bear 160 --- Black Bear 164 --- Human Uses 174 --- Land Ownership 176 --- Transportation and Energy Infrastructure 180 --- Community Subsistence Use 187 --- Timber 191 --- Metals Mining 195 --- Sport and Commercial Fishing 201 --- Land Use Designations 206 --- Conservation Area Design for Southeast Alaska 211 --- Tongass 77 Watersheds 214 --- Conservation Summary 222

Description / Table of Contents: The supercontinent-cycle hypothesis attributes planetary-scale episodic tectonic events to an intrinsic self-organizing mode of mantle convection, governed by the buoyancy of continental lithosphere that resists subduction during the closure of old ocean basins, and the consequent reorganization of mantle convection cells leading to the opening of new ocean basins. Characteristic timescales of the cycle are typically 500 to 700 million years. Proposed spatial patterns of cyclicity range from hemispheric (introversion) to antipodal (extroversion), to precisely between those end members (orthoversion). Advances in our understanding can arise from theoretical or numerical modelling, primary data acquisition relevant to continental reconstructions, and spatiotemporal correlations between plate kinematics, geodynamic events and palaeoenvironmental history. The palaeogeographic record of supercontinental tectonics on Earth is still under development. The contributions in this Special Publication provide snapshots in time of these investigations and indicate that Earth's palaeogeographic record incorporates elements of all three end-member spatial patterns.

Description / Table of Contents: A major rifting episode began in the Afar region of northern Ethiopia in September 2005. Over a ten-day period, c. 2.5 km3 of magma were intruded along a 60 km-long dyke separating the Arabian and Nubian plates. Over the next five years, a further 13 dyke intrusions caused continued extension, eruptions and seismicity. This activity led to a renewed international focus on the role of magmatism in rifting, with major international collaborative projects working in Afar and Ethiopia to study the ongoing activity and to place it in a broader context. This book brings together articles that explore the role of magmatism in rifting, from the initiation of continental break-up through to full seafloor spreading. We also explore the hazards related to rifting and the associated volcanism. This work has implications for our understanding of how continents break-up and the associated distribution of resources in rift basins and continental margins.

Description / Table of Contents: The geological and palaeontological records of climate change and evolutionary events reflect Earth's widely fluctuating climate systems. Past climates hold the clues to understanding future developments. In this context, research on linked climate, biodiversity and sea-level fluctuations of the Devonian contributes to the general knowledge of deep-time climate dynamics. A fruitful co-operation between the International Geoscience Programme IGCP 596 and the International Subcommission on Devonian Stratigraphy (SDS) addressed the complex succession of climate-linked Devonian global events of varying magnitude. The primary goal of IGCP 596 was to assess mid-Palaeozoic climate changes and their impact on marine and terrestrial biodiversity using an interdisciplinary approach. The focus of SDS includes a revision of the eustatic sea-level curve and the integration of refined chrono- and biostratigraphy with modern chemo-, magneto-, cyclo-, event- and sequence stratigraphy. This enabled the much improved dating and correlation of abiotic perturbations, evolutionary changes, organism and ecosystem ranges. Results by 37 authors are presented in 14 chapters, which cover the entire Devonian.

Description / Table of Contents: Geomaterials derived from the Earth's crust and used in construction after appropriate processing are among the earliest raw materials exploited, processed and used by humans. Their numerous functional properties include accessibility, workability and serviceability, and these are explored within this volume. In modern society, sustainable use of raw materials, specifically those exploited in large volumes such as geomaterials for construction, raises questions of reducing extraction of primary resources and thus minimizing impacts on natural systems, and also employment of materials and technologies to lower emissions of deleterious substances into the atmosphere. This will be possible only if we fully understand the properties, processing and mode of use of traditional geomaterials. Although most of the papers within this volume were written by geologists, the contributions will also be of interest to those working in cultural heritage, monument conservation, civil engineering and architecture.

Description / Table of Contents: Pazifikstaaten wie die Fidschi-Inseln sind wie kaum eine andere Region der Welt gekennzeichnet von gesellschaftlichen Veränderungen und dem globalen Umweltwandel. Auf Basis eines partizipativen Forschungsdesigns, durchgeführt in ausgewählten Küstendörfern, untersucht dieser Band die Auswirkungen der Globalisierung und des Klimawandels auf die Lebensqualität ihrer Bewohner. Dabei wird aufgezeigt, dass die Dorfbewohner keine passiven Opfer externer Prozesse sind, sondern aktiv ihr Leben gestalten. Mittels neo-traditioneller Bewegungen gelingt es den Bewohnern weitestgehend, ein festes Wertefundament als Grundlage ihrer kulturellen Identität zu bewahren. Eine intakte Gemeinschaft steht dabei im Zentrum spiritueller, ökonomischer und sozialer Werte. Im Zuge der gesellschaftlichen Transformation agieren die Gemeinschaften nicht mehr ortsgebunden, sondern bilden mithilfe moderner Transport- und Kommunikationstechnologien globalisierte Netzwerke – ohne dabei die Bezüge zu ihrer kulturellen Herkunft zu verlieren. Auswärts lebende Familienangehörige tragen so Wissen und materiellen Wohlstand in die Dorfgemeinschaften und erweitern die Handlungspotentiale und Lebensstandards der Küstendorfbewohner. Im Zuge der Wissensvermittlung erfolgt jedoch insbesondere die Darstellung des Klimawandels und seiner Gefahren verkürzt und nicht auf lokale Werte zurechtgeschnitten, sodass es auch zu Wahrnehmungsverzerrungen und Fehlanpassungen kommt. Im Kontext von Entwicklungszusammenarbeit rät diese Untersuchung daher zu kultureller Sensibilität und einer kritischen Reflektion ethnozentrischer Weltanschauungen, um die Lebensqualität in fidschianischen Dorfgemeinschaften nicht zu gefährden. In diesem Band werden ethnographische Ideale für eine kultur- und sozialgeographische Forschung im globalen Süden aufbereitet. Konzeptionell ist die Untersuchung in die kritische geographische Verwundbarkeits- und Transformationsforschung eingerahmt. In einem kulturräumlichen Überblick wird zunächst aus historisch-politischer Perspektive die Bedeutung postkolonialer Belastungen auf gegenwärtige Transformationsprozesse aufgezeigt. Das Herzstück bildet anschließend die ausführliche Analyse gesellschaftlicher Transformationsprozesse auf die Lebensqualität in drei Küstendörfern der Fidschi-Inseln. | As other Pacific Islands Countries, Fiji is shaped by processes of social transformations and global environmental change. This study utilises ethnographic ideals for enhancing cultural and social geographic research in the global south. A participatory in-depth analysis of rural life in three Fijian coastal villages is at the core of this study. This is framed by a historic-political overview of the burden of Fiji's colonial past. Fijian coastal villagers are not passive victims of global social transformation and climate change. Through neo-traditional movements they actively form processes of social and cultural change. Rural Fijian norms, values and cultural identity crystallize in robust communities. Via modern forms of communication and transportation Fijians established globalised networks securing individuals' quality of life. Family members living far from their home villages remain in contact with their relatives. This way they keep their Fijian Identities as source of wellbeing and as well support the villagers' material wealth and knowledge to enhance capabilities. Merely regarding hazardous climate change impacts the passed on knowledge is spread abridged and poorly fitting into local value systems. Therefore, misperceptions and maladaptations are prevalent. In consequence this study pleads for development agencies to act culturally sensitive and to critically reflect ethnocentric worldviews in order not to harm Fijian values and wellbeing.

Description / Table of Contents: Palaeomagnetism is a technique used to understand complex deformation patterns in fold-and-thrust belts; it can be used to characterize the distribution, magnitude and timing of vertical axis rotations, an elusive variable using other methods. A combination of palaeomagnetic and structural geology analyses has helped to unravel the geometry and kinematics of fold-and-thrust belts around the world and of different geological ages for more than 50 years. This volume comprises three sections: the first shows thorough overviews of western Mediterranean arcs and the western Carpathians; the second depicts several examples from the Andes, the Alps, Anatolia, Pyrenees, Iberian Ranges and the Atlas; and the third shows the latest research on the use of palaeomagnetism to understand fold-and-thrust belts in 3D and 4D in a more quantitative way and it also includes some methodological proposals to avoid common errors. In the papers of the first two sections, the combination of palaeomagnetic analyses with structural data, AMS or magnetostratigraphic analyses demonstrate the usefulness of palaeomagnetism in deciphering complex deformation patterns in fold-and-thrust belts.

Description / Table of Contents: Geodynamic and natural hazards processes produce among other effects deformation and gravity changes which can be measured, using space and ground-based techniques. It is widely recognized that obtaining high temporal rate and high spatial resolution data over wide areas could enhance our mapping capability of such hazardous processes. However, it is also necessary to develop new mathematical (analytical and/or numerical) models and methods for a correct interpretation and, eventually forecast. This book is dedicated to the description of theoretical models, inversion techniques and their application to observational geodetic and geophysical data sets in active geodynamic areas and affected by natural hazards. This book compiles part of the papers presented at the 15th Annual conference of the International Association for Mathematical Geosciences held in Madrid, Spain during September 2-6, 2013. This conference had the special topic of “Mathematics of the Planet Earth” emphasizing the recent importance of modelling in our understanding of Geoscience problems. In this regard, the session XIII “Deformation modelling, Geodynamics and Natural Hazards” served to discuss modelling and observational works of structural and deformation processes (e.g., geodesy, seismology) relevant to the study of Geodynamics and Natural Hazards.

Description / Table of Contents: All living organisms are composed of major, minor, and trace elements, given by nature and supplied by geology. Medical geology is a rapidly growing discipline dealing with the influence of natural geological and environmental risk factors on the distribution of health problems in humans and animals. As a multi-disciplinary scientific field, medical geology has the potential of helping medical and public health communities all over the world in the pursuit of solutions to a wide range of environmental and naturally induced health issues. The natural environment can impact health in a variety of ways. The composition of rocks and minerals are imprinted on the air that we breathe, the water that we drink, and the food that we eat. For many people this transference of minerals and the trace elements they contain is beneficial as it is the primary source of nutrients (such as calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, and about a dozen other elements) that are essential for a healthy life. However, sometimes the local geology can cause significant health problems because there is an insufficient amount of an essential element or an excess of a potentially toxic element (such as arsenic, mercury, lead, fluorine, etc.), or a harmful substance such as methane gas, dust-sized particles of asbestos, quartz or pyrite, or certain naturally occurring organic compounds. Current and future medical geology concerns include: dangerous levels of arsenic in drinking water in dozens of countries including the USA; mercury emissions from coal combustion and its bioaccumulation in the environment; the impacts of mercury and lead mobilizations in regions were artisanal gold mining is conducted; the residual health impacts of geologic processes such as volcanic emissions, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and geogenic dust; exposure to fibrous minerals such as asbestos and erionite; and the health impacts of global climate change. Billions of people, most in developing countries, are afflicted by these and other environmental health issues that can be avoided, prevented, mitigated or minimized through research and educational outreach. This Special Issue of Geosciences discusses recent advances in medical geology, providing examples from research conducted all over the world. Among the topics to be discussed are: - Health effects from trace elements, metals and metalloids - Regional and global impacts of natural dust (including the study of nanoparticles) - Chemical and environmental pathology of diseases associated with natural environment - Novel analytical approaches to the study of natural geochemical and environmental agents - Research on beneficial health aspects of natural geological materials - Risk management, risk communication and risk mitigation on medical geology - Remote sensing and GIS applications on medical geology - Epidemiology and public health studies on medical geology - Climate change and medical geology - Clinical and toxicological research on biomarkers of exposure - Veterinary medical geology - Biosurveillance and biomonitoring studies on medical geology

Description / Table of Contents: The copper-cobalt outcrops of Upper Katanga and north-western Zambia host a particular flora which comprises an estimated 750 species of which more than 400 are treated in this copper-cobalt field guide. The aim of this book, resulting from several years of intensive field work and study, is to bring together the basic knowledges permitting an easy approach to the identification of a great number of the species to be encountered. More than 400 species are illustrated with color photographs and/or drawings together with comments concerning synonyms, habit, description, ecology and distribution. Plant species are listed and colour-coded according to classification: Cyanoprocaryota, lichenized Fungi, Anthocerophyta, Marchantiophyta and Bryophyta (red edge), Lycophyta and Monilophyta (green edge), Magnoliopsida (blue edge) and Liliopsida (yellow edge). An index allows easy location either according to genus and species. An account of the research on copper-cobalt ecosystems carried out during the last ten years in southeastern D.R. Congo is also presented. The editors have spent more than twenty years in the area concerned and have collected more than 8,500 voucher specimens, including eleven species new to science (holotypes).

Description / Table of Contents: Nowadays, the innovation in space technologies creates a new trend for the Earth observation and monitoring from space. This book contains high quality and compressive work on both microwave and optical remote sensing applications. This book is divided into five sections: (i) remote sensing for biomass estimation, (ii) remote sensing-based glacier studies, (iii) remote sensing for coastal and ocean applications, (iv) sewage leaks and environment disasters, and (v) remote sensing image processing. Each chapter offers an opportunity to expand the knowledge about various remote sensing techniques and persuade researchers to deliver new research novelty for environment studies.

Description / Table of Contents: Increasing innovations and applications make microfluidics a versatile choice for researchers in many disciplines. This book consists of multiple review chapters that aim to cover recent advances and new applications of microfluidics in biology, electronics, energy, and materials sciences. It provides comprehensive views of various aspects of microfluidics ranging from fundamentals of fabrication, flow control, and droplet manipulation to the most recent exploration in emerging areas such as material synthesis, imaging and novel spectroscopy, and marriage with electronics. The chapters have many illustrations showcasing exciting results. This book should be useful for those who are eager to learn more about microfluidics as well as researchers who want to pick up new concepts and developments in this fast-growing field.

Description / Table of Contents: Naples and the porous landscapes of ecomafia and volcanic eruptions; death in Venice as a literary trope and a petrochemical curse; earthquakes and political moves that shake territories, people, and ideas cross-country; the slow pace of wine, food and environmental violence in Piedmont: these are some of the texts that this book narrates and analyses. Here stories of justice, cultural visions, society and politics interlace with stories of land and life, ecosystems and body cells, pollution and redemption. Ecocriticism and Italy reads Italy as a text - a compound text made of matter and imagination - always keeping in mind the link between the horizon of this country and the world’s larger ecology of ideas and matter. Challenging stereotypes and ambivalent clichés, this book uses ecocriticism as a way to give voice to the forces, wounds, and messages of creativity dispersed on Italy’s body, arguing that a literature, an art, and a criticism that are able to transform these unexpressed voices into stories - into our stories - are not only ways to resist. They are a practice of liberation. | Table of Contents: Introduction, pp. 1–12 --- Chapter 1. Bodies of Naples : A Journey in the Landscapes of Porosity, pp. 13–46 --- Chapter 2. Cognitive Justice and the Truth of Biology : Death (and Life) in Venice, pp. 47–82 --- Chapter 3. Three Earthquakes : Wounds, Signs, and Resisting Arts in Belice, Irpinia, and L’Aquila, pp. 83–124 --- Chapter 4. Slow : Stories of Landscapes, Resistance, and Liberation, pp. 125–156

Description / Table of Contents: Over the last decades, the study of extremophiles has providing ground breaking discoveries that challenge the paradigms of modern biology and make us rethink intriguing questions such as “what is life?”, “what are the limits of life?”, and “what are the fundamental features of life?”. The mechanisms by which different microorganisms adapt to extreme environments provide a unique perspective on the fundamental characteristics of biological processes present in most species. Extremophiles are also critical for evolutionary studies related to the origins of life, since they form a cluster on the base of the tree of life. Furthermore, the application of extremophiles in industrial processes has opened a new era in biotechnology. The study of extreme environments has become a key area of research for astrobiology. Extremophiles may help us understand what form life takes on other planetary bodies in our own solar system and beyond. These findings and possibilities have made the study of life in extreme environments one of the most exciting areas of research in recent decades. However, despite the latest advances we are just in the beginning of exploring and characterizing the world of extremophiles. This special issue covers all aspects of life in extreme environments.

Description / Table of Contents: "Risk Criticism: Reading in an Age of Manufactured Uncertainties" is a study of literary and cultural responses to global environmental risk that offers an environmental humanities approach to understanding risk in an age of unfolding ecological catastrophe. In 2015, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists re-set its iconic Doomsday Clock to three minutes to midnight, as close to the apocalypse as it has been since 1953. What pushed its hands was, however, not just the threat of nuclear weapons, but also other global environmental risks that the Bulletin judged to have risen to the scale of the nuclear, including climate change and innovations in the life sciences. If we may once have believed that the end of days would come in a blaze of nuclear firestorm (or the chill of the subsequent nuclear winter), we now suspect that the apocalypse may be much slower, creeping in as chemical toxin, climate change, or bio- or nano- technologies run amok. Taking inspiration from the questions raised by the Bulletin’s synecdochical “nuclear”, "Risk Criticism" aims to generate a hybrid form of critical practice that brings “nuclear criticism”—a subfield of literary studies that has been, since the Cold War, largely neglected—into conversation with ecocriticism, the more recent approach to environmental texts in literary studies. Through readings of novels, films, theater, poetry, visual art, websites, news reports, and essays, "Risk Criticism" tracks the diverse ways in which environmental risks are understood and represented today.

Description / Table of Contents: Pazifikstaaten wie die Fidschi-Inseln sind wie kaum eine andere Region der Welt gekennzeichnet von gesellschaftlichen Veränderungen und dem globalen Umweltwandel. Auf Basis eines partizipativen Forschungsdesigns, durchgeführt in ausgewählten Küstendörfern, untersucht dieser Band die Auswirkungen der Globalisierung und des Klimawandels auf die Lebensqualität ihrer Bewohner. Dabei wird aufgezeigt, dass die Dorfbewohner keine passiven Opfer externer Prozesse sind, sondern aktiv ihr Leben gestalten. Mittels neo-traditioneller Bewegungen gelingt es den Bewohnern weitestgehend, ein festes Wertefundament als Grundlage ihrer kulturellen Identität zu bewahren. Eine intakte Gemeinschaft steht dabei im Zentrum spiritueller, ökonomischer und sozialer Werte. Im Zuge der gesellschaftlichen Transformation agieren die Gemeinschaften nicht mehr ortsgebunden, sondern bilden mithilfe moderner Transport- und Kommunikationstechnologien globalisierte Netzwerke – ohne dabei die Bezüge zu ihrer kulturellen Herkunft zu verlieren. Auswärts lebende Familienangehörige tragen so Wissen und materiellen Wohlstand in die Dorfgemeinschaften und erweitern die Handlungspotentiale und Lebensstandards der Küstendorfbewohner. Im Zuge der Wissensvermittlung erfolgt jedoch insbesondere die Darstellung des Klimawandels und seiner Gefahren verkürzt und nicht auf lokale Werte zurechtgeschnitten, sodass es auch zu Wahrnehmungsverzerrungen und Fehlanpassungen kommt. Im Kontext von Entwicklungszusammenarbeit rät diese Untersuchung daher zu kultureller Sensibilität und einer kritischen Reflektion ethnozentrischer Weltanschauungen, um die Lebensqualität in fidschianischen Dorfgemeinschaften nicht zu gefährden. In diesem Band werden ethnographische Ideale für eine kultur- und sozialgeographische Forschung im globalen Süden aufbereitet. Konzeptionell ist die Untersuchung in die kritische geographische Verwundbarkeits- und Transformationsforschung eingerahmt. In einem kulturräumlichen Überblick wird zunächst aus historisch-politischer Perspektive die Bedeutung postkolonialer Belastungen auf gegenwärtige Transformationsprozesse aufgezeigt. Das Herzstück bildet anschließend die ausführliche Analyse gesellschaftlicher Transformationsprozesse auf die Lebensqualität in drei Küstendörfern der Fidschi-Inseln. | As other Pacific Islands Countries, Fiji is shaped by processes of social transformations and global environmental change. This study utilises ethnographic ideals for enhancing cultural and social geographic research in the global south. A participatory in-depth analysis of rural life in three Fijian coastal villages is at the core of this study. This is framed by a historic-political overview of the burden of Fiji's colonial past. Fijian coastal villagers are not passive victims of global social transformation and climate change. Through neo-traditional movements they actively form processes of social and cultural change. Rural Fijian norms, values and cultural identity crystallize in robust communities. Via modern forms of communication and transportation Fijians established globalised networks securing individuals' quality of life. Family members living far from their home villages remain in contact with their relatives. This way they keep their Fijian Identities as source of wellbeing and as well support the villagers' material wealth and knowledge to enhance capabilities. Merely regarding hazardous climate change impacts the passed on knowledge is spread abridged and poorly fitting into local value systems. Therefore, misperceptions and maladaptations are prevalent. In consequence this study pleads for development agencies to act culturally sensitive and to critically reflect ethnocentric worldviews in order not to harm Fijian values and wellbeing.

Description / Table of Contents: 1 An Overview of Our Research --- 2 Monitoring Inspection for Radioactive Substances in Agricultural, Livestock, Forest, and Fishery Products in Fukushima Prefecture --- 3 Rice Inspections in Fukushima Prefecture --- 4 Cesium accumulation in paddy field rice grown in Fukushima from 2011 to 2013: cultivars and fertilization --- 5 Physiological verification of the effect of potassium supply on the reduction of radiocesium content in rice grain --- 6 Consecutive Field Trials of Rice Cultivation in Partially Decontaminated Paddy Fields to Reduce Radiocesium Absorption in the Iitate Village in Fukushima Prefecture --- 7 Effects of “clean feeding” management on livestock products contaminated with radioactive cesium due to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident --- 8 Adverse effects of radiocesium on the promotion of sustainable circular agriculture including livestock due to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident --- 9 Wild boars in Fukushima after the nuclear power plant accident: Distribution of radiocesium --- 10 Contamination of Wild Animals: Microhabitat Heterogeneity and Ecological Factors of Radioactive Cesium Exposure in Fukushima --- 11 Translocation of radiocesium in fruit trees --- 12 The effects of radioactive contamination on the forestry industry and commercial mushroom-log production in Fukushima, Japan --- 13 Radiocesium in timber of Japanese cedar, and Japanese red pine, in the forests of Minamisoma, Fukushima --- 14 Ecosystem monitoring of radiocesium redistribution dynamics in a forested catchment in Fukushima after the nuclear power plant accident in March 2011 --- 15 Reduction of air radiation dose by ponding paddy fields --- 16 Collaboration Structure for the Resurrection of Iitate Village, Fukushima: A Case Study of a Nonprofitable Organization --- 17 Impacts of the nuclear power plant accident and the start of trial operations in Fukushima fisheries --- 18 Consumer evaluation of foods from the disaster affected area: Change in 3 years --- 19 Imaging Techniques for Radiocesium in Soil and Plants

Description / Table of Contents: Foreword --- 1. Innovation for Marginalized Smallholder Farmers and Development: an Overview and Implications for Policy and Research --- Part 1 Innovation for the Rural Poor: Theory, Trends and Impacts --- 2. Institutional and technological innovations in polycentric systems –pathways for escaping marginality --- 3. Innovations for Food and Nutrition Security: Impacts and Trends --- 4. Psychology of Innovation: Innovating human psychology? --- 5. An optimization model for technology adoption of marginalized smallholders --- Part 2 Diversification of Agricultural Production and Income --- 6. The BRAC Approach to Small Farmers' Innovations --- 7. Agricultural Research and Extension Linkages in Amhara Region, Ethiopia --- 8. Transaction costs on the Ethiopian formal seed market and innovations for encouraging private sector investments --- 9. Agricultural Service Delivery Through Mobile Phone: Local innovations and Technological Opportunities in Kenya --- 10. Identification and Acceleration of Farmer Innovativeness in Upper East Ghana --- 11. Gender, social equity and innovations in smallholder farming systems: pitfalls and pathways --- 12. Assessing the Sustainability of Agricultural Technology Options for Poor Rural Farmers --- 13. Land Degradation and Sustainable Land Management Innovations in Central Asia --- 14. Biomass-based value web. A Novel Perspective for Emergng Bioeconomies in Sub-Saharan Africa --- Part 3 Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture --- 15. Adoption of Stress-tolerant Rice Varieties in Bangladesh --- 16. More than cereal based cropping innovations for improving food and livelihood security of poor small holders in marginal areas of Bangladesh --- 17. Integrated Rice-fish Farming System in Bangladesh: An Ex-Ante Value Chain Evaluation Framework --- 18. Technologies for Maize, Wheat, Rice and Pulses in Marginal Districts of Odisha and Bihar --- 19. Technological Innovations for Smallholder Farmers in Ghana --- 20. Potential impacts of yield increasing crop technologies on poverty reduction in two districts of Ethiopia

Description / Table of Contents: The structural properties of materials play a fundamental role in the determination of their suitability for a specific application. This book is intended as a contribution to the efforts to increase the knowledge of the influence exerted on the properties of materials by their crystalline or amorphous structure. To this aim, some of the materials that are most promising for their use in different technological fields have been studied, namely graphene, titanium oxide, several types of functional metal oxides, porphyrinic crystalline solids, plasma deposited polymers, amorphous silicon, as well as hydrogenated amorphous carbon. These materials have been presented by the authors for their use in different applications, including microelectronics, photonics, and biomedicine.

Description / Table of Contents: The book presents a collection of MATLAB-based chapters of various engineering background. Instead of giving exhausting amount of technical details, authors were rather advised to explain relations of their problems to actual MATLAB concepts. So, whenever possible, download links to functioning MATLAB codes were added and a potential reader can do own testing. Authors are typically scientists with interests in modeling in MATLAB. Chapters include image and signal processing, mechanics and dynamics, models and data identification in biology, fuzzy logic, discrete event systems and data acquisition systems.

Description / Table of Contents: The present text book contains a collection of six high-quality articles. In particular, this book is devoted to Linear Mathematics by presenting problems in Applied Linear Algebra of general or special interest.

Description / Table of Contents: In recent years, typhoons have struck the Philippines and Vanuatu; earthquakes have rocked Haiti, Pakistan, and Nepal; floods have swept through Pakistan and Mozambique; droughts have hit Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia; and more. All led to loss of life and loss of livelihoods, and recovery will take years. One of the likely effects of climate change is to increase the likelihood of the type of extreme weather events that seems to cause these disasters. But do extreme events have to turn into disasters with huge loss of life and suffering? Dull Disasters? harnesses lessons from finance, political science, economics, psychology, and the natural sciences to show how countries and their partners can be far better prepared to deal with disasters. The insights can lead to practical ways in which governments, civil society, private firms, and international organizations can work together to reduce the risks to people and economies when a disaster looms. Responses to disasters then become less emotional, less political, less headline-grabbing, and more business as usual and effective. The book takes the reader through a range of solutions that have been implemented around the world to respond to disasters. It gives an overview of the evidence on what works and what doesn't and it examines the crucial issue of disaster risk financing. Building on the latest evidence, it presents a set of lessons and principles to guide future thinking, research, and practice in this area.

Description / Table of Contents: Drawing on the latest debates in ecocritical theory and sustainability studies, Literature as Cultural Ecology: Sustainable Texts outlines a new approach to the reading of literary texts. Hubert Zapf considers the ways in which literature operates as a form of cultural ecology, using language, imagination and critique to challenge and transform cultural narratives of humanity’s relationship to nature. In this way, the book demonstrates the important role that literature plays in creating a more sustainable way of life. Applying this approach to works by writers such as Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allen Poe, Herman Melville, William Faulkner, Toni Morrison, Zakes Mda, and Amitav Ghosh, Literature as Cultural Ecology is an essential contribution to the contemporary environmental humanities.

Description / Table of Contents: Today, sustainability of a healthy freshwater ecosystem and its associated ecosystem services are hot issues with ever-growing attention placed upon them. We are increasingly recognizing that they are crucial for the survival of the aquatic biota and human beings on our planet. The efficient monitoring of water resources is fundamental for effective management of water quality and aquatic ecosystems. The first stage in sustainable ecosystem management is the evaluation of the current status of target ecosystems. Traditionally, and even today, physico-chemical parameters have mainly been used to evaluate the quality of water resources. However, they have a large limit to grab the wholeness of water system, particularly in the sense of ecosystem health and integrity, for which ecological monitoring should be based on biological factors. Various approaches are applicable to ecosystem health assessment at different levels of the biological hierarchy, from genes to ecosystems. This Special Issue is designed to improve scientific understanding and strategies for sound aquatic ecosystem management and services for researchers, decision makers, and stakeholders.

Description / Table of Contents: Introduction --- Relevant European drought and water scarcity policies --- The Governance Assessment Tool and its Use --- Eifel-Rur case study, Germany --- Somerset case study, the United Kingdom --- Brittany case study, France --- Flanders case study, Belgium --- Salland case study, The Netherlands --- Vechtstromen study, The Netherlands --- Crosscutting Perspective Agriculture --- Crosscutting Perspective Freshwater --- Crosscutting Perspective Nature --- Concluding Remarks

Description / Table of Contents: What are smart cities? What are their purposes? What are the impacts resulting from their implementations? With these questions in mind, this book is compiled with the primary concern of answering readers with different profiles; from those interested in acquiring basic knowledge about the various topics surrounding the subject related to smart cities, to those who are more motivated by knowing the technical elements and the technological apparatus involving this theme. This book audience is multidisciplinary, as it will be confirmed by the various chapters addressed here. It explores different knowledge areas, such as electric power systems, signal processing, telecommunications, electronics, systems optimization, computational intelligence, real-time systems, renewable energy systems, and information systems.

Description / Table of Contents: Polar microbiology is a promising field of research that can tell us much about the fundamental features of life. The microorganisms that inhabit Arctic and Antarctic environments are important not only because of the unique species they represent, but also because of their diverse and unusual physiological and biochemical properties. Furthermore, microorganisms living in Polar Regions provide useful models for general questions in ecology and evolutionary biology given the reduced complexity of their ecosystems, the relative absence of confounding effects associated with higher plants or animals, and the severe biological constraints imposed by the polar environment. In terms of applied science, the unique cold-adapted enzymes and other molecules of polar microorganisms provide numerous opportunities for biotechnological development. Another compelling reason to study polar microbial ecosystems is the fact that they are likely to be among the ecosystems most strongly affected by global change. For these reasons, polar microbiology is a thriving branch of science with the potential to provide new insights into a wide range of basic and applied issues in biological science. In this context, it is timely to review and highlight the progress so far and discuss exciting future perspectives. In this special issue, some of the leaders in the field describe their work, ideas and findings.

Description / Table of Contents: This special issue contains selected papers from the 13th International Conference on Estuarine and Coastal Modeling (ECM13), held Nov 4-6, 2013. The conference brings modelers from academic institutions, government and private industry together to present and discuss the latest developments in the field of marine environmental modeling. Begun in 1989 by Dr. Malcolm Spaulding, the conference is held every other year in a retreat-like setting with a maximum of about 125 people to encourage interaction and help strengthen ties between modeling communities. A wide range of modeling issues are encouraged, including advances in physical understanding, numerical algorithm development, model applications, and better tools. A wide range of modeling topics are encouraged as well, including storm surge, eutrophication, larval transport, search and rescue, oil spills, fisheries issues, coastal erosion and contaminated sediment transport. Many conferences also have special themes. The special theme of ECM13 was modeling related to Hurricane Sandy which in late October 2012 devastated the Caribbean and the US East Coast, including record flooding in New York City. The 22 papers presented here cover a broad spectrum of topics, including simulations of cohesive sediment, inundation, effluent mixing, shoaling waves, and water quality and with modeling applications from Alaska to New Zealand.

Description / Table of Contents: ‌Cities drive economic growth but can also drive sustainable change. As the share of the world’s population living in cities rises, ambitious action in urban areas can be instrumental in achieving long‑term sustainability of the global energy system – including the carbon emission reductions required to meet the climate goals reached at COP21 in Paris. Support from national governments is a strategic prerequisite for leveraging the potential for sustainable energy technology and policy in cities that too often lies untapped. With global energy demand set to become even greater over the coming decades, Energy Technology Perspectives 2016 (ETP 2016) looks at the technology and policy opportunities available for accelerating the transition to sustainable urban energy systems. Such potential could be the key to successfully driving an energy transition that many still think impossible, provided that local and national actions can be aligned to meet the sustainability objectives at both levels. Indeed, policies still have a long way to go in this regard: ETP 2016 presents the annual IEA Tracking Clean Energy Progress report, which finds once again that despite some notable progress, the rate of needed improvements is far slower than required to meet energy sector sustainability goals. By setting out sustainable energy transition pathways that incorporate detailed and transparent quantitative analysis alongside well-rounded commentary, ETP 2016 and its series of related publications have become required reading not only for experts in the energy field, policy makers and heads of governments, but also for business leaders and investors.

Description / Table of Contents: This book is a new history of an ancient geography. It reassesses the evidence for why Europeans believed a massive southern continent existed, and why they advocated for its discovery. When ships were equal to ambitions, explorers set out to find and claim Terra Australis. Antipodes charts these voyages—voyages both through the imagination and across the High Seas—in pursuit of the mythical Terra Australis. In doing so, the question is asked: how could so many fail to see the realities they encountered? And how is it a mythical land held the gaze of an era famed for breaking free the shackles of superstition? That Terra Australis did not exist didn’t stop explorers pursuing the continent, unwilling to abandon the promise of such a rich and magnificent land till it was stripped of every ounce of value it had ever promised. In the process, the southern continent—an imaginary land—became one of the shaping forces of early modern history. Includes 48 pages of b&w and colour images.

Description / Table of Contents: Table of contents: --- David Ambrosetti, Jean-Renaud Boisserie et Thomas Guindeuil: Introduction --- David Ambrosetti: African States, Climate Change and the COP21. Interview with Dr. Wilfran Moufouma-Okia --- Jean-Renaud Boisserie: Environmental Changes and Their Impacts on Life: A Paleontological Approach --- Pierre Sepulchre: Links between Solid Earth, Climate Changes, and Biodiversity through Time: Insights from the Cenozoic --- Deresse Ayenachew: Environmental Descriptions of European Travelers in Ethiopia (16th-19th c.) --- Julia Blocher: Water always Flows Downhill: A Case for Participatory Forest Management (PFM) and Decentralization of Forest Governance in REDD+ Implementation --- Mehdi Labzaé: Investment in the National Park? Encounters between Land Investment and Wildlife Conservation in Gambella Regional State --- Thomas Guindeuil: University Museums and the Promotion of Conservation Policies on the Pre-Revolutionary Campus of Addis Ababa (1950-1974) --- Maxi Domke, Jürgen Pretzsch: Knowledge Management on Climate Change Adaptation. Analysis of Information Exchange Processes and Collaboration Networks in Rural Ethiopia --- Margaux Herman: Women and Climatic Changes in Ethiopia: A Gendered Assessment --- Joachim Gregor Persoon: Indigenous Cosmological Paradigms for Popularizing Ecological Ethics in the Ethiopian Context