Science : Earth Sciences

Amazonian soils are almost universally thought of as extremely forbidding. Associated with these are tracts of fertile, dark soils termed terra preta or dark earths. The late Dutch soil scientist Wim Sombroek (1934-2003) was instrumental in bringing the significance of these soils to the attention of the world. This title demonstrates his vision. more...

Price: $249.00

Understanding basin-fill evolution and the origin of stratal architectures has traditionally been based on studies of outcrops, well and seismic data, studies of and inferences on qualitative geological processes, and to a lesser extent based on quantitative observations of modern and ancient sedimentary environments. Insight gained on the basis of these studies can increasingly be tested and extended through the application of numerical and analogue forward models. Present-day stratigraphic forward modelling follows two principle lines: 1) the deterministic process-based approach, ideally with resolution of the fundamental equations of fluid and sediment motion at all scales, and 2) the stochastic approach. The process-based approach leads to improved understanding of the dynamics (physics) of the system, increasing our predictive power of how systems evolve under various forcing conditions unless the system is highly non-linear and hence difficult or perhaps even impossible to predict. The stochastic approach is more direct, relatively simple, and useful for study of more complicated or less-well understood systems. Process-based models, more than stochastic ones, are directly limited by the diversity of temporal and spatial scales and the very incomplete knowledge of how processes operate and interact on the various scales. The papers included in this book demonstrate how cross-fertilization between traditional field studies and analogue and numerical forward modelling expands our understanding of Earth-surface systems. more...

Price: $123.95

This text integrates a wide range of research and tidal resource theory and data to present a detailed analysis of the physics and oceanography of tidal stream power devices together with a world wide resource analysis. Clearly structured throughout the book is divided into two distinct parts. Part One provides the theoretical background to the subject and deals with the historical development of the harmonic method for the synthesis of tidal currents; the principles of fluid and tidal flow and the principles of device ducts, turbines and electrical systems. A review and analysis of more than forty tidal stream power proposals is also discussed.    . Part Two provides a comprehensive overview of current practice. The economic modelling of tidal stream power installations is covered with more than three hundred current meter records from around the world used to analyse the potential and cost of tidal stream power on a global basis. Hallmark Features: reviews the tidal resources around the world; complete analysis of tidal stream power systems; includes historical information on tidal science and biographical information on major figures; concentrates on engineering physical geography rather than engineering specifics; includes a website with a wide range of computer models, data and simulations more...

Price: $140.00

Vertebrate evolution has led to the convergent appearance of many groups of originally terrestrial animals that now live in the sea. Among these groups are familiar mammals like whales, dolphins, and seals. There are also reptilian lineages (like plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs, thalattosaurs, and others) that have become sea creatures. Most of these marine reptiles, often wrongly called "dinosaurs", are extinct. This edited book is devoted to these extinct groups of marine reptiles. These reptilian analogs represent useful models of the myriad adaptations that permit tetrapods to live in the ocean. more...

Price: $119.00

A monograph examining the phenomenon of a huge sealed, freshwater lake, isolated from the rest of the world by kilometers' thick ice. It provides interpretation of, and calculations for, stimulating factors for possible melting and a huge lake's existence at the bottom of the Martian ice sheets. more...

Price: $159.00