Soil contamination is the presence of man-made chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment. This type of contamination typically arises from the rupture of underground storage tanks, application of pesticides, percolation of contaminated surface water to subsurface strata, leaching of wastes from landfills or direct discharge of industrial wastes to the soil. The most common chemicals involved are petroleum hydrocarbons, solvents, pesticides, lead and other heavy metals.The occurrence of this phenomenon is correlated with the degree of industrialisation and intensity of chemical usage. The concern over soil contamination stems primarily from health risks, both of direct contact and from secondary contamination of water supplies. Mapping of contaminated soil sites and the resulting cleanup are time consuming and...]]>
Groundwater - Modelling, Management and Contamination
door Luka F. Konig Jonas L. Weiss

Groundwater (GW) is one of the most valuable natural resources and for that reason, the GW protection and management is vital for human evolution, socio-economic development and ecological diversity. During the last decades, the continuously increasing need of water has led to a rapidly growing awareness in the field of GW management. At the same time over exploitation and pollution of water resources are threatening the ecosystems. The combination of these two problems which have acquired world-wide dimensions has forced many scientists working in relative fields to search new, multidisciplinary approaches to address them. Effective management and protection of groundwater resources require detail knowledge and quantitative/qualitative characterisation of aquifers. Thus, modelling and planning of the GW through the use of modern...]]>
Dinosaurs - A Concise Natural History
door David E. Fastovsky David B. Weishampel

From the authors of The Evolution and Extinction of the Dinosaurs, comes a general introduction to the study of dinosaurs for non-specialists, designed to excite readers about science by using the ever-popular animals - the dinosaurs - to illustrate and discuss geology, natural history and evolution. While it focuses on dinosaurs, it also uses them to convey other aspects of the natural sciences, including fundamental concepts in evolutionary biology, physiology, life history, and systematics. Considerable attention is devoted the nature of science itself: what it is, what it is not, and how science can be used to investigate particular kinds of questions. Dinosaurs is unique because it fills a gap between the glossy, fact-driven dinosaur books for younger readers, and the higher-level academic books, addressing the palaeontology of...]]>
Terra - Tales of the Earth
door Richard Hamblyn

Blending history, science and eye-witness accounts, and arranged in chapters corresponding to the four elements (earth, air, fire and water), "Terra" explores the relationship between the planet and the humans who inhabit its surfaces. Through four case histories - the Lisbon earthquake of 1755; the weather-panics of the summer of 1783; the eruption of Krakatau in 1883; and, the Hilo tsunami of 1946 - Hamblyn reminds us of the earth's unimaginable force and describes what happens when that force is unleashed, both in terms of the immediate human consequences and the longer term economic and scientific implications.Serving, ultimately, as a stark and incontrovertible reminder of our vulnerability when the earth 'goes wrong', "Terra" also asks why we don't seem fully able to learn from the catastrophes, mistakes and responses of the...]]>
Geology of Australia
door David Johnson

The Geology of Australia provides a vivid and informative account of the evolution of the Australian continent over the last 4400 million years. Starting with the Precambrian rocks that hold clues to the origins of life and the development of an oxygenated atmosphere, it goes on to cover the warm seas, volcanism and episodes of mountain building, which formed the eastern third of the Australian continent. This illuminating history details the breakup of the supercontinents Rodinia and Gondwana, the times of previous glaciations, the development of climates and landscapes in modern Australia, and the creation of the continental shelves and coastlines. Separate chapters cover the origin of the Great Barrier Reef, the basalts in Eastern Australia, and the geology of the Solar System. This second edition features two new chapters,...]]>
Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences
door John H. Steele, Steve A. Thorpe, Karl K. Turekian

"Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences 2/e" is a new 6-volume online reference work, pulling together all the key information in one source from the leading publisher in the field. This second edition is online, offering the user greater flexibility, accessibility, and most importantly, usability with 24 hour access, multi-user access, remote access and excellent search functionality. Structured for success, each article contains a glossary, an introduction, a reference section and a wealth of cross-referenced links to premium and related material all accessible in a mouse-click, making complicated, time consuming research a thing of the past. This title includes approximately 500 articles covering the breadth and depth of the field with over 30 per cent new and updated content reflecting the latest research. It features greater coverage of...]]>
Climate and Oceans - A Derivative of the Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences
door John H. Steele, Steve A. Thorpe, Karl K. Turekian

"Climate and Oceans" is a derivative of the "Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences, 2nd Edition" and serves as an important reference on current knowledge and expertise in one convenient and accessible source. The selected articles - all written by experts in their field - fall into several categories, including: ocean circulation, heat and water balance, the cryosphere, the marine record of paleoclimate, and the carbon system. "Climate and Oceans" serves as an ideal reference for topical research. It references related articles on climate and oceans to facilitate further research. It is richly illustrated with figures and tables that aid in understanding key concepts. It includes an introductory overview of climate-related oceanography and then explores each topic in detail, making it useful to experts and graduate-level researchers....]]>
De wetenschap van de aarde - Over een levende planeet
door Sintubin, M.

Is Planeet Aarde een uniek kosmisch experiment? In dit boek gaan we op zoek naar het antwoord op deze vraag. Al is elk atoom, elke molecule, elk stofdeeltje op aarde onderhevig aan de universele natuurwetten van het heelal, toch heeft een bijzondere samenloop van kosmische omstandigheden ertoe geleid dat een complex en wezenlijk onvoorspelbaar systeem is ontstaan dat bovendien zichzelf in stand weet te houden. De metafoor van een ‘levende planeet’ is dan ook op zijn dit boek ontdekken we allereerst hoe Planeet Aarde werkt. Twee essentiële aspecten komen hierbij naar voren. Als zelfregulerend systeem dat zich in een steeds veranderende kosmische omgeving in stand tracht te houden, is onze planeet permanent in een staat van globale verandering. Daarnaast is er het aspect tijd. De wereld...]]>
De Wereld Bosatlas / 2e editie - In herdruk, vanaf 15 maart 2010 leverbaar

De Wereld Bosatlas is in een aantal jaren uitgegroeid tot het Nederlandse standaardwerk. Deze editie is volledig geactualiseerd en sterk uitgebreid; een cartografisch meesterwerk! Alle bijzonderheden op een rij: De wereld in 640 pagina's met kaarten, satellietbeelden en stadsplattegronden, nieuwe zeer gedetailleerde kaart van Nederland (26 pagina's; 1 : 200 000), veel aandacht voor Europese vakantiegebieden, thematische kaarten met boeiende achtergrondinformatie, unieke kaarten van zeeën en oceanen, fascinerende satellietbeelden, gedetailleerde plattegronden van 72 wereldsteden, register met 120 000 geografische namen. De enige wereldatlas met speciale aandacht voor Nederland De Wereld Bosatlas is de enige wereldatlas die geheel vanuit het Nederlandse perspectief is samengesteld. De kaart van Nederland is zeer gedetailleerd...]]>
Natural Hazards and Disasters
door Donald Hyndman David Hyndman ...]]>