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This book provides a state-of-the-art review of the current models and typologies of olive landscapes and related farming systems in the Mediterranean. It also explores potential prospects for monitoring and enhancing their sustainability standards. Olive groves are an essential component of the historical landscape that largely drive the cultural, ecological and socio-economic character of the region. Agronomic intensification and mechanization, market globalization and delocalization, and financialization are affecting these ancient farming systems in certain olive landscapes, whereas others are threatened by abandonment and financial loss. This complex set of processes is resulting in a heterogeneous mosaic of olive landscapes when examined across nested spatial-temporal scales and institutional levels. In alignment with such complexity, multiple challenges are arising linked to sustainability standards and targets. Sustainability has actually been the subject of much public discussion and yet of not nearly enough scientific evidence-gathering that is both robust and comparable across geographic contexts and scales. This is where this book is expected to provide a meaningful contribution. Ultimately, the main objective of this book is to establish a base-line sustainability picture of the complex mosaic of olive landscapes across the Mediterranean region. The book is structured along a series of national /regional and thematic reviews and syntheses, which lead to joined-up reflections on current and future challenges, opportunities and trajectories for enhancing the sustainability of olive landscapes across the Mediterranean. The book will be of interest to academics and researchers, policy-makers, the farming community, and market agents alike. We expect that they will find in this book an overall picture of the sector´s current situation and plausible pathways for achieving enhanced sustainability standards, whilst also permitting the reader to gain depth on the contingent characteristics of the different drivers, components and typologies of these dynamic and valuable landscapes.

This book describes the Central Sahara region, bringing together an unprecedented combination of diverse and often historic research published in different languages in order to describe its varied landscapes and landforms. The Central Sahara region consists of Libya, Algeria, Mali, Niger and Chad, countries that share similar landscape histories and common landscape traits, including massifs, sand seas, paleowater features and large depressions. Furthermore, human settlement of this region goes hand-in-hand with climate and environmental changes and landscape evolution during the Holocene and earlier; hence, Central Saharan landscapes and landforms provide valuable insights into landscape–human relationships over long timescales. The book offers a comprehensive yet accessible reference source, drawing on both past and present interdisciplinary research and gathering the insights of authors from many different countries to explore a region that has largely been overlooked in available literature.

This book comprises works presented in the 1st International Conference of Geoscience, Remote Sensing, and Technology, which was held in Padang, Indonesia, in October 2023. It was hosted by the Center of Disaster Monitoring and Earth Observation, State University of Padang, Indonesia. Included are works related but not limited to geoscience, remote sensing, radar SAR, optic satellites, LiDAR, earthquakes, drones, geophysics, computer science, computer engineering, information technology, and mapping.

The book illustrates a geospatial and geostatistical approach to data analysis, modeling, risk assessment, and visualization, as well as landslide hazard management in the hilly region. This book investigates cutting-edge methodologies based on open source software and R statistical programming and modeling in current decision-making procedures, with a particular emphasis on recent advances in data mining techniques and robust modeling in torrential rainfall and earthquake induced landslide hazard.

This book on the climate change, natural resources, landscape and agricultural ecosystems describes the contributing challenges related to natural resources, soil erosion, irrigation planning, water, landscape, sustainable crop yield agriculture and biomass estimation. Natural resources and agricultural ecosystems include factors from nearby regions where landscape and agriculture practices (direct or indirect) interface with the water, vegetation, irrigation planning and ecology. Changes in climatic situations impact all the natural resources, ecology, and landscape of agricultural systems, which affects productivity. This book summarizes the various aspects of soil erosion, soil compaction, soil nutrients, aquifer and water with respect to vegetation, crops, pest and sustainable yields and management for the future. It also focuses on the use of precision techniques, remote sensing, GIS technologies, IOT and climate related technology for the sustainability of ecology, naturalresources and agricultural areas, along with the capacity and flexibility of natural resources and agricultural societies under climate change. This book presents both theoretical and applied aspects and will help as a guide for future research. The contents will appeal to researchers, scientists, and NGOs working in climate change, environmental sciences, agriculture engineering, remote sensing, natural resources management, remote sensing, GIS, hydrologist, soil sciences, agricultural microbiology, plant pathology and agronomy.

This open access book provides an overview of the progress in landslide research and technology and is part of a book series of the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL). The book provides a common platform for the publication of recent progress in landslide research and technology for practical applications and the benefit for the society contributing to the Kyoto Landslide Commitment 2020, which is expected to continue up to 2030 and even beyond to globally promote the understanding and reduction of landslide disaster risk, as well as to address the 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals.

This book represents the first comprehensive edition, in English, on the soils of Brazil, in the challenge of illustrating all the biomes of a country of truly continental dimension. In addition to presenting the first geosystemic view of Brazilian soils, in all geological, geomorphological and environmental aspects, the book also makes a key contribution to the discussion of current topics in Pedology, such as Anthrosols, Technosols, Soil Management trends and sustainability, Pedometrics and advanced techniques of digital soil mapping. The soils of Brazil were conveniently stratified into sectors and treated within the different biomes, without neglecting any area of the Brazilian territory. Considering the aspects of the landscape of occurrence, climates, geomorphology and geology, each pedological region was abundantly documented with soil profile data and many fine original, three-dimensional illustrations and diagrams, made with care by the authors. Among the regions, the most important are the forested Amazon, the Central Plateau with Cerrados, the Caatingas of the northeastern semi-arid region, the Atlantic Forest in all known variants; in addition, the Restingas, Mangroves, Oceanic Islands, Wetlands of the Pantanal and the subtropical regions of the Pampa and Matas de Araucaria. The book is of great importance as the first published work on Brazilian soils, but it is of great interest to geologists and geomorphologists who study the tropics and subtropics, due to the novelty and scope of the work.

This is the first of two volumes that together provide a global overview of the impact of agriculture on soil degradation, tracing the most critical drivers like the use and abuse of agrochemicals, mechanization, overgrazing, irrigation, slash and burn agriculture, and the use of plastics. This book covers the main effects of agriculture practices on soil degradation in several countries from Africa, America, Asia, and Oceania, and it elucidates the impact of chemical agents on soil quality, namely, the use of fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, soil acidification and microplastics pollution. In these continents, a large number of the population depend on agriculture, which sets an enormous pressure on the ecosystems. Divided into 13 chapters, the book offers authoritative contributions about the fundamental soil degradation problems in countries such as Argentina, Australia, Peru and Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, India, Israel, Kenya, Mexico, South Africa, the United States of America. As soil degradation issues are often linked with biodiversity loss and poverty, readers will also find in this book an important discussion of the different social, economic, political, and environmental aspects contributing to soil quality and sustainable management. Given the breadth and depth of its coverage, the book offers an invaluable source of information for researchers, students, environmental managers and policymakers alike.

This book intends to decipher the knowledge in the advancement of understanding, detecting, predicting, and monitoring landslides. The number of massive landslides and the damages they cause has increased across the globe in recent times. It is one of the most devastating natural hazards that cause widespread damage to habitat on a local, regional, and global scale. International experts provide their experience in landslide research and practice to help stakeholders mitigate and predict potential landslides. The book comprises chapters on: Dynamics, mechanisms, and processes of landslides; Geological, geotechnical, hydrological, and geophysical modelling for landslides; Mapping and assessment of hazard, vulnerability, and risk associated with landslides; Monitoring and early warning of landslides; Application of remote sensing and GIS techniques in monitoring and assessment of landslides. The book will be of interest to researchers, practitioners, and decision-makers in adapting suitable modern techniques for landslide study.

This bestselling dictionary contains over 3,000 entries on both physical and human geography, covering topics such as cartography, surveying, meteorology, climatology, ecology, population, industry, and development. Over 70 diagrams complement the text, and many entries include worked examples. This edition has been fully revised and updated, and many entries are accompanied by useful web links which can be accessed on the dedicated companion website. This A-Z reference is clear, concise, and authoritative, and is an essential companion for all students and teachers of geography.

This book explores the impacts of climate change on Nigeria. How climate change impacts the productivity and future development of different sectors in Nigeria was covered in this book. Various themes of the Nigerian economy, environment, and climate change were considered. Worthy of note are the impacts of climate change on the Nigerian air quality, surface and groundwater resources, watershed and natural resources'development and planning, soil- quality, fertility, salinization, nutrients and cropping patterns. Also, the impact of climate change on land use/land cover, urbanization and strategic planning, crops and sustainable crop yield; land degradation, soil erosion, landslides and landscapes, rainfall trend patterns, drought vulnerability; ecology, vegetation/forest, carbon and biomass management of Nigeria were investigated. Finally, the problems of climate change in semi-arid and arid regions (with special emphasis on Nigeria) and possible solutions for sustainable developmentunder the changing climate were discussed in this book. Advanced technologies, such as remote sensing, GIS, multivariate analytical tools, and machine learning techniques, were utilized in the exploration and analysis of the themes of this book. Thus, this book is a very important product for point of view researchers, scientists, NGOs, and university communities on the Nigerian climate change. This book is a useful interdisciplinary tool, cutting across various disciplines such as earth sciences, hydrology, environmental sciences, soil science, engineering, remote sensing, natural resources management, and public health management, etc.

This book addresses the environmental challenges that Libya and similar countries in the regions are currently facing. Each chapter of this book provides a methodology using remote sensing (RS) and geographical information systems (GIS) dealing with one of these environmental challenges such as monitoring and mapping soil salinity and prediction of soil properties, monitoring and mapping of land degradation, spatiotemporal land use/cover, agricultural drought monitoring, hydrological applications such as spatial rainfall distribution, surface runoff, geo-morphometric analysis, flood hazard assessment and mapping, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, pollution hazard assessment, and climate-related geophysical processes. This book also assesses the impacts of climate change on natural resources using both RS and GIS, as well as other applications, covering different parts of Libya. This book is beneficial for graduate students, researchers, policy planners, and stakeholders in Libya as well as other countries that share similar environmental issues. Also, the methodologies followed in the book's chapters can be applied to any other regions around the world with similar landscapes and climatic conditions.

This book serves the purpose of showcasing some of the works in respect of applied research, field projects, and best practice to foster climate change adaptation across the region.Climate change is having a much greater impact in the Mediterranean than the global average. In the Paris Climate Agreement, the UN member states pledged to stop global warming at well below two degrees, if possible at 1.5 degrees. This mark, which is expected elsewhere only for 2030 to 2050, has already been reached in the region. The situation could worsen in the coming years if the global community does not limit its emissions.The above state of affairs illustrates the need for a better and more holistic understanding of how climate change affects countries in the Mediterranean region on the one hand, but also on the many problems it faces on the other, which prevent adaptation efforts. There is also a perceived need to showcase successful examples of how to duly address and manage the many social, economic, and political problems posed by climate change in the region, in order to replicate and even upscale the successful approaches used.It is against this background that the book'Climate Change in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Region'has been produced. It contains papers prepared by scholars, practitioners, and members of governmental agencies, undertaking research and/or executing climate change projects, and working across the region.

This book discusses the threats and impacts of flash floods in Vietnam on environmental, human, and socio-economic resources, and covers monitoring, forecasting, warning, urgent action plans, and prevention solutions. While the work focuses on cases in Vietnam, it is applicable to many regions in the world that experience flash flooding as a common occurrence. Through data collection, field surveys, and investigational statistics from a specialized group of authors, the book provides comprehensive background knowledge on flash floods, and a flash flood hazard map using remote sensing and GIS techniques that can be used to assess the likelihood and potential impacts of flash floods before vulnerable areas and populations can be threatened. The intended audience of this manuscript is people interested in the fields of weather, environment, and natural disasters. It will serve as a reference for environmental managers, administrators of disaster planning, and extreme weather scientists.

This book includes a collection of extended papers based on presentations given during the SIMHYDRO 2021 conference, held in Sophia Antipolis in June 2021 with the support of French Hydrotechnic Society (SHF). It focused on'Models for complex and global water issues—Practices and expectations”. The water field is continuously mobilizing models for addressing complex issues and new challenges. Within the context of the climate change, the water issues are exacerbated with the competition among uses. The limited water resources request from the modern societies to review some of the historical paradigms traditionally used and to promote new approaches for a sustainable management. The combined complexity and vulnerability of large urban environments request a deep understanding of water uses and environmental synergy. At the same time, water-related natural hazards are contentiously straightening modern societies that must adapt and implement a more resilient environment. In parallel, in the industrial sector, the search for a high level of efficiency for hydraulic machinery requests to simulate complex processes. Under all these situations, the models currently used represent only partly the physical phenomena involved, the scale of the processes, the hypothesis included within the different numerical tools, etc. The design and the operation of relevant models represent a challenging task for the modeller who is responsible of the knowledge part of a global system that is dedicated to support the decision makers. The book explores both the limitations and performance of current models and presents the latest developments based on new numerical schemes, high-performance computing, multi-physics and multi-scales methods, and better interaction with field or scale model data. It addresses the interests of practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, and engineers active in this field.

The world is currently experiencing changes in climate and environment that often lead to natural disasters. Nearly three million people worldwide may have been killed in the past 20 years by natural disasters. In total, 90% of the natural disasters and 95% of all disaster-related deaths occur in the developing countries. Recently such problems have accelerated due to LULC change, biodiversity degradation, increased tourism, urbanization and climate change. This book, consisting of 27 chapters, explores the topics of climate, environment and natural disasters in developing countries. It is essential to discuss these diverse issues in the field of geography as it encompasses interdisciplinary topics. The range of issues on national, regional and local dimensions is not only confined to geography but also concerned to other disciplines as well. Therefore, this book is a valuable source for scientists and researchers in allied fields such as climatology, disaster management, environmental science, hydrology, agriculture, and land use studies, among other areas. Furthermore, this book can be of immense help to the planners and decision-makers engaged in dealing with the problems of climate, environmental change and natural disasters in developing countries.

This book presents both updated and new measurements on water resources from selective pilot areas form the Middle East. Demand for water has become very crucial notably in arid and semiarid regions like in the Middle East. The changing climate and the increased population are the most striking challenges on water resources in this region where the largest part of its territory is dry lands and deserts with minimal precipitation and high evaporation rates, and thus, the average per capita of water does not exceed 25 m3/year. This resulted in developing many studies and researches in different Middle East countries to clearly identify and assess the hydrological characteristics of the available water resources and to explore new resources in order to secure balanced water supply/demand. As a first of its type, this book introduces comprehensive knowledge on the successful reports of the use of satellite images in water studies in the Middle East, and the economicvalue resulted from adopting these techniques. Based on illustrated case-studies the book will represent a significant resource for a large number of experts, academics, researchers, engineers and different-level stakeholders including the decision makers.

This book highlights several opportunities that exist in satellite remote sensing of large-scale terrestrial hydrology. It lays bare the novel concept of remote sensing hydrology and demonstrates key applications of advance satellite technology and new methods in advancing our fundamental understanding of environmental systems. This includes, using state-of-the-art satellite hydrology missions like the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment and other multi-mission satellite systems as important tools that underpin water resources planning and accounting. This book discusses and demonstrates how the efficacy, simplicity, and sophistication in novel computing platforms for big earth observation data can help facilitate environmental monitoring and improve contemporary understanding of climate change impacts on freshwater resources. It also provides opportunities for practitioners and relevant government agencies to leverage satellite-based information in a transdisciplinary context to address several environmental issues affecting society. This book provides a general framework and highlights methods to help improve our understanding of hydrological processes and impact analysis from extreme events (e.g., droughts, floods) and climate change.

Degradation of agricultural catchments due to water erosion is a major environmental threat at the global scale, with long-lasting destructive consequences valued at tens of billions of dollars per annum. Eroded soils lead to reduced crop yields and deprived agroecosystem's functioning through, for example, decreased water holding capacity, poor aeration, scarce microbial activity, and loose soil structure. This can result in reduced carbon sequestration, limited nutrient cycling, contamination of water bodies due to eutrophication, low protection from floods and poor attention restoration—consequences that go far beyond the commonly modelled soil loss and deposition budgets. This book demonstrates, using data from the Harod catchment in northern Israel, how cutting-edge geoinformatics, data science methodologies and soil health indicators can be used to measure, predict, and regulate these major environmental hazards. It shows how these approaches are used to quantify—in timeand space—the effect of water erosion not only on the soil layer, soil minerals, and soil loss, but also on the wide-range of services that agricultural ecosystems might supply for the benefit and well-being of humans. The algorithms described in this book play a major role in this paradigm shift and they include, for example, extraction of photogrammetric DEMs from drone's data, advanced drainage structure calculations, fuzzy process-based modelling and spatial topographic threshold computations, multicriteria analyses and expert-based systems development using analytic hierarchal processes, innovative data-mining and machine learning tools, autocorrelation and interpolation of soil health, physically-based soil evolution models, spatial decision support systems and many more.

This book will provide a comprehensive discussion of groundwater sustainability, including what it is, how its definition has changed over time, why traditional assessments of it are wrong, how assessments of it are ideally multidisciplinary efforts recognizing that policy is more controlling of outcomes than science, and why achieving it is difficult once pumping exceeds sustainable levels of pumping. The book will provide a nontechnical background of hydrogeology relevant to groundwater sustainability and present several case studies from around the United States and the world. The book has been designed to appeal to academics, students, and practitioners. Academics, particularly those just getting into the subject, will find the book a useful entry in terms of management concepts and political realities of attempting to achieve groundwater sustainability. It will also be useful to academics in that the book will include discussions on the history and development of groundwater sustainability and the practical aspects of aspiring to and achieving sustainable production. Although not a textbook, the book could be used as the basis for teaching a course or as a supplement to a hydrogeology or groundwater management class. Accordingly, the book will include questions and additional reading materials at the end of each chapter. This book will also be useful to practitioners through non-technical explanations of the sciences, discussions of the nuances of defining sustainability in aquifers, and the presentation of case studies where sustainable management has failed and succeeded.

This book discusses a number of recent technological and methodological progressions in achieving sustainable agriculture. It covers innovative and economically viable techniques for growers, laborers, consumers, policymakers, and others working to develop food-secure and ecologically sound agricultural practices to benefit humans and the environment. The key topics addressed include the increasing role of biofertilizers in sustainable agriculture, green synthesized nanoparticles for higher crop production rates, eco-friendly plant-based pesticides as alternatives to synthetic/chemical pesticides, use of genomics for improved plant breeding practices, and the use of biochar to increase the water-holding capacity in soil. The book concludes with an overview of satellite-based soil erosion practices to monitor and control the harmful impacts of land degradation, and a discussion of long-term strategies to reduce crop losses due to pest and insecticide damage. The book will be of interest to students and researchers in the field of environmental science, agriculture science, agronomy, and sustainable development.

This volume presents the proceedings of the 2nd International Conference of Geography and Geoinformatics for Sustainable Development (ICGGS), held in Phuket, Thailand, April 7-8, 2022. The collection focuses on the importance of spatial thinking and planning by applying geography concepts and geospatial technology innovations in solving global problems such as environmental degradation, urban pollution, and climate change. The proceedings consist of case studies on wide-ranging spatial issues in developing countries, addressing challenges in mainstreaming sustainable development paradigms into their economies to improve natural resource and environmental management. One of the main goals of the volume is to share and exchange different points of view regarding global, regional, and local spatial issues and how to use geography and geoinformatics for building resilience in multiple sectors, e.g., water, ecosystems, agriculture, and health. It offers the opportunity to learn about how geospatial concepts and technologies can contribute to environmental sustainability, while advancing education and research related to geography and geoinformatics. It will be a useful resource for students and researchers to initiate research ideas related to geospatial topics in regional and local scales.

This volume provides a versatile introduction to the study of drainage basin evolution, morphology, drainage basin hydrology and sedimentology, human interference, natural and anthropogenic hazards and various management techniques. This book offers the responsible factors of sediment yield and their absolute and specific growth and rate of delivery through tributaries to the main streams. Rivers are important geomorphic agents which reflect an amazing variety of form and behaviour, showing the wide range of natural environment in which they are originated. The drainage system evolution and spatial network development within the dynamic nature are being discussed and how they are adjusted in the geomorphic time scale over the millions of years. This book shows how drainage systems function and react to change and why this thoughtful is required for flourishing integrated basin management. In tropical and sub-tropical countries population pressures as well as different developmental projects are being executed on the drainage basin without proper planning. Today scientists consider drainage basin as an administrative unit during implementation of regional projects. In this context this book will carry a bench mark for scholars and young scientists.

This revised and updated edition continues to provide a comprehensive introduction to the subject, exploring the world's landforms from a broad systems perspective. It covers the basics of Earth surface forms and processes, while reflecting on the latest developments in the field. Fundamentals of Geomorphology begins with a consideration of the nature of geomorphology, including its relation to society, process and form, history, and geomorphic systems, and moves on to discuss:• Structure: structural landforms associated with plate tectonics and those associated with volcanoes, and folds, faults, and joints.• Process and form: landforms resulting from, or influenced by, the exogenic agencies of weathering, running water, flowing ice and meltwater, ground ice and frost, the wind, and the sea; landforms developed on limestone; extraterrestrial landforms; and landscape evolution, a discussion of ancient landforms. Fundamentals of Geomorphology provides a stimulating and innovative perspective on the key topics and debates within the field of geomorphology. Written in an accessible and lively manner, it includes guides to further reading, chapter summaries, and an extensive glossary of key terms. The book is also illustrated throughout with over 200 informative diagrams and attractive photographs, all in colour. It is supported by online resources for students and instructors.

This book introduces a comprehensive understanding in the use of space techniques in natural hazards and risk management in the MENA Region. The book is based on different case-studies from 25 MENA countries, and will be useful in highlighting the issues from all aspects. In recent years the number of natural hazard events has increased in the MENA Region. This is exacerbated by the changing climate and extreme climate events, as well as a large increase in the population in this area. Disastrous events occur on a yearly basis characterized by a vulnerability of physical processes. Floods, earthquakes, and mass movement result in severe damage to property and livelihoods, and have devastating effects upon the environment. These events cause severe financial losses, which on an annual basis, can exceed millions of dollars. The predication, assessment and monitoring approaches remain inadequate in managing these hazards and in mitigating their impacts, but with the development of space techniques and geo-information systems, these situations can now be better managed. The miscellany of satellite images, with different spatial and temporal resolutions, enable the detection of terrain features and provide indications of potential natural risks. This book will of interest to stakeholders, including field experts, academics, researchers and decision makers.

This book introduces the readers to possible aspects of the rainwater harvesting system against urbanization to plan, design, and implement. Practical applications of rainwater harvesting to supplement potable water, stormwater management, greywater reuse, and managed aquifer recharge are included. Along with conventional practices, advanced technologies for conceptualizing, data collection and processing, test procedures, and design principles are provided to illustrate the theory. This book is a pathway to a water smart city, example problems reflect the solutions for harvested water quantity and/or quality and afterward. Socio-economic assessments are incorporated to explore comprehensive knowledge. The book covers an interdisciplinary field, thus, suitable for students, researchers, and professionals associated with rainwater harvesting system development and management

South Asia, harboring the complex Himalayan terrains, has over one-fifth of the world's population and is recognized as the most hazard-prone region of the world. The exponential increase in population with the consequent pressure on natural resources and continued high rates of poverty and food insecurity also makes this region the most vulnerable region to hazards in the world as far as the impacts of climate change are concerned. Over the last century, the climatic trends in South-Asia have been observed to be characterized by increasing air temperatures and an increasing trend in the intensity and frequency of extreme events. IPCC (2014) has reported that the Himalayan highlands shall face significant warming over the next century. The increasing frequency of natural hazards due to the impacts of climate change in the Himalayas calls for efficient management and policymaking in these regions, which can only be implemented by the local governments through an established science-based robust action plan. This edited volume focuses on the management of natural hazards using innovative techniques of spatial information sciences and satellite remote sensing. It contains chapters from eminent researchers and experts in the field of hazard management, remote sensing, and GIS. The primary focus of this book is to replenish the gap in the available literature on the subject by bringing the concepts, theories, and practical experiences of the specialists and professionals in this field together in one volume to help students, researchers, and policymakers to address issues concerning management and policy implications of natural hazards in the complex Himalayan region.

This book employs a suite of remotely sensed products and advanced technologies to provide the first comprehensive space-based sensing of Lake Victoria, the world's second largest freshwater lake that supports a livelihood of more than 42 million people, modulates regional climate, but faces myriads of challenges. Proper understanding of the lake and changes in its physical dynamics (e.g., water level, shorelines and areal dynamics) resulting from the impacts of climate variation and climate change as well as anthropogenic (e.g., hydropower and irrigation) is important for its management as well as for strategic development before, during and after climate extremes (e.g., floods and droughts) in order to inform policy formulations, planning and mitigation measures. Owing to its sheer size, and lack of research resources commitment by regional governments that hamper its observations, however, it is a daunting task to undertake studies on Lake Victoria relying solely on in-situ “boots on the ground” measurements, which are sparse, missing in most cases, inconsistent or restricted by governmental red tapes. To unlock the potentials of Lake Victoria, this book argues for the removal of obsolete Nile treaties signed between Britain, Egypt and Sudan in the 1920s and 1950s, which prohibits its utilization by the upstream countries. The book is useful to those in water resources management and policy formulations, hydrologists, environmentalists, engineers and researchers.In a unique cross-disciplinary approach, the Book articulates the various climatic impacts and explanations from natural and anthropogenic origins, which affected Lake Victoria and its vicinity, including the drastic increase and depletion of water level in the Lake and dams, floods and droughts, water quality/security, crop health, food security, and economic implications. With no exception as in his many publications, Joseph L. Awange used data analysis methodologies including filtering, adjustment theory, and robust statistics, to quantify the hydrologic and other parameters, and their estimated uncertainties. The Book is recommended for readers from a diverse disciplines, including physical and social sciences, policy, law, engineering, and disaster management. Professor C.K. Shum, Ohio State University.

This practical handbook provides a clearly structured, concise and comprehensive account of the huge variety of atmospheric and related measurements relevant to meteorologists and for the purpose of weather forecasting and climate research, but also to the practitioner in the wider field of environmental physics and ecology. The Springer Handbook of Atmospheric Measurements is divided into six parts: The first part offers instructive descriptions of the basics of atmospheric measurements and the multitude of their influencing factors, fundamentals of quality control and standardization, as well as equations and tables of atmospheric, water, and soil quantities. The subsequent parts present classical in-situ measurements as well as remote sensing techniques from both ground-based as well as airborn or satellite-based methods. The next part focusses on complex measurements and methods that integrate different techniques to establish more holistic data. Brief discussions of measurements in soils and water, at plants, in urban and rural environments and for renewable energies demonstrate the potential of such applications. The final part provides an overview of atmospheric and ecological networks. Written by distinguished experts from academia and industry, each of the 64 chapters provides in-depth discussions of the available devices with their specifications, aspects of quality control, maintenance as well as their potential for the future. A large number of thoroughly compiled tables of physical quantities, sensors and system characteristics make this handbook a unique, universal and useful reference for the practitioner and absolutely essential for researchers, students, and technicians.

This second edition, enhanced with more than 30 new figures, provides an up-to-date overview of physical geography suitable for all those with a personal or professional interest in environmental processes, climate change and understanding of the Earth's landforms and dynamics. The text provides explanations of processes, enabling the reader to understand the interconnected nature of the Earth's system, and has been updated to include new developments and case studies with insights from satellite observations and data analysis using artificial intelligence. The book begins by outlining the nature of the Earth system, concepts around environmental thresholds and feedbacks, planetary boundaries for human survival, and humans as a dominant driver of environmental change. The second chapter examines features associated with plate tectonics, the role of weathering and erosion in shaping landscapes, and soil functions and management. Chapter 3 deals with the climate system, describing drivers of the major atmospheric and oceanic circulation systems, the natural greenhouse effect, and regional climate and weather experienced for different zones across the planet. The global carbon cycle and long-term climate change are considered in Chapter 4 before moving on to tackle the latest knowledge on contemporary and future climate change, its impacts, mitigation and adaptation. Chapter 5 facilitates key understanding of hydrology, river channel dynamics, water quality, coastal processes, glacier dynamics and cold region landforms while Chapter 6 deals with the distribution and patterns of life on Earth and of the underlying processes that result in these patterns. The book concludes with a brief overview of considerations for managing environmental change and hazards, and requirements for achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. This reader-friendly text brings together wide-ranging subject areas from across physical geography, covering the basics of the subject at a level suitable for those about to embark on a university degree or for those who just want to get a solid basic understanding of the physical environment around them. The book, which contains box features with examples and a glossary to aid understanding, acts as a primer for further study, or in itself can be used as a basic aid to understanding fundamental principles and processes associated with physical geography.

This book is useful to those in water resources management and policy formulations, hydrologists, environmentalists, engineers and researchers. Exploiting advanced statistical techniques and the latest state-of-the-art multi-mission satellites, surface models and reanalysis products, this book provides the first comprehensive weighing of the changes in the Nile River Basin's (NRB: ~ 3,400,000 km2) stored waters'compartments, surface, soil moisture and groundwater, and their association to climate variability/change and anthropogenic impacts on the one hand. On the other hand, it argues on the need for equitable use of the NRB's waters by all 11 countries within its basin, and doing away with obsolete Nile treaties that were signed by Britain, Egypt and Sudan, which prohibit the use of the Nile by 8 upstream countries. With Ethiopia's construction of Africa's largest dam (GERD; Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam) along the Blue Nile, which is expected to take several years to fill, the Nile is back on the news. Combined with Uganda's Nalubaale, Kiira and Bujagali dams on the White Nile, these human-induced impacts (i.e., damming), coupled with those of climate variability/change, are expected to exacerbate tension with the low stream countries (Egypt and Sudan) fearing the cut in theNile's total volume. Furthermore, the Nile river, arguably the world's longest river (6800 km), impacts on the livelihood of over 300 million people of 11 countries within its basin. This population is expected to double in the next twenty-five years, thereby putting extreme pressure on its water resources. An in-depth analysis of changes in the Nile's stored waters, therefore, is essential to inform its management and sustainable equitable use. Owing to its sheer size, however, obtaining in-situ data from “boots on the ground” is practically impossible,paving way to the space-based weighing of the Nile River Basin using a suite of high spatio-temporal remotely sensed and reanalysis products, as well as those of hydrological models. “Arguably, the Nile River is the most unique river in the world. It spans extremes of rainfall from being measured by meters to being measured by centimeters, from the humid tropics to the driest of deserts. Yet, thirsty people live throughout this basin and therefore the demands on its water resources are uneven. Knowing the water amounts throughout the entire Nile Basin is a critical step for governments and international treaties to avoid the “Tragedy of the Commons”. Africa can embrace this future through the leadership of Prof. Awange and others like him who have devoted their careers to Africa's waters” —Doug Alsdorf, Ph.D., Professor of Geophysics at the Ohio State University (USA).

This book gives new insight to the study of the global environmental changes using the ecoinformatics and microwave remote sensing tools together with the adaptive-evolutionary technology of geoinformation monitoring. The main advantage of this book consists in the accumulation of the interdisciplinary scientific knowledge for the parameterization of the global biogeochemical cycles and other environmental processes in the context of globalization and sustainable development. In this regard, the crucial global problems of the dynamics of the climate-nature-society system have been considered and the key problems of ensuring its sustainable development have been addressed. An analysis of the present trend in changing ecological systems has been discussed, including different types of forest ecosystems and ocean aquatories. The emphasis has been given to the accomplishment of the global geoinformation monitoring, which could provide a reliable control of the environmental processes development with reliable prognostic estimates of the consequences of human activities. A new approach to the numerical modelling of the climate-nature-society system has been presented and demonstrative results have been given about the modelling of the dynamics of this system‟s characteristics, in cases of realization of some scenarios of the anthropogenic impacts to the biogeochemical cycles, the land ecosystems and oceans. Methods and algorithms for the big data manipulation and processing in the remote sensing environmental monitoring systems have been described.

This book is the first of its type on NEOM Region, NW of Saudi Arabia. This region has been designated in 2017 to be an international economic hub. However, no studies have been done on this region which occupies several natural resources including remarkable landscape with unique ecological species, ores and water resources. The region is also vulnerable to many aspects of threatening natural hazards.Based on her expertise, namely geomorphological processes, earth sciences, space techniques and natural risk assessment, the author made an initiative to produce this book using advanced tools, specifically satellite images and geo-information system. The book introduces several thematic maps obtained for the first time for NEOM Region. Hence, it represents a scientific guide for land management and urban planning approaches. This book is a very significant document for a variety of readers and researchers including decision makers, land managers and planners, as well as geographers and geologists. In addition, the basic concepts and new approaches attract researchers and academic teams including students, universities and research centers not only in Saudi Arabia, but in different parts of the World.

This unique book focuses on remote sensing (RS) and geographical information systems (GIS) in Iraq. The environmental applications include monitoring and mapping soil salinity and prediction of soil properties, monitoring and mapping of land threats, proximal sensing for soil monitoring and soil fertility, spatiotemporal land use/cover, agricultural drought monitoring, hydrological applications including spatial rainfall distribution, surface runoff and drought control, geo-morphometric analysis and flood simulation, hydrologic and hydraulic modelling and the effective management of water resources. Also, this book assesses the impacts of climate change on natural resources using both RS and GIS, as well as other applications, covering different parts of Iraq. The book chapters include tens of maps extracted from the remotely sensed datasets, in addition to tables and statistical relations obtained from the results of the studies of the chapters'authors. These studies have been conducted in different parts of Iraq; in the north (Kurdistan region) with its mountainous and undulating lands, in western parts which have desert soils, and in central and southern Iraq where there are salty soils, dunes, wetlands, and marshes.The book is written by distinguished scientists from Iraq, China, USA, Italy, Iran, Germany, and the Czech Republic who are interested in the Iraqi environment. The book is therefore a useful source of information and knowledge on Iraqi environment for graduate students, researchers, policy planners, and stakeholders in Iraq as well as similar regions.

This book includes a careful selection of significant contributions from international experts that were presented at the 6th AIGA Conference “Applied Geology: Approaches to Future Resource Management” that was held in the Courmayeur, Aosta Valley, Italy, from 27 - 29 June 2018. The following 7 areas are the main themes covered in this volume: · Applied Geology · Hydrogeology · Geological Exploration (underground) · Slope Instability, · Natural Hazards, Risk Assessment and Management, · Geo-resources and Sustainable Development · Application of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) The authors, from academia, research and industry present the latest state of the practice, new technologies, innovative methods and sustainable management in the field of Applied and Environmental Geology. This carefully edited work will be of value to academia, professionals, scientists and decision makers.

This edited volume addresses the impacts of climate change on Pacific islands, and presents databases and indexes for assessing and adapting to island vulnerabilities. By analyzing susceptibility variables, developing comprehensive vulnerability indexes, and applying GIS techniques, the book's authors demonstrate the particular issues presented by climate change in the islands of the Pacific region, and how these issues may be managed to preserve and improve biodiversity and human livelihoods. The book first introduces the issues specific to island communities, such as high emissions impacts, and discusses the importance of the lithological traits of Pacific islands and how these physical factors relate to climate change impacts. From here, the book aims to analyze the various vulnerabilities of different island sectors, and to formulate a susceptibility index from these variables to be used by government and planning agencies for relief prioritization. Such variables include tropical cyclones, built infrastructures, proximity to coastal areas, agriculture, fisheries and marine resources, groundwater availability, biodiversity, and economic impacts on industries such as tourism. Through the categorization and indexing of these variables, human and physical adaptation measures are proposed, and support solutions are offered to aid the inhabitants of affected island countries. This book is intended for policy makers, academics, and climate change researchers, particularly those dealing with climate change impacts on small islands.

Today, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have a pervasive presence in almost every aspect of the management of water. There is no question that the collection of big data from sensing and the insights gained by smart analytics can bring massive benefits. This book focuses on new perspectives for the monitoring, assessment and control of water systems, based on tools and concepts originating from the ICT sector. It presents a portrait of up-to-date sensing techniques for water, and introduces concepts and implications with the analysis of the acquired data. Particular attention is given to the advancements in developing novel devices and data processing approaches. The chapters guide the reader through multiple disciplinary contexts, without aiming to be exhaustive, but with the effort to present relevant topics in such a highly multi-disciplinary framework. This book will be of interest to advanced students, researchers and stakeholders at various levels.

This book presents the selected peer-reviewed papers from the national conference Futuristic Approaches in Civil Engineering (FACE) 2019. This volume focuses on latest research and challenges in the field of geotechnical, transportation, environmental and water resources engineering. The first part focuses on alternative and sustainable pavement materials, maintenance and rehabilitation of roads, transportation planning, traffic engineering, hybrid vehicles, safety management, and intelligent transport systems. In the second part of the book, basic and advanced research in geotechnical engineering which can provide sustainable solutions to practical problems in foundations, retaining structures, soil dynamics, site characterization, slope stability, dams, rock engineering, environmental geotechnics, and geosynthetics are covered. The third part of the book includes current research in environment, and water resources engineering. The contents of this book will be useful for students, researchers as well as industry professionals.

This book presents research on precipitation partitioning processes in vegetated ecosystems, putting them into a global context. It describes the processes by which meteoric water comes into contact with the vegetation's canopy, typically the first surface contact of precipitation on land. It also discusses how precipitation partitioning by vegetation impacts the amount, patterning, and chemistry of water reaching the surface, as well as the amount and timing of evaporative return to the atmosphere. Although this process has been extensively studied, this is the first review of the global literature on the partitioning of precipitation by forests, shrubs, crops, grasslands and other less-studies plant types. The authors offer global contextualization combined with a detailed discussion of the impacts for the climate and terrestrial ecohydrological systems. As such, this comprehensive overview is a valuable reference tool for a wide range of specialists and students in the fields of geoscience and the environment.

This book chronicles the decades-long work of studying, analyzing, and reversing the environmental pressures that threatened India's Chilika Lagoon, the largest brackish-water lagoon in the region, and the second largest in the world. Designated as one of India's first Ramsar Sites in 1981, Chilika Lagoon continued to degrade for a decade longer. Then, the Chilika Development Authority (CDA) was established to gather information and devise a restoration plan that benefits the ecosystems of the lagoon, with sensitivity to the needs and livelihoods of local communities. Expert contributors detail the work of analysis, planning and implementation, including extensive coverage of such topics as: Devising a plan for implementing Ramsar wise use guidelines Sedimentologic, chemical, and isotopic impacts Hydrodynamics and salinity Runoff and sediment in watersheds of the Lagoon's Western Catchment Long-term analysis of water quality and continued water quality monitoring Bio-optical models for cyclone impact assessment Studies of geomorphology, land use, and sedimentary environments Spatiotemporal assessment of phytoplankton communities Creation of a post-restoration scenario for fish and fisheries Assessing status of waterbirds, species diversity and migration patterns The result was a major hydrological intervention to re-establish hydrological and salinity regimes, biodiversity, and fish catches, and help protect the livelihood of lagoon-dependent communities. The story of the rehabilitation and management of Chilika Lagoon demonstrates that it is possible to halt and reverse the encroachment and degradation of wetlands, to restore biodiversity and to provide benefits for large numbers of people. Ecology, Conservation, and Restoration of Chilika Lagoon goes beyond scientific research articles to explore institutional and governance issues, political ecology, and the Ramsar Convention's guidelines for ecosystem restoration. The book will benefit researchers, wetland managers, government policy makers and more general readers concerned with restoration and conservation of wetlands around the planet.

Global change involves complex and far-reaching variations in the Earth's systems, and satellite observations have been widely used in global change studies. Over the past five decades, Earth observation has developed into a comprehensive system that can conduct dynamic monitoring of the land, the oceans and the atmosphere at the local, regional and even global scale. At the same time, although a large number of Earth observation satellites have been launched, very few of them are used in global change studies. The lack of scientific satellite programs greatly hinders research on global change. This book proposes using a series of global change scientific satellites to establish a scientific observation grid for global environmental change monitoring from space, and offers the first comprehensive review of lunar-based Earth observation. These scientific satellites could provide not only basic datasets but also scientific support in facilitating advances in international global change research.

An essential, introductory text for marine engineering students covering the fundamental earth-observation concepts that underpin all space-based terrestrial and maritime remote sensing methods. Satellite-based earth observation provides key weather and environmental information to all nations, including key maritime users such as navy, coastguard and merchant vessels. The application and understanding of electromagnetic wave-based devices and sensors is an established merchant sea service requirement, found in the Standards in Training and Certification in Watchkeeping (STCW95) qualification and various Maritime Coastguard Agency exams. It is vital that maritime and land-based users have a basic understanding of the concepts upon which these essential earth-observation systems now operate.The book is written as simply as possible to support the growing numbers of overseas students for whom English is not their first language. It provides a firm foundation prior to reading and studying of the Reeds Marine Engineering series, and is complementary to other volumes in the Introductions series. Maritime and land-based students and scientists having read this easy-to-read volume will be better prepared for more in-depth study.

This book reviews the distribution of soils across Egypt, their history, genesis, pollution and management. The conservation of Egyptian soils, soils and their connections to human activities, as well as some future soil issues are also highlighted. It is well known that soil is the main source for food, feed, fuel and fiber production. Accordingly, the study of soils is not only a crucial issue but also an urgent task for all nations worldwide. Due to their important roles in agroecosystems as well as many aspects of our lives, soils have direct and indirect functions in the agricultural, industrial and medicinal sectors. Therefore, understanding the physical, chemical and biological properties of soils, as well as soil security, have now become emerging issues. Climate change has a very dangerous dimension in Egypt concerning the rising sea level. Many coastal zones are already threatened by this sea level rise, and may ultimately disappear. At the same time, water shortages andsoil pollution represent the main challenges for the Egyptian nation. Generally speaking, the environmental challenges that Egypt now faces include improving and sustaining soil health, soil carbon sequestration, wastewater treatment, and avoiding the overuse of fertilizers and pesticides. Therefore, this book examines in detail the soils of Egypt from various perspectives including their genesis, history, classification, pollution and degradation, soil security, soil fertility and land uses.

This book presents the spatial and temporal dynamics of land use and land cover in the central Tibetan Plateau during the last two decades, based on various types of satellite data, long-term field investigation and GIS techniques. Further, it demonstrates how remote sensing can be used to map and characterize land use, land cover and their dynamic processes in mountainous regions, and to monitor and model relevant biophysical parameters.The Tibetan Plateau, the highest and largest plateau on the Earth and well known as “the roof of the world,” is a huge mountainous area on the Eurasian continent and covers millions of square kilometers, with an average elevation of over 4000 m. After providing an overview of the background and an introduction to land use and land cover change, the book analyzes the current land use status, dynamic changes and spatial distribution patterns of different land-use types in the study area, using various types of remotely sensed data, digital elevation models and GIS spatial analysis methods to do so. In turn, it discusses the main driving forces, based on the main physical environment variables and socioeconomic data, and provides a future scenario analysis of land use change using a Markov chain model. Given its scope, it provides a valuable reference guide for researchers, scientists and graduate students working on environmental change in mountainous regions around the globe, and for practitioners working at government and non-government agencies.

This book presents selected papers from the EuroKarst 2018 conference, which highlighted the latest advances in the field of Karst Hydrogeology and Carbonate Reservoirs. The event attracted more than 180 participants. From among their contributions, the papers were selected and subsequently reviewed by the scientific committee to ensure the highest possible quality.

Himalaya, one of the global biodiversity hotspots, is the abode of a variety of flora and fauna. The Himalayan ecosystems have immense ecological, socioeconomic, and aesthetic significance as they provide a wide range of ecosystem services. The northwest Himalaya (NWH), covering three states of India viz., Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir, starts from the foothills of Shivaliks in the south and extends to the greater Himalaya in the north. This region is also the source of some of the major rivers of India. With the increase in population, the NWH ecosystems have been under threat due to deforestation, loss of biodiversity, expansion of agriculture and settlement, overexploitation of natural resources, habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, mining, construction of roads and large dams, and unplanned tourism. The Himalaya being young and geotectonically active, remains inherently unstable, fragile, and prone to natural disasters. Climate change is also likely to impact the Himalayan cryosphere drastically. Recognizing the importance of the Himalaya, a National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem, one of the eight missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) of Govt. of India, to conserve biodiversity, forest cover and other ecological values in the Himalayan region has been taken up.Spaceborne remote sensing with its ability to provide synoptic and repetitive coverage has emerged as a powerful tool for assessment and monitoring of the Himalayan resources and phenomena. Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehradun has taken up a number of studies in the fields of geology, water resources, forestry, agriculture, urban settlement, etc., over the last decade. The book summarises the work carried out in different disciplines, illustrated with tables and figures and a host of relevant references. It is hoped that the book serves as an excellent reference of immense value to the students, researchers, professors, scientists, professionals, and decision makers working in the NWH region.

The third edition of Fundamentals of Hydrology provides an absorbing and comprehensive introduction to the understanding of how fresh water moves on and around the planet and how humans affect and manage the freshwater resources available to them. The book consists of three parts, each of fundamental importance in the understanding of hydrology: The first section deals with processes within the hydrological cycle, our understanding of them, and how to measure and estimate the amount of water within each process. This also includes an analysis of how each process impacts upon water quality issues. The second section is concerned with the measurement and analytical assessment of important hydrological parameters such as streamflow and water quality. It describes analytical and modelling techniques used by practising hydrologists in the assessment of water resources. The final section of the book draws together the first two parts to discuss the management of freshwater with respect to both water quality and quantity in a changing world. Fundamentals of Hydrology is a lively and accessible introduction to the study of hydrology at university level. It gives undergraduates a thorough understanding of hydrological processes, knowledge of the techniques used to assess water resources, and an up-to-date overview of water resource management. Throughout the text, examples and case studies from all around the world are used to clearly explain ideas and techniques. Essay questions, guides to further reading, and website links are also included.

This book highlights the development of lake systems and water reservoirs as well as the impact of climate change on water resources in Central Asian countries. It provides information on the genesis of lake basins, physical and chemical properties of water in lakes, and the hydrological regimes (water balance and fluctuation levels) of lakes of Central Asia and Xinjiang. The book is useful for scientists and researchers whose work focuses on lakes and the use of natural resources, irrigation, hydropower and water supply, as well as for students and planners.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of pedology in Ireland. It describes the main soil types of the country, their functions, ecological use, and the conditions to which they were subjected associated with management over time. In addition, it presents a complete set of data, pictures and maps, including benchmark profiles. Factors involved in soil formation are also discussed, making use of new, unpublished data and elaborations. The book was produced with the support and sponsorship of Teagasc, The Agriculture and Food Development Authority, Ireland and the Irish Environmental Protection Agency.

This book presents the outcome of the Towards Sustainable Land Use in Asia (SLUAS) project, which was the pilot undertaking for development in a series of projects on land use. Monsoon Asia, with its huge and still increasing population and rapid socioeconomic changes, is regarded as a major hot spot of global change in general and of land use change in particular. The major issues include urbanization, rural development, land-related problems such as food problems, and disasters in the context of global change and sustainability. Future Earth, the new international research framework established by International Council for Science (ICSU), the International Social Science Council (ISSC), and other international academic or funding organizations for a sustainable world, has chosen the Global Land Project (GLP) as one of the first such international projects it has endorsed that originated from International Geosphere/Biosphere Programme (IGBP) and/or International Human Dimensions Programme (IHDP). This endorsement is a clear indication of the importance of the issues related to land use and its changes. Land use change is an essential driving force of environmental change, a result of socioeconomic and environmental changes, and is a major environmental change itself. Because of this complex and multifaceted nature and the difficulties in obtaining relevant data with historical depth, this phenomenon has not been studied fully in the context of global change or sustainability. It is hoped that this book is of use to those who are concerned about the present and future land use in the world.