springer netherlands jun 2010 (17 results)

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The main goal of this introductory text is to demonstrate how basic concepts in Soil Mechanics can be used as a 'forensic' tool in the investigation of geotechnical failures. This, in turn, provides a good opportunity to show how to use available procedures in the formulation of useful simple models. Geotechnical failure is understood here in a broad sense as the failure of a structure to function properly due to a geotechnical reason. Some of the geotechnical failures selected are well known for their impact on the geotechnical community. Others are closer to the author's experience. They have been organized into three main topics: Settlement, Bearing Capacity and Excavations. They cover a significant proportion of every day's activity of professional geotechnical engineers. No attempt has been made to create a comprehensive handbook of failures. Instead, the emphasis has been given to creative applications of simple mechanical concepts and well known principles and solutions of Soil Mechanics. The book shows how much can be learned from relatively simple approaches. Despite this emphasis on simplicity, the book provides a deep insight into the cases analyzed. A non-negligible number of new analytical closed-form solutions have also been found. Their derivation can be followed in detail. In all the cases described an effort was made to provide a detailed and step by step description of the hypothesis introduced and of the analysis performed. 256 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -'Remote Sensing of Urban and Suburban Areas' provides instructors with a text reference that has a logical and easy-to-follow flow of topics around which they can structure the syllabi of their urban remote sensing courses. Topics have been chosen to bridge the gap between remote sensing and urban studies through a better understanding of the science that underlies both fields. In so doing, the book includes 17 chapters written by leading international experts in respected fields to provide a balanced coverage of fundamental issues in both remote sensing and urban studies. Emphasis is placed on: theoretical and practical issues in contemporary urban studies and remote sensing; the spectral, spatial and temporal requirements of remotely sensed data in relation to various urban phenomena; methods and techniques for analyzing and integrating remotely sensed data and image processing with geographic information systems to address urban problems; and examples of applications in which applying remote sensing to tackle urban problems is deemed useful and important. 364 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), his life and his work have been and continue to be the subject of an enormous number of scholarly works. One of the con- quences of this is the proliferation of identities bestowed on this gure of the Italian Renaissance: Galileo the great theoretician, Galileo the keen astronomer, Galileo the genius, Galileo the physicist, Galileo the mathematician, Galileo the solitary thinker, Galileo the founder of modern science, Galileo the heretic, Galileo the courtier, Galileo the early modern Archimedes, Galileo the Aristotelian, Galileo the founder of the Italian scienti c language, Galileo the cosmologist, Galileo the Platonist, Galileo the artist and Galileo the democratic scientist. These may be only a few of the identities that historians of science have associated with Galileo. And now: Galileo the engineer! That Galileo had so many faces, or even identities, seems hardly plausible. But by focusing on his activities as an engineer, historians are able to reassemble Galileo in a single persona, at least as far as his scienti c work is concerned. The impression that Galileo was an ingenious and isolated theoretician derives from his scienti c work being regarded outside the context in which it originated. 344 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The first Jellyfish Blooms volume was published in 2001. Since that time, reports of human problems with jellyfish, as well as public and scientific awareness of the importance of jellyfish in coastal waters have increased dramatically. At the same time, the severity of the many complex environmental problems in the global ocean and awareness of those problems also has increased dramatically. The accelerating degradation of the oceans from over-harvesting of commercial species, eutrophication, decreased oxygen, climate change, and species introductions may be promoting the expanding problems with jellyfish. Jellyfish Blooms: New Problems and Solutions is the third volume in this series. Syntheses and original research articles provide an identification key for the ephyrae of 18 common scyphozoan species, document the Mediterranean-wide bloom of the invasive ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi, and address the direct effects of ocean acidification on jellyfish for the first time. The influence of climate change on jellyfish blooms is covered in several papers. New methods are presented for large-scale estimation of scyphomedusan occurrence with the Continuous Plankton Recorder and trophic effects as estimated by respiration. Moreover, novel approaches are described for study of medusan toxicity. This is a key reference for students and professional marine biologists, oceanographers, and fishery scientists and managers 240 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Using such terms as science and technology, which have been relatively - cently adopted, to write about situations and events that occurred 2,500 years ago, may be a paradox. The Homeric Epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey, refer to the Mycenean Era, a civilisation that ourished from the 16th to 12th c- tury BCE. The seeming paradox ceases to be one when modern specialists, searching through the ancients texts, discover knowledge and applications so advanced, that can be termed as scienti c or technological in the modern sense of the words. The present book is based on extensive research performed by the author and his associates at the University of Patras, along with the presentations of other researchers at two international symposia, which he organized in 1 Ancient Olympia. It consists of ve parts, of which Part I is introductory, including such chapters as Homer and Homeric Epics, Troy and the mythological causes of the War, Achilles and his wrath, the siege and fall of Troy, Odysseus' long way home, the Trojan war and the cultural tradition, scienti c knowledge in the Homeric Epics and nally an account on science and technology. Part II includes three chapters on applications of principles of natural s- ence, including chariot racing and the laws of curvilinear motion, creep in wood and hydrodynamics of vortices and the gravitational sling. 220 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -In 1858 Hermann von Helmholtz published a paper that today is recognized as the foundation of vortex dynamics.To celebrate the sesquicentennial of Helmholtz's paper, IUTAM sponsored a symposium that was held at the technical university of Denmark in October 2008. The papers presented at the symposium gave a good overview of where the field of vortex dynamics stands today. This volume contains almost all of the papers presented as lectures at the symposium, and also a few of the poster papers. In this volume the reader will find up-to-date, state-of-theart papers on Point vortices, vortex sheets, vortex filaments, vortex rings, vortex patches, vortex streets, the vortex dynamics of swimming and flying, vortex knots, vortices in turbulent flows, vortices in computational fluid dynamics, the topology of vortex wakes, stability of vortex configurations, vortices on a sphere, geophysical vortices, cosmic vortices and much more. 464 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Fourteen informative papers dealing with their DNA, species interactions, adventiveness, host specificity, potential as boi-contol agents of weeds, chemical control, behaviour, their role in fungal pathogen epidemiology, influence in forests and on ornamentals, collecting and mounting techniques and their interaction with crops are presented here. This is an extensive and valuable contribution to eriophyoid science and a must for present and future researchers in this field. 316 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This is the last volume of the IPMD series. It aims, in a multi-disciplinary approach, at reviewing and discussing recent advances and achievements in the practice of crop protection and integrated pest and disease management. This last effort deals with management of arthropods, and is organized with a first section on biological control in citrus orchards, a second one on advanced and integrated technologies for insect pest management and a last section, dealing with mites and their biological control. A wide and exaustive literature already covers several aspects of chemical or biological control of insects and mites, but there is still a need for a more holistic vision of management, accounting for different problems and solutions, as they are applied or developed, in different regions and cropping systems, worldwide. In this series we attempted to fill this gap, providing an informative coverage for a broad range of agricultural systems and situations. 384 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Land Degradation and Desertification: Assessment, Mitigation, and Remediation reports research results in sustainable land management and land degradation status and mitigation in 36 countries around the world. It includes background papers with continental and international perspectives dealing with land degradation and desertification studies.The book assembles various topics of interest for a large audience. They include carbon sequestration and stocks, modern techniques to trace the trends of land degradation, traditional and modern approaches of resource-base conservation, soil fertility management, reforestation, rangeland rehabilitation, land use planning, GIS techniques in desertification risk cartography, participatory ecosystem management, policy analyses and possible plans for action.Various climatic domains in Africa, Asia, Europe and The Americas are covered.The book will be of interest to a variety of environmental scientists, agronomists, national and international policy makers and a number of organizations dealing with sustainable management of natural resources. 688 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Oceanic Migration studies the prehistoric peopling of the Pacific. It uses science and mathematics to expand the research base of Pacific prehistory and casts new light on this final human expansion. It explores the fundamental roles of oceanography and of global climate change in determining the paths, sequence, timing and range of Spice Island-based maritime migrations ranging across a quarter of the globe. The book is of interest to Pacific prehistorians, oceanographers and American anthropologists concerned with the diffusionist debate. For oceanographers it presents the new idea of the role of the West Pacific Warm Pool and of three of its four major currents in determining the evolution of voyaging in two oceans. For diffusionists it provides new chronological and technological contexts in which the issue of diffusionism needs to be reconsidered. For prehistorians it creates a paradigmatic shift by establishing a new time depth and mechanism for Polynesian exploration, offers a new view of voyaging and exploration strategies and of economic imperatives and adds a new dimension to the debate on Polynesian origins. 428 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Beyond the Biophysical provides a broad overview of agriculture and natural resource management (NRM) scholarship and practice that lies beyond the biophysical, emphasizing instead epistemological, cultural, and political foundations of NRM. The volume is oriented toward professionals with expertise in agriculture and natural resource management scholarship and practice, but who lack exposure to the conceptual and methodological underpinnings of critical theory, the anthropology of development, ecological anthropology, and other relevant scholarship. It therefore follows common standards of academic rigour, but minimizes the use of jargon, integrates detailed case studies with conceptual syntheses, and attempts to move from critique to concrete recommendations for scholarship and practice. The volume seeks to foster a more nuanced and responsible engagement with local communities and the natural world among NRM scholars and practitioners. 320 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -There is no more fundamental resource than water. The basis of all life, water is fast becoming a key issue in today's world, as well as a source of conflict. This fascinating book, which sets out many of the ingenious methods by which ancient societies gathered, transported and stored water, is a timely publication as overextraction and profligacy threaten the existence of aquifers and watercourses that have supplied our needs for millennia.It provides an overview of the water technologies developed by a number of ancient civilizations, from those of Mesopotamia and the Indus valley to later societies such as the Mycenaeans, Minoans, Persians, and the ancient Egyptians. Of course, no book on ancient water technologies would be complete without discussing the engineering feats of the Romans and Greeks, yet as well as covering these key civilizations, it also examines how ancient American societies from the Hohokams to the Mayans and Incas husbanded their water supplies. This unusually wide-ranging text could offer today's parched world some solutions to the impending crisis in our water supply.'This book provides valuable insights into the water technologies developed in ancient civilizations which are the underpinning of modern achievements in water engineering and management practices. It is the best proof that 'the past is the key for the future.'Andreas N. Angelakis, Hellenic Water Supply and Sewerage Systems Association, Greece'This book makes a fundamental contribution to what will become the most important challenge of our civilization facing the global crisis: the problem of water. Ancient Water Technologies provides a complete panorama of how ancient societies confronted themselves with the management of water. The role of this volume is to provide, for the first time on this issue, an extensive historical and scientific reconstruction and an indication of how traditional knowledge may be employed to ensure a sustainable future for all.' Pietro Laureano, UNESCO expert for ecosystems at risk, Director of IPOGEA-Institute of Traditional Knowledge, Italy 292 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Grassland produces feed for livestock, improves soil fertility and structure, protects water resources and may contribute to climate change mitigation through carbon storage and to biodiversity preservation. It simultaneously maintains sustainable economic outputs for farmers and provides ecosystem services. Turf similarly c- siderably contributes to our environment by adding beauty to our surroundings, providing a safe playing surface for sports and recreation. The species diversity present in most grasslands and turfs is a functional div- sity contributing to the previously mentioned agronomic and environmental bene ts. The species belong to different functional groups and the adequate species com- sition may maximise the agronomic performance through a higher production and a better quality and the environmental bene ts through symbiotic nitrogen xation or sources of pollen and nectar to pollinators. In a given grassland or turf, the genetic diversity available in each variety contributes to this economic and environmental performance, but also to the stability of these performances including the stability of the resistance against pathogens and pests. Natural grasslands share many species with the sown swards. They may be regarded as favourable sites for in situ preservation of genetic diversity as well as valuable sources of diversity for breeding. 604 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The Siberian environment is a unique region of the world that is both very strongly affected by global climate change and at the same time particularly vulnerable to its consequences. The news about the melting of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean and the prospect of an ice-free shipping passage from Scandinavia to Alaska along the Russian north coast has sparked an international debate about natural resource exploitation, national boundaries and the impacts of the rapid changes on people, animals and plants. Over the last decades Siberia has also witnessed severe forest fires to an extent that is hard to imagine in other parts of the world where the po- lation density is higher, the fire-prone ecosystems cover much smaller areas and the systems of fire control are better resourced. The acceleration of the fire regime poses the question of the future of the boreal forest in the taiga region. Vegetation models have already predicted a shift of vegetation zones to the north under s- narios of global climate change. The implications of a large-scale expansion of the grassland steppe ecosystems in the south of Siberia and a retreat of the taiga forest into the tundra systems that expand towards the Arctic Ocean would be very signi- cant for the local population and the economy. I have studied Russian forests from remote sensing and modelling for about 11 years now and still find it a fascinating subject to investigate. 300 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The OHOLO conferences are sponsored by the Israel Institute for Biological Research and take their name from the site of the rst meeting on the shores of Lake Kinnereth. The purpose of these meetings is, as it was at their inception over 50 years ago, 'to foster interdisciplinary communication between scientists in Israel, and to provide added stimulus by the participation of invited scientists from abroad'. The core of the organizers of the OHOLO conferences are scientists from the Israel Institute for Biological Research. From time to time a particular OHOLO conference cooperates with an international scienti c organization. The present 46th OHOLO Conference marks the resumption of the OHOLO tradition after 8 years of interruption caused by events beyond our control. It is my belief that our uncomp- mising commitment to excellence in research and development in the various areas of science in Israel is essential to our survival in this troubled region. The OHOLO conference tradition is a re ection of this conviction. The present 46th OHOLO Conference entitled: The Challenge of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms - Mechanisms of Virulence and Novel Medical Countermeasures intends to address the unique virulence features and ho- pathogen interactions of microorganisms constituting emerging biothreat with emphasis on Y. pestis, B. anthracis, F. tularensis and Orthopox viruses. Accordingly we selected classical microbiological as well as genomic, proteomic & transcr- tomic approaches towards developments of novel prophylactic and post-exposure treatment, as well as updated strategies of diagnostics and bioforensics. 332 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -International experts provide a comprehensive picture of the principles, concepts and methods that are applicable to problems originating from the interaction between the living/non-living environment and mankind. Both the analysis of such problems and the way solutions to environmental problems may work in specific societal contexts are addressed. Disciplinary approaches are discussed but there is a focus on multi- and interdisciplinary methods. A large number of practical examples and case studies are presented. There is special emphasis on modelling and integrated assessment.This book is different because it stresses the societal, cultural and historical dimensions of environmental problems. The main objective is to improve the ability to analyse and conceptualise environmental problems in context and to make readers aware of the value and scope of different methods.Ideal as a course text for students, this book will also be of interest to researchers and consultants in the environmental sciences. 560 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book provides information about microbial mats, from early fossils to modern mats located in marine and terrestrial environments. Microbial mats - layered biofilms containing different types of cells - are most complex systems in which representatives of various groups of organisms are found together. Among them are cyanobacteria and eukaryotic phototrophs, aerobic heterotrophic and chemoautotrophic bacteria, protozoa, anoxygenic photosynthetic bacteria, and other types of microorganisms.These mats are perfect models for biogeochemical processes, such as the cycles of chemical elements, in which a variety of microorganisms cooperate and interact in complex ways. They are often found under extreme conditions and their study contributes to our understanding of extremophilic life. Moreover, microbial mats are models for Precambrian stromatolites; the study of modern microbial mats may provide information on the processes that may have occurred on Earth when prokaryotic life began to spread. 632 pp. Englisch.