Permafrost Response On Economic Development Environmental Security And Natural Resources

Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop, Novosibirsk, Russia, 12-16 November 1998

Unlike connotations such as greenhouse effect. global change, sea level, desertification, etc. , permafrost is definitely lacking in the everyday speech of many non-specialists. The reason is that areas of permafrost are too remote, barren and isolated. Focus on permafrost today is brought when huge environmental disasters, mainly related to pollution by oil spills, occur. Even then it is offered as

These proceedings contain two hundred and eighteen papers representing the work of authors from countries across the world. They cover a wide range of research and applications in safety and reliability issues that concern all types of systems, processes and structures.

The cryosphere, that region of the world where water is temporarily or permanently frozen, plays a crucial role on our planet. Recent developments in remote sensing techniques, and the acquisition of new data sets, have resulted in significant advances in our understanding of all components of the cryosphere and its processes. This book, based on contributions from 40 leading experts, offers a comprehensive and authoritative overview of the methods, techniques and recent advances in applications of remote sensing of the cryosphere. Examples of the topics covered include: • snow extent, depth, grain-size and impurities • surface and subsurface melting • glaciers • accumulation over the Greenland and Antarctica ice sheets • ice thickness and velocities • gravimetric measurements from space • sea, lake and river ice • frozen ground and permafrost • fieldwork activities • recent and future cryosphere-oriented missions and experiments All figures are in color and provide an excellent visual accompaniment to the technical and scientific aspect of the book. Readership: Senior undergraduates, Masters and PhD Students, PostDocs and Researchers in cryosphere science and remote sensing. Remote Sensing of the Cryosphere is the significant first volume in the new Cryosphere Science Series. This new series comprises volumes that are at the cutting edge of new research, or provide focussed interdisciplinary reviews of key aspects of the science.

This book provides an up-to-date account of the current understanding of climate change and global warming related to environment, climate, plant and vegetation growth. The aim of this book is to provide a platform for scientists and academics world-wide to promote, share, and discuss various new issues and developments in the area of plant and vegetation growth related to climate change. Over the next decades, it is predicted that billions of people, particularly those in developing countries, face shortages of water and food and greater risks to health and life as a result of climate change. Concerted global action is needed to enable developing countries to adapt to the effects of climate change that are happening now and will worsen in the future. The book will also enhance the understanding on issues related to climate change, giving a clear indication of a looming global warming crisis. Addressing global climate change is a monumental battle that can only be fought by the leaders of tomorrow, but future leaders are molded through education and shaped by the leaders of today.

Originally conceived as a technical manual, but now offering the reader so much more, this timely work deals with various aspects of geohazards – surely an area of growing importance in this world of global warming. Using photogeology and remote sensing, Quebecois researcher Rivard’s work is unique in that the succinct text supports the illustrations, and is devised as a quick-reference, standardized presentation of 170 globally occurring photo-geomorphological units.

As is now generally accepted mankind’s burning of fossil fuels has resulted in the mass transfer of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, a modification of the delicately-balanced global carbon cycle, and a measurable change in world-wide temperatures and climate. Although not the most powerful greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO) drives climate 2 change due to the enormous volumes of this gas pumped into the atmosphere every day. Produced in almost equal parts by the transportation, industrial and energy-generating sectors, atmospheric CO concentrations have 2 increased by about 50% over the last 300 years, and according to some sources are predicted to increase by up to 200% over pre-industrial levels during the next 100 years. If we are to reverse this trend, in order to prevent significant environmental change in the future, action must be taken immediately. While reduced use of fossil fuels (through conservation, increased efficiency and expanded use of renewable energy sources) must be our ultimate goal, short to medium term solutions are needed which can make an impact today. Various types of CO storage techniques have been proposed to fill this 2 need, with the injection of this gas into deep geological reservoirs being one of the most promising. For example this approach has the potential to become a closed loop system, whereby underground energy resources are brought to surface, their energy extracted (via burning or hydrogen extraction), and the resulting by-products returned to the subsurface.

From energy and water resources to natural disasters, and from changing climatic patterns to the evolution of the Earth’s deep interior, geoscience research affects people’s lives in many ways and on many levels. This book offers a stimulating cross-disciplinary perspective on the important relationship between geoscience research and outreach activities for schools and for the general public. The contributors – academics, research scientists, science educators and outreach program educators – describe and evaluate outreach programs from around the world. A section entitled Field-based Approaches includes a chapter describing an initiative to engage Alaskan communities and students in research, and another on problem-based learning in the field setting. The Online Approaches section discusses ways to connect students and scientists using online forums; use of the web and social media, including the United Nations University and its experience with the design of a web magazine featuring geoscience research; and video clips on marine geoscience created by students and scientists. The section on Workshop and Laboratory-based Approaches includes a chapter on teaching geochronology to high school students, and another describing an extracurricular school activity program on meteorology. The Program Design section presents chapters on Integrating Geoscience Research in Primary and Secondary Education, on ways to bridge research with science education at the high school level, and on use of online geoscience data from the Great Lakes. The concluding section, Promoting Research-enhanced Outreach, offers chapters on Geoscience Outreach Education with the local community by a leading research-intensive university, and on the use of research to promote action in Earth science professional development for schoolteachers.Geoscience Research and Outreach: Schools and Public Engagement will benefit geoscience researchers who wish to promote their work beyond academia. It offers guidance to those seeking research funding from agencies, which increasingly request detailed plans for outreach activities in research proposals. Policymakers, educators and scientists working in museums, learned societies and public organizations who wish to widen participation will also find this book useful. Together with the companion volume Geoscience Research and Education: Teaching at Universities, this book showcases the key role that geoscience research plays in a wide spectrum of educational settings.