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Elsevier

Books in Earth and planetary sciences

Elsevier's Earth and Planetary Sciences collection brings together pioneering research on the complexities of our planet and beyond. Covering topics from Earth's structural dynamics and ecosystems to planetary exploration, these titles support advancements in geoscience, environmental science, and space studies, offering essential insights for researchers, professionals, and students.

  • Waves on Beaches and Resulting Sediment Transport

    Proceedings of an Advanced Seminar, Conducted by the Mathematics Research Center, the University of Wisconsin, and the Coastal Engineering Research Center, U. S. Army, at Madison, October 11–13, 1971
    • 1st Edition
    • R. E. Meyer
    • English
    Waves on Beaches and Resulting Sediment Transport documents the proceedings of an Advanced Seminar held in October, 1971, aiming to offer a coherent, interdisciplinary view of the state of physical research in coastal oceanography and the direction in which this subject is moving. The articles range from wave refraction to littoral erosion, and the authors from geologists to mathematicians. The book opens with a study on the characteristics of wave records in the coastal zone. This is followed by separate chapters on sediment transport in beaches; equations for water waves; small-amplitude normal oscillations of a liquid body; and wave behavior near caustics in models and in nature. Subsequent chapters deal with nonlinear wave interaction in a variety of physical phenomena including deep water waves; the study of longshore currents; sediment suspension by periodic waves; forms of sediment accumulation in the beach zone; run-up on beaches; and the wave breaking process in shallow water.

  • Mathematical Aspects of Seismology

    Developments in Solid Earth Geophysics
    • 1st Edition
    • Markus Båth
    • English
    Developments in Solid Earth Geophysics, 4: Mathematical Aspects of Seismology introduces studies of the more advanced parts of theoretical seismology. The manuscript first ponders on contour integration and conformal transformation, methods of stationary phase and steepest descent, and series integration. Discussions focus on Love waves in heterogeneous isotropic media, Laguerre's differential equation, Hermite's differential equation, method of steepest descent, method of stationary phase, contour integration in the complex plane, and conformal transformation. The text then examines series integration, Bessel functions, Legendre functions, and wave equations. Topics include general considerations of the wave equation, expansion of a spherical wave into plane waves, common features of special functions and special differential equations, applications of Legendre functions, Legendre polynomials, Bessel's differential equation, and properties of Bessel coefficients. The book explores the influence of gravity on wave propagation, matrix calculus, wave propagation in liquid media, integral equations, calculus of variations, and integral transforms. The text is a valuable source of data for researchers wanting to study the mathematical aspects of seismology.

  • Aeronomy

    • 1st Edition
    • P. M. Banks + 1 more
    • English
    Aeronomy, Part A is an attempt to make a comprehensive exposition of the processes in aeronomy, the study of composition, movement, and thermal balance of the upper regions of the planetary atmosphere. The text covers topics such as atmospheric regions and atmospheric density, the temperature and molecular mass of the atmosphere; the permanent constituents and the molecular and isotonic composition of the homosphere; and the transition from the homosphere to the heterosphere. Also covered are topics such as the temperature gradient and energies in the thermosphere, conditions at 200km and above 250km, solar radiation and ionization, and aeronomic reactions. The book is recommended for scientists, especially natural physicists, who would like to know more about the field of aeronomy and its advances.

  • Field Instrumentation in Geotechnical Engineering

    A Symposium Organised by the British Geotechnical Society Held 30th May–1st June 1973
    • 1st Edition
    • Elsevier Chennai Outsource Office
    • English
    Field Instrumentation in Geotechnical Engineering documents the proceedings of a symposium of the same name organized by the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering. The said symposium covers the developments in the instruments and techniques in field instrumentation. The book is divided into two parts. Part 1 covers the 37 papers included in the symposium, which cover topics such as the measurement of spatial deformations; the measurement of in situ stress and strain for solids, earth pressure and anchor forces; ground round displacement; and techniques and equipment using the surveyors lever. Part 2, on the other hand, covers the sessions during the symposium, which include topics such as different principles of measurement; the application of instrumentation; and interpretation of their results. The text is recommended for those in the field of geotechnical engineering who would like to know more about instrumentation and the processes and techniques involved in it.

  • Gemmological Instruments

    Their Use and Principles of Operation
    • 2nd Edition
    • Peter G Read
    • English
    Gemmological Instruments deals with the developments in diamond grading equipment and gem testing instruments since the publication of the first edition in 1978. These developments include improvements in the versatility and styling of existing instruments such as the reflectivity meter, the composite spectroscope, and the refractometer. It also addresses the criticisms in the first edition and provides a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of different gem testing equipment. This book is organized into 16 chapters that describe groundbreaking instruments like the thermal conductivity diamond testers and home-constructed items that while innovative have not yet been commercialized. There are also chapters dealing with microphotography and identification of synthetics and stimulants. This book also provides a listing of gemstone constants and characteristic inclusions in natural and synthetic gemstones. This book will be of interest to people interested in equipment for gem testing and diamond grading.

  • The Earth’s Electric Field

    Sources from Sun to Mud
    • 1st Edition
    • Michael C. Kelley
    • English
    The Earth’s Electric Field provides you with an integrated and comprehensive picture of the generation of the terrestrial electric fields, their dynamics and how they couple/propagate through the medium. The Earth’s Electric Field provides basic principles of terrestrial electric field related topics, but also a critical summary of electric field related observations and their significance to the various related phenomena in the atmosphere. For the first time, Kelley brings together information on this topic in a coherent way, making it easy to gain a broad overview of the critical processes in an efficient way. If you conduct research in atmospheric science, physics, atmospheric chemistry, space plasma physics, and solar terrestrial physics, you will find this book to be essential reading.

  • Reflection Seismology

    Theory, Data Processing and Interpretation
    • 1st Edition
    • Yang Wencai
    • English
    Authored by a geophysicist with more than 50 years of experience in research and instruction, Reflection Seismology: Theory, Data Processing and Interpretation provides a single source of foundational knowledge in reflection seismology principles and theory.Reflection seismology has a broad range of applications and is used primarily by the oil and gas industry to provide high-resolution maps and build a coherent geological story from maps of processed seismic reflections. Combined with seismic attribute analysis and other exploration geophysics tools, it aids geologists and geo-engineers in creating geological models of areas of exploration and extraction interest. Yet as important as reflection seismology is to the hydrocarbon industry, it’s difficult to find a single source that synthesizes the topic without having to wade through numerous journal articles from a range of different publishers. This book is a one-stop source of reflection seismology theory, helping scientists navigates through the wealth of new data processing techniques that have emerged in recent years.

  • A Colour Guide to Clouds

    • 1st Edition
    • Richard Scorer + 1 more
    • R. S. Scorer + 1 more
    • English
    A Colour Guide to Clouds contains 48 pictures that illustrate the most important cloud making processes. These pictures provide insights into the mode of formation of almost every cloud. This book is composed of six sections, and begins with an introduction to cloud name identification and the importance of clouds in the circumstances in which they occur. The succeeding sections deal with the major cloud names, namely, cumulus, cirrus, nimbus, and stratus. These topics are followed by illustrations of various cloud forms, the low pressure area of clouds, as well as ice clouds. The final chapters contain text and colored plates of different cloud forms. This book will prove useful to meteorologists, naturalists, and cloud scientists and researchers.

  • Regulatory Change in an Atmosphere of Crisis

    Current Implications of the Roosevelt Years
    • 1st Edition
    • Gary M. Walton
    • English
    Regulatory Change in an Atmosphere of Crisis: Current Implications of the Roosevelt Years is a collection of papers presented at a conference on Regulatory Change in an Atmosphere of Crisis: The Current-Day Implications of the Roosevelt Years, held in April 1978, at Washington State University. The book presents the findings on several of the major economic reforms of the Roosevelt years and assesses their implications. The text discusses a variety of issues of the period such as the short term measures implemented during the crisis of the 1930s; the Roosevelt New Deal and its consequences; banking reforms in the 1930s; and the social welfare programs that originated in the Roosevelt years. Historians, economists, financial experts, and students will find the book a great source of insight and information.

  • On the Nature of Continental Shelves

    • 1st Edition
    • John J Walsh
    • English
    On the Nature of Continental Shelves discusses continental margins using techniques of systems analysis applied on minicomputers. The book describes insights and theories of mechanisms of enhanced primary production at the continental shelves, emphasizing these as the source energy, food, and recreation, and a possible means to detect global change while in its early phases. The text explains circulation, equations of motion, Ekman dynamics, and baroclinic effects of vertical changes in water density. Production in the seas involves the process of photosynthesis by organisms in which instruments on aircraft platforms can measure salinity and chlorophyll fluorescence. During photosynthesis, some of the light energy absorbed by phytoplankton pigments is emitted as fluorescence, at longer wavelengths, which can then detected. Adult fish and crustaceans are mobile and add a biological vector to the physical movement of organisms on the continental shelves. The book examines food limitation and the conditions of the Bering Sea, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Gulf of Mexico. The text also investigates sinking losses, present depocenters, atmospheric forcing, eutrophication, overfishing, and the effects of climate on primary production at the continental shelves. The book can be beneficial for students of meteorology, oceanography as well as to marine ecologists, biologists, and environmentalists.

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