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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.

  • Microbial Enhancement of Oil Recovery - Recent Advances

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 31
    • E.C. Donaldson
    • English
    This conference was instituted to examine field activities in Microbial Enhancement of Oil Recovery. The U.S. Department of Energy has sponsored several field projects and the details from some of these were presented, as well as a few from industry. The balance of the program was concerned with new developments in research.Today's oil production technology leaves one third to one half of the original oil in place in the reservoir at abandonment of secondary recovery (waterflooding). This leaves a very large target for microbial enhanced oil recovery which was shown by the research papers of this conference to be capable of producing up to 50% of the residual oil. The field trials show that the normal projected oil production decline curve can be reversed, or leveled off by microbial enhancement of oil recovery.This conference has shown that a variety of applications are possible to correct oilfield problems as well as to enhance oil recovery. Among these is the suppression of hydrogen sulfide production which alone is a tremendous advance because of the large quantity of sour oil production. If hydrogen sulfide production can be curtailed it would increase the value of the produced oil, decrease it toxicity, and largely decrease it corrosiveness. All of these would be welcome both in the field and at the petroleum refinery where special precautions must be taken to process sour crude oil.Another very important discovery is the ability of certain bacteria to eliminate paraffin deposition around the producing well and in the tubulars. This is a welcome improvement for many producers who have considerable difficulty in controlling paraffin deposition.
  • Water Resources Development in Developing Countries

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 41
    • M.S. Peterson + 1 more
    • English
    Water resources exploitation has been regarded as a way of initiating economic development in many countries. Planning concepts are now changing. Thorough environmental studies, sociological and economic studies now preceed project formulation. Justification solely on the basis of benefit cost studies is no longer sufficient for many development agencies. The broader approach is introduced in this book, but the real emphasis is on the situation in and needs of developing countries.Some of the problems experienced in building water resources in developing countries are described in this book, and methods of solution based on the limited experience of the authors, are offered. These range from use of unbiased common sense, coupled with a close understanding of people's requirements, to a comprehensive computer simulated planning model. Some types of water resources development are described in more detail. These include irrigation, hydro electric power and rural water supply. Sections on socio-economics and human resource development are also included, as well as on data collection, and project planning. Lessons from the failure of multimillion dollar projects are not hard to come by, and examples and pointers which will assist future planners are given. Attention is paid to the need for aid to include training and to stimulate local economies. However big water projects appear, they cannot escape the effects of the rest of the country's economy. Attention is also drawn to environmental problems, particularly soil erosion, often caused by water resources development. The fact that water resources development cannot be carried out by engineers only, is recognized. The input of many professions, and vast experience, is needed. Drawn on international case studies, much of the material has been presented in postgraduate courses by the authors.
  • Fluid Mechanics of the Atmosphere

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 47
    • Robert A. Brown
    • English
    Fluid Mechanics of the Atmosphere presents the fundamental equations which govern most of the flow problems studied by atmospheric scientists. The equations are derived in a systematic way that is intended to facilitate critical evaluation. The goal of this text is twofold. First the book supplies the student a background familiarity in the underlying physics behind the mathematics. Second it explores some systematic methods of relating these physics to atmospheric problems, including rotating frames of reference effects, vorticity dynamics, and turbulence effects on closure.
  • Advances in Geophysics

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 32
    • English
  • International Review of Research in Mental Retardation

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 16
    • English
    This volume addresses three important areas of current research in mental retardation: behavioral toxicology research and its implications for the cause and prevention of some types of mental retardation, cognitive processes in mentally retarded individuals and the significance of this issue for the further development of remediation techniques, and social adaptation and family functioning and the importance of these topics for the study of mental retardation.
  • Rock Fractures

    • 1st Edition
    • S. N. Chernyshev + 1 more
    • English
  • Advances in Soil Organic Matter Research

    The Impact on Agriculture and the Environment
    • 1st Edition
    • W S Wilson
    • English
    The papers in this volume provide a balanced account of developments in soil organic matter research. It focuses on composition and structure, water quality, organic matter turnover, humus quality and fertility, and is essential reading for all those concerned with the environmental aspects of soil conservation and improvement.
  • Contamination of Groundwater

    Prevention, Assessment, Restoration
    • 1st Edition
    • Michael W. Barcelona
    • English
    This resource document brings together available technical information on ground-water management. The book covers measures for prevention of contamination, assessment of extent of contamination, and restoration of ground-water quality.
  • Glacigenic Sediments

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 49
    • K. Brodzikowski + 1 more
    • English
    This book aims primarily at providing those involved in fundamental or applied research in the fields of geology, geomorphology and hydrology with a systematic overview of glacigenic sediments. A generally applicable terminology is proposed which should facilitate communication between scientists from several fields. Also it should form a bridge between western and eastern "schools" dealing with Quaternary geology. Because the book is mainly devoted to depositional processes and the resulting deposits, the approach and the terminology followed in this book are obviously founded strongly on sedimentology, the geological discipline that deals specifically with these phenomena.The book will be helpful in describing the sediments involved, interpreting their genesis, establishing their extent and their mutual relationships, and thus in the reconstruction of the palaeogeographic development.The large list of references reflects the author's extensive search of the literature.
  • Advances in Marine Biology

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 27
    • English
    This authoritative review will be valuable reference for marine biologists, ecologists, and taxonomists. It is also an essential handbook for the penaeid fisheries biologist or aquaculturist and is a prerequisite for the rational exploitation and cultivation of penaeids.**Although penaeids are a large and diverse decapod group which have been exploited commercially in both fisheries and aquaculture for hundreds of years, no comprehensive review of their biology has never been written. The group's commercial importance has led to an unbalanced literature, dominated by the fisheries and aquaculture aspects of the genus Penaeus, often without an appreciation of their underlying biology.**This review adopts a multidisciplinary approach to give a comprehensive and up-to-date account of morphology, taxonomy (including larvae), zoogeography, physiology, reproduction, feeding, growth, behaviour, and life histories. Chapters discussing the parasites of, and predation on penaeids, are also included. So much new material is presented that the book is more than just a review of the existing literature. In synthesising the published information across this diverse family, it puts the commercially important species and genera into a larger perspective, pointing to deficiencies in our understanding and creating a framework for areas of future research.