"Climate Change and Island and Coastal Vulnerability” is the outcome of a selection of peer reviewed edited papers presented at the International Workshop on Climate Change and Island Vulnerability (IWCCI) held at Kadmat Island, Lakshadweep, India in October 2010. Marine and coastal biodiversity, sea level rise vulnerability, fisheries, climate change impact on livelihood options, water and sanitation in island ecosystem and mitigation, adaptation and governance are the focal themes. The basic concept conveyed in the book is that biodiversity of islands is to be protected as a natural mechanism to mitigate climate change. Probability recurrence of mass coral bleaching and the management of coral reefs and their future protection are discussed in this book. Marine productivity and climate change for the last ten thousand years in the Arabian Sea have been examined with core records. Green technology is suggested as an important tool for mitigation and adaptation programmes in climate change. Measures taken to project biomass utilisation of islands as an energy source is delineated. Climate change may pose a potential threat on human health. Improved sanitation packages and models that are cost effective and environment-friendly for islands are uniquely presented in this book.
This is the first volume of its kind on prehistoric cultures of South Asia. The book brings together archaeologists, biological anthropologists, geneticists and linguists in order to provide a comprehensive account of the history and evolution of human populations residing in the subcontinent. New theories and methodologies presented provide new interpretations about the cultural history and evolution of populations in South Asia.
This book presents findings from research into the Precambrian history of the Indian shield obtained using state-of-the-art technology. It demonstrates a paradigm shift towards studying the Precambrian shield regions using petrological, geochemical, structural, metallogenic, sedimentological and paleobiological data from the rocks in the Precambrian shield area, and presents a collection of contributions on these diverse topics that help to reconstruct the Precambrian evolution of the Indian Shield.
Rocks exposed across the hundreds of islands that belong to the 800 km long Andaman--Nicobar archipelago provide a condensed window into the active subduction zone that separates the India--Australia plate from the over-riding Burma--Sunda plate. Despite a strategic and seismically active location the Andaman-Nicobar ridge has seen comparatively little research. This Memoir provides the first detailed and comprehensive account of geological mapping and research across the island chain and adjacent ocean basins. Chapters examine models of Cenozoic rifting of the Andaman Sea and the regional tectonic and seismogenic framework. A detailed critical review of the Andaman–Nicobar stratigraphy, supported by new data, includes arc volcanism and a description of Barren Island, India’s only active volcano. Seismic history and hazards and the impacts of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami are also described. The volume ends with an examination of the region’s natural resources and hydrocarbon prospects.
The world's continental shelves are the sites of vast resources of food, energy and minerals, the exploitation of which is continuously increasing. Fluctuating global sea levels throughout the Quaternary period produced multiple transgressive and regressive cycles that profoundly affected and shaped these shelves. The complex interactions among climate, sea level, tectonics, oceanography and sediment input have formed distinctive sediment packages on each shelf and provide a guide to the interpretation of older shelf sequences throughout the geological record. This Memoir compiles studies on 23 selected shelves from all the continents, focusing on their evolution and examining the patterns of sedimentation during the past approximately 125 000 years. In addition to providing basic background information for each area, the chapters consider specific aspects of continental shelf research, from seismic stratigraphy to geomorphology, from palaeoceanography to palaeo sea-level reconstruction and from palaeontology to geochemistry.
Stratigraphy, a branch of geology, is the science of describing the vertical and lateral relationships of different rock formations formed through time to understand the earth history. These relationships may be based on lithologic properties (named lithostratigraphy), fossil content (labeled biostratigraphy), magnetic properties (called magnetostratigraphy), chemical features (named chemostratigraphy), reflection seismology (named seismic stratigraphy), age relations (called chronostratigraphy). Also, it refers to archaeological deposits called archaeological stratigraphy. Stratigraphy is built on the concept "the present is the key to the past" which was first outlined by James Hutton in the late 1700s and developed by Charles Lyell in the early 1800s. This book focuses particularly on application of geophysical methods in stratigraphic investigations and stratigraphic analysis of layered basin deposits from different geologic settings and present continental areas extending from Mexico region (north America) through Alpine belt including Italy, Greece, Iraq to Russia (northern Asia).