There are many urgent problems in arid land hydrogeology and it is these issues which are tackled in this volume on desert environments. The UAE-Japan symposia provide a venue for the exchange of expertise, confronting such problems as purification, usage and management of groundwater, the assessment and protection of sustainable water resources, a
A comprehensive collection of contributions from the Middle East and Japan, dealing with pressing problems concerning sustainability in arid zones, this time with the accent on environmental science and engineering. The symposium brought together researchers and field engineers who discussed issues such as sulphur utilization in agriculture and con
Sustainability is a topic of great interest today, particularly for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, which have witnessed very rapid economic and demographic growth over the past decade. The observed growth has led to unsustainable consumption patterns of vital resources such as water, energy, and food, highlighting the need for an urgent shift towards green growth and sustainable development strategies. Sustainability in the Gulf covers the region’s contemporary development challenges through the lens of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which place sustainability at the centre of the solution to the current environmental, economic, and social imbalances facing GCC countries. The book presents multiple analyses of Gulf-specific sustainability topics, examining the current status, challenges, and opportunities, as well as identifying key lessons learned. Innovative and practical policy recommendations are provided, as well as new conceptual angles to the evolving academic debates on the post-oil era in the Gulf. Through chapters covering sector-related studies, as well as the socio-economic dimensions of the sustainability paradigm, this volume offers valuable insights into current research efforts made by the GCC states, proposing a way forward based on lessons learned. This is a valuable resource for students, academics, and researchers in the areas of Environmental Studies, Political Economy, and Economics of the GCC states.
Time domain electrometry (TDE) is a general term which includes time domain reflectrometry and time domain transmissiometry. It is a commercially-viable technique for leak detection, contaminant monitoring, and moisture content determination in contaminant transport modelling. Under demographic pressure, contaminated sites are increasingly being re-developed for domestic and industrial use; and this presents an urgent need for reliable, non-intrusive and integrated methods of subsurface characterization, detection and monitoring of organic and inorganic pollutants, soil moisture content and salinity. This book provides an overview of the potential application of TDE in geoenvironmental engineering and describes the geophysical methods used.
This book is a reference work about the study of oases in the context of globalization. It is based on selected papers presented at the international colloquium entitled Oases in the Globalization, Ruptures and Continuities in Paris (December 16-17th, 2013). The main issue was to understand how oases have been excluded from or included into the process of globalization. In this context, the present book proposes firstly a discussion about the definition(s) of oasis and secondly several case studies analysing socio-spatial mutations in the oasis structure. The third part deals with the compelling globalization at different spatial scales, using two entries: the water management and local impacts of external control.
This is a detailed and accessible examination of the properties, behaviour, and uses of sulfur cement and concrete in the construction industry. It discusses the basic properties and behaviour of sulfur cement and concrete materials, evaluates new sulfur market applications, and much more.
Fundamentals of Geoenvironmental Engineering: Understanding Soil, Water, and Pollutant Interaction and Transport examines soil-water-pollutant interaction, including physico-chemical processes that occur when soil is exposed to various contaminants. Soil characteristics relevant to remedial techniques are explored, providing foundations for the correct process selection. Built upon the authors' extensive experience in research and practice, the book updates and expands the content to include current processes and pollutants. The book discusses propagation of soil pollution and soil characteristics relevant to remedial techniques. Practicing geotechnical and environmental engineers can apply the theory and case studies in the book directly to current projects. The book first discusses the stages of economic development and their connections to the sustainability of the environment. Subsequent chapters cover waste and its management, soil systems, soil-water and soil-pollutant interactions, subsurface transport of pollutants, role of groundwater, nano-, micro- and biologic pollutants, soil characteristics that impact pollution diffusion, and potential remediation processes like mechanical, electric, magnetic, hydraulic and dielectric permittivity of soils. - Presents a clear understanding of the propagation of pollutants in soils - Identifies the physico-chemical processes in soils - Covers emerging pollutants (nano-, micro- and biologic contaminants) - Features in-depth coverage of hydraulic, electrical, magnetic and dielectric permittivity characteristics of soils and their impact on remedial technologies
Sustainable agriculture is a rapidly growing field aiming at producing food and energy in a sustainable way for humans and their children. Sustainable agriculture is a discipline that addresses current issues such as climate change, increasing food and fuel prices, poor-nation starvation, rich-nation obesity, water pollution, soil erosion, fertility loss, pest control, and biodiversity depletion. Novel, environmentally-friendly solutions are proposed based on integrated knowledge from sciences as diverse as agronomy, soil science, molecular biology, chemistry, toxicology, ecology, economy, and social sciences. Indeed, sustainable agriculture decipher mechanisms of processes that occur from the molecular level to the farming system to the global level at time scales ranging from seconds to centuries. For that, scientists use the system approach that involves studying components and interactions of a whole system to address scientific, economic and social issues. In that respect, sustainable agriculture is not a classical, narrow science. Instead of solving problems using the classical painkiller approach that treats only negative impacts, sustainable agriculture treats problem sources. Because most actual society issues are now intertwined, global, and fast-developing, sustainable agriculture will bring solutions to build a safer world. This book series gathers review articles that analyze current agricultural issues and knowledge, then propose alternative solutions. It will therefore help all scientists, decision-makers, professors, farmers and politicians who wish to build a safe agriculture, energy and food system for future generations.