Africa's Lakes

Africa's Lakes

Author:

Publisher: UNEP/Earthprint

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 108

ISBN-13: 9789280726947

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Prepared as part of UNEP's contribution to the 11th World Lakes Conference (held in Nairobi, Kenya in November 2005), this publication examines the environmental changes taking place to Africa's lakes by analysing ground photographs, current and historical satellite images and scientific evidence. Changes highlighted include the rapid shrinking of Lake Songor in Ghana, partly as a result of intensive salt production, and the extraordinary changes in the Zambezi river system as a result of the building of the Cabora Basa dam site. Other impacts, some natural and some human-made and which can only be truly appreciated from space, include the extensive deforestation around Lake Nakuru in Kenya, and the falling water levels of Lake Victoria which is now about a metre lower than it was in the early 1990s. The analysis recognises the importance of Africa's lakes as a source of livelihoods for many local communities, their contribution to the socio-economic development of the continent and the need for the sustainable management of these resources in order to help overcome poverty and meet internationally agreed development goals by 2015.


Geological Survey of Canada, Current Research (Online) no. 2005-D3

Geological Survey of Canada, Current Research (Online) no. 2005-D3

Author: D. Calvin Campbell

Publisher: Natural Resources Canada

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 12

ISBN-13: 0662408241

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This study uses newly acquired high-resolution seismic reflection data to present evidence of large-scale mass transport deposits throughout the Quaternary in southern Orphan Basin located off the northern slope of the Grand Banks. Mass transport deposits are those associated with slope failure and transport as slumps, slides, debris avalanches, or debris flows. The results reveal the types of mass transport deposits on the Basin slope & floor and their depositional pattern from the early Pleistocene to the present.


DayWater

DayWater

Author: Daniel R. Thevenot

Publisher: IWA Publishing

Published: 2008-03-15

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 1843391600

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The European DayWater project has developed a prototype of an Adaptive Decision Support System (ADSS) related to urban stormwater pollution source control. The DayWater ADSS greatly facilitates decision-making for stormwater source control, which is currently impeded by the large number of stakeholders involved and by the necessary multidisciplinary knowledge. This book presents the results of this project, providing new insights into both technical and management issues. The main objectives of its technical chapters are pollution source control modelling, risk and impact assessment, and evaluation and comparison of best management practices. It also covers management aspects, such as the analysis of the decision-making processes in stormwater source control, at a European scale, and stormwater management strategies in general. The combination of scientific-technical and socio-managerial knowledge, with the strong cooperation of numerous end-users, reflects the innovative character of this book which includes actual applications of the ADSS prototype in significant case studies. DayWater: an Adaptive Decision Support System for Urban Stormwater Management contains 26 chapters collectively prepared by DayWater scientific partners and end-users associated with this European Research and Development project. It includes: A general presentation of the DayWater Adaptive Decision Support System (ADSS) structure and operation modes A detailed description of the major components of this ADSS prototype The assessment of its components in significant case studies in France, Germany and Sweden The proceedings of the International Conference on Decision Support Systems for Integrated Urban Water Management, held in Paris on 3-4 November 2005. The book presents the ADSS prototype including a combination of freely accessible on-line databases, guidance documents, “road maps” and modelling or multi-criteria analysis tools. As demonstrated in several significant case studies the challenge for stormwater managers is to make the benefits of urban stormwater management visible to society, resulting in active co-operation of a diversity of stakeholders. Only then, will sustainable management succeed. DayWater: an Adaptive Decision Support System for Urban Stormwater Management advances this cause of sustainable urban management through Urban stormwater management, and makes achievable (by means of risk and vulnerability tools which are included) the goal of integrated urban water management (IUWM).


Digital Terrain Modeling

Digital Terrain Modeling

Author: Zhilin Li

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2004-11-29

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 0203486749

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Written by experts, Digital Terrain Modeling: Principles and Methodology provides comprehensive coverage of recent developments in the field. The topics include terrain analysis, sampling strategy, acquisition methodology, surface modeling principles, triangulation algorithms, interpolation techniques, on-line and off-line quality control in data a


Boots on the ground: Troop Density in Contingency Operations

Boots on the ground: Troop Density in Contingency Operations

Author: John J. McGrath

Publisher: Government Printing Office

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 9780160869501

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This paper clearly shows the immediate relevancy of historical study to current events. One of the most common criticisms of the U.S. plan to invade Iraq in 2003 is that too few troops were used. The argument often fails to satisfy anyone for there is no standard against which to judge. A figure of 20 troops per 1000 of the local population is often mentioned as the standard, but as McGrath shows, that figure was arrived at with some questionable assumptions. By analyzing seven military operations from the last 100 years, he arrives at an average number of military forces per 1000 of the population that have been employed in what would generally be considered successful military campaigns. He also points out a variety of important factors affecting those numbers-from geography to local forces employed to supplement soldiers on the battlefield, to the use of contractors-among others.