This volume focuses on the close relationship between geomorphology and environmental impact assessment, and provides a wide-ranging overview of this topic. It includes several case studies covering a variety of environmental impacts derived from human activities (quarrying, communication infrastructure etc.) on different geomorphologic components (landforms, soil, landscapes etc.) and environments (glacial, fluvial, coastal etc.) The case studies presented offer a methodological guide from the most traditional geomorphological approaches through to the use of spatial data analysis and GIS tools and techniques. Environmental Impact Assessment is a relatively new scientific branch in which a wide variety of specialists are increasingly becoming involved. This volume will be of interest to geomorphologists, biologists, geographers, architects and engineers.
Geomorphology has now reached a certain level where the methodology, scientific content and resultsbeing published in the field make it worthy of being considered as a major environmental researcharea.In preparing Environmental Geomorphology, the author has given priority to methodology and illustrative case-histories. Schemes and classifications that would be ill-suited fora naturalistic, empirical and non-systematic discipline like geomorphology have been avoided.The concepts outlined in the text are based on a subdivision of geomorphological resources andhazards (as well as their links with man) together with the consequent risk and impactproblems.Each investigation, study or intervention concerning the environment, cannot ignoreeither the human context in which it occurs or man's history and prospects. It is necessary to have theright dialogue and relationship with the other disciplines making up this system so as to apply the mostsuitable methodologies and offer the most valid solutions.For some subjects covered in the book, specialists concerned with a particular section of environmental geomorphology were consulted. The text of eachchapter is accompanied by several illustrative schemes, figures and photographs, derived from realresearch and professional experiences.The volume is addressed both to university students studying topics of geomorphology as part of their syllabus, and to researchers and consultants(geologists, geographers, engineers, naturalists, etc.) working in the field.
Written by experts, this text deals with how environmental impact assessment should be carried out for specific environmental components such as air and water.
Environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) is an important and often obligatory part of proposing or launching any development project. Delivering a successful ESIA needs not only an understanding of the theory but also a detailed knowledge of the methods for carrying out the processes required. Riki Therivel and Graham Wood bring together the latest advice on best practice from experienced practitioners to ensure an ESIA is carried out effectively and efficiently. This new edition: • explains how an ESIA works and how it should be carried out • demonstrates the links between socio-economic, cultural, environmental and ecological systems and assessments • incorporates the World Bank’s IFC performance standards, and best practice examples from developing as well as developed countries • includes new chapters on emerging ESIA topics such as climate change, ecosystem services, cultural impacts, resource efficiency, land acquisition and involuntary resettlement. Invaluable to undergraduate and MSc students of ESIA on planning, ecology, geography and environment courses, this internationally oriented fourth edition of Methods of Environmental and Social Impact Assessment is also of great use to planners, ESIA practitioners and professionals seeking to update their skills.
This is the first book to bring together practical examples from around the world to show how geomorphological evidence can help in effective land utilisation and hazard risk assessment. Case studies provide important lessons in risk management, and experts provide summaries of current research. The text also promotes good practice and effective land use, and looks at problems caused by misuse of the environment and potential solutions based on geomorphological evidence.
This volume presents reviews of geo-indicators for some major geological environments, glacial and permaforest terrains, groundwater systems, coasts, deserts, lakes, wetlands, soils, and coral reefs. Also included is an international checklist of geoindicators.
The changing focus and approach of geomorphic research suggests that the time is opportune for a summary of the state of discipline. The number of peer-reviewed papers published in geomorphic journals has grown steadily for more than two decades and, more importantly, the diversity of authors with respect to geographic location and disciplinary background (geography, geology, ecology, civil engineering, computer science, geographic information science, and others) has expanded dramatically. As more good minds are drawn to geomorphology, and the breadth of the peer-reviewed literature grows, an effective summary of contemporary geomorphic knowledge becomes increasingly difficult. The fourteen volumes of this Treatise on Geomorphology will provide an important reference for users from undergraduate students looking for term paper topics, to graduate students starting a literature review for their thesis work, and professionals seeking a concise summary of a particular topic. Information on the historical development of diverse topics within geomorphology provides context for ongoing research; discussion of research strategies, equipment, and field methods, laboratory experiments, and numerical simulations reflect the multiple approaches to understanding Earth’s surfaces; and summaries of outstanding research questions highlight future challenges and suggest productive new avenues for research. Our future ability to adapt to geomorphic changes in the critical zone very much hinges upon how well landform scientists comprehend the dynamics of Earth’s diverse surfaces. This Treatise on Geomorphology provides a useful synthesis of the state of the discipline, as well as highlighting productive research directions, that Educators and students/researchers will find useful. Geomorphology has advanced greatly in the last 10 years to become a very interdisciplinary field. Undergraduate students looking for term paper topics, to graduate students starting a literature review for their thesis work, and professionals seeking a concise summary of a particular topic will find the answers they need in this broad reference work which has been designed and written to accommodate their diverse backgrounds and levels of understanding Editor-in-Chief, Prof. J. F. Shroder of the University of Nebraska at Omaha, is past president of the QG&G section of the Geological Society of America and present Trustee of the GSA Foundation, while being well respected in the geomorphology research community and having won numerous awards in the field. A host of noted international geomorphologists have contributed state-of-the-art chapters to the work. Readers can be guaranteed that every chapter in this extensive work has been critically reviewed for consistency and accuracy by the World expert Volume Editors and by the Editor-in-Chief himself No other reference work exists in the area of Geomorphology that offers the breadth and depth of information contained in this 14-volume masterpiece. From the foundations and history of geomorphology through to geomorphological innovations and computer modelling, and the past and future states of landform science, no "stone" has been left unturned!
