Climate Change in Deserts

Climate Change in Deserts

Author: Martin Williams

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2014-08-11

Total Pages: 653

ISBN-13: 131606073X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Reconstructing climatic changes in deserts and their margins at a variety of scales in space and time, this book draws upon evidence from land and sea, including desert dunes, wind-blown dust, river and lake sediments, glacial moraines, plant and animal fossils, isotope geochemistry, speleothems, soils, and prehistoric archaeology. The book summarises the Cenozoic evolution of the major deserts of the Americas, Eurasia, Africa and Australia, and the causes of historic floods and droughts. The book then considers the causes and consequences of desertification and proposes four key conditions for achieving ecologically sustainable use of natural resources in arid and semi-arid areas. Climate Change in Deserts is an invaluable reference for researchers and advanced students interested in the climate and geomorphology of deserts: geographers, geologists, ecologists, archaeologists, soil scientists, hydrologists, climatologists and natural resource managers.


Late Quaternary Climate Change and Human Adaptation in Arid China

Late Quaternary Climate Change and Human Adaptation in Arid China

Author: D.B. Madsen

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2011-09-22

Total Pages: 245

ISBN-13: 0080544312

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Due to political pressures, prior to the 1990s little was known about the nature of human foraging adaptations in the deserts, grasslands, and mountains of north western China during the last glacial period. Even less was known about the transition to agriculture that followed. Now open to foreign visitation, there is now an increasing understanding of the foraging strategies which led both to the development of millet agriculture and to the utilization of the extreme environments of the Tibetan Plateau. This text explores the transition from the foraging societies of the Late Paleolithic to the emergence of settled farming societies and the emergent pastoralism of the middle Neolithic striving to help answer the diverse and numerous questions of this critical transitional period.* Examines the transition from foraging societies of the Late Paleolithic to the emergence of settled farming societies and the emergent pastoralism of the middle Neolithic* Explores explanatory models for the links between climate change and cultural change that may have influenced the development of millet agriculture* Reviews the relationship between climate change and population expansions and contraditions during the late Quaternary


Atlas of Quaternary Pollen and Spores in China

Atlas of Quaternary Pollen and Spores in China

Author: Lingyu Tang

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-04-14

Total Pages: 588

ISBN-13: 9811371032

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book provides an important reference guide to pollen and spore identification for Chinese Quaternary palynological studies. Presenting and describing more than 400 color photomicrographs of pollen grains and spores retrieved from sediments in China, it offers a unique asset for researchers, graduate students, and newcomers to the field of Quaternary palynology, which constitutes a major aspect of Quaternary paleoecology, paleoclimatology, and paleogeography.


Deserts and Desert Environments

Deserts and Desert Environments

Author: Julie J Laity

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2009-01-28

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13: 1444300741

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Taking a global perspective, this book provides a concise overviewof drylands, including their physical, biological, temporal, andhuman components. Examines the physical systems occurring in desert environments,including climate, hydrology, past and present lakes, weathering,hillslopes, geomorphic surfaces, water as a geomorphic agent, andaeolian processes Offers an accessible introduction to the physical, biological,temporal, and human components of drylands Investigates the nature, environmental requirements, andessential geomorphic roles of plants and animals in this stressfulbiological environment Highlights the impact of human population growth on climate,desertification, water resources, and dust storm activity Includes an examination of surface/atmosphere interactions andthe impact of ENSO events.


Geomorphology of Desert Dunes

Geomorphology of Desert Dunes

Author: Nicholas Lancaster

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2023-02-28

Total Pages: 349

ISBN-13: 1108369006

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Sand dunes are a globally important depositional landform and sedimentary system. Their origins and dynamics are important in understanding how deserts have evolved in response to climate change and changes in sand supply and mobility, and how they will continue to evolve in the future. This book provides a state-of-the-art review of the characteristics of desert dunes and their sediments, and explores their dynamics on timescales from days to millennia as they respond to changes in wind speed and direction, precipitation and sand supply. This extensively revised edition reflects the advances in our understanding of desert dunes, their dynamics and history; and covers recent developments including the luminescence dating revolution, ground penetrating radar and advances in numerical modeling. Also covering dunes on Mars and Titan, this authoritative reference is a must-have for researchers and graduate students working on desert dunes and aeolian geomorphology.


Reconstructing Quaternary Environments

Reconstructing Quaternary Environments

Author: J. John Lowe

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-10-28

Total Pages: 568

ISBN-13: 1317753712

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This third edition of Reconstructing Quaternary Environments has been completely revised and updated to provide a new account of the history and scale of environmental changes during the Quaternary. The evidence is extremely diverse ranging from landforms and sediments to fossil assemblages and geochemical data, and includes new data from terrestrial, marine and ice-core records. Dating methods are described and evaluated, while the principles and practices of Quaternary stratigraphy are also discussed. The volume concludes with a new chapter which considers some of the key questions about the nature, causes and consequences of global climatic and environmental change over a range of temporal scales. This synthesis builds on the methods and approaches described earlier in the book to show how a number of exciting ideas that have emerged over the last two decades are providing new insights into the operation of the global earth-ocean-atmosphere system, and are now central to many areas of contemporary Quaternary research. This comprehensive and dynamic textbook is richly illustrated throughout with full-colour figures and photographs. The book will be of interest to undergraduates, postgraduates and professionals in Earth Science, Environmental Science, Physical Geography, Geology, Botany, Zoology, Ecology, Archaeology and Anthropology


Arid and Semi-Arid Geomorphology

Arid and Semi-Arid Geomorphology

Author: Andrew S. Goudie

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2013-05-27

Total Pages: 467

ISBN-13: 1107067162

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Based on four decades of research by Professor Andrew Goudie, this volume provides a state-of-the-art synthesis of our understanding of desert geomorphology. It presents a truly international perspective, with examples from all over the world. Extensively referenced and illustrated, it covers such topics as the importance of past climatic changes, the variability of different desert environments, rock breakdown, wind erosion and dust storm generation, sand dunes, fluvial and slope forms and processes, the role of the applied geomorphologist in desert development and conservation, and the Earth as an analogue for other planetary bodies. This book is destined to become the classic volume on arid and semi-arid geomorphology for advanced students and researchers in physical geography, geomorphology, Earth science, sedimentology, environmental science and archaeology.


Geomorphological Hazards and Disaster Prevention

Geomorphological Hazards and Disaster Prevention

Author: Irasema Alcántara

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2010-03-04

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 0521769256

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A state-of-the-art assessment of how geomorphology contributes to the comprehension, mapping and modelling of hazardous Earth surface processes.