Spatial Modelling of the Terrestrial Environment

The discovery, in the middle of the 17th century, of both the weight of air and the law governing its elasticity transformed the status of the atmosphere from that of a purely mathematical object to that of a complex and highly variable physical system.

In the context of rapidly intensifying experimentation and observation, the nature of the atmosphere was therefore the subject of a host of hypotheses, which 18th century scholars tried to reconcile with a coherent physical approach. In particular, this was achieved by the conceptualization of invisible or “subtle” materials, thought to be closely linked to atmospheric stratification.

Subtle matter was introduced, largely to reconcile contradictory results concerning the estimation of the height of the atmosphere. These estimations were based on different methods, mainly using the observation of meteors and the refracted and reflected light of stars.

Taking as its common thread the question of the height of the atmosphere, which was omnipresent in the texts at the time, this book traces the history of the discovery of the atmosphere and the many questions it generated.

Spatial point processes are mathematical models used to describe and analyse the geometrical structure of patterns formed by objects that are irregularly or randomly distributed in one-, two- or three-dimensional space. Examples include locations of trees in a forest, blood particles on a glass plate, galaxies in the universe, and particle centres in samples of material. Numerous aspects of the nature of a specific spatial point pattern may be described using the appropriate statistical methods. Statistical Analysis and Modelling of Spatial Point Patterns provides a practical guide to the use of these specialised methods. The application-oriented approach helps demonstrate the benefits of this increasingly popular branch of statistics to a broad audience. The book: Provides an introduction to spatial point patterns for researchers across numerous areas of application Adopts an extremely accessible style, allowing the non-statistician complete understanding Describes the process of extracting knowledge from the data, emphasising the marked point process Demonstrates the analysis of complex datasets, using applied examples from areas including biology, forestry, and materials science Features a supplementary website containing example datasets. Statistical Analysis and Modelling of Spatial Point Patterns is ideally suited for researchers in the many areas of application, including environmental statistics, ecology, physics, materials science, geostatistics, and biology. It is also suitable for students of statistics, mathematics, computer science, biology and geoinformatics.

This first volume of Computational Modelling of Aircraft and the Environment provides a comprehensive guide to the derivation of computational models from basic physical & mathematical principles, giving the reader sufficient information to be able to represent the basic architecture of the synthetic environment. Highly relevant to practitioners, it takes into account the multi-disciplinary nature of the aerospace environment and the integrated nature of the models needed to represent it. Coupled with the forthcoming Volume 2: Aircraft Models and Flight Dynamics it represents a complete reference to the modelling and simulation of aircraft and the environment. All major principles with this book are demonstrated using MATLAB and the detailed mathematics is developed progressively and fully within the context of each individual topic area, thereby rendering the comprehensive body of material digestible as an introductory level text. The author has drawn from his experience as a modelling and simulation specialist with BAE SYSTEMS along with his more recent academic career to create a resource that will appeal to and benefit senior/graduate students and industry practitioners alike.

This comprehensive text focuses on the increasingly important issues of urban geochemical mapping with key coverage of the distribution and behaviour of chemicals and compounds in the urban environment. Clearly structured throughout, the first part of the book covers general aspects of urban chemical mapping with an overview of current practice and reviews of different aspects of the component methodologies. The second part includes case histories from different urban areas around Europe authored by those national or academic institutions tasked with investigating the chemical environments of their major urban centers.

The second edition of Ventilation Control of the Work Environment incorporates changes in the field of industrial hygiene since the first edition was published in 1982. Integrating feedback from students and professionals, the new edition includes problems sets for each chapter and updated information on the modeling of exhaust ventilation systems, and thus assures the continuation of the book's role as the primary industry textbook. This revised text includes a large amount of material on HVAC systems, and has been updated to reflect the changes in the Ventilation Manual published by ACGIH. It uses both English and metric units, and each chapter concludes with a problem set.

Get the updated guide to active and passive control systems for buildings. To capitalize on today's rapidly evolving, specialized technologies, architects, designers, builders, and contractors work together to plan the mechanical and electrical equipment that controls the indoor environment of a building. The Building Environment: Active and Passive Control Systems, Third Edition helps you take advantage of design innovations and construction strategies that maximize the comfort, safety, and energy efficiency of buildings. From active HVAC systems to passive methods, lighting to on-site power generation, this updated edition explains how to strategically plan for and incorporate effective, efficient systems in today's buildings. It covers the underlying thermal theories and thermodynamic principles and focuses on design that enhances the building environment and minimizes the impact on the world's environment. The Building Environment goes beyond the ABCs of HVAC and covers: On-site power generation, including wind turbines, solar photovoltaic cells, fuel cells, and more. Plumbing systems, fire protection, signal systems, conveying systems, and architectural acoustics. Procedures and/or formulas for performing heat loss, heat gain, and energy use calculations, determining the rate of heat flow, calculating solar energy utilization, doing load calculations, and more. Details on the latest building codes and standards references. New information on the sustainable design of building systems and energy efficiency, including new technologies. The latest thinking and data on a building's impact on the environment, indoor air quality, and «sick building syndrome.» Design economics, including the payback period, life-cycle cost, comparative value analysis, and building commissioning. A practical on-the-job tool for architects, designers, builders, engineers, contractors, and other specialists, this Third Edition is also a great reference for architecture students who will lead tomorrow's design teams.

The Periglacial Environment, Third Edition, provides an authoritative overview of the world???s cold, non-glacial environments. Emphasis is placed upon the North American and Eurasian polar lowlands, but examples are also drawn from Antarctica, the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau, and the northern mid-latitudes. First published in 1976 and subsequently revised in 1996, the text has been the international standard for? over 30 years. The Third Edition continues to be a personal interpretation of the frost-induced conditions, geomorphic processes, and landforms that typify periglacial environments. The text is divided into four parts. Part One discusses the periglacial concept and its interactions with geomorphology, geocryology and Quaternary science. It also outlines the range and variability of periglacial climates and the degree to which? landscapes are in geomorphic equilibrium with prevailing periglacial conditions. Part Two describes present-day terrain that is either underlain by permafrost or experiencing intense frost action. The roles played by cryogenic weathering, ground ice, mass wasting, running water, wind action, snow and ice, and coastal processes are systematically analysed. Part Three summarizes evidence for the existence of periglacial conditions during the cold periods of the Pleistocene, with special reference to the mid-latitudes of Europe and North America. Part Four illustrates the geotechnical problems associated with human activity and resource development in periglacial environments, and discusses the potential impact of global climate change in the northern high latitudes. This excellent textbook is an invaluable resource for second and third year undergraduate students of Physical Geography, Geology, Environmental Science and Earth Science. The Periglacial Environment, Third Edition is also an? informative reading for professionals, researchers and lecturers working and teaching in the field.

The movement of sediment and associated pollutants over the landscape and into water bodies is of increasing concern with respect to pollution control, prevention of muddy floods and environmental protection. In addition, the loss of soil on site has implications for declining agricultural productivity, loss of biodiversity and decreased amenity and landscape value. The fate of sediment and the conservation of soil are important issues for land managers and decision-makers. In developing appropriate policies and solutions, managers and researchers are making greater use of erosion models to characterise the processes of erosion and their interaction with the landscape. A study of erosion requires one to think in terms of microseconds to understand the mechanics of impact of a single raindrop on a soil surface, while landscapes form over periods of thousands of years. These processes operate on scales of millimetres for single raindrops to mega-metres for continents. Erosion modelling thus covers quite a lot of ground. This book introduces the conceptual and mathematical frameworks used to formulate models of soil erosion and uses case studies to show how models are applied to a variety of purposes at a range of spatial and temporal scales. The aim is to provide land managers and others with the tools required to select a model appropriate to the type and scale of erosion problem, to show what users can expect in terms of accuracy of model predictions and to provide an appreciation of both the advantages and limitations of models. Problems covered include those arising from agriculture, the construction industry, pollution and climatic change and range in scale from farms to small and large catchments. The book will also be useful to students and research scientists as an up-to-date review of the state-of-art of erosion modelling and, through a knowledge of how models are used in practice, in highlighting the gaps in knowledge that need to be filled in order to develop even better models.

Climate change has been a central concern over recent years, with visible and highly publicized consequences such as melting Arctic ice and mountain glaciers, rising sea levels, and the submersion of low-lying coastal areas during mid-latitude and tropical cyclones.

This book presents a review of the spatial impacts of contemporary climate change, with a focus on a systematic, multi-scalar approach. Beyond the facts – rises in temperature, changes in the spatial distribution of precipitation, melting of the marine and terrestrial cryosphere, changes in hydrological regimes at high and medium latitudes, etc. – it also analyzes the geopolitical consequences in the Arctic and Central Asia, changes to Mediterranean culture and to viticulture on a global scale, as well as impacts on the distribution of life, for example, in the Amazon rainforest, in large biomes on a global scale, and for birds.