This book explores the complexities of landslide susceptibility and critical rainfall conditions in Lower Austria through a detailed analysis and actionable insights. This work provides a comprehensive approach to understanding LANDSLIDE risks by using data-driven methodologies, run-out models, and economic risk assessments . The book offers two types of scenarios: one that models more fluid LANDLSIDE movements and another that models more solid patterns, each responding differently to tri...

A data-driven, scientific account of our need for speed—exploring a wide range of topics including evolution, transportation, and technologyIn a world obsessed with efficiency, perhaps nothing is valued as highly as being fast. Some of our greatest achievements include building planes that break the sound barrier and creating computers that process data at the touch of a button. With signature clarity, Smil offers accessible explanations of every major speed catego...

Was Sandy a freak of nature, or the new normal?On October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy reached the shores of the northeastern United States to become one of the most destructive storms in history. But was Sandy a freak event, or should we have been better prepared for it? Was it a harbinger of things to come as the climate warms? In this fascinating and accessible work of popular science, atmospheric scientist and Columbia University professor Adam Sobel addresses these questions, com...

This book is based on the author's 34 years of experience as a teacher/researcher of coastal engineering and management and on recent reflections on newly relevant issues, such as consequences of failure, impacts of rising sea levels, aging infrastructure, real estate development, and contemporary decision making, design and education.This textbook for undergraduate students, postgraduate students and practicing engineers covers waves, structures, sediment movement, coastal management, and...

How will future climates be different from today’s world—and what consequences will changes in climate have for societies and their development strategies? This book is a primer on the essential science for grasping the workings of climate change and climate prediction. It is accessible for readers with little to no background in science, with an emphasis on the needs of those studying sustainable development.John C. Mutter gives a just-the-facts overview of how the climate system ...

This concise introduction to modern climatology covers the key topics for intermediate undergraduate students on one-semester courses. The treatment of topics is non-mathematical wherever possible, instead focusing on physical processes to allow students to grasp concepts more easily. Full-color illustrations support the text and supplementary topics are covered in boxes, enabling students to further increase their knowledge and awareness. A historical perspective of climatology is woven t...

The Earth's climate is already warming due to increased concentrations of human-produced greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and the specter of rising sea level is one of global warming's most far-reaching threats. Sea level will keep rising long after greenhouse gas emissions have ceased, because of the delay in penetration of surface warming to the ocean depths and because of the slow dissipation of excess atmospheric carbon dioxide. Adopting a long perspective that interprets sea level ...

What does Japan's 2011 nuclear accident have in common with the 2005 flooding of New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina? This thought-provoking book presents a compelling account of recent and historical disasters, both natural and human-caused, drawing out common themes and providing a holistic understanding of hazards, disasters and mitigation, for anyone interested in this important and topical subject. Based on his on-the-ground experience with several major recent disasters, Timothy H. Di...

This open access book provides an overview of the progress in landslide research and technology and is part of a book series of the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL). The book provides a common platform for the publication of recent progress in landslide research and technology for practical applications and the benefit for the society contributing to the Kyoto Landslide Commitment 2020, which is expected to continue up to 2030 and even beyond to globally promote the understandi...

Climate change is beginning to have effects on climate weather and resource availability in ways that need to be anticipated when planning for the future. In particular changes in rainfall patterns and temperature may impact the intensity or schedule of water availability. Also the retreat of tropical glaciers the drying of unique Andean wetland ecosystems as well as increased weather variability and weather extremes will affect water regulation. These changes have the potential to impact the...

One hundred years ago, scientists and engineers were actively working on alternative energy, not because they wanted to stop burning fossil fuels but because they believed that the world would soon run out of them. This classic 1931 book reviews the sources of alternative energy that had been proposed at that time, including the famous Panropa project, whose scope would have dwarfed the Hoover Dam, along with wind power, tidal power, and others. Today most people are unaware of how much wo...

The climatic history of Earth is constituted by alternation of warm and cold periods. “The lord of the winds and currents", the Jet Stream of free atmosphere plays a decisive role in climate change. Two other essential elements of climate history are: the Arctic and Antarctic poles and vortexes that play an important role in cold air masses penetration to the South, to balance the heat difference between low and high latitudes. Which is the force that adjusts speed variations and the direc...