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Foundations of a Sustainable Market Economy: Guiding Principles for Change
by Gjalt de Jong Margreet Boersma-de JongThe free market underpins our economy and our way of thinking around enterprise and value, but it is also a major factor in the sustainability problems that we now live with. Climate change, child labour and oil spills are just a few of the many problems associated with our economic activity and, although many companies have made an effort to produce more sustainably, the pace of change is much too slow. This engaging and accessible textbook teaches students the relationship between the economy and sustainability, assessing the hand of the free market on company behaviour and, ultimately, providing a framework for transition to a sustainable economy.Using case studies and optional assessment questions, this textbook explains to students what a market is at the macro level and then translates the effects of the market to industries and subsequently to the strategic choices of companies at the micro level. It adopts a model of 8 guiding principles that underpin the current free market economy and 8 guiding principles for the sustainable market economy. Switching these deeply held principles will be essential to any serious transition to a sustainable economy.
Foundations of the Earth
by H. H. Shugart"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?" God asks Job in the "Whirlwind Speech," but Job cannot reply. This passage -- which some environmentalists and religious scholars treat as a "green" creation myth -- drives H. H. Shugart's extraordinary investigation, in which he uses verses from God's speech to Job to explore the planetary system, animal domestication, sea-level rise, evolution, biodiversity, weather phenomena, and climate change.Shugart calls attention to the rich resonance between the Earth's natural history and the workings of religious feeling, the wisdom of Bible scripture, and the arguments of Bible ethicists. The divine questions that frame his study are quintessentially religious, and the global changes humans have wrought on the Earth operate in not only the physical, chemical, and biological spheres but also the spiritual realm. Shugart offers a universal framework for recognizing and confronting the global challenges humans now face: the relationship between human technology and large-scale environmental degradation; the effect of invasive species on the integrity of ecosystems; the role of humans in generating wide biotic extinctions; and the future functioning of our oceans and tides.
Foundations of the Earth
by H. H. Shugart"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?" God asks Job in the "Whirlwind Speech," but Job cannot reply. This passage -- which some environmentalists and religious scholars treat as a "green" creation myth -- drives H. H. Shugart's extraordinary investigation, in which he uses verses from God's speech to Job to explore the planetary system, animal domestication, sea-level rise, evolution, biodiversity, weather phenomena, and climate change.Shugart calls attention to the rich resonance between the Earth's natural history and the workings of religious feeling, the wisdom of Bible scripture, and the arguments of Bible ethicists. The divine questions that frame his study are quintessentially religious, and the global changes humans have wrought on the Earth operate in not only the physical, chemical, and biological spheres but also the spiritual realm. Shugart offers a universal framework for recognizing and confronting the global challenges humans now face: the relationship between human technology and large-scale environmental degradation; the effect of invasive species on the integrity of ecosystems; the role of humans in generating wide biotic extinctions; and the future functioning of our oceans and tides.
Foundations of the Earth
by H. H. Shugart"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?" God asks Job in the "Whirlwind Speech," but Job cannot reply. This passage -- which some environmentalists and religious scholars treat as a "green" creation myth -- drives H. H. Shugart's extraordinary investigation, in which he uses verses from God's speech to Job to explore the planetary system, animal domestication, sea-level rise, evolution, biodiversity, weather phenomena, and climate change.Shugart calls attention to the rich resonance between the Earth's natural history and the workings of religious feeling, the wisdom of Bible scripture, and the arguments of Bible ethicists. The divine questions that frame his study are quintessentially religious, and the global changes humans have wrought on the Earth operate in not only the physical, chemical, and biological spheres but also the spiritual realm. Shugart offers a universal framework for recognizing and confronting the global challenges humans now face: the relationship between human technology and large-scale environmental degradation; the effect of invasive species on the integrity of ecosystems; the role of humans in generating wide biotic extinctions; and the future functioning of our oceans and tides.
Foundations of the Earth: Global Ecological Change and the Book of Job
by H.H. Shugart"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?" God asks Job in the "Whirlwind Speech," but Job cannot reply. This passage—which some environmentalists and religious scholars treat as a "green" creation myth—drives renowned ecologist H. H. Shugart's extraordinary investigation, in which he uses verses from God's speech to Job to explore the planetary system, animal domestication, sea-level rise, evolution, biodiversity, weather phenomena, and climate change. Shugart calls attention to the rich resonance between the Earth's natural history and the workings of religious feeling, the wisdom of biblical scripture, and the arguments of Bible ethicists. The divine questions that frame his study are quintessentially religious, and the global changes humans have wrought on the Earth operate not only in the physical, chemical, and biological spheres but also in the spiritual realm. Shugart offers a universal framework for recognizing and confronting the global challenges humans now face: the relationship between human technology and large-scale environmental degradation, the effect of invasive species on the integrity of ecosystems, the role of humans in generating wide biotic extinctions, and the future of our oceans and tides.
Four Colors Suffice: How the Map Problem Was Solved - Revised Color Edition (Princeton Science Library #128)
by Robin WilsonOn October 23, 1852, Professor Augustus De Morgan wrote a letter to a colleague, unaware that he was launching one of the most famous mathematical conundrums in history--one that would confound thousands of puzzlers for more than a century. This is the amazing story of how the "map problem" was solved. The problem posed in the letter came from a former student: What is the least possible number of colors needed to fill in any map (real or invented) so that neighboring counties are always colored differently? This deceptively simple question was of minimal interest to cartographers, who saw little need to limit how many colors they used. But the problem set off a frenzy among professional mathematicians and amateur problem solvers, among them Lewis Carroll, an astronomer, a botanist, an obsessive golfer, the Bishop of London, a man who set his watch only once a year, a California traffic cop, and a bridegroom who spent his honeymoon coloring maps. In their pursuit of the solution, mathematicians painted maps on doughnuts and horseshoes and played with patterned soccer balls and the great rhombicuboctahedron. It would be more than one hundred years (and countless colored maps) later before the result was finally established. Even then, difficult questions remained, and the intricate solution--which involved no fewer than 1,200 hours of computer time--was greeted with as much dismay as enthusiasm. Providing a clear and elegant explanation of the problem and the proof, Robin Wilson tells how a seemingly innocuous question baffled great minds and stimulated exciting mathematics with far-flung applications. This is the entertaining story of those who failed to prove, and those who ultimately did prove, that four colors do indeed suffice to color any map. This new edition features many color illustrations. It also includes a new foreword by Ian Stewart on the importance of the map problem and how it was solved.
Four Degrees of Global Warming: Australia in a Hot World
by Peter ChristoffAt Copenhagen in December 2009, the international community agreed to limit global warming to below two degrees Celsius to avoid the worst impacts of human-induced climate change. However climate scientists agree that current national emissions targets collectively will still not achieve this goal. Instead, the ‘ambition gap’ between climate science and climate policy is likely to lead to average global warming of around four degrees Celsius by or before 2100. If a ‘Four Degree World’ is the de facto goal of policy, we urgently need to understand what this world might look like. Four Degrees of Global Warming: Australia in a Hot World outlines the expected consequences of this world for Australia and its region. Its contributors include many of Australia’s most eminent and internationally recognized climate scientists, climate policy makers and policy analysts. They provide an accessible, detailed, dramatic, and disturbing examination of the likely impacts of a Four Degree World on Australia’s social, economic and ecological systems. The book offers policy makers, politicians, students, and anyone interested climate change, access to the most recent research on potential Australian impacts of global warming, and possible responses.
Four Lost Cities: A Secret History Of The Urban Age
by Annalee NewitzA quest to explore some of the most spectacular ancient cities in human history—and figure out why people abandoned them. In Four Lost Cities, acclaimed science journalist Annalee Newitz takes readers on an entertaining and mind-bending adventure into the deep history of urban life. Investigating across the centuries and around the world, Newitz explores the rise and fall of four ancient cities, each the center of a sophisticated civilization: the Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük in Central Turkey, the Roman vacation town of Pompeii on Italy’s southern coast, the medieval megacity of Angkor in Cambodia, and the indigenous metropolis Cahokia, which stood beside the Mississippi River where East St. Louis is today. Newitz travels to all four sites and investigates the cutting-edge research in archaeology, revealing the mix of environmental changes and political turmoil that doomed these ancient settlements. Tracing the early development of urban planning, Newitz also introduces us to the often anonymous workers—slaves, women, immigrants, and manual laborers—who built these cities and created monuments that lasted millennia. Four Lost Cities is a journey into the forgotten past, but, foreseeing a future in which the majority of people on Earth will be living in cities, it may also reveal something of our own fate.
Four Revolutions in the Earth Sciences
by James Lawrence PowellJames Lawrence Powell serves as executive director of the National Physical Science Consortium, a partnership among government agencies and laboratories, industry, and higher education dedicated to increasing the number of American citizens with graduate degrees in the physical sciences and related engineering fields, emphasizing recruitment of a diverse applicant pool that includes women and minorities. He received his Ph.D from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has taught at Oberlin College and served as its acting president. He has also been president of Franklin and Marshall College, Reed College, the Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush both appointed Powell to the National Science Board. He is also the author of The Inquisition of Climate Science.
Four Revolutions in the Earth Sciences: From Heresy to Truth
by James Lawrence PowellJames Lawrence Powell serves as executive director of the National Physical Science Consortium, a partnership among government agencies and laboratories, industry, and higher education dedicated to increasing the number of American citizens with graduate degrees in the physical sciences and related engineering fields, emphasizing recruitment of a diverse applicant pool that includes women and minorities. He received his Ph.D from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has taught at Oberlin College and served as its acting president. He has also been president of Franklin and Marshall College, Reed College, the Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush both appointed Powell to the National Science Board. He is also the author of The Inquisition of Climate Science.
Four Revolutions in the Earth Sciences: From Heresy to Truth
by James PowellOver the course of the twentieth century, scientists came to accept four counterintuitive yet fundamental facts about the Earth: deep time, continental drift, meteorite impact, and global warming. When first suggested, each proposition violated scientific orthodoxy and was quickly denounced as scientific—and sometimes religious—heresy. Nevertheless, after decades of rejection, scientists came to accept each theory. The stories behind these four discoveries reflect more than the fascinating push and pull of scientific work. They reveal the provocative nature of science and how it raises profound and sometimes uncomfortable truths as it advances. For example, counter to common sense, the Earth and the solar system are older than all of human existence; the interactions among the moving plates and the continents they carry account for nearly all of the Earth's surface features; and nearly every important feature of our solar system results from the chance collision of objects in space. Most surprising of all, we humans have altered the climate of an entire planet and now threaten the future of civilization. This absorbing scientific history is the only book to describe the evolution of these four ideas from heresy to truth, showing how science works in practice and how it inevitably corrects the mistakes of its practitioners. Scientists can be wrong, but they do not stay wrong. In the process, astonishing ideas are born, tested, and over time take root.
Four Travel Journals / The Americas, Antarctica and Africa / 1775-1874 (Hakluyt Society, Third Series)
by R. J. Campbell Anita Mcconnell Ann Savours Herbert K. Beals Roy BridgesThis volume offers annotated texts with biographical and historical introductions of four previously unpublished travel journals from the period 1775-1874. The first of these is the journal of a participant in a Spanish expedition sent from Mexico to explore the north-west coast of America. From the outset, difficulties plagued the voyage. Bodega's ship, a small schooner named Sonora, was not designed for open-ocean voyaging. A landing party was attacked and killed; midway into the voyage the Sonora became separated from her flagship; and later she was nearly capsized by a massive wave. Bodega's journal records the voyage's travails, hardships, discoveries, and eventual return. Next comes the journal of Commander Stokes, who served in command of HMS Beagle, under Captain P. P. King during the survey of the Straits of Magellan in 1827. This is an account of a detached operation, in very difficult weather conditions, in the western part of the strait. It is introduced by remarks on the expedition and the hydrographic history of the strait from its discovery to the inception of the survey and supplemented by remarks from Captain King's account and also that of the clerk, Macdouall. The third text is the journal of a young midshipman in HMS Chanticleer, a small vessel commanded by Henry Foster, RN, who had recently been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society for his scientific work in the Arctic. The voyage of 1828-31 was to make observations in the South Atlantic to determine the shape of the Earth and to ascertain the longitudes of a number of ports. Kay's lively diary describes the Chanticleer's encounters with warships of the Brazilian navy, largely manned by Englishmen. He records his struggle to take observations at Deception Island during gales and snowstorms, and near Cape Horn in fierce squalls and constant chilling rain, nevertheless remaining cheerful in the company of his fellow midshipmen. The final piece is the diary of Jacob Wainwright, the young
Four years Old in an Urban Community
by Elizabeth Newson John NewsonJohn and Elizabeth Newson investigate the upbringing of seven hundred Nottingham children as they reach the age of four. Parents are interviewed in their homes with a realistic yet human approach and the minimum of technical jargon, and the open-ended questions allow them to produce 'a detailed and descriptive study of how parents do in fact treat their children and - equally important - how children treat their parents.' No one can fail to be impressed by the concern and perceptiveness shown by mothers of all classes, different though their approach may be to the common problems of the parent - child relationship. This book was first published in 1968.
Fourier Series
by Georgi P. TolstovRichard A. Silverman's series of translations of outstanding Russian textbooks and monographs is well-known to people in the fields of mathematics, physics, and engineering. The present book is another excellent text from this series, a valuable addition to the English-language literature on Fourier series.This edition is organized into nine well-defined chapters: Trigonometric Fourier Series, Orthogonal Systems, Convergence of Trigonometric Fourier Series, Trigonometric Series with Decreasing Coefficients, Operations on Fourier Series, Summation of Trigonometric Fourier Series, Double Fourier Series and the Fourier Integral, Bessel Functions and Fourier-Bessel Series, and the Eigenfunction Method and its Applications to Mathematical Physics. Every chapter moves clearly from topic to topic and theorem to theorem, with many theorem proofs given. A total of 107 problems will be found at the ends of the chapters, including many specially added to this English-language edition, and answers are given at the end of the text. Richard Silverman's excellent translation makes this book readily accessible to mathematicians and math students, as well as workers and students in the fields of physics and engineering. He has also added a bibliography, containing suggestions for collateral and supplementary reading. 1962 edition.
Fourth International Symposium On Pre-harvest Sprouting In Cereals
by Daryl MaresA major constraint on the production of high-quality grain around the world, pre-harvest sprouting in cereal crops causes substantial economic losses to producers and disrupts the processing, distribution, marketing, and storage of grain products. The solution to this problem must include a better understanding of the phenomenon, the development of
Frackopoly: The Battle for the Future of Energy and the Environment
by Wenonah Hauter&“The definitive story on how big oil and gas corporations captured our political system . . . and the growing grassroots movement to retake our democracy&” (Mark Ruffalo). Over the past decade a new and controversial energy extraction method known as hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as fracking, has rocketed to the forefront of US energy production. With fracking, millions of gallons of water, dangerous chemicals, and sand are injected under high pressure deep into the earth, fracturing hard rock to release oil and gas. Wenonah Hauter, one of the nation&’s leading public interest advocates, argues that the rush to fracking is dangerous to the environment and treacherous to human health. Frackopoly describes how the fracking industry began; the technologies that make it possible; and the destruction and poisoning of clean water sources with the release of harmful radiation from deep inside shale deposits, creating what the author calls &“sacrifice zones&” across the American landscape. The book also examines the powerful interests that have supported fracking, including leading environmental groups, and offers a thorough debunking of its supposed economic benefits. With a wealth of new data, Frackopoly is an essential and riveting read for anyone interested in protecting the environment and ensuring a healthy and sustainable future for all Americans. &“A passionate history and critique of the energy industry, from Standard Oil to Enron . . . . [A] journalistic exposé of fracking outrages in which aggressive entrepreneurs in pursuit of profits wreak havoc on the land and poison the water.&” —Kirkus Reviews &“A truly powerful manifesto about one of the greatest environmental fights on our planet today—from one of its greatest champions!&” —Bill McKibben, environmentalist and author of Oil and Honey
Fractal Algorithm and Its Application in Rock Mechanics
by Dongjie XueThis book focuses on learning and adapting nonlinear geometry tool in rock engineering through fractal theories, hypotheses, algorithm, practical understandings, and case studies. Understanding self-similarity and self-affinity is a prerequisite to the fractal model in rock mechanics. The book aims to provide a guide for the readers seeking to understand and build nonlinear model by fractal algorithm. The book is motivated by recent rapid advances in rock engineering in China including application of fractal theory, in addition to percolation theory. It is an essential reference to the most promising innovative rock engineering. Chapters are carefully developed to cover (1) new fractal algorithms (2) five engineering cases. This authored book addresses the issue with a holistic and systematic approach that utilizes fractal theory to nonlinear behavior in rock engineering. The book is written for researchers interested in rock and geological engineering as well as organizations engaged in underground energy practices.
Fractal Dimensions of Networks (Springerbriefs In Computer Science Ser.)
by Eric RosenbergCurrent interest in fractal dimensions of networks is the result of more than a century of previous research on dimensions. Fractal Dimensions of Networks ties the theory and methods for computing fractal dimensions of networks to the “classic” theory of dimensions of geometric objects.The goal of the book is to provide a unified treatment of fractal dimensions of sets and networks. Since almost all of the major concepts in fractal dimensions originated in the study of sets, the book achieves this goal by first clearly presenting, with an abundance of examples and illustrations, the theory and algorithms for sets, and then showing how the theory and algorithms have been applied to networks. Thus, the book presents the classical theory and algorithms for the box counting dimension for sets, and then presents the box counting dimension for networks. All the major fractal dimensions are studied, e.g., the correlation dimension, the information dimension, the Hausdorff dimension, the multifractal spectrum, as well as many lesser known dimensions. Algorithm descriptions are accompanied by worked examples, many applications of the methods are presented, and many exercises, ranging in difficulty from easy to research level, are included.
Fractal Geography
by André DauphinéOur daily universe is rough and infinitely diverse. The fractal approach clarifies and orders these disparities. It helps us to envisage new explanations of geographical phenomena, which are, however, considered as definitely understood.Written for use by geographers and researchers from similar disciplines, such as ecologists, economists, historians and sociologists, this book presents the algorithms best adapted to the phenomena encountered, and proposes case studies illustrating their applications in concrete situations.An appendix is also provided that develops programs written in Mathematica.Contents1. A Fractal World.2. Auto-similar and Self-affine Fractals.3. From the Fractal Dimension to Multifractal Spectrums.4. Calculation and Interpretation of Fractal Dimensions.5. The Fractal Dimensions of Rank-size Distributions.6. Calculation and Interpretation of Multifractal Spectrums.7. Geographical Explanation of Fractal Forms and Dynamics.8. Using Complexity Theory to Explain a Fractal World.9. Land-use Planning and Managing a Fractal Environment.
Fractal Patterns with MATLAB (SpringerBriefs in Complexity)
by Santo Banerjee A. Gowrisankar Komandla Mahipal ReddyThis book presents the iterative beauty of fractals and fractal functions graphically with the aid of MATLAB programming. The fractal images generated using the MATLAB codes provide visual delight and highly encourage the fractal lovers for creative thinking. The book compiles five cutting-edge research chapters, each with state-of-the art fractal illustrations. It starts with the fundamental theory for the construction of fractal sets via the deterministic iteration algorithm. Incorporating the theoretical base, fractal illustrations of elementary fractal sets are provided with the explicit MATLAB code. The book gives examples of MATLAB codes to present the fractal surfaces. This book is contributed to all the research beginners as well as the professionals on the field of fractal analysis. As it covers basic fractals like Sierpinski triangle to advanced fractal functions with explicit MATLAB code, the presented fractal illustrations hopefully benefit even the non-field readers. The book is a useful course to all the research beginners on the fractal and fractal-related fields.
Fractal Signatures in the Dynamics of an Epidemiology: An Analysis of COVID-19 Transmission
by Santo Banerjee A. GowrisankarThe recent Covid-19 pandemic threw the world into complete chaos with its rapid and devastating spread. Scientists are still trying to obtain a better understanding of the patterns of COVID-19 and trying to get a deeper understanding of mutant strains and their pathogenicity by performing genomic sequences of more samples. Fractal-based analysis provides its unique forecasting policy to reduce the spread of COVID-19, and in general, of any outbreaks. The book presents fractal and multifractal models of COVID-19 and reviews the impact of the pandemic including epidemiology, genome organization, transmission cycle, and control strategies based on mathematical models towards developing an immune intervention. Also, it covers non-clinical aspects such as economic development with graphical illustrations, meeting the needs of onlookers outside the sector who desire additional information on the epidemic. The fractal signatures describe the fractal textures in the patterns of Corona virus. Studies on the epidemiology of Covid-19 in relation with the fractals and fractal functions serve to exhibit its irregular chaotic nature. Moreover, the book with its wide coverage on the Hurst exponent analysis and the fractal dimension estimation, greatly aids in measuring the epidemiology.
Fractal Solutions for Understanding Complex Systems in Earth Sciences
by V. P. DimriThis book deals with fractals in understanding problems encountered in earth science, and their solutions. It starts with an analysis of two classes of methods (homogeneous fractals random models, and homogeneous source distributions or "one point" distributions) widely diffused in the geophysical community, especially for studying potential fields and their related source distributions. Subsequently, the use of fractals in potential fields is described by scaling spectral methods for estimation of curie depth. The book also presents an update of the use of the fractal concepts in geological understanding of faults and their significance in geological modelling of hydrocarbon reservoirs. Geophysical well log data provide a unique description of the subsurface lithology; here, the Detrended Fluctuation Analysis technique is presented in case studies located off the west-coast of India. Another important topic is the fractal model of continuum percolation which quantitatively reproduce the flow path geometry by applying the Poiseuille's equation. The pattern of fracture heterogeneity in reservoir scale of natural geological formations can be viewed as spatially distributed self-similar tree structures; here, the authors present simple analytical models based on the medium structural characteristics to explain the flow in natural fractures. The Fractal Differential Adjacent Segregation (F-DAS) is an unconventional approach for fractal dimension estimation using a box count method. The present analysis provides a better understanding of variability of the system (adsorbents - adsorbate interactions). Towards the end of book, the authors discuss multi-fractal scaling properties of seismograms in order to quantify the complexity associated with high-frequency seismic signals. Finally, the book presents a review on fractal methods applied to fire point processes and satellite time-continuous signals that are sensitive to fire occurrences.
Fractal Zeta Functions and Fractal Drums: Higher-Dimensional Theory of Complex Dimensions (Springer Monographs in Mathematics)
by Michel L. Lapidus Goran Radunović Darko ŽubrinićThis monograph gives a state-of-the-art and accessible treatment of a new general higher-dimensional theory of complex dimensions, valid for arbitrary bounded subsets of Euclidean spaces, as well as for their natural generalization, relative fractal drums. It provides a significant extension of the existing theory of zeta functions for fractal strings to fractal sets and arbitrary bounded sets in Euclidean spaces of any dimension. Two new classes of fractal zeta functions are introduced, namely, the distance and tube zeta functions of bounded sets, and their key properties are investigated. The theory is developed step-by-step at a slow pace, and every step is well motivated by numerous examples, historical remarks and comments, relating the objects under investigation to other concepts. Special emphasis is placed on the study of complex dimensions of bounded sets and their connections with the notions of Minkowski content and Minkowski measurability, as well as on fractal tube formulas. It is shown for the first time that essential singularities of fractal zeta functions can naturally emerge for various classes of fractal sets and have a significant geometric effect. The theory developed in this book leads naturally to a new definition of fractality, expressed in terms of the existence of underlying geometric oscillations or, equivalently, in terms of the existence of nonreal complex dimensions. The connections to previous extensive work of the first author and his collaborators on geometric zeta functions of fractal strings are clearly explained. Many concepts are discussed for the first time, making the book a rich source of new thoughts and ideas to be developed further. The book contains a large number of open problems and describes many possible directions for further research. The beginning chapters may be used as a part of a course on fractal geometry. The primary readership is aimed at graduate students and researchers working in Fractal Geometry and other related fields, such as Complex Analysis, Dynamical Systems, Geometric Measure Theory, Harmonic Analysis, Mathematical Physics, Analytic Number Theory and the Spectral Theory of Elliptic Differential Operators. The book should be accessible to nonexperts and newcomers to the field.
Fractals and Multifractals in Ecology and Aquatic Science
by Laurent SeurontEcologists sometimes have a less-than-rigorous background in quantitative methods, yet research within this broad field is becoming increasingly mathematical. Written in a step-by-step fashion, Fractals and Multifractals in Ecology and Aquatic Science provides scientists with a basic understanding of fractals and multifractals and the techniques fo
Fractals: Concepts and Applications in Geosciences
by Behzad Ghanbarian Allen G. HuntThis book provides theoretical concepts and applications of fractals and multifractals to a broad range of audiences from various scientific communities, such as petroleum, chemical, civil and environmental engineering, atmospheric research, and hydrology. In the first chapter, we introduce fractals and multifractals from physics and math viewpoints. We then discuss theory and practical applications in detail. In what follows, in chapter 2, fragmentation process is modeled using fractals. Fragmentation is the breaking of aggregates into smaller pieces or fragments, a typical phenomenon in nature. In chapter 3, the advantages and disadvantages of two- and three-phase fractal models are discussed in detail. These two kinds of approach have been widely applied in the literature to model different characteristics of natural phenomena. In chapter 4, two- and three-phase fractal techniques are used to develop capillary pressure curve models, which characterize pore-size distribution of porous media. Percolation theory provides a theoretical framework to model flow and transport in disordered networks and systems. Therefore, following chapter 4, in chapter 5 the fractal basis of percolation theory and its applications in surface and subsurface hydrology are discussed. In chapter 6, fracture networks are shown to be modeled using fractal approaches. Chapter 7 provides different applications of fractals and multifractals to petrophysics and relevant area in petroleum engineering. In chapter 8, we introduce the practical advantages of fractals and multifractals in geostatistics at large scales, which have broad applications in stochastic hydrology and hydrogeology. Multifractals have been also widely applied to model atmospheric characteristics, such as precipitation, temperature, and cloud shape. In chapter 9, these kinds of properties are addressed using multifractals. At watershed scales, river networks have been shown to follow fractal behavior. Therefore, the applications of fractals are addressed in chapter 10. Time series analysis has been under investigations for several decades in physics, hydrology, atmospheric research, civil engineering, and water resources. In chapter 11, we therefore, provide fractal, multifractal, multifractal detrended fluctuation analyses, which can be used to study temporal characterization of a phenomenon, such as flow discharge at a specific location of a river. Chapter 12 addresses signals and again time series using a novel fractal Fourier analysis. In chapter 13, we discuss constructal theory, which has a perspective opposite to fractal theories, and is based on optimizationof diffusive exchange. In the case of river drainages, for example, the constructal approach begins at the divide and generates headwater streams first, rather than starting from the fundamental drainage pattern.