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Coal Wars: The Future of Energy and the Fate of the Planet
by Richard MartinSince the late 18th century, when it emerged as a source of heating and, later, steam power, coal has brought untold benefits to mankind. Even today, coal generates almost 45 percent of the world's power. Our modern technological society would be inconceivable without coal and the energy it provides. Unfortunately, that society will not survive unless we wean ourselves off coal. The largest single source of greenhouse gases, coal is responsible for 43 percent of the world's carbon emissions. Richard Martin, author of SuperFuel, argues that to limit catastrophic climate change, we must find a way to power our world with less polluting energy sources, and we must do it in the next couple of decades—or else it is "game over." It won't be easy: as coal plants shut down across the United States, and much of Europe turns to natural gas, coal use is growing in the booming economies of Asia— particularly China and India. Even in Germany, where nuclear power stations are being phased out in the wake of the Fukushima accident, coal use is growing. Led by the Sierra Club and its ambitious "Beyond Coal" campaign, environmentalists hope to drastically reduce our dependence on coal in the next decade. But doing so will require an unprecedented contraction of an established, lucrative, and politically influential worldwide industry. Big Coal will not go gently. And its decline will dramatically change lives everywhere—from Appalachian coal miners and coal company executives to activists in China's nascent environmental movement. Based on a series of journeys into the heart of coal land, from Wyoming to West Virginia to China's remote Shanxi Province, hundreds of interviews with people involved in, or affected by, the effort to shrink the industry, and deep research into the science, technology, and economics of the coal industry, Coal Wars chronicles the dramatic stories behind coal's big shutdown—and the industry's desperate attempts to remain a global behemoth. A tour de force of literary journalism, Coal Wars will be a milestone in the climate change battle.
Coal and Biomass Gasification: Recent Advances and Future Challenges (Energy, Environment, and Sustainability)
by Avinash Kumar Agarwal Santanu De V. S. Moholkar Bhaskar ThalladaThis book addresses the science and technology of the gasification process and the production of electricity, synthetic fuels and other useful chemicals. Pursuing a holistic approach, it covers the fundamentals of gasification and its various applications. In addition to discussing recent advances and outlining future directions, it covers advanced topics such as underground coal gasification and chemical looping combustion, and describes the state-of-the-art experimental techniques, modeling and numerical simulations, environmentally friendly approaches, and technological challenges involved. Written in an easy-to-understand format with a comprehensive glossary and bibliography, the book offers an ideal reference guide to coal and biomass gasification for beginners, engineers and researchers involved in designing or operating gasification plants.
Coal-burning Type of Endemic Fluorosis: Pathophysiology and Clinical Treatments
by Zhi-Zhong GuanEndemic fluorosis is caused by excessive intake of fluorine in drinking water, air, food, tea and other media in a specific natural environment for a long time, which involves at least 25 countries, such as China, India, Vietnam, Iran, Egypt, Mexico, Argentina and influences more than 200 million of population. China and India are the countries with the most extensive endemic fluorosis and the most serious damages. There are three main intake sources of endemic fluorosis, e.g., drinking water, coal-burning pollution and drinking tea. Coal-burning type of endemic fluorosis was established in Guizhou Province of China in 1970’s. The residents in the areas used indoor stoves with no flue to burn coals with high content of fluoride to bake grains in the autumn and heat in the winter. This results in excessive intake of fluorine and then leads chronic poisoning. It has been confirmed that 13 provinces of China with 34.3 million of population are influenced by this type of fluorosis with severe injuries to most organs of human body. The content of this book covers the epidemiology, pathological changes, molecular pathogenesis and clinical treatments of the disease. This book is a suitable reference for the researchers and graduate students in this field, which is helpful to improve the understanding of this disease and to take preventive measures.
Coalbed Methane in India: Opportunities, Issues and Challenges for Recovery and Utilization (SpringerBriefs in Energy)
by Ajay Kumar Singh Partha Narayan HajraThis book offers a first-of-its-kind, standalone review of coalbed methane (CBM) in India, covering all the major technical and policy aspects. As an authoritative text on CBM in India, it addresses the essential geological, engineering and policy issues. The Coalbed Methane industry is a rapidly developing sector in Indian energy supply. The book presents the characteristics of coal beds in India's Damodar and Son river valleys, which influence the commercial viability of CBM in the regions, as well as a study of the gas contents of the country's major coalfields. The book begins with a brief review of methane emissions from Indian coal mines and the current coalbed methane situation in the country. Its unique features include a coalfield-by-coalfield technical assessment of CBM throughout India. Policy matters are addressed, including the National Exploration Licencing Policy (NELP) of the Indian Government Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, which is vital to an overall understanding of CBM development in the country. The scope and depth of its book's coverage will benefit students, practising engineers, researchers and policy-makers.
Coal—A Window to Past Climate and Vegetation
by Miryam Glikson-SimpsonThis book focuses on the Permian time slice in the geological history of Gondwana, which includes Australia, India, South Africa, Antarctica and South America. Coal is an organic rock, the product of compressed and ‘cooked’ plants. The exact formation of coal via physicochemical reactions, burial and subsidence is the subject of numerous books. The vast thick coal deposits characterising Gondwana formed from special kind of trees termed the Glossopteris Flora. These trees shed their leaves in winter and with the rest of their remains decayed and through subsidence and burial formed the coal. Pollen preserved from these plant communities has been concentrated and isolated and is the focus of this book. The first plant communities as can be seen from the pollen graphs in this book were impoverished in species. The Permian era started with a very cold climate and as the climate warmed more and more diverse vegetation took hold. The emergence of different forms of pollen at certain times in the Permian is used as an indicator of climatic change. Furthermore, the predominance of algal spores in some samples and lack of representation by pollen of Glossopteris point to significant changes in the climate which led to the disappearance of their pollen and the accumulation of spores representing algal communities. These climate induced changes are noticed in their completed transformation after a long time span; small changes are evident during a lifetime of Earth’s inhabitants. Today, in our lifetime, we can see and witness the drying of many lakes across the Earth and their total disappearance from maps of only 50 years ago is a testimony to a climatic change taking place. The time of a ‘complete’ change in the Permian is possible to calculate. However, to determine the duration and maximum change in the climate of the earth today is impossible due to the apparent acceleration of the process by industrial activities of our species. Chapter 4 in the book deals with the special characteristics of the Permian coals of Gondwana and the special plant community which made them. The composition of these coals on a microscopic level shows them to be rich in hydrocarbons, more than other coals. The Permian coals of India and Australia generate ‘heavy’ oil which is retained within the coal matrix as bitumen and is a potential source of methane. This chapter demonstrates through a pilot study the potential for explosion in the Permian Gondwana coals through their propensity to spontaneous combustion and methane generation.
Coanda Effect: Flow Phenomenon and Applications
by Noor A AhmedCoanda effect is a complex fluid flow phenomenon enabling the production of vertical take-off/landing aircraft. Other applications range from helicopters to road vehicles, from flow mixing to combustion, from noise reduction to pollution control, from power generation to robot operation, and so forth. Book starts with description of the effect, its history and general formulation of governing equations/simplifications used in different applications. Further, it gives an account of this effect’s lift boosting potential on a wing and in non-flying vehicles including industrial applications. Finally, occurrence of the same in human body and associated adverse medical conditions are explained.
Coarse Grained Simulation and Turbulent Mixing
by Fernando F. GrinsteinSmall-scale turbulent flow dynamics is traditionally viewed as universal and as enslaved to that of larger scales. In coarse grained simulation (CGS), large energy-containing structures are resolved, smaller structures are spatially filtered out, and unresolved subgrid scale (SGS) effects are modeled. Coarse Grained Simulation and Turbulent Mixing reviews our understanding of CGS. Beginning with an introduction to the fundamental theory the discussion then moves to the crucial challenges of predictability. Next, it addresses verification and validation, the primary means of assessing accuracy and reliability of numerical simulation. The final part reports on the progress made in addressing difficult non-equilibrium applications of timely current interest involving variable density turbulent mixing. The book will be of fundamental interest to graduate students, research scientists, and professionals involved in the design and analysis of complex turbulent flows.
Coarse-Grained Modeling of Biomolecules (Series in Computational Biophysics)
by Garegin A. Papoian"The chapters in this book survey the progress in simulating biomolecular dynamics…. The images conjured up by this work are not yet universally loved, but are beginning to bring new insights into the study of biological structure and function. The future will decide whether this scientific movement can bring forth its Picasso or Modigliani." –from the Foreword by Peter G. Wolynes, Bullard-Welch Foundation Professor of Science, Rice University This book highlights the state-of-art in coarse-grained modeling of biomolecules, covering both fundamentals as well as various cutting edge applications. Coarse-graining of biomolecules is an area of rapid advances, with numerous new force fields having appeared recently and significant progress made in developing a systematic theory of coarse-graining. The contents start with first fundamental principles based on physics, then survey specific state-of-art coarse-grained force fields of proteins and nucleic acids, and provide examples of exciting biological problems that are at large scale, and hence, only amenable to coarse-grained modeling. Introduces coarse-grained models of proteins and nucleic acids. Showcases applications such as genome packaging in nuclei and understanding ribosome dynamics Gives the physical foundations of coarse-graining Demonstrates use of models for large-scale assemblies in modern studies Garegin A. Papoian is the first Monroe Martin Associate Professor with appointments in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Institute for Physical Science and Technology at the University of Maryland.
Coarse-Grained Modelling of DNA and DNA Self-Assembly (Springer Theses)
by Thomas E. OuldridgeThis thesis presents a novel coarse-grained model of DNA, in which bases are represented as rigid nucleotides. The model is shown to quantitatively reproduce many phenomena, including elastic properties of the double-stranded state, hairpin formation in single strands and hybridization of pairs of strands to form duplexes, the first time such a wide range of properties has been captured by a coarse-grained model. The scope and potential of the model is demonstrated by simulating DNA tweezers, an iconic nanodevice, and a two-footed DNA walker -- the first time that coarse-grained modelling has been applied to dynamic DNA nanotechnology.
Coarse-Graining of Condensed Phase and Biomolecular Systems
by Gregory A. VothExploring recent developments in the field, Coarse-Graining of Condensed Phase and Biomolecular Systems examines systematic ways of constructing coarse-grained representations for complex systems. It explains how this approach can be used in the simulation and modeling of condensed phase and biomolecular systems. Assembling some of the most influential, world-renowned researchers in the field, this book covers the latest developments in the coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation and modeling of condensed phase and biomolecular systems. Each chapter focuses on specific examples of evolving coarse-graining methodologies and presents results for a variety of complex systems. The contributors discuss the minimalist, inversion, and multiscale approaches to coarse-graining, along with the emerging challenges of coarse-graining. They also connect atomic-level information with new coarse-grained representations of complex systems, such as lipid bilayers, proteins, peptides, and DNA.
Coastal Agriculture and Climate Change
by M. PrakashChanging climate in micro and macro level attribute to influence and bring changes in productivity and production trend of every industry including agriculture and its ecosystem. The influence of climate change and its environmental impact on coastal ecosystem greatly influence the life and livelihood of agrarian communities and people involved in allied industries. The book has been authored with objectives of providing understanding on the environmental problems, features of coastal ecosystem, advanced strategies for environmental protection, mitigation strategies for environmental problems in coastal areas and augmenting agriculture income from coastal areas.Note: T&F does not sell or distribute the hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. This title is co-published with NIPA.
Coastal Aquaculture and Mariculture
by S. AthithanThis book is an effort to consolidate and comprehensively present the coastal aquaculture & mariculture and divided into 39 chapters covering introduction, mariculture scenario, finfish farming, shellfish farming, molluscan farming, seaweed farming, recirculatory aquaculture systems, conservation aspects in mariculture etc. This is an attempt to provide comprehensive information on all areas of coastal aquaculture and mariculture to the students for their academic carrier. Nonetheless, the material presented has been thoughtfully selected and updated to make it of maximum use to the readers.Note: T& F does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Coastal Aquifer Management-Monitoring, Modeling, and Case Studies
by Alexander H.-D. Cheng Driss OuazarApproximately 70% of the world's population lives in coastal areas, and the majority of these people depend on coastal aquifers for freshwater. The fragility of these aquifers and their sensitivity to human activity demand informed, competent management to guarantee their survival. Significant knowledge and new technologies related to the subject h
Coastal Change, Ocean Conservation and Resilient Communities
by Amanda Bayley Marcha JohnsonThis collection of essays and design case studies explores a range of ideas and best practices for adapting to dynamic waterfront conditions while incorporating nature conservation in urbanized coastal areas. The editors have curated a selection of works contributed by leading practitioners in the fields of coastal science, community resilience, habitat restoration, sustainable landscape architecture and floodplain management. By highlighting ocean-friendly innovations and strategies being applied in coastal cities today, this book illustrates ways to cohabit with many other species who share the waterfront with us, feed in salt marshes, bury their eggs on sandy beaches, fly south over cities along the Atlantic Flyway, or attach themselves to an oyster reef. This book responds to the need for inventive, practical, and straightforward ways to weather a changing climate while being responsible shoreline stewards.
Coastal Conservation
by Brooke Maslo Julie L. LockwoodCoastal ecosystems are centres of high biological productivity, but their conservation is often threatened by numerous and complex environmental factors. Citing examples from the major littoral habitats worldwide, such as sandy beaches, salt marshes and mangrove swamps, this text characterises the biodiversity of coastline environments and highlights important aspects of their maintenance and preservation, aided by the analysis of key representative species. Leaders in the field provide reviews of the foremost threats to coastal networks, including the effects of climate change, invasive species and major pollution incidents such as oil spills. Further discussion underscores the intricacies of measuring and managing coastline species in the field, taking into account the difficulties in quantifying biodiversity loss due to indirect cascading effects and trophic skew. Synthesising the current state of species richness with present and projected environmental pressures, the book ultimately establishes a research agenda for implementing and improving conservation practices moving forward.
Coastal Ecosystem Processes
by Daniel M. AlongiCoastal Ecosystem Processes, written by the renowned marine scientist Daniel Alongi, describes how pelagic and benthic food webs, from beaches and tidal flats to the continental edge, process energy and matter. This volume focuses on recent advances and new developments on how food webs are closely intertwined with the geology, chemistry, and physics of coastal seas. Dr. Alongi presents a process-functional approach as a way of understanding how the energetics of coastal ecosystems rely not only on exchanges within and between food chains, but how such functions are influenced by terrigenous and atmospheric processes. There is a need for documentation and an awareness of just how necessary, yet delicate, is the interplay of biological and physical forces between coastal ocean, land, and the atmosphere. Marine scientists today need to make informed management decisions about sustainable development and conservation of these fragile ecosystems. Coastal Ecosystem Processes provides present and future marine scientists the latest coastal ecosystem information to make the right decisions concerning the ecology of our oceans.
Coastal Ecosystems of the Tropics - Adaptive Management
by Velmurugan Ayyam Swarnam Palanivel Sivaperuman ChandrakasanThe coastal areas of the tropics are rich in biodiversity, natural resources and place of intensive developmental activities as it provides livelihood to millions of people. At the same time evidences suggest that several unique coastal ecosystems viz., mangroves, wetlands, salt marshes, corals, estuaries, sand dunes and agro-ecosystem are vulnerable to natural disasters and events associated with global climate change. In recent times degradation of land, water and genetic erosion besides threat to native flora and fauna have been increasing due to unsustainable developmental activities. Therefore, a paradigm shift in deriving livelihood through conventional methods, developmental strategies, conservation practices are required for balanced and sustainable growth of the coastal areas. This publication strives to cover the status of different natural resources of the coastal region, various aspects of degradation process, production need and restorative methods besides new technological options and its socio-economic implications with case examples. Special focus is given to bring out the scope and potential of mangrove based farming, integrated and organic farming and its value addition besides the role of coastal vegetations as bioshield in protecting these regions from sea erosion, cyclones and tsunami. As the tropical coastal areas are vulnerable to climate change events, this book also covers the recent weather pattern, impacts of climate change and climate resilient technologies besides intuitional linkages and policy framework aimed at balancing development and environmental concerns.
Coastal Ecosystems: Environmental importance, current challenges and conservation measures (Coastal Research Library #38)
by Pardeep Singh Sughosh Madhav Sadaf NazneenThis volume incorporates theoretical and practical knowledge through case studies and reviews to serve as a baseline of information for coastal ecosystem research, and discusses the impacts of pollution, industrialisation, agriculture and climate change on coastal ecosystem biogeochemistry and biodiversity. The case studies address the role of coastal ecosystems as a carbon sink which is getting impacted by anthropogenic disturbances. Through this analysis, the book covers various strategies for the conservation and management of coastal ecosystems, considering their unique ecological and biogeochemical attributes and region-specific threats and impacts. The book will be of interest to a wide range of readers including students, researchers and professionals in coastal ecosystem science, coastal pollution, climate change adaptation, biodiversity conservation and environmental management.
Coastal Environments of India: A Coastal West Bengal Perspective (Springer Water)
by Gautam Kumar DasThis book is the result of comprehensive research work on the various aspects of the West Bengal coast including the world’s largest riverine delta system, the Ganga-Brahmaputra Delta. The role of various hydrodynamic factors in shaping the coastal configuration and physicochemical parameters of coastal waters, soils, and granulometry of beach sands are extensively discussed. The coasts of the Indian peninsula, particularly the east coast, are subjected to severe cyclones, tidal bores, storm surges, and strong drift, which changes the coastal configuration as well as the quality of waters and the fertility of soils. A systematic description of major cyclones and their effects on coastal areas are described in detail. The book offers comprehensive information on the prevailing ecological conditions and lush green mangrove forests with wide-ranging flora and fauna of Sundarbans. UNESCO has declared Sundarbans as one of the world’s heritage sites, and as in other parts of the world, some of the coastal areas in West Bengal have attracted the attention of many tourists. Various steps undertaken by the government for coastal zone management and sustainable development of the coastal areas have been highlighted in the book. This book will be of interest to students and researchers of the coastal environment.
Coastal Fishery Projects
by V. PanditA manual on the development and reconstruction of coastal fishing areas. Coverage ranges from design conditions, through use of tidal currents for sea water flow, to improvement of water quality and breeding facilities.
Coastal Heritage and Cultural Resilience (Ethnobiology)
by Lisa L. Price Nemer E. NarchiThis book explores the knowledge, work and life of Pacific coastal populations from the Pacific Northwest to Panama. Center stage in this volume is the knowledge people acquire on coastal and marine ecosystems. Material and aesthetic benefits from interacting with the environment contribute to the ongoing building of coastal cultures. The contributors are particularly interested in how local knowledge -either recently generated or transmitted along generations- interfaces with science, conservation, policy and artistic expression. Their observations exhibit a wide array of outcomes ranging from resource and human exploitation to the magnification of cultural resilience and coastal heritage. The interdisciplinary nature of ethnobiology allows the chapter authors to have a broad range of freedom when examining their subject matter. They build a multifaceted understanding of coastal heritage through the different lenses offered by the humanities, social sciences, oceanography, fisheries and conservation science and, not surprisingly, the arts. Coastal Heritage and Cultural Resilience establishes an intimate bond between coastal communities and the audience in a time when resilience of coastal life needs to be celebrated and fortified.
Coastal Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerabilities: A Technical Input to the 2013 National Climate Assessment (NCA Regional Input Reports)
by Margaret Davidson Virginia BurkettDeveloped to inform the 2013 National Climate Assessment, and a landmark study in terms of its breadth and depth of coverage and conducted under the auspices of the U. S. Global Change Research Program, Coastal Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerabilities examines the known effects and relationships of climate change variables on the coasts of the U. S. This state of the art assessment comes from a broad range of experts in academia, private industry, state and local governments, NGOs, professional societies, and impacted communities. It includes case studies on topics such as adaptive capacity; climate change effects on. It highlights past climate trends, projected climate change and vulnerabilities, and impacts to specific sectors. Rich in science and case studies, it examines the latest climate change impacts, scenarios, vulnerabilities, and adaptive capacity for nine major coastal regions of the United States and provides essential guidance for decision-makers - as well as environmental academics, professionals, and advocates - who seek to better understand how climate variability and change impact the US coasts and its communities.
Coastal Lagoons: Critical Habitats of Environmental Change (ISSN)
by Michael J. Kennish Hans W. PaerlWritten by an outstanding group of contributors, this book examines the function and structure of coastal lagoonal ecosystems and the natural and anthropogenic drivers of change that affect them, most notably nutrient over-enrichment from coastal watersheds and airsheds. The contributors target the susceptibility of coastal lagoons to eutrophication, the indicators of eutrophic conditions, the influences of natural factors such as major storms and other climate effects, and the resulting biotic and ecosystem impairments that have developed. The book compares biogeochemical and ecological response to nutrient enrichment and other pollutants in lagoonal estuaries to those in other estuarine types.
Coastal Morphodynamics: Integrated Spatial Modeling on the Deltaic Balasore Coast, India (SpringerBriefs in Geography)
by Nilay Kanti Barman Soumendu Chatterjee Ashis Kumar PaulThis book discusses the perceptions and sketches, geological background, materials and coastal processes of the East Coast of India. It also suggests strategies for effectively managing natural coastal processes in these areas. India has a coastline of about 7,516 km with a variety of coastal extensions, which developed at different time scales, producing permanent variations in the morphologies of the coastal areas through hydrodynamic, fluvial, aeolian and terrestrial processes. The book focuses on the Balasore coast, an area drained by three main rivers (the Subarnarekha, the Dugdeugi and the Burahbolong), which impacts the coastal morphodynamic processes of the area and accounts for their multifaceted nature. Large drops or increases in the sediment supply within a short time span or over prolonged periods cause shoreline shifting. Eight satellite images from 1975, 1980, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2013 were used to measure the shoreline dynamics, and a reference line was established using first order polynomial model with base data with 0. 5 pixel root mean square error (RMSE) accuracy. The end point rate (EPR) model was adopted for estimating the future position of the shoreline. In order to assess the beach morphodynamics, the coastal modeling system (SMC) was used, which incorporates with a series of appliances and numerical models structured consistent with the space and time scale of the different dynamics affecting the littoral and beach morphology based on diverse thematic and reference documents. This study employed short-term analysis using the MOPLA module of the SMC system, which consists of three attached modules: the wave transformation module (Oluca), the depth-averaged currents module (Copla) and the sediment transport and morphological evolution module (Eros). The shoreline dynamics findings show that the magnitude of erosion is higher in the northern part of the coastline in the left bank area of the Subarnarekha river estuary and in the estuarine part of the Dugdugi and Burahbalang rivers. The southern part of the shoreline near Rasalpur and Joydevkasba is relatively stable, and the study suggests that the current shoreline shift trend will continue in the future. The SMC model indicates that the wave height, significant wave height, current velocity and the potential transport of sediment at the Kirtaniya study point are high, while at Choumukh they are low and at the Rasalpur study point they are intermediate.
Coastal Ocean Observing: Platforms, Sensors and Systems
by Jorge E. CorredorThis manual describes the wide range of electromechanical, electrochemical and electro-optical transducers at the heart of current field-deployable ocean observing instruments. Their modes of operation, precision and accuracy are discussed in detail. Observing platforms ranging from the traditional to the most recently developed are described, as are the challenges of integrating instrument suits to individual platforms. Technical approaches are discussed to address environmental constraints on instrument and platform operation such as power sources, corrosion, biofouling and mechanical abrasion. Particular attention is also given to data generated by the networks of observing platforms that are typically integrated into value-added data visualization products, including numerical simulations or models. Readers will learn about acceptable data formats and representative model products. The last section of the book is devoted to the challenges of planning, deploying and maintaining coastal ocean observing systems. Readers will discover practical applications of ocean observations in diverse fields including natural resource conservation, commerce and recreation, safety and security, and climate change resiliency and adaptation. This volume will appeal to ocean engineers, oceanographers, commercial and recreational ocean data users, observing systems operators, and advanced undergraduate and graduate students in the field of ocean observing.