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Originally published in 1986, The Permafrost Environment examines how the search for oil, gas and minerals in the arctic region instigated new and vitally important needs to understand the permafrost environment. The construction of roads, airfields, buildings and pipelines in this inhospitable environment has posed enormous problems for engineers and geologists. This book is a comprehensive review of the nature of the permafrost environment and its utilization. It looks at environmental processes and their effects and examines the management problems which result. It provides a detailed look at how normal procedures for construction etc. need to be modified to cope with the special conditions and it gives examples from throughout the arctic region, including Canada, Siberia, Alaska, Greenland and Northern Scandinavia.
This book "Biodiversity Conservation and Utilization in a Diverse World" sees biodiversity as management and utilization of resources in satisfying human needs in multi-sectional areas including agriculture, forestry, fisheries, wildlife and other exhaustible and inexhaustible resources. Its value is to fulfill actual human preferences and variability of life is measured by amount of genetic variation available. In viewing diversity as an ultimate moral value, one is faced with a situation in environmental preservation in order to allow components of total diversity to flourish and constitute a threat to continuous existence and decrease total diversity. The overall importance described economic benefits from bio-diversity, though difficult to measure and varying, but are limited on a local scale, increase on a regional or national scale and become potentially substantial on a transnational or global scale.
"Winfield, Iowa, 1918. Colonel Wallace Carson, the ruler of a vast agricultural empire, asks Ann Hardy, his ten-year-old granddaughter and eventual heir, to promise she will safeguard The Northeast Quarter, the choice piece of land from which the empire was founded. Ann readily accepts -- little knowing what awaits her. When the Colonel is killed unexpectedly the same afternoon, the world around Ann and her family begins to fall apart. Against the background of America sliding from a post war boom into the Great Depression, The Northeast Quarter tells the story of Ann's struggle to keep a promise no matter what. She witnesses the remarriage of her grandmother to Royce Chamberlin, the seemingly humble banker who institutes a reign of terror over the household and proceeds to corrupt the entire town. Over the next ten years Ann matches wits with Chamberlin, enduring betrayal, banishment, and even physical violence. She grows from a precocious child into a tough-minded young woman -- watching, observing her enemy, and waiting for the moment to make her move. And when the moment comes in July 1929, life in Winfield will never be the same."--Publisher description
This book provides a general survey of Geocryology, which is the study of frozen ground called permafrost. Frozen ground is the product of cold climates as well as a variety of environmental factors. Its major characteristic is the accumulation of large quantities of ice which may exceed 90% by volume. Soil water changing to ice results in ground heaving, while thawing of this ice produces ground subsidence often accompanied by soil flowage. Permafrost is very susceptible to changes in weather and climate as well as to changes in the microenvironment. Cold weather produces contraction of the ground, resulting in cracking of the soil as well as breakup of concrete, rock, etc. Thus permafrost ...
A study of the survival of primal Celtic shamanism in later folk-traditions of Gaelic speaking peoples. This is an insightful and intelligent academic study that brings together areas of study not normally combined in an accessible style.
China’s inexorable rise as a major world power is one of the defining features of the contemporary political landscape. But should we heed the warnings of a so-called ‘China threat?’ Is China set to become the next superpower? Or will its ambitions be tempered by economic and political realities both at home and abroad? In this insightful and balanced analysis, noted China expert Stuart Harris explores China’s present foreign policy and its motivations, focusing in particular on the extent to which China will co-operate with the West in years to come. He considers what factors, international or domestic, will influence the foreign policies being shaped in Beijing, including how far t...
A gripping new account of the reign of the early Stuarts over Scotland, Ireland, and England - and why ultimately all three kingdoms were to rise in rebellion against Stuart rule.
Which Australian Prime Minister was born in Chile? Whose reputed final words were "Such is Life?" What do the colors of the Aboriginal flag represent? Which Australian place became known as the "Port of Pearls?" The answers to these and hundreds of other questions can be found in this new, updated, and considerably expanded edition ofThe Concise Oxford Dictionary of Australian History. Beginning with the Aboriginal flag and ending with Zeehan, the dictionary has entries on significant people, places, institutions, ideas, movements, events, artifacts, and documents, drawn from political, diplomatic, military, social, economic, cultural, and scientific fields. Extensive cross-references guide the reader to related entries. This authoritative and highly readable reference book is indispensable for anyone interested in Australian history.