The Diatoms


Book Description

This much revised and expanded edition provides a valuable and detailed summary of the many uses of diatoms in a wide range of applications in the environmental and earth sciences. Particular emphasis is placed on the use of diatoms in analysing ecological problems related to climate change, acidification, eutrophication, and other pollution issues. The chapters are divided into sections for easy reference, with separate sections covering indicators in different aquatic environments. A final section explores diatom use in other fields of study such as forensics, oil and gas exploration, nanotechnology, and archaeology. Sixteen new chapters have been added since the first edition, including introductory chapters on diatom biology and the numerical approaches used by diatomists. The extensive glossary has also been expanded and now includes over 1,000 detailed entries, which will help non-specialists to use the book effectively.




Long-term Environmental Change in Arctic and Antarctic Lakes


Book Description

Concerns about the effects of global climate change have focused attention on the vulnerability of circumpolar regions. This book offers a synthesis of the spectrum of techniques available for generating long-term environmental records from circumpolar lakes.







Pollution of Lakes and Rivers


Book Description

Now in its second edition, Pollution of Lakes and Rivers provides essential insights into present-day water quality problems from an international perspective. Explains simply and effectively how lake sediments can be used to reconstruct pollution history Includes over 200 additional references and a new chapter on recent climatic change and its effects on water quality and quantity Tackles present-day water quality problems from an international perspective Previously published by Hodder Arnold PowerPoint slides of the artwork from the book are available from: http://post.queensu.ca/~pearl/textbook.htm Reviews: "This is a very well-written and wide-ranging volume that is both instructive and topical. It is likely to prove useful as an introduction to the general area, a reference source and for teaching purposes." (The Holocene, November 2008) "If you thought that paleolimnology was just mud, pollen, and diatoms then you will likely be both struck by the complexity of this field of research and grateful that John Smol, FRSC, has described it so clearly and broadly. Simply put, the second edition is an excellent book." ( Journal of Phycology, 2008) “This is a useful text. It provides a good level of detail so that the beginner in this area can appreciate what palaeolimnology can (and cannot) achieve. It goes beyond the simple introduction to provide a detailed understanding of how techniques can be applied ... This is a different take on the usual pollution text and would be of great use to those wishing to understand more from sedimentary records.” Taken from the British Ecological Society’s Teaching Ecology website "John Smol has extensive experience in this field of paleoenvironmental research which he combines well with his excellent written communication skills to produce a text that is easy to read but also thought provoking." (Quaternary Science Reviews, 2009) “The breadth of coverage in this text is impressive.” (Lake and Reservoir Management, 2009) “If I could speak with fluidity and clarity in my lectures as consistently as John Smol writes my students would be very grateful.” (Journal of Paleolimnology, 2009)







Arctic Climate Impact Assessment - Scientific Report


Book Description

The Arctic is now experiencing some of the most rapid and severe climate change on earth. Over the next 100 years, climate change is expected to accelerate, contributing to major physical, ecological, social, and economic changes, many of which have already begun. Changes in arctic climate will also affect the rest of the world through increased global warming and rising sea levels. Arctic Climate Impact Assessment was prepared by an international team of over 300 scientists, experts, and knowledgeable members of indigenous communities. The report has been thoroughly researched, is fully referenced, and provides the first comprehensive evaluation of arctic climate change, changes in ultraviolet radiation and their impacts for the region and for the world. It is illustrated in full color throughout. The results provided the scientific foundations for the ACIA synthesis report - Impacts of a Warming Arctic - published by Cambridge University Press in 2004.




Sedimentary Coastal Zones from High to Low Latitudes


Book Description

We live in a world where the loss of sea ice and thawing of coastal grounds in the north, and renewed marine transgression and an increase in the frequency of extreme weather events globally, are becoming commonplace. This volume presents a timely examination of coasts, the geological environment at particular risk, as global warming brings on this new reality. In 23 papers, low lying, mainly siliciclastic coasts are reviewed, described and analysed, under a variety of climates in quasi-stable tectonic settings along passive, trailing-continental edges from Polar Regions to the Tropics. Examples include coast of the Arctic seas, temperate to tropical eastern shores of the Americas, western Portugal, Mediterranean, Persian Gulf, South Africa and Australia. The entire coastal zone (landscape) is considered ranging from geophysical processes and products to biological entities including the adaption of Native People in various climatic zones. Knowledge of the state of the coasts now, and how the coastal plain has evolved since Late Pleistocene, is crucial for any realistic planning for the future.




Abstracts in Anthropology


Book Description

Quarterly. References to journal articles, miscellaneous papers, and books, arranged under sections on archaeology, ethnology, linguistics, and physical anthropology. Cross references. Cross index.







Polar Lakes and Rivers


Book Description

This is the first book to describe the ecology of high latitude lakes, rivers and glacial environments in both the North and South polar regions. From the lake-rich floodplains of the Arctic to the deep, enigmatic waters of Lake Vostok, Antarctica, these regions contain some of the most extraordinary aquatic ecosystems on Earth. They provide a fascinating diversity of habitats for plant, animal and microbial communities, and are proving to be valuable model systems for exploring many ecological themes including landscape-lake interactions, adaptation of life to environmental extremes, and controls on the structure and functioning of aquatic ecosystems. Some of these waters also have direct global implications, including permafrost thaw lakes as sources of greenhouse gases, subglacial aquatic environments as a storehouse of ancient microbes, and Arctic rivers as major inputs of freshwater and organic carbon to the World Ocean. Given that many polar areas are experiencing greater climate warming than at lower latitudes, these ecosystems can also be viewed as sentinels of global change. This timely volume brings together many of the world's leading researchers in polar limnology to describe these diverse aquatic environments and their ecology. It introduces each major ecosystem type, examines the similarities and differences between Arctic and Antarctic systems as well as their responses to environmental change, and describes new frontiers for future research. A glossary of terms is provided for non-specialists, and a set of colour plates introduces the ecosystems and their biota. Polar Lakes and Rivers will be of value to students and specialist researchers alike, as well as to those with a more general interest in aquatic ecology, polar environments or global change who require an authoritative overview of this fast emerging topic.