Monitoring and Modelling Lakes and Coastal Environments


Book Description

Habitat environments of lakes and coastal wetlands are deteriorating due to their exploitative use and improper management, eroding the biodiversity and undermining the productivity of these unique ecosystems. This book examines ways to restore, conserve and manage lakes and coastal wetlands. It covers topics ranging from biodiversity to modeling and management and depicts case studies from different nations.




Review of the New York City Watershed Protection Program


Book Description

New York City's municipal water supply system provides about 1 billion gallons of drinking water a day to over 8.5 million people in New York City and about 1 million people living in nearby Westchester, Putnam, Ulster, and Orange counties. The combined water supply system includes 19 reservoirs and three controlled lakes with a total storage capacity of approximately 580 billion gallons. The city's Watershed Protection Program is intended to maintain and enhance the high quality of these surface water sources. Review of the New York City Watershed Protection Program assesses the efficacy and future of New York City's watershed management activities. The report identifies program areas that may require future change or action, including continued efforts to address turbidity and responding to changes in reservoir water quality as a result of climate change.




Coastal Ecosystems


Book Description

This 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.




Monitoring of Marine Pollution


Book Description

Many of the pollutants discharged into the sea are directly or indirectly the result of human activities. Some of these substances are biodegradable, while others are not. This study is devoted to monitoring areas of the environment. Methods assessment is based on monitoring data and an evaluation of the impact of pollution.Surveillance provides a scientific basis for standards development and application. The methodology of marine pollution control is governed by algorithms and models. A monitoring strategy should be put in place, coupled with an environmental assessment concept, through targeted research activities in areas identified at local and regional levels. This concept will make it possible to diagnose the state of "health" of these zones and consequently to correct any anomalies. Monitoring of the marine and coastal environment is based on recent methods and validated after experiments in the field of marine pollution.




Water Resource Systems Planning and Management


Book Description

This book is open access under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license. This revised, updated textbook presents a systems approach to the planning, management, and operation of water resources infrastructure in the environment. Previously published in 2005 by UNESCO and Deltares (Delft Hydraulics at the time), this new edition, written again with contributions from Jery R. Stedinger, Jozef P. M. Dijkman, and Monique T. Villars, is aimed equally at students and professionals. It introduces readers to the concept of viewing issues involving water resources as a system of multiple interacting components and scales. It offers guidelines for initiating and carrying out water resource system planning and management projects. It introduces alternative optimization, simulation, and statistical methods useful for project identification, design, siting, operation and evaluation and for studying post-planning issues. The authors cover both basin-wide and urban water issues and present ways of identifying and evaluating alternatives for addressing multiple-purpose and multi-objective water quantity and quality management challenges. Reinforced with cases studies, exercises, and media supplements throughout, the text is ideal for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in water resource planning and management as well as for practicing planners and engineers in the field.




Real-time Coastal Observing Systems for Marine Ecosystem Dynamics and Harmful Algal Blooms


Book Description

The proliferation of harmful phytoplankton in marine ecosystems can cause massive fish kills, contaminate seafood with toxins, impact local and regional economies and dramatically affect ecological balance. Real-time observations are essential for effective short-term operational forecasting, but observation and modelling systems are still being developed. This volume provides guidance for developing real-time and near real-time sensing systems for observing and predicting plankton dynamics, including harmful algal blooms, in coastal waters. The underlying theory is explained and current trends in research and monitoring are discussed.Topics covered include: coastal ecosystems and dynamics of harmful algal blooms; theory and practical applications of in situ and remotely sensed optical detection of microalgal distributions and composition; theory and practical applications of in situ biological and chemical sensors for targeted species and toxin detection; integrated observing systems and platforms for detection; diagnostic and predictive modelling of ecosystems and harmful algal blooms, including data assimilation techniques; observational needs for the public and government; and future directions for research and operations.




Clean Coastal Waters


Book Description

Environmental problems in coastal ecosystems can sometimes be attributed to excess nutrients flowing from upstream watersheds into estuarine settings. This nutrient over-enrichment can result in toxic algal blooms, shellfish poisoning, coral reef destruction, and other harmful outcomes. All U.S. coasts show signs of nutrient over-enrichment, and scientists predict worsening problems in the years ahead. Clean Coastal Waters explains technical aspects of nutrient over-enrichment and proposes both immediate local action by coastal managers and a longer-term national strategy incorporating policy design, classification of affected sites, law and regulation, coordination, and communication. Highlighting the Gulf of Mexico's "Dead Zone," the Pfiesteria outbreak in a tributary of Chesapeake Bay, and other cases, the book explains how nutrients work in the environment, why nitrogen is important, how enrichment turns into over-enrichment, and why some environments are especially susceptible. Economic as well as ecological impacts are examined. In addressing abatement strategies, the committee discusses the importance of monitoring sites, developing useful models of over-enrichment, and setting water quality goals. The book also reviews voluntary programs, mandatory controls, tax incentives, and other policy options for reducing the flow of nutrients from agricultural operations and other sources.




Advancing the Science of Climate Change


Book Description

Climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for-and in many cases is already affecting-a broad range of human and natural systems. The compelling case for these conclusions is provided in Advancing the Science of Climate Change, part of a congressionally requested suite of studies known as America's Climate Choices. While noting that there is always more to learn and that the scientific process is never closed, the book shows that hypotheses about climate change are supported by multiple lines of evidence and have stood firm in the face of serious debate and careful evaluation of alternative explanations. As decision makers respond to these risks, the nation's scientific enterprise can contribute through research that improves understanding of the causes and consequences of climate change and also is useful to decision makers at the local, regional, national, and international levels. The book identifies decisions being made in 12 sectors, ranging from agriculture to transportation, to identify decisions being made in response to climate change. Advancing the Science of Climate Change calls for a single federal entity or program to coordinate a national, multidisciplinary research effort aimed at improving both understanding and responses to climate change. Seven cross-cutting research themes are identified to support this scientific enterprise. In addition, leaders of federal climate research should redouble efforts to deploy a comprehensive climate observing system, improve climate models and other analytical tools, invest in human capital, and improve linkages between research and decisions by forming partnerships with action-oriented programs.




Hydrodynamics and Water Quality


Book Description

The primary reference for the modeling of hydrodynamics and water quality in rivers, lake, estuaries, coastal waters, and wetlands This comprehensive text perfectly illustrates the principles, basic processes, mathematical descriptions, case studies, and practical applications associated with surface waters. It focuses on solving practical problems in rivers, lakes, estuaries, coastal waters, and wetlands. Most of the theories and technical approaches presented within have been implemented in mathematical models and applied to solve practical problems. Throughout the book, case studies are presented to demonstrate how the basic theories and technical approaches are implemented into models, and how these models are applied to solve practical environmental/water resources problems. This new edition of Hydrodynamics and Water Quality: Modeling Rivers, Lakes, and Estuaries has been updated with more than 40% new information. It features several new chapters, including one devoted to shallow water processes in wetlands as well as another focused on extreme value theory and environmental risk analysis. It is also supplemented with a new website that provides files needed for sample applications, such as source codes, executable codes, input files, output files, model manuals, reports, technical notes, and utility programs. This new edition of the book: Includes more than 120 new/updated figures and 450 references Covers state-of-the-art hydrodynamics, sediment transport, toxics fate and transport, and water quality in surface waters Provides essential and updated information on mathematical models Focuses on how to solve practical problems in surface waters—presenting basic theories and technical approaches so that mathematical models can be understood and applied to simulate processes in surface waters Hailed as “a great addition to any university library” by the Journal of the American Water Resources Association (July 2009), Hydrodynamics and Water Quality, Second Edition is an essential reference for practicing engineers, scientists, and water resource managers worldwide.




Applied Studies of Coastal and Marine Environments


Book Description

The book ''Applied Studies of Coastal and Marine Environments'' is a collection of a number of high-quality and comprehensive work on coastal and marine environment. This book has an Introductory Chapter, followed by 15 chapters. Chapters 2 and 3 are devoted to coastal geological sedimentation and its impacts on marine environment. Consequently, Chapter 4 investigates neo-tectonic movement in the Pearl River Delta. Different aspects of the coastal pollution and its impacts are addressed in Chapter 5 through Chapter 13. Furthermore, coastal management is also discussed in Chapter 14, and monitoring the coastal environment using remote sensing and GIS techniques is reported in Chapter 15. Finally, Chapter 16 addresses the human history of maritime exploitation and adaptation process to coastal and marine environments. It is important to investigate the history of maritime exploitation and adaptation to environment coastal zone to learn how to explore the oceans.