Building the European Capacity in Operational Oceanography


Book Description

Full text e-book available as part of the Elsevier ScienceDirect Earth and Planetary Sciences subject collection.




Benguela: Predicting a Large Marine Ecosystem


Book Description

This is a book which examines much of what we know and also what we don’t know about the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem and its inherent variability. Building on recent work and exciting findings about the predictability of the Benguela and other coastal upwelling ecosystems, the book takes a look towards the future and highlights the difficulty of making predictions in such a complex and variable region. The book illustrates what scientists and managers from developed and developing countries can achieve by working together, and it lays a solid base upon which to build wise management and ensure sustainable use of the ecosystem. Essential reading and a valuable reference work on the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem Covers what we know about variability in the Benguela and its impacts Provides information on forecasting in the Benguela and offers insight in what is predictable and what is not Discusses key elements of a future integrated observing and forecasting system




Ocean Sustainability in the 21st Century


Book Description

Describing the emerging and unresolved issues related to the oceans and the marine environment, this book presents the developments made in marine science and policy since the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and implications for the sustainable management of ocean areas and resources. This comprehensive volume also provides a number of scientific, policy, and legal tools to address such issues, and to ensure better science-based management of the oceans. Topics covered include the impacts of human-induced climate change on the oceans, the marine genetic resources debate, the current legal framework for the oceans, and a comparative study of the legal issues associated with outer space. Including practical examples and worldwide case studies, this book is a valuable resource for policy makers, students and academics, in marine science and policy, ocean affairs, and the law of the sea.




Ocean Literacy: Understanding the Ocean


Book Description

This book provides an original review of Ocean Literacy as a component of public policy in Europe and beyond. The impact of the ocean on human activities is one of the most significant environmental issues facing humanity. By offering valuable insights into the interrelationships between geography, environment, marine science and education, the book explores key issues relating to the future of our planet and the way people respond to them. This volume discusses concepts concerning citizenship education and co-creation and the role of public policy and different international initiatives in raising awareness and mitigating the effects of over-use and misuse of valuable resources. A range of innovative projects are presented and evaluated from the local to national and global levels.This book advances knowledge and provides a picture of these advances, presents the issues and challenges, including the important role that geography education and geographical awareness could play in advancing the case for Ocean Literacy.This crossdisciplinary book appeals to students and scientists as well as professionals and practitioners in geography, environmental and marine sciences, international policy and many related fields.




Advances in Case-Based Reasoning


Book Description

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 9th European Conference on Case-Based Reasoning, ECCBR 2008, held in Trier, Germany, in September 2008. The 34 revised research papers and 5 revised application papers presented together with 3 invited talks were carefully reviewed and selected from 71 submissions. All current issues in case-based reasoning are addressed, ranging from theoretical and methodological issues to advanced applications in various fields such as knowledge discovery, similarity, context-awareness, uncertainty, and health sciences.




Encyclopedia of Global Environmental Governance and Politics


Book Description

The Encyclopedia of Global Environmental Governance and Politics surveys the broad range of environmental and sustainability challenges in the emerging Anthropocene and scrutinizes available concepts, methodological tools, theories and approaches, as well as overlaps with adjunct fields of study. This comprehensive reference work, written by some of the most eminent academics in the field, contains 68 entries on numerous aspects across 7 thematic areas, including concepts and definitions; theories and methods; actors; institutions; issue-areas; cross-cutting questions; and overlaps with non-environmental fields. With this broad approach, the volume seeks to provide a pluralistic knowledge base of the research and practice of global environmental governance and politics in times of increased complexity and contestation. Providing its readers with a unique point of reference, as well as stimulus for further research, this Encyclopedia is an indispensable tool for anyone interested in the politics of the environment, particularly students, teachers and researchers.




Marine Ecosystems and Global Change


Book Description

Global changes, including climate change and intensive fishing, are having significant impacts on the world's oceans. This book advances knowledge of the structure and functioning of marine ecosystems and their major sub-systems, and how they respond to physical forcing.




Advanced Agent-Based Environmental Management Systems


Book Description

Multi-agent Systems (MAS) are one of the most exciting research areas in Artificial Intelligence meanwhile Environmental Studies is a research area of strategic interest. Both areas can provide society with solutions for many real applications, in order to use and protect the environment. Human activities imply intervention into nature, but properly managed, these interventions can not be only ecologically sound but also favourable to the sustainable development of civilisation. The encounter between these fields is a new challenge for many researchers of both communities. This book presents a comprehensive reference of state-of-the-art efforts. Specifically, it presents current and future ways in which adaptive information technologies, techniques, protocols and architectures, such as software agent technologies and multi-agent systems, can be used to support the development of real-world agent-based systems in the area of e-Environment.




Eco-Hydrodynamic Modelling of Primary Production in Coastal Waters and Lakes Using BLOOM


Book Description

In many areas nutrient loadings to aquatic ecosystems have increased considerably as a result of population growth, industrial development and urbanisation. This has resulted in enhanced growth of phytoplankton, shifts in composition of the plankton community and changes in the structure of ecosystems, which are often considered to be objectionable. To help understanding these processes and to predict future conditions, a mathematical model, BLOOM, has been developed and applied since 1977. It simulates the biomass and composition of phytoplankton and macro algae in relation to the amount of nutrients, the under water light climate and grazing. It can be applied as a relatively simple screening tool, but also as part of advanced integrated modelling systems including additional hydrodynamic, suspended matter and habitat components. The model has been extensively validated, which means that its credibility was demonstrated systematically for certain types of applications. It has been applied as a supporting management tool to a very large number of aquatic systems worldwide: lakes, channel systems, estuaries, lagoons and coastal seas, using generic coefficients (one set for fresh water, one set for marine simulations) as much as possible. The principles of the model, its validation and a number of representative applications are described in Eco-Hydrodynamic Modelling of Primary Production in Coastal Waters and Lakes Using BLOOM.




Oceans '04 MTS/IEEE


Book Description