Beach Management


Book Description

Whether a sunbathing beach in the Mediterranean, a surf beach in Australia, a conservation area in the UK or a wild section of wind-and wave-swept dunes on the Oregon coast, beaches are one of the most widely loved and heavily used and abused areas in the world. Competing social or recreational, economic and conservation uses and the needs of many users make beach management particularly challenging but vitally important. This comprehensive book provides full coverage of beach management principles and practice, with an emphasis on needs-based management. The book comprises two sections. Part one covers beach management principles and theory and addresses practical management tools and guidelines including how to determine the best management strategy for different beach types (linear, pocket, resort, urban, village, rural and remote) as well as how to include user preferences and priorities in effective management plans. The second section provides a wealth of case studies of best and worst practice authored by a cast of international beach management experts from the UK, USA, New Zealand, the Mediterranean, and Latin America. The emphasis throughout the book is on optimizing economic, social and environmental outcomes and reconciling competing needs in management planning for beach area.




The Nile River


Book Description

This volume offers up-to-date and comprehensive information on various aspects of the Nile River, which is the main source of water in Egypt. The respective chapters examine the Nile journey; the Aswan High Dam Reservoir; morphology and sediment quality of the Nile; threats to biodiversity; fish and fisheries; rain-fed agriculture, rainfall data, and fluctuations in rainfall; the impact of climate change; and hydropolitics and legal aspects. The book closes with a concise summary of the conclusions and recommendations provided in the preceding chapters, and discusses the requirements for the sustainable development of the Nile River and potential ways to transform conflicts into cooperation. Accordingly, it offers an invaluable source of information for researchers, graduate students and policymakers alike.




Coastal Hazards


Book Description

This book covers the gamut of coastal hazards that result from short-term low-frequency events and have high-magnitude and far-reaching impacts on coastal zones the world over. Much of the world’s population now lives in low-lying coastal zones that are inherently vulnerable to natural hazards such as flooding from hurricanes, tropical storms and northeastern storm surges; shoreline (beach and dune) erosion; cliff and bluff failures; and saltwater intrusion in coastal aquifers used for drinking water supplies. In addition to the usual range of hydrometeorological disasters in coastal zones, this book covers tsunami impacts and warning systems as well as global perspectives of sea-level rise impacts and human perceptions of potential vulnerabilities resulting from rip currents that cause many drownings each year on beaches. Today, the use of numerical models that help predict vulnerabilities and provide a basis for shore protection measures is important in modern scientific and engineering systems. Final considerations focus on human actions in the form of the urbanization and industrialization of the coast, shore protection measures, and indicate how environmental degradation around coastal conurbations exacerbates the potential for unwanted impacts. Strategies for environmental management in coastal zones, from low-lying wetlands to high cliffs and rocky promontories, are highlighted as a means of living in harmony with Nature and not trying to conquer it.




Coastal and Marine Geospatial Technologies


Book Description

In 2005 the CoastGIS symposium and exhibition was once again held in Aberdeen, Scotland, in the UK, the second time that we have had the privilege host this international event in the city of Aberdeen. This was the 6th International S- posium Computer Mapping and GIS for Coastal Zone Management, a collabo- tion between the International Cartographic Association’s (ICA) Commission on Marine Cartography, and the International Geographical Union’s (IGU) Comm- sion on Coastal Systems. The theme for 2005 was: De ning and Building a Marine and Coastal Spatial Data Infrastructure. As a major coastal event, the CoastGIS series of conferences always attracts an international audience of coastal researchers, managers, and pr- titioners who use one or more of the geospatial technologies (e. g. GIS, GPS, digital mapping, remote sensing, databases, and the Internet) in their work. The CoastGIS series is fundamentally an international event which over the years has gained a strong following attracting delegates from around the globe. Hosted by the University of Aberdeen – at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC) – once again CoastGIS 2005 provided an opportunity to communicate the results of a wide range of innovative scienti c research into coastal and marine applications of the geospatial technologies, including remote sensing, Geograp- cal Information Systems (GIS), Global Positioning Systems (GPS), databases, data models, the Internet and online mapping systems.




The Nile Delta


Book Description

This volume presents up-to-date research on the Nile Delta and discusses the challenges involved in and opportunities for improving its productivity. The topics addressed include: groundwater in the Nile Delta and its quality; the mapping of groundwater with remote sensing technologies; land degradation; salt-affected soils; on-farm irrigation; the remediation of agricultural drainage water for sustainable reuse; the use of satellite images to estimate the bathymetry of coastal lakes; the assessment of the Nile Delta coastal zone and its management; its sediment and water quality; and fishing ports, fish and fisheries. The book closes with a review of the latest findings on the Nile Delta and offers conclusions and recommendations for future research to fulfill the requirements for sustainable development. It provides a unique and topical resource for researchers, graduate students and policymakers alike.




Coastal Structures 2007 (In 2 Volumes) - Proceedings Of The 5th Coastal Structures International Conference, Cst07


Book Description

Coastal Structures are undergoing renewal and innovation to better serve the needs of our society - from environmental co-existence and habitat enhancement to risk management. The CSt07 conference is the fifth in a series that highlight significant progress in the innovation, design and construction of coastal structures. Proceedings of these CSt conferences have yielded milestone works, frequently cited references in the field.This two-volume proceedings contains the final revised version of 178 papers that have been reviewed, selected and discussed at the CSt07 conference. The volume brings to readers a comprehensive range of contributions, covering all aspects of research, design, construction, and maintenance of coastal structures including new up-to-date interesting topics, such as tsunamis and storm surge defences, climate change, piled coastal structures as well as ecological issues, a new addition to the traditional program.




Salt Intrusion, Tides and Mixing in Multi-Channel Estuaries


Book Description

Multi-channel estuaries, such as the Mekong Delta in Vietnam and the Scheldt in the Netherlands, have characteristics of both the river and the sea, forming an environment influenced by tidal movements of the sea and freshwater flow of the river. This study discusses a predictive analytical approach for salinity intrusion and discharge estimate in multi-channel estuaries. The new approach agrees with 1-D hydrodynamic models and observations, indicating its applicability in practice. It has successfully developed a new theory and a new equation to quantify tidal pumping due to ebb-flood channel residual circulation and the related salt dispersion.




Egyptian Coastal Lakes and Wetlands: Part I


Book Description

Egyptian coastal lakes and wetlands are among the most productive wetland ecosystems in the world. This volume explores their current status and how it can be maintained and improved. It describes the five Northern coastal lakes, their origin, physical and chemical properties and current development activities, and discusses the challenges facing these lakes, such as shrinking, pollution, degradation, and adaptive management. Further topics include hydrodynamics and modeling techniques, as well as strategies for the sustainable development of these valuable resources. The book closes with a concise summary of the conclusions and recommendations presented in the chapters. As such, it offers an invaluable resource for the academic community and postgraduate students, as well as for environmental managers and policymakers.




Self Organizing Maps


Book Description

Kohonen Self Organizing Maps (SOM) has found application in practical all fields, especially those which tend to handle high dimensional data. SOM can be used for the clustering of genes in the medical field, the study of multi-media and web based contents and in the transportation industry, just to name a few. Apart from the aforementioned areas this book also covers the study of complex data found in meteorological and remotely sensed images acquired using satellite sensing. Data management and envelopment analysis has also been covered. The application of SOM in mechanical and manufacturing engineering forms another important area of this book. The final section of this book, addresses the design and application of novel variants of SOM algorithms.




Integrated Water Resources Management in the Mediterranean Region


Book Description

This book puts great emphasis on the importance of Integrated Water Resources Management IWRM as the way forward towards food, water, and energy security. It offers better ways and means of managing the limited water resources; using water more efficiently; adopting new policies in order to cope with climate change and drought; increase water supply through the use of non conventional water resources, especially waste water; inducing stakeholders participation and information exchange and raise public awareness to the value of water. It is an important book for all those involved in all aspects of water resources and contains valuable information for scientists, researchers, farmers, extension services and students.