Earth Sciences, Geography & Environment Books

Book SynopsisThe Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is the federal agency primarily responsible for safety in the rail industry. FRA''s safety programs were last authorised in 1994; their authorisation expired in 1998. Most measures of rail safety have improved significantly since FRA''s last authorisation, including the number of grade crossing collisions and fatalities and the number of employee injuries and deaths. However, the improvements in safety measures have levelled off in recent years. Given significant projected continued increases in freight and passenger rail activity in the coming decade, there is concern that without additional efforts, some of the gain of the past decade may be lost. This book explores the issues, regulations and safety of U.S. railroads.

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Book SynopsisOver the last decade, Class I railroads have consolidated and, particularly in the past two years, have achieved high profitability. The present, mostly deregulated railway regime was designed during a period when railways were in financial peril. Some Members of Congress believe that the present, mostly deregulated regime needs to be revised to provide more balance for the interests of those rail customers who are served by only one railroad. A major point of contention is whether current railroad industry practices should be changed to provide these customers (referred to as "captive shippers") with more routing options. This book provides background on the current railroad regulatory regime and examines the major points of contention between railroads and their "captive customers."

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Book SynopsisWhile Congress has been interested in high speed rail (HSR) since the 1960s, the provision of $8 billion for intercity passenger rail projects in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, enacted in February 2009, under the Obama administration, has invigorated the prospect of high speed passenger rail transportation in the United States. This book provides an overview of high speed rail in the United States and discusses what high speed rail would encompass, describes congressional initiatives to promote HSR and looks at high speed rail in selected other countries. Also discussed is the rationale for developing HSR, cost estimates and some of the challenges expected in implementing HSR.

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Book SynopsisEach day, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) controls the take-offs, landings, and flights of over 50,000 aircrafts. To accomplish this mission safely and efficiently, the FAA must have a sufficient number of adequately trained air traffic controllers working at its air traffic control facilities. Over the next decade, the FAA will need to hire and train nearly 17,000 controllers to replace over 15,000 current controllers, most of whom will be retiring. This massive hiring effort will occur as the FAA begins to implement the next generation air transportation system (NextGen), which will integrate new technologies and procedures into air traffic operations and fundamentally change the role of air traffic controllers from controlling individual aircraft to managing air traffic flow. This book explores the current air traffic safety and control issues facing the Federal Aviation Administration today.

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Book SynopsisRural development researchers and practitioners have argued in recent years that investing in a broad range of assets is a critical component of long-term economic growth in rural communities. Wealth can contribute to people''s welfare in many ways beyond increasing income, such as providing economic resilience in adverse circumstances or enhancing one''s power and prestige. Understanding the distribution of wealth across and within rural communities is critical. Additionally, population loss is a longstanding concern among rural development practitioners. Nearly half of today''s non-metropolitan counties lost population through net out-migration over the past 20 years. Population loss tends to increase tax burdens, reduce property values, and reduce both the demand for and supply of local goods and services. Rural out-migration is also troublesome because it is highly concentrated among young adults, especially those possessing or acquiring education and skills. This book examines rural America, with a focus on rural wealth, out-migration, population and transportation issues.

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Book SynopsisAirlines have imposed a variety of fees on a range of optional services, such as checked and carry-on bags; meals; blankets; early boarding; and seat selection. According to airline officials, the fees are based on a combination of factors, including the cost of providing the service, competition, and consumer demand. The fees have supplemented airline revenues, providing at least $3 billion in 2009. However, information about the fees is not fully disclosed through all ticket distribution channels used by consumers, making it difficult for them to compare the total cost of flights offered by different carriers. This book addresses the nature and relationship to cost and disclosure of airline fees; the potential impact of such fees on the Airport and Airway Trust Fund; checked and mishandled baggage issues; and the process, if any, for refunding government-imposed taxes and fees when passengers do not use non-refundable tickets.

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Book SynopsisAquifers are typically saturated regions of the subsurface that produce an economically feasible quantity of water to a well or spring (eg: sand and gravel or fractured bedrock often make good aquifer materials). Most land areas on Earth have some form of aquifer underlying them, sometimes at significant depths. In this book, the authors present current research in the study of the types, impacts and conservation of aquifers. Topics discussed include the effect of aquifer heterogeneity; hydrochemical features of groundwater from aquifer systems occurring in Sao Paulo, Brazil; aquifer system characterisation using integrated geophysical methods; pollution risk of groundwater in a semi-arid region by wastewater rejections; a numerical study of aquifer thermal energy storage systems influenced by regional groundwater flow and fluid flow and contaminant propagation in fractured rock aquifers.

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Book SynopsisThe federal government collect revenues from taxes paid by highway users, mostly from those levied on gasoline and diesel fuel, and credits them to the Highway Trust Fund. Those revenues and others are subsequently used for federal spending on highways and transit. In fiscal year 2010, the trust fund''s revenues totalled about $35 billion. Some policymakers and transportation analysts have expressed interest in developing new sources of funding. This book analyses the effects of alternative approaches to funding highways and compares the effects of current fuel taxes and of possible new taxes on the number of miles highway users drive.

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Book SynopsisAs concentrations of greenhouse gases and heat-trapping particles increase in the atmosphere, it is becoming ever more urgent to understand and prepare for the resulting changes in climate. These changes include not only temperature increases but also shifts in precipitation patterns, storm tracks, and other parameters. Climate change affects human health, water and energy supplies, food production, coastal communities, ecosystems, and many other aspects of society and the environment. This book presents an overview of the national strategy and progress that the federal government is taking in adapting to climate change with a focus on the progress report of the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force.

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Book SynopsisThe Deepwater Horizon oil spill was one of the worst man-made environmental disasters our country has ever experienced. The oil spill dramatically affected the lives, jobs, and futures of millions of Gulf Coast residents. The Gulf of Mexico is a natural resource of vital importance which provides immeasurable benefits and services to citizens throughout the United States. The Gulf is also critical to nation-wide commerce. This book examines the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Strategy and Long Term Recovery Plan with a focus on facilitating long-term vitality through restoring and conserving habitat, restoring water quality, replenishing and protecting living coastal and marine resources, and on making the Gulf of Mexico a healthier and more resilient place for the communities that depend on its wealth of resources.

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Book SynopsisFinding cost-effective options to mitigate recurrent and non-recurrent congestion on freeway facilities is one of the most significant challenges State and regional transportation organisations face. Several countries are implementing managed motorway concepts to move higher traffic volumes on their highways more efficiently without acquiring more land and constructing large-scale infrastructure projects. This book explores managed motorway concepts and traffic optimisation technologies being implemented in Europe and Singapore.

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Book SynopsisThis book presents and discusses research in the field of earth science, with a focus on the utility of schist in rock art studies; fossil records of angiosperm origin; crater detection algorithms; crater distributions in volcanoes controlled by magmatic and tectonic conditions; and the mineralogical compositions of gneisses and schists.

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Book SynopsisAlmost 30 years ago, Congress addressed increasing concerns regarding the management of the nation''s growing stockpile of nuclear waste by calling for the federal collection of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level nuclear waste (HLW) for safe, permanent disposal. Passed in 1982, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) was an effort to establish an explicit statutory basis for the Department of Energy (DOE) to dispose of the nation''s most highly radioactive nuclear waste. The NWPA requires DOE to remove spent nuclear fuel from commercial nuclear power plants, in exchange for a fee, and transport it to a permanent geologic repository or an interim storage facility before permanent disposal. This book explores the effects of a termination of the Yucca Mountain Repository Program with a focus on the need for a comprehensive DOE strategy that supports environmental cleanup decisions.

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Book SynopsisWeapons of mass destruction (WMD), especially in the hands of radical states and terrorists, represent a major threat to U.S. national security interests. Multilateral regimes were established to restrict trade in nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and missile technologies, and to monitor their civil applications. Congress may consider the efficacy of these regimes in considering the potential renewal of the Export Administration Act, as well as other proliferation-specific legislation in the 111th Congress. This book provides background and current status information on nuclear non-proliferation regimes which encompass several treaties, extensive multilateral and bilateral diplomatic agreements, multilateral organisations and domestic agencies, and the domestic laws of participating countries.

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Book SynopsisIn this book, the authors examine Kenya''s current political, social and environmental issues. Topics discussed in this compilation include the mitigation and impacts of forest degradation in Kenya; fish biomanipulation of Kenyan lakes; the political and social dimensions associated with biotechnology regulation in Kenya; the developmentally disabled population in Kenya; status of Kenya''s environmental management and protection challenges; and economic development and food security in Kenya.

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Book SynopsisIn this book, the authors present current research in the study of the strategies, management and impacts of urban development. Topics included in this compilation include public housing strategies in Ogun State, Nigeria; the major sport events strategy environment in Shanghai, China; strategic environmental assessment of two urban plans in Italy and the United Kingdom; assessing the growth pole phenomenon in Venezuela; geoprocessing technologies in the evaluation of sustainable urban development in Parnamirim, Brazil; and the globalisation and urban development of Harlem in New York City, USA.

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Book SynopsisEven with all the advances in technologies, humans continue to suffer from the consequences of flooding century after century. This book covers two pertinent topics: flood risk and flood management. Experts world-wide share their knowledge on these topics and highlight solutions to the flooding problems in the 21st century. Topics discussed in this book include spatial explicit multi-criteria flood risk; identification of social obstacles in solving flooding problems in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina; participative planning processes in flood risk management and in integrated watershed management; new economic instrument for integrated management of muddy flow risks; flood hazard mapping using hydrodynamic modelling approach; and simulation of flood reduction by means of complex structural measures using hydrodynamic modelling and aerial photogrammetry-derived digital surface model (DSM).

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Book SynopsisIn this book, the authors present topical research in the study of the behaviour, forecasting and distribution of rainfall variability. Topics discussed in this compilation include coping strategies in relation to local rainfall variability in Tanzania; rainfall variability and changes in Bangladesh; non-parametric methods for forecasting time series from cumulative monthly rainfall; long term and interannual rainfall variability in the Argentinean Chaco plain region; study of wet scavenging of atmospheric aerosols using decay products in rainwater; spatial variability of rain and its erosivity in a tropical semi-arid area in Kenya; potential of the piezoelectric transducer for direct rainfall kinetic energy measurement and erosivity evaluation; climatology and rainfall in north-east Brazil; and the Kalman Filtering approach in the calibration of radar rainfall data.

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Book SynopsisIn this book, the authors gather and present topical research in the study of the occurrence, mineralogy and origin of granite. Topics discussed in this compilation include the occurrence of Th, U, Y, Zr and REE-bearing accessory minerals in granites and their petrogenetic significance; contrasting petrological attributes of granites in Nigeria; non-linear acoustic phenomena in granite; experimental methods of determining thermal properties of granite; and the mineralogy of the rare-earth element-bearing granites from Central India.

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Book SynopsisThis book examines select types of considerations in the federal control of air emissions. Topics discussed in this compilation include controlling air emissions from outer continental shelf sources; the EPA''s Boiler MACT standards to control emissions of hazardous air pollutants; tall smokestacks and their contribution to interstate transport of air pollution; the revisions and associated issues relating to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter; and a summary of the Clean Air Act and its major requirements.

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Book SynopsisEarthquakes represent a natural phenomenon that throughout human history has caused destruction of man-made structures and dramatic loss of life. The study of earthquake phenomena has seen a rapid growth over the past few decades and has contributed significantly towards mitigating the effects of large earthquakes. This edited volume consists of a collection of ten chapters that address three topical areas related to earthquake research. The contributed chapters in this volume will be of use to a range of professionals such as Earth scientists, engineers and civil protection officers.

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Book SynopsisThe National Weather Service (NWS) plays a significant role in providing weather services to the aviation community. NWS''s weather products and data are vital components of the Federal Aviation Administration''s (FAA) air traffic control system, providing weather information to local, regional, and national air traffic management, navigation, and surveillance systems. NWS aviation weather products include forecasts and warnings of meteorological conditions that could affect air traffic, including thunderstorms, air turbulence, and icing. This book examines options for enhancing the efficiency of aviation weather services provided at en-route centres, with a focus on meteorological services and winter safety.

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Book SynopsisThe impacts of an oil spill depend on the size of the spill, the rate of the spill, the type of oil spilled, and the location of the spill. Depending on timing and location, even a relatively minor spill can cause significant harm to individual organisms and entire populations. Oil spills can cause impacts over a range of time scales, from days to years, or even decades for certain spills. On 20 April 2010, an explosion occurred at the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in 11 fatalities. The incident led to approximately 206 million gallons of oil released, before it was contained on 15 July. The 2010 Gulf oil spill generated considerable interest in oil spill governance issues. This book provides background information regarding oil spills in the U.S. coastal waters and identifies the legal authorities governing oil spill prevention, response, and clean-up.

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Book SynopsisRadioactive wastes are wastes that contain radioactive material and are usually by-products of nuclear power generation and other applications of nuclear fission or nuclear technology, such as research and medicine. Radioactive waste is hazardous to human health and the environment and is regulated by government agencies. This book presents topical research in the study of the sources, types and management of radioactive waste, including DMNR real-time online monitoring of short and medium term radioactive waste; radioactive waste from research reactor operation and decommissioning; treatment of high-level radioactive waste arising from pyroprocessing and its waste form and highly radioactive waste disposal.

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Book SynopsisBeach erosion is a chronic problem along many open-ocean shores of the United States. As coastal populations continue to grow and community infrastructures are threatened by erosion, there is increased demand for accurate information regarding past and present trends and rates of shoreline movement. There is also a need for a comprehensive analysis of shoreline movement that is consistent from one coastal region to another. To meet this national need, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has conducted an analysis of historical shoreline changes along open-ocean sandy shores of the conterminous United States and parts of Hawaii, Alaska and the Great Lakes. This book explores the development of a standard and repeatable method for mapping and analysing shoreline movement so that periodic, systematic, internally consistent updates regarding coastal erosion and land loss can be made nationally.

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