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Island Futures
by Daniel Niles Godfrey BaldacchinoIslands face one of the most pressing issues of our time: how to balance ecological integrity with economic development and collective quality of life, including the need for social and conservation space. Islands are sites of rich and varied human and ecological diversity, but they are also often characterized by narrow resource bases and dependency on links to the outside world, and by their limited ability to determine the actual character of those links. This volume reviews the challenges of island development and conservation in the Asia-Pacific region. With emphasis on nature reserves and UNESCO World Heritage sites, chapters describe the benefits, barriers, and potential pitfalls in preserving such sites, managing biota, and attracting and controlling tourism. The book also provides a provocative challenge to move beyond the typical concerns of "sustainability" to the more holistic concept of "futurability", or "future potential" for convivial human-environmental interactions.
Island Geographies: Essays and conversations (Routledge Studies in Human Geography)
by Elaine StratfordIslands and their environs – aerial, terrestrial, aquatic – may be understood as intensifiers, their particular and distinctive geographies enabling concentrated study of many kinds of challenges and opportunities. This edited collection brings together several emerging and established academics with expertise in island studies, as well as interest in geopolitics, governance, adaptive capacity, justice, equity, self-determination, environmental care and protection, and land management. Individually and together, their perspectives provide theoretically useful, empirically grounded evidence of the contributions human geographers can make to knowledge and understanding of island places and the place of islands. Nine chapters engage with the themes, issues, and ideas that characterise the borderlands between island studies and human geography and allied fields, and are contributed by authors for whom matters of place, space, environment, and scale are key, and for whom islands hold an abiding fascination. The penultimate chapter is rather more experimental – a conversation among these authors and the editor – while the last chapter offers timely reflections upon island geographies’ past and future, penned by the first named professor of island geography, Stephen Royle.
Island in a Storm: A Rising Sea, a Vanishing Coast, and a Nineteenth-Century Disaster that Warns of a Warmer World
by Abby SallengerIn the mid-nineteenth century, the Isle Derniere was emerging as an exclusive summer resort on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. About one hundred miles from New Orleans, it attracted the most prominent members of antebellum Louisiana society. Hundreds of affluent planters and merchants retreated to the island, not just for its pleasures, but also to escape the scourge of yellow fever epidemics that ravaged cities like New Orleans each summer. Then, without warning, on August 10, 1856, a ferocious hurricane swept across the island, killing half of its four hundred inhabitants. The Isle Derniere was left barren, except for a strange forest standing in the surf. Drawing from a rich trove of newspaper articles, letters, diaries, and interviews, Abby Sallenger re-creates the chain of events that led a group of people to seek refuge on an exposed strip of land in the sea. He chronicles the dramatic course of the hurricane itself, as seen through the eyes of a diverse cast of real-life characters, including eighteen-year-old Emma Mille, her French father, a steamboat captain, a pastor, and a slave. Island in a Stormis the story of their bravery and cowardice, luck and misfortune, life and death. At the heart of this narrative lies another, equally compelling, story. Sallenger, an oceanographer, traces the insidious link between the environmental deaths across the Mississippi delta and the human deaths that occurred when the storm swept ashore. The result is a fascinating portrait of a coast in perpetual motion and a rising sea that made the Isle Derniere particularly vulnerable to a great hurricane. Ultimately,Island in a Stormis a cautionary environmental tale. Global warming is spreading the unique hazards of river deltas to coasts around the world, and the signs of what happened to Isle Derniere may soon be appearing on other islands. The account of this nineteenth-century disaster and its aftermath offers a vital historical lesson as we continue to develop precarious coastal locations whose vulnerability will only grow as sea levels rise across the globe.
Island Life: Or, the Phenomena and Causes of Insular Faunas and Floras, Including a Revision and Attempted Solution of the Problem of Geological Climates
by Alfred Russel WallaceAlfred Russel Wallace is best known as the codiscoverer, with Charles Darwin, of natural selection, but he was also historyOCOs foremost tropical naturalist and the father of biogeography, the modern study of the geographical basis of biological diversity. "Island Life" has long been considered one of his most important works. In it he extends studies on the influence of the glacial epochs on organismal distribution patterns and the characteristics of island biogeography, a topic as vibrant and actively studied today as it was in 1880. The book includes historyOCOs first theory of continental glaciation based on a combination of geographical and astronomical causes, a discussion of island classification, and a survey of worldwide island faunas and floras. aaaaaaaaaaaThe year 2013 will mark the centennial of WallaceOCOs death and will see a host of symposia and reflections on WallaceOCOs contributions to evolution and natural history. This reissue of the first edition of "Island Life," with a foreword by David Quammen and an extensive commentary by Lawrence R. Heaney, who has spent over three decades studying island biogeography in Southeast Asia, makes this essential and foundational reference available and accessible once again. "
Island of Grass
by Ellen E. WohlIsland of Grass tells the story of the Cathy Fromme Prairie Natural Area, a 240-acre preserve surrounded by housing developments in Fort Collins, Colorado. This small grassland is a remnant of the once-vast prairies of the West that early European explorers and settlers described as seas of grass.Agricultural land use and urban expansion during the past two centuries have fragmented and altered these prairies. All that remains today are small islands. These remnants cannot support some of the larger animals that once roamed the prairie, but they continue to support a diverse array of plants and animals and can still teach us much about grassland ecology. Through her examinations of daily changes during walks across the Fromme Prairie over the course of a year, Ellen Wohl explores one of the more neglected ecosystems in North America, describing the geology, soils, climate, ecology, and natural history of the area, as well as providing glimpses into the lives of the plants, animals, and microbes inhabiting this landscape. Although small in size, pieces of preserved shortgrass prairie like the Cathy Fromme Prairie Natural Area are rich, diverse, and accessible natural environments deserving of awareness, appreciation, and protection. Anyone concerned with the ecology and conservation of grasslands in general, the ecology and conservation of open space in urban areas, or the natural history of Colorado will be interested in this book.
Island of Grass
by Ellen E. WohlIsland of Grass tells the story of the Cathy Fromme Prairie Natural Area, a 240-acre preserve surrounded by housing developments in Fort Collins, Colorado. This small grassland is a remnant of the once-vast prairies of the West that early European explorers and settlers described as seas of grass. Agricultural land use and urban expansion during the past two centuries have fragmented and altered these prairies. All that remains today are small islands. These remnants cannot support some of the larger animals that once roamed the prairie, but they continue to support a diverse array of plants and animals and can still teach us much about grassland ecology. Through her examinations of daily changes during walks across the Fromme Prairie over the course of a year, Ellen Wohl explores one of the more neglected ecosystems in North America, describing the geology, soils, climate, ecology, and natural history of the area, as well as providing glimpses into the lives of the plants, animals, and microbes inhabiting this landscape. Although small in size, pieces of preserved shortgrass prairie like the Cathy Fromme Prairie Natural Area are rich, diverse, and accessible natural environments deserving of awareness, appreciation, and protection. Anyone concerned with the ecology and conservation of grasslands in general, the ecology and conservation of open space in urban areas, or the natural history of Colorado will be interested in this book.
Island on Fire: The Extraordinary Story of a Forgotten Volcano That Changed the World
by Jeff Kanipe Alexandra WitzeCan a single explosion change the course of history? An eruption at the end of the 18th century led to years of climate change while igniting famine, disease, even perhaps revolution. Laki is one of Iceland's most fearsome volcanoes. Laki is Iceland's largest volcano. Its eruption in 1783 is one of history's great, untold natural disasters. Spewing out sun-blocking ash and then a poisonous fog for eight long months, the effects of the eruption lingered across the world for years. It caused the deaths of people as far away as the Nile and created catastrophic conditions throughout Europe. Island on Fire is the story not only of a single eruption but the people whose lives it changed, the dawn of modern volcanology, as well as the history--and potential--of other super-volcanoes like Laki around the world. And perhaps most pertinently, in the wake of the eruption of another Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajökull, which closed European air space in 2010, acclaimed science writers Witze and Kanipe look at what might transpire should Laki erupt again in our lifetime.
Islandology: Geography, Rhetoric, Politics
by Marc ShellIslandology is a fast-paced, fact-filled comparative essay in critical topography and cultural geography that cuts across different cultures and argues for a world of islands. The book explores the logical consequences of geographic place for the development of philosophy and the study of limits (Greece) and for the establishment of North Sea democracy (England and Iceland), explains the location of military hot-spots and great cities (Hormuz and Manhattan), and sheds new light on dozens of world-historical productions whose motivating islandic aspect has not heretofore been recognized (Shakespeare's Hamlet and Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung). Written by Shell in view of the melting of the world's great ice islands, Islandology shows not only new ways that we think about islands but also why and how we think by means of them.
Islands (Earth's Landforms)
by Lisa J. AmstutzAll islands are surrounded by water, but there is more to these important landforms than meets the eye! Volcanoes formed some islands. Corals formed others. Some are old while others are new. Give beginning readers all the need-to-know information about islands, including their characteristics, how they form, and where they can be found around the world.
Islands: Great Lakes Stories
by Gerry VolgenauMost people are stunned to learn that there are some 35,000 islands in the Great Lakes, ranging from a large stone with its top above water level to the world's largest freshwater island, Manitoulin. Islands: Great Lakes' Stories focuses on 18 of these islands with their histories and personalities.
Islands and Cultures: How Pacific Islands Provide Paths toward Sustainability
by Kamanamaikalani Beamer Te Maire Tau Peter M. VitousekA uniquely collaborative analysis of human adaptation to the Polynesian islands, told through oral histories, biophysical evidence, and historical records Humans began to settle the area we know as Polynesia between 3,000 and 800 years ago, bringing with them material culture, including plants and animals, and ideas about societal organization, and then adapting to the specific biophysical features of the islands they discovered. The authors of this book analyze the formation of their human-environment systems using oral histories, biophysical evidence, and historical records, arguing that the Polynesian islands can serve as useful models for how human societies in general interact with their environments. The islands&’ clearly defined (and relatively isolated) environments, comparatively recent discovery by humans, and innovative and dynamic societies allow for insights not available when studying other cultures. Kamana Beamer, Te Maire Tau, and Peter Vitousek have collaborated with a dozen other scholars, many of them Polynesian, to show how these cultures adapted to novel environments in the past and how we can draw insights for global sustainability today.
Islands Apart: A Year on the Edge of Civilization
by Ken McalpineAuthor Ken McAlpine stands in his front yard one night in Ventura, California, trying to see the stars. His view is diminished by light pollution, making it hard to see much of anything in the sky. Our fast-paced, technologically advanced society, he concludes, is not conducive to stargazing or soul-searching. Taking a page from Thoreau's Walden, he decides to get away from the clamor of everyday life, journeying alone through California's Channel Islands National Park. There, he imagines, he might be able to "breathe slowly and think clearly, to examine how we live and what we live for."In between his week-long solo trips through these pristine islands, McAlpine reaches out to try to better understand his fellow man: he eats lunch with the homeless in Beverly Hills, sits in the desert with a 98-year-old Benedictine monk, and befriends a sidewalk celebrity impersonator in Hollywood. What he discovers about himself and the world we live in will inspire anyone who wishes they had the time to slow down and notice the wonders of nature and humanity.To learn more about the author, visit his website at www.kenmcalpine.com.
Islands at the Edge of Time: A Journey To America's Barrier Islands
by Gunnar HansenIslands at the Edge of Time is the story of one man's captivating journey along America's barrier islands from Boca Chica, Texas, to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Weaving in and out along the coastlines of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, and North Carolina, poet and naturalist Gunnar Hansen perceives barrier islands not as sand but as expressions in time of the processes that make them. Along the way he treats the reader to absorbing accounts of those who call these islands home -- their lives often lived in isolation and at the extreme edges of existence -- and examines how the culture and history of these people are shaped by the physical character of their surroundings.
Islands in Deep Time: Ancient Landscapes Lost and Found
by Markes E. JohnsonHilltops surrounded by farmland in southern Wisconsin turn out to be the eroded remnants of an ancient archipelago. An island in the Yellow Sea where Korean tourists flock is the peak of a flooded mountain rising from a drowned continental shelf. From a mountaintop shrine to Genghis Khan in Inner Mongolia, the silhouette of a Silurian seascape can be spotted. On the shores of Hudson Bay, where polar bears patrol the Arctic tundra, a close look unveils what was a tropical coastline encrusted with corals nearly 450 million years ago.The geologist Markes E. Johnson invites readers on a journey through deep time to find the traces of ancient islands. He visits a dozen sites around the globe, looking above and below today’s waterlines to uncover how landscapes of the past are preserved in the present. Going back 500 million years to the Cambrian through the Pleistocene 125,000 years ago, this book reconstructs how “paleoislands” appeared under different climatic conditions and environmental constraints. Finding vestiges of prehistoric ecologies, Johnson emphasizes the complexity of island ecosystems and the importance of preserving these significant sites.Inviting and accessible, this book is a travelogue that takes readers through time as well as space. Islands in Deep Time shares the adventure of exploring striking locations across geologic eras and issues a passionate call for their conservation.
Islands in the Sand: Ecology and Management of Nearshore Hardbottom Reefs of East Florida
by Daniel A. McCarthy Kenyon C. Lindeman David B. Snyder Karen G. Holloway-AdkinsNearshore hardbottom reefs of Florida’s east coast are used by over 1100 species of fishes, invertebrates, algae, and sea turtles. These rocky reefs support reproduction, settlement, and habitat use, and are energy sources and sinks. They are also buried by beach renourishment projects in which artificial reefs are used for mitigation. This comprehensive book is for research scientists and agency personnel, yet accessible to interested laypersons including beachfront residents and water-users.An unprecedented collection of research information and often stunning color photographs are assembled including over 1250 technical citations and 127 figures. These shallow reefs are part of a mosaic of coastal shelf habitats including estuarine seagrasses and mangroves, and offshore coral reefs.These hardbottom habitats are federally designated as Essential Fish Habitats - Habitats of Particular Concern and are important feeding areas for federally-protected sea turtles. Organismal and assemblage responses to natural and man-made disturbances, including climate change, are examined in the context of new research and management opportunities for east Florida’s islands in the sand.
Islas Galápagos (Galapagos)
by DKTortugas gigantes, lobos marinos, fragatas, flores paradisíacas y arrecifes…Las Islas Galápagos no se conocen como Islas Encantadas porque sí. Se ganaron este nombre por su grandiosa biodiversidad de flora y fauna, que atrajo biólogos de todo el mundo desde hace siglos.Con un enfoque educativo y diseño atractivo, esta guía para niños es un recorrido ilustrado y fotográfico de la flora, fauna y geología de uno de los lugares más singulares y ricos en naturaleza del planeta.- Hermosas ilustraciones y fascinantes fotografías acompañadas de texto escrito por expertos.- Mapa de las islas y explicaciones sobre su formación, para que los niños las identifiquen fácilmente y aprendan su origen.- Información detallada de las especies (terrestres y marinas) que las habitan y de la geología del archipiélago.- También incluye una sección en la que se explican los esfuerzos por su conservación.-Con notas sobre cómo estas islas fueron fuente de inspiración para Darwin y su teoría de la evolución.Especies endémicas, animales increíbles, clima, evolución, migración y mucho más. Descúbrelo todo de este lugar único en nuestra planeta y de su visitante más famoso: Charles Darwin. Un libro perfecto para que los niños aprendan sobre geología y biología junto a padres y profesores.
ISO 14001: Case Studies and Practical Experiences
by Ruth HillaryISO 14001 is the star standard among the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 14000 series of environmental management standards. It has seen spectacular growth since its launch in September 1996. Worldwide registrations are set to pass the 20,000 mark in 2000 with 20 times that number reportedly waiting in the wings.In 30 explicit but concise chapters, ISO 14001: Case Studies and Practical Experiences seeks to unravel the truth behind what can and cannot be achieved by ISO 14001 and aims to provide readers with enough knowledge to make choices about its relevance and importance not only to their worlds but also to society. Written by leading practitioners, certifiers, consultants, government and academics, the book examines both the real benefits and the shortcomings organizations have experienced with ISO 14001. We learn from both.Far more ambitious than an implementation guide, the book will provide those readers struggling with the standard first-hand experiences of the real issues they will face in implementing their EMS and, just as importantly, what certifiers look for when they visit firms. ISO 14001: Case Studies and Practical Experiences is a warts-and-all expose of ISO 14001: the issues tackled; the problems faced and overcome; and, above all, the astonishing flexibility of its uses and the diversity of its users.This important book is a must for businesses, researchers, consultants, government officials, students, NGOs and support organisations who want more than just another how-to-do-it manual; but rather the truth about how ISO 14001 is really working on the ground.
ISO 26000: The Business Guide to the New Standard on Social Responsibility (Csr, Sustainability, Ethics And Governance Ser.)
by Lars Moratis Timo CochiusOver the last ten years, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has grown from being criticised as a management fad to being endorsed as good business practice by the majority of the world's leading companies. It has also become ever more complex; and the majority of companies are now in need of clarity and guidance to actively engage with CSR in practice, to develop strategies that reflect the unique context in which each company operates and to embed CSR within their values. ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, began developing an International Standard providing guidelines for social responsibility (SR) in 2005. This long-awaited guidance standard was finally published in November, 2010 as ISO 26000. Developed by stakeholders from industry, government, labour, consumers, non-governmental organizations and others, ISO 26000 will almost certainly become the single most authoritative worldwide standard for SR. In only a few years' time, many thousands of organizations around the world are likely to be using ISO 26000 as a foundation for their SR policies. ISO 26000 is voluntary, and includes no specific requirements; therefore it is not a certification standard. Nonetheless, business users in particular are anxious to measure against the new ISO guideline their current efforts at implementing SR issues within their overall business strategy. Furthermore, many organizations have indicated that they may reformulate current strategies or develop new initiatives based on the content of ISO 26000. This book, written by international experts who have closely followed the development of ISO 26000, is the first to provide potential users with a comprehensive roadmap to the new standard and a compass to identify where they stand in relation to it now. ISO 26000 defines all of the key terminology of SR, provides advice about the ways in which organizations can identify their social responsibilities and how SR can be integrated not only into companies, but into all types of organizations. It is not another code or norm, but an overarching blueprint for social responsibility. This book covers all the key content of ISO 26000, examining the development of the standard, the topics covered and how key themes such as stakeholders are dealt with. It is rich in tools and benchmarking exercises, illustrative material, case examples, and help for companies looking to base their CSR policy on ISO 26000. It also contains an overview of the actions and expectations of organizations that wish to work in accordance with ISO 26000. Timely, detailed and practical, ISO 26000: The Business Guide to the New Standard on Social Responsibility will be an essential resource for the thousands of organizations that need an expert view on how the new standard works, where they stand in relation to it, and how they can work towards developing their CSR efforts in line with its content.
ISO 26000 - A Standardized View on Corporate Social Responsibility: Practices, Cases and Controversies (CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance)
by Samuel O. Idowu Catalina Sitnikov Lars MoratisThis book provides a comprehensive and detailed introduction to the ISO 26000 standard for social responsibility (SR) in businesses and corporations. In addition to discussing the standard’s focus on various stakeholders and seven core topics, the book underscores its key aspects and most debatable issues, with a focus on its connection to sustainable business practices. It presents numerous cases and practical examples of the ISO 26000’s implementation and discusses the outcomes and lessons learned, in terms of the extent to which organizations can envision practicing CSR in ways that fit their activities, stakeholders and environment. Lately, the ISO 26000 has proved to offer an interesting and important approach to the standardization of (corporate) social responsibility. Approached and perceived as a voluntary standard that does not include any specific requirements, determining the best way to implement and work with it involved a considerable amount of experimentation. This book showcases the current state of application and discusses how different countries have developed their own specific versions of the standard, which organizations can use to certify their SR processes.
ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and New Management Standards (Measuring Operations Performance)
by Iñaki Heras-SaizarbitoriaThis book is a comprehensive reference on ISO management system standards and their implementation. The impacts that ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 have had on business performance are analyzed in depth, and up-to-date perspectives are offered on the integration of these and other management standards (e.g. SA8000, ISO/TS 16949). Detailed information is provided on the signaling value of different management standards and on the new ISO standards for management systems, such as ISO 50001 and ISO 45001, relating to energy management and occupational health and safety. The role of audits in ensuring compliance with the standards and achievement of objectives is also carefully considered. The volume examines avenues for further research and emerging challenges. In offering an integrated, holistic perspective on ISO management system standards, this book will have wide appeal for academics, public decision-makers, and practitioners in the field of quality and environmental management.
The Isolated City State: An Economic Geography of Urban Spatial Structure (Routledge Library Editions: Urban Planning #18)
by Yorgos PapageorgiouOriginally published in 1990, The Isolated City State asks the questions, why have the world’s major cities experienced explosive growth? Why does the socio-economic status in North America roughly increase with distance from the city centre, while the socio-economic status in South America roughly decreases? What are the reasons behind the sudden decline of some large, central cities? Will recovery if it happens be equally rapid? Generally, to understand the phenomenon, simplifications are made which make it impossible to understand other phenomena. This major study synthesises a vast amount of theorising and research to provide answers to the major questions of urban geography.
Isolated Objects in Quadratic Gravity: From Action Principles to Observations (Springer Theses)
by Samuele SilvervalleOne of the main unanswered question of modern Physics is "How does gravity behave at small scales?". The aim of this thesis is to illustrate in a comprehensive but accessible way how to look for deviations from Einstein's theory of General Relativity in this regime, looking at the simplest celestial bodies: static and spherically symmetric ones.With a conservative and bottom-up approach, at smaller scales the first corrections to the action of General Relativity are generally considered to be terms quadratic in the curvature tensors; while these modifications do not cure the inconsistency between gravity and quantum mechanics, the solutions of this theory are plausible candidates to be the first-order corrections of the classical ones.Even with such simple modifications, a striking picture emerges from the study of isolated objects: the unique Schwarzschild solution of General Relativity is only a rare bird in the set of solutions, with non-Schwarzschild black holes, wormholes and naked singularities appearing as possible substitutes.Tailored to graduate students and researchers entering this field, this thesis shows how to construct these new solutions from action principles, how to characterize their metric, how to study their physical properties, such as their stability or Thermodynamics, and how to look for phenomenological signatures.
Isoscapes
by Gabriel J. Bowen Jason B. West Kevin P. Tu Todd E. DawsonStable isotope ratio variation in natural systems reflects the dynamics of Earth systems processes and imparts isotope labels to Earth materials. Carbon isotope ratios of atmospheric CO2 record exchange of carbon between the biosphere and the atmosphere; the incredible journeys of migrating monarchs is documented by hydrogen isotopes in their wings; and water carries an isotopic record of its source and history as it traverses the atmosphere and land surface. Through these and many other examples, improved understanding of spatio-temporal isotopic variation in Earth systems is leading to innovative new approaches to scientific problem-solving. This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the theory, methods, and applications that are enabling new disciplinary and cross-disciplinary advances through the study of "isoscapes": isotopic landscapes. "This impressive new volume shows scientists deciphering and using the natural isotope landscapes that subtly adorn our spaceship Earth.", Brian Fry, Coastal Ecology Institute, Louisiana State University, USA "An excellent timely must read and must-have reference book for anybody interested or engaged in applying stable isotope signatures to questions in e.g. Anthropology, Biogeochemistry, Ecology, or Forensic Science regarding chronological and spatial movement, changes, or distribution relating to animals, humans, plants, or water.", Wolfram Meier-Augenstein, Centre for Anatomy & Human Identification, University of Dundee, UK "Natural resources are being affected by global change, but exactly where, how, and at what pace? Isoscapes provide new and remarkably precise answers.", John Hayes, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA "This exciting volume is shaping a new landscape in environmental sciences that is utilizing the remarkable advances in isotope research to enhance and extend the capabilities of the field.", Dan Yakir, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
Isotope Effects
by Luís Paulo Rebelo W. Alexander Van Hook Max Wolfsberg Piotr PanethAs the title suggests, Isotope Effects in the Chemical, Geological and Bio Sciences deals with differences in the properties of isotopically substituted molecules, such as differences in the chemical and physical properties of water and the heavy waters. Since the various fields in which isotope effects are applied do not only share fundamental principles but also experimental techniques, this book includes a discussion of experimental apparatus and experimental techniques. Isotope Effects in the Chemical, Geological and Bio Sciences is an educational monograph addressed to graduate students and others undertaking isotope effect research. The fundamental principles needed to understand isotope effects are presented in appropriate detail. While it is true that these principles are more familiar to students of physical chemistry and some background in physical chemistry is recommended, the text provides enough detail to make the book an asset to students in organic and biochemistry, and geochemistry.
Isotope Geochemistry (Wiley Works)
by William M. WhiteThis book provides a comprehensive introduction to radiogenic and stable isotope geochemistry. Beginning with a brief overview of nuclear physics and nuclear origins, it then reviews radioactive decay schemes and their use in geochronology. A following chapter covers the closely related techniques such as fission-track and carbon-14 dating. Subsequent chapters cover nucleosynthetic anomalies in meteorites and early solar system chronology and the use of radiogenic isotopes in understanding the evolution of the Earth’s mantle, crust, and oceans. Attention then turns to stable isotopes and after reviewing the basic principles involved, the book explores their use in topics as diverse as mantle evolution, archeology and paleontology, ore formation, and, particularly, paleoclimatology. A following chapter explores recent developments including unconventional stable isotopes, mass-independent fractionation, and isotopic ‘clumping’. The final chapter reviews the isotopic variation in the noble gases, which result from both radioactive decay and chemical fractionations.