At a session at the April 2005 General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union, held in Vienna, scientists discussed the possibility of predicting earthquake by monitoring changes in sun spots and
The idea of forecasting the weather by calculation was first dreamt of by Lewis Fry Richardson. He set out in this book a detailed algorithm for systematic numerical weather prediction. The method of computing atmospheric changes, which he mapped out in great detail in this book, is essentially the method used today. He was greatly ahead of his time because, before his ideas could bear fruit, advances in four critical areas were needed: better understanding of the dynamics of the atmosphere; stable computational algorithms to integrate the equations; regular observations of the free atmosphere; and powerful automatic computer equipment. Over the ensuing years, progress in numerical weather prediction has been dramatic. Weather prediction and climate modelling have now reached a high level of sophistication, and are witness to the influence of Richardson's ideas. This new edition contains a new foreword by Peter Lynch that sets the original book in context.
In the decades after the Civil War, the world experienced monumental changes in industry, trade, and governance. As Americans faced this uncertain future, public debate sprang up over the accurac
During the last 20 years the study of, and the prediction of, changes in the climate of our planet have become an urgent social imperative, addressed to scientists the world over. The first principles
Presents a cautionary prediction that world power will shift away from the U.S., calling for decisive changes to minimize the nation's susceptibility to such threats as a minimal participation in worl
The Ever-Changing Sky provides a comprehensive and non-mathematical guide to spherical astronomy. The reader is guided through terrestrial and celestial co-ordinate systems, time measurement and celestial navigation, to the prediction of the rising and setting of the stars, Sun and Moon. It focuses on the geometrical aspects of the night sky without using complex trigonometry. The book progresses to a general study of the Earth and sky, including the stars and constellations (with useful star maps provided), the motions and appearance of the Moon, tides and eclipses, the orbits of the planets and the smaller bodies of the Solar System (asteroids, meteors, meteorites and comets). Finally, there is a brief overview of atmospheric phenomena (including rainbows and haloes). This text will be invaluable to students taking courses in naked-eye astronomy, amateur and professional astronomers, as well as more general readers wanting to know how the night sky changes.
The principal findings of experimental economics are that impersonal exchange in markets converges in repeated interaction to the equilibrium states implied by economic theory, under information conditions far weaker than specified in the theory. In personal, social, and economic exchange, as studied in two-person games, cooperation exceeds the prediction of traditional game theory. This book relates these two findings to field studies and applications and integrates them with the main themes of the Scottish Enlightenment and with the thoughts of F. A. Hayek: through emergent socio-economic institutions and cultural norms, people achieve ends that are unintended and poorly understood. In cultural changes, the role of constructivism, or reason, is to provide variation, and the role of ecological processes is to select the norms and institutions that serve the fitness needs of societies.
Aircraft Noise traces the origins of this problem to the introduction of the jet engine into the airline fleet in the late 1950s and describes the legal restrictions now placed on the industry. It explains the derivation of the special noise units and assessment scales now used around the world; noise exposure modeling and forecasting; the major sources of aircraft noise and their control; and noise measurement and prediction, including contours. Finally, it offers a forecast for the future and recommends changes to the established legal structures to aid control of the problem into the next century. In addition to reviewing the sociological aspects, Smith offers a broad understanding of the problem of aircraft noise and its control. The book should appeal to a variety of people including professional engineers, local and national government officers, the air transport business community, lawyers, students, community leaders and those who live near airports.
This interdisciplinary book encompasses the fields of rock mechanics, structural geology and petroleum engineering to address a wide range of geomechanical problems that arise during the exploitation of oil and gas reservoirs. It considers key practical issues such as prediction of pore pressure, estimation of hydrocarbon column heights and fault seal potential, determination of optimally stable well trajectories, casing set points and mud weights, changes in reservoir performance during depletion, and production-induced faulting and subsidence. The book establishes the basic principles involved before introducing practical measurement and experimental techniques to improve recovery and reduce exploitation costs. It illustrates their successful application through case studies taken from oil and gas fields around the world. This book is a practical reference for geoscientists and engineers in the petroleum and geothermal industries, and for research scientists interested in stress meas
The principal findings of experimental economics are that impersonal exchange in markets converges in repeated interaction to the equilibrium states implied by economic theory, under information conditions far weaker than specified in the theory. In personal, social, and economic exchange, as studied in two-person games, cooperation exceeds the prediction of traditional game theory. This book relates these two findings to field studies and applications and integrates them with the main themes of the Scottish Enlightenment and with the thoughts of F. A. Hayek: through emergent socio-economic institutions and cultural norms, people achieve ends that are unintended and poorly understood. In cultural changes, the role of constructivism, or reason, is to provide variation, and the role of ecological processes is to select the norms and institutions that serve the fitness needs of societies.
