Geology of the San Francisco Bay Region

Geology of the San Francisco Bay Region
Author: Doris Sloan
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2006-06-27
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0520241266

"You can't really know the place where you live until you know the shapes and origins of the land around you. To feel truly at home in the Bay Area, read Doris Sloan's intriguing stories of this region's spectacular, quirky landscapes."—Hal Gilliam, author of Weather of the San Francisco Bay Region "This is a fascinating look at some of the world's most complex and engaging geology. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in an understanding of the beautiful landscape and dynamic geology of the Bay Area."—Mel Erskine, geological consultant "This accessible summary of San Francisco Bay Area geology is particularly timely. We are living in an age where we must deal with our impact on our environment and the impact of the environment on us. Earthquake hazards, and to a lesser extent landslide hazards, are well known, but the public also needs to be aware of other important engineering and environmental impacts and geologic resources. This book will allow Bay Area residents to make more intelligent decisions about the geological issues affecting their lives."—John Wakabayashi, geological consultant

Radar Interferometry

Radar Interferometry
Author: Ramon F. Hanssen
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 318
Release: 2006-04-18
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0306476339

This book is the product of five and a half years of research dedicated to the und- standing of radar interferometry, a relatively new space-geodetic technique for m- suring the earth’s topography and its deformation. The main reason for undertaking this work, early 1995, was the fact that this technique proved to be extremely useful for wide-scale, fine-resolution deformation measurements. Especially the interf- ometric products from the ERS-1 satellite provided beautiful first results—several interferometric images appeared as highlights on the cover of journals such as Nature and Science. Accuracies of a few millimeters in the radar line of sight were claimed in semi-continuous image data acquired globally, irrespective of cloud cover or solar illumination. Unfortunately, because of the relative lack of supportive observations at these resolutions and accuracies, validation of the precision and reliability of the results remained an issue of concern. From a geodetic point of view, several survey techniques are commonly available to measure a specific geophysical phenomenon. To make an optimal choice between these techniques it is important to have a uniform and quantitative approach for describing the errors and how these errors propagate to the estimated parameters. In this context, the research described in this book was initiated. It describes issues involved with different types of errors, induced by the sensor, the data processing, satellite positioning accuracy, atmospheric propagation, and scattering character- tics. Nevertheless, as the first item in the subtitle “Data Interpretation and Error Analysis” suggests, data interpretation is not always straightforward.

Living on an Active Earth

Living on an Active Earth
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 431
Release: 2003-09-22
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309065623

The destructive force of earthquakes has stimulated human inquiry since ancient times, yet the scientific study of earthquakes is a surprisingly recent endeavor. Instrumental recordings of earthquakes were not made until the second half of the 19th century, and the primary mechanism for generating seismic waves was not identified until the beginning of the 20th century. From this recent start, a range of laboratory, field, and theoretical investigations have developed into a vigorous new discipline: the science of earthquakes. As a basic science, it provides a comprehensive understanding of earthquake behavior and related phenomena in the Earth and other terrestrial planets. As an applied science, it provides a knowledge base of great practical value for a global society whose infrastructure is built on the Earth's active crust. This book describes the growth and origins of earthquake science and identifies research and data collection efforts that will strengthen the scientific and social contributions of this exciting new discipline.

Fire Following Earthquake

Fire Following Earthquake
Author: Charles Scawthorn
Publisher: ASCE Publications
Total Pages: 362
Release: 2005-01-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9780784475515

Prepared by the Technical Council on Lifeline Earthquake Engineering of ASCE. This TCLEE Monograph covers the entire range of fire following earthquake (FFE) issues, from historical fires to 20th-century fires in Kobe, San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, and Northridge. FFE has the potential of causing catastrophic losses in the United States, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, and other seismically active countries with wood houses. This comprehensive book on FFE and urban conflagrations provides state-of-the-practice insight on unique issues, such as large diameter flex hose applications by fire and water departments. Topics include: History of past fires; Computer modeling of fire spread in the post-earthquake urban environment; Concurrent damage and fire impacts for water, power gas, communication and transportation systems; Examples of reliable water systems built or designed in San Francisco, Vancouver, Berkeley, and Kyoto; Use of large diameter (5 in.) and ultralarge diameter (12 in.) flex hose for fire fighting and water restoration; and Cost-effectiveness of various FFE mitigation strategies, with a detailed benefit-cost model. Water utility engineers, fire fighting professionals, and emergency response planners will benefit from reading this book.