Deltas and Humans

Deltas and Humans
Author: Thomas S. Bianchi
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 185
Release: 2016-10-03
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0190627700

Humans have had a long relationship with the ebb and flow of tides on river deltas around the world. The fertile soils of river deltas provided early human civilizations with a means of farming crops and obtaining seafood from the highly productive marshes and shallow coastal waters associated with deltas. However, this relationship has at times been both nurturing and tumultuous for the development of early civilizations. The vicissitudes of seasonal changes in river flooding events as well as frequently shifting deltaic soils made life for these early human settlements challenging. These natural transient processes that affect the supply of sediments to deltas today are in many ways very similar to what they have been over the millennia of human settlements. But something else has been altered in the natural rhythm of these cycles. The massive expansion of human populations around the world in both the lower and upper drainage basins of these large rivers have changed the manner in which sediments and water are delivered to deltas. Because of the high density of human populations found in these regions, humans have developed elaborate hydrological engineering schemes in an attempt to "tame" these deltas. The goal of this book is to provide information on the historical relationship between humans and deltas that will hopefully encourage immediate preparation for coastal management plans in response to the impending inundation of major cities, as a result of global change around the world.

The New Delta

The New Delta
Author: Bianca de Vlieger
Publisher: Jap Sam Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2017
Genre: City planning
ISBN: 9789490322748

Among the Dutch-Flemish Deltas of the Rhine, the Meuse and Scheldt with their strong, defining image of dams and dikes, are two of the most iconic waterways of Holland. Particularly striking is the Eastern Scheldt Barrier, created to make the Delta safe after the massive North Sea flooding of 1953. This new publication sponsored by the Delft University investigates, questions and challenges current issues emerging from the pressure applied to these structures by massive new development and expansion. The research, spearheaded by Bianca de Vlieger includes seventeen projects along with selected specialists in the field explores the urgency of the investigation and presents a closer examination of the spatial, scenic, ecological, economic, civil and technical changes of these projects. The catalog includes essays and conversations from Han Meyer, Joost Schrijnen, Bas Jonkman, Gigi van Rhee, Jandirk Hoekstra, Jitske van PoperingVerkerk, and Patrick Meire.

Local Identities

Local Identities
Author: Fokke Albert Gerritsen
Publisher: Amsterdam University Press
Total Pages: 317
Release: 2003
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9053565884

Gerritsen's study investigates how small groups of people—households, or local communities—constitute and represent their social identity by shaping the landscape around them. Examining things like house building and habitation, cremation and burial, and farming and ritual practice, Gerritsen develops a new theoretical and empirical perspective on the practices that create collective senses of identity and belonging. An explicitly diachronic approach reveals processes of cultural and social change that have previously gone unnoticed, providing a basis for a much more dynamic history of the late prehistoric inhabitants of this region.

Decision Making under Deep Uncertainty

Decision Making under Deep Uncertainty
Author: Vincent A. W. J. Marchau
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 408
Release: 2019-04-04
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3030052524

This open access book focuses on both the theory and practice associated with the tools and approaches for decisionmaking in the face of deep uncertainty. It explores approaches and tools supporting the design of strategic plans under deep uncertainty, and their testing in the real world, including barriers and enablers for their use in practice. The book broadens traditional approaches and tools to include the analysis of actors and networks related to the problem at hand. It also shows how lessons learned in the application process can be used to improve the approaches and tools used in the design process. The book offers guidance in identifying and applying appropriate approaches and tools to design plans, as well as advice on implementing these plans in the real world. For decisionmakers and practitioners, the book includes realistic examples and practical guidelines that should help them understand what decisionmaking under deep uncertainty is and how it may be of assistance to them. Decision Making under Deep Uncertainty: From Theory to Practice is divided into four parts. Part I presents five approaches for designing strategic plans under deep uncertainty: Robust Decision Making, Dynamic Adaptive Planning, Dynamic Adaptive Policy Pathways, Info-Gap Decision Theory, and Engineering Options Analysis. Each approach is worked out in terms of its theoretical foundations, methodological steps to follow when using the approach, latest methodological insights, and challenges for improvement. In Part II, applications of each of these approaches are presented. Based on recent case studies, the practical implications of applying each approach are discussed in depth. Part III focuses on using the approaches and tools in real-world contexts, based on insights from real-world cases. Part IV contains conclusions and a synthesis of the lessons that can be drawn for designing, applying, and implementing strategic plans under deep uncertainty, as well as recommendations for future work. The publication of this book has been funded by the Radboud University, the RAND Corporation, Delft University of Technology, and Deltares.

Engineered Coasts

Engineered Coasts
Author: Jiyu Chen
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2013-03-14
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9401700990

Increasing population, expanding industry and commerce, and tourism are placing added pressures on an already highly-utilized coastal zone. This book, through a series of case studies, illustrates the variety of changes already made along the coastlines of the world. The examples used are mainly from China, Japan, The Netherlands, and the United States, all countries with extensively engineered shorelines. Modifications emphasized include those associated with protection against coastal erosion, building of artificial beaches and islands, reclamation for aquaculture and agriculture, and the construction of harbors. The information in this book should be useful for all planners and engineers involved in the construction of coastal engineering works and for students interested in coastal modification.

Coastal Environments

Coastal Environments
Author: R. W.G. Carter
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 634
Release: 2013-10-22
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0080502148

This original volume draws on the author's own research experiences in Ireland, Britain, France, Canada, and the United States to present a guide of coastal environments for applications of shoreline and environmental management. Topics include: long-term development of coasts, water supply and waste disposal, energy resources and coastal water management, coastal water management for recreation, coastal management of storm hazards, and managing world sea-level rise.

The War for the Seas

The War for the Seas
Author: Evan Mawdsley
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 633
Release: 2019-09-24
Genre: History
ISBN: 0300190190

A bold and authoritative maritime history of World War II which takes a fully international perspective and challenges our existing understanding Command of the oceans was crucial to winning World War II. By the start of 1942 Nazi Germany had conquered mainland Europe, and Imperial Japan had overrun Southeast Asia and much of the Pacific. How could Britain and distant America prevail in what had become a "war of continents"? In this definitive account, Evan Mawdsley traces events at sea from the first U-boat operations in 1939 to the surrender of Japan. He argues that the Allied counterattack involved not just decisive sea battles, but a long struggle to control shipping arteries and move armies across the sea. Covering all the major actions in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, as well as those in the narrow seas, this book interweaves for the first time the endeavors of the maritime forces of the British Empire, the United States, Germany, and Japan, as well as those of France, Italy, and Russia.

Dynamics Of Coastal Systems

Dynamics Of Coastal Systems
Author: Job Dronkers
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 541
Release: 2005-08-04
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9814480746

Dynamics of Coastal Systems is about the dynamic interaction between water motion and seabed topography, which affects the natural response of coastal systems to change in external conditions and to human interventions — from the scale of seabed ripples up to the scale of entire barrier and delta systems. The book highlights major concepts developed during the past 50 years for the description of current-topography, tide-topography and wave-topography interactions. It provides simple analytical tools and models for diagnosing and predicting coastal response to change, with references to a great variety of coastal systems around the world. These concepts and tools are crucial for sustainable management of beaches, deltas and coastal wetlands.The book is based on a master course on coastal morphodynamics given at the Universities of Utrecht and Delft in The Netherlands for graduate students who are familiar with the basic concepts of coastal hydrodynamics. It enables coastal engineers to complete their background knowledge and to facilitate access to cutting-edge scientific literature on specific topics. The book may also serve to familiarise consultants, practitioners and academics in related coastal disciplines with modern concepts of land-sea interaction.