Fresh Surface Water theme is a component of Encyclopedia of Water Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. The occurrence of surface water in abundance is unique to planet Earth among the inner or terrestrial planets. This is only one of the environmental consequences of the anomalous properties of water. Water has been central to human life and human thought throughout history. The availability of fresh surface water varies between continents, between regions within any given continent, between countries in a given region, and between catchments in a given country.Five key topics have been identified under the theme of Fresh Surface Water. These are: Origin, Resources and Distribution of Rivers and Streams; Characteristics of River Systems; Transport Processes in River Systems; River Ecosystems; The Uses of River Water and Impacts, which are then expanded into multiple subtopics, each as a chapter. These three volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, Managers, and Decision makers and NGOs

Fresh Surface Water theme is a component of Encyclopedia of Water Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. The occurrence of surface water in abundance is unique to planet Earth among the inner or terrestrial planets. This is only one of the environmental consequences of the anomalous properties of water. Water has been central to human life and human thought throughout history. The availability of fresh surface water varies between continents, between regions within any given continent, between countries in a given region, and between catchments in a given country.Five key topics have been identified under the theme of Fresh Surface Water. These are: Origin, Resources and Distribution of Rivers and Streams; Characteristics of River Systems; Transport Processes in River Systems; River Ecosystems; The Uses of River Water and Impacts, which are then expanded into multiple subtopics, each as a chapter. These three volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, Managers, and Decision makers and NGOs

Fresh Surface Water theme is a component of Encyclopedia of Water Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. The occurrence of surface water in abundance is unique to planet Earth among the inner or terrestrial planets. This is only one of the environmental consequences of the anomalous properties of water. Water has been central to human life and human thought throughout history. The availability of fresh surface water varies between continents, between regions within any given continent, between countries in a given region, and between catchments in a given country.Five key topics have been identified under the theme of Fresh Surface Water. These are: Origin, Resources and Distribution of Rivers and Streams; Characteristics of River Systems; Transport Processes in River Systems; River Ecosystems; The Uses of River Water and Impacts, which are then expanded into multiple subtopics, each as a chapter. These three volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, Managers, and Decision makers and NGOs.

Groundwater theme is a component of Encyclopedia of Water Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of lithologic formations. This theme presents a perspective of the field of groundwater and an overview of the important aspects of the subject such as, natural origin and distribution, characteristics under diverse climates and surrounding rocky environments, exploration and management, natural quality and human related sources of contamination, sustainable exploitation of resources, protection and current research trends. The content of the theme on Groundwater is organized with state-of-the-art presentations covering several topics: Origin, Distribution, Formation, and Effects; Typical Hydrogeological Scenarios; Transport Processes in Groundwater; Transport Phenomena and Vulnerability of the Unsaturated Zone; Groundwater Development; Groundwater Use and Protection; Groundwater Management: An Overview of Hydro-geology, Economic Values and Principles of Management; Special Issues in Groundwater, which are then expanded into multiple subtopics, each as a chapter. These three volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, Managers, and Decision makers and NGOs

These volumes are part of Encyclopedia of Water Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. The three volumes present state-of-the art subject matter of various aspects of Common Fundamentals and Unit Operations in Thermal Desalination Systems such as: Conventional Water Treatment Technologies; Guidelines for Potable Water Purification; Advanced Treatment Technologies for Recycle - Reuse of Domestic Wastewater; Composition of Desalinated Water; Crystallization; Deep Bed Filtration: Modeling Theory and Practice; Distillation ; Rectification; Flocculation and Flocculation Filtration; Hazardous Waste Treatment Technologies; Microfiltration and Ultrafiltration; Post-Treatment of Distillate and Permeate; Pre-Cleaning Measures: Filtration; Raw Water Pre-Treatment: Sludge Treatment Technologies; Supercritical Extraction; Potential for Industrial Wastewater Reuse; Treatment of Industrial Wastewater by Membrane Bioreactors; Unconventional Sources of Water Supply; Problem of Non-Condensable Gas Release in Evaporators; Entrainment in Evaporators; Mist Eliminators; Chemical Hazards in Seawater Desalination by the Multistage-Flash Evaporation Technique; Concentration of Liquid Foods; Environmental Impact of Seawater Desalination Plants; Environmental Impacts of Intakes and Out Falls; Industrial Ecology, Water Resources, and Desalination; Rural and Urban Water Supply and Sanitation; Sustainable Development, Water Supply and Sanitation Technology These volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College Students Educators, Professional Practitioners, Research Personnel and Policy and Decision Makers.

Water and Wastewater Treatment Technologies theme is a component of Encyclopedia of Water Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. The Theme on Water and Wastewater Treatment Technologies deals, in three volumes, and covers several topics, with several issues of great relevance to our world such as: Urban Wastewater Treatment; Characteristics of Effluent Organic Matter in Wastewater; Filtration Technologies in wastewater treatment; Air Stripping in Industrial Wastewater Treatment; Dissolved air flotation in industrial wastewater treatment; Membrane Technology for Organic Removal in Wastewater; Adsorption and Biological Filtration in Wastewater Treatment; Physico-chemical processes for Organic removal from wastewater effluent; Deep Bed Filtration: Modelling Theory And Practice ; Specific options in biological wastewater treatment for reclamation and reuse ; Biological Phosphorus Removal Processes For Wastewater Treatment ; Sequencing Batch Reactors: Principles, Design/Operation And Case Studies ; Wastewater stabilization ponds (WSP)for wastewater treatment; Treatment of industrial wastewater by membrane bioreactors; Stormwater treatment technologies; Sludge Treatment Technologies ; Wastewater Treatment Technology For Tanning Industry; Palm Oil And Palm Waste Potential In Indonesia ; Recirculating Aquaculture Systems – A Review ; Upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB)reactor in wastewater treatment; Applied Technologies In Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Leachate Treatment; Water Mining: Planning and Implementation Issues for a successful project; Assessment methodologies for water reuse scheme and technology; Nanotechnology for Wastewater Treatment. These three volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, Managers, and Decision makers and NGOs.

Oceanography is a component of Encyclopedia of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. These volumes deal with the oceans as an integrated dynamic system, characterized by a delicate, complex system of interactions among the biota, the ocean boundaries with the solid earth and the atmosphere. This set of volumes is designed to be a very authoritative reference for state-of-the-art knowledge on the various aspects such as: Physical Oceanography, Chemistry of the oceans, Biological Oceanography, Geological oceanography, Coral Reefs as a Life Supporting System, Human Uses of the Oceans, Ocean Engineering, and Modeling the Ocean System from a Sustainable Development perspective. These volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, managers, and decision makers and NGOs.

Geology is the Component of Encyclopedia of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS)), which is an integrated compendium of twenty Encyclopedias. The theme on geology in the Encyclopedia of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, presents many aspects of geology under the following nine different topics: The Organized Earth.; Tectonics and Geodynamics; Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology; Sedimentary Geology and Paleontology; Overview of the Mineralogical Sciences; Geology of Metallic and Non-Metallic Mineral Resources; Regional Geology; Geology of Petroleum, Gas, and Coal; Environmental and Engineering Geology.

Food Engineering is a component of Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. Food Engineering became an academic discipline in the 1950s. Today it is a professional and scientific multidisciplinary field related to food manufacturing and the practical applications of food science. These volumes cover five main topics: Engineering Properties of Foods; Thermodynamics in Food Engineering; Food Rheology and Texture; Food Process Engineering; Food Plant Design, which are then expanded into multiple subtopics, each as a chapter. These four volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, managers, and decision makers and NGOs

This Encyclopedia of Tropical Biology and Conservation Management is a component of the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. Tropical environments cover the most part of still preserved natural areas of the Earth. The greatest biodiversity, as in terms of animals and plants, as microorganisms, is placed in these hot and rainy ecosystems spread up and below the Equator line. Additionally, the most part of food products, with vegetal or animal origin, that sustain nowadays human beings is direct or undirected dependent of tropical productivity. Biodiversity should be looked at and evaluated not only in terms of numbers of species, but also in terms of the diversity of interactions among distinct organisms that it maintains. In this sense, the complexity of web structure in tropical systems is a promise of future to nature preservation on Earth. In the chemicals of tropical plant and animals, could be the cure to infinite number of diseases, new food sources, and who knows what more. Despite these facts tropical areas have been exploited in an irresponsible way for more than 500 years due the lack of an ecological conscience of men. Exactly in the same way we did with temperate areas and also tropical areas in the north of Equator line. Nowadays, is estimated that due human exploitation, nation conflicts and social problems, less than 8% of tropical nature inside continental areas is still now untouchable. The extension of damage in the tropical areas of oceans is unknown. Thus so, all knowledge we could accumulate about tropical systems will help us, as in the preservations of these important and threatened ecosystems as in a future recuperation, when it was possible. Only knowing the past and developing culture, mainly that directed to peace, to a better relationship among nations and responsible use and preservation of natural resources, human beings will have a long future on Earth. These volumes, Tropical Biology and Natural Resources was divided in sessions to provide the reader the better comprehension possible of issue and also to enable future complementation and improvements in the encyclopedia. Like we work with life, we intended to transform this encyclopedia also in a “life” volume, in what new information could be added in any time. As president of the encyclopedia and main editor I opened the theme with an article titled: “Tropical Biology and Natural resources: Historical Pathways and Perspectives”, providing the reader an initial view of the origins of human knowledge about the tropical life, and what we hope to the future. In the sequence we have more than 100 chapters distributed in tem sessions: Tropical Ecology (TE); Tropical Botany (TB); Tropical Zoology (TZ); Savannah Ecosystems (SE); Desert Ecosystems (DE); Tropical Agriculture (TA); Natural History of Tropical Plants (NH); Human Impact on Tropical Ecosystems (HI); Tropical Phytopathology and Entomology (TPE); Case Studies (CS). This 11-volume set contains several chapters, each of size 5000-30000 words, with perspectives, applications and extensive illustrations. It is the only publication of its kind carrying state-of-the-art knowledge in the fields of Tropical Biology and Conservation Management and is aimed, by virtue of the several applications, at the following five major target audiences: University and College Students, Educators, Professional Practitioners, Research Personnel and Policy Analysts, Managers, and Decision Makers and NGOs.