The Freshwater Maritime Interface

Effectively managing increasingly scarce transboundary water resources in many parts of the world may become one of the most critical challenges facing the international community in the 21st century. Global warming is expected to exacerbate the existing problems of water scarcity in Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, and threatens to affect even relatively water-secure regions and countries. Global freshwater resources are shrinking at an increasing pace. Forty percent of the world's population depends on transboundary water resources, a situation that raises serious concerns at the international level. Unresolved issues of water resource use and allocation may create the potential for serious interstate conflicts and undermine regional stability. It is imperative that existing and potential disputes over access to shared water resources are resolved through peaceful means within the framework of legal principles and norms provided by international law. While not yet in force, the 1997 UN Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses codifies a number of rules of customary law that apply to international watercourses. However, even in the absence of a universally ratified instrument there is a body of international rules widely acknowledged as an authoritative statement of international law governing international watercourses - the International Law Association (ILA) rules on the law of international water resources. The present book, which contains the complete collection of the ILA rules on international water resources, together with comments, explanatory notes and other supporting materials, will be of significant academic and practical value to the range of experts working in this field. There is no doubt that legal scholars and researchers will find this book very helpful in discovering the conceptual underpinings and the evolution of international water law. For the practitioners, this collection will serve as a useful reference tool containing a wealth of 'black letter' normative material.

Hydrogeology: Principles and Practice provides a comprehensive introduction to the study of hydrogeology to enable the reader to appreciate the significance of groundwater in meeting current and future water resource challenges. This new edition has been thoroughly updated to reflect advances in the field since 2004. The book presents a systematic approach to understanding groundwater. Earlier chapters explain the fundamental physical and chemical principles of hydrogeology, and later chapters feature groundwater investigation techniques in the context of catchment processes, as well as chapters on groundwater quality and contaminant hydrogeology. Unique features of the book are chapters on the applications of environmental isotopes and noble gases in the interpretation of aquifer evolution, and on regional characteristics such as topography, compaction and variable fluid density in the explanation of geological processes affecting past, present and future groundwater flow regimes. The last chapter discusses groundwater resources and environmental management, and examines the role of groundwater in integrated river basin management, including an assessment of possible adaptation responses to the impacts of climate change. Throughout the text, boxes and a set of colour plates drawn from the authors’ teaching and research experience are used to explain special topics and to illustrate international case studies ranging from transboundary aquifers and submarine groundwater discharge to the over-pressuring of groundwater in sedimentary basins. The appendices provide conversion tables and useful reference material, and include review questions and exercises, with answers, to help develop the reader’s knowledge and problem-solving skills in hydrogeology. This accessible textbook is essential reading for undergraduate and graduate students primarily in earth sciences, environmental sciences and physical geography with an interest in hydrogeology or groundwater science. The book will also find use among practitioners in hydrogeology, soil science, civil engineering and planning who are involved in environmental and resource protection issues requiring an understanding of groundwater. Additional resources can be found at: www.wiley.com/go/hiscock/hydrogeology

Effectively managing increasingly scarce transboundary water resources in many parts of the world may become one of the most critical challenges facing the international community in the 21st century. Global warming is expected to exacerbate the existing problems of water scarcity in Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, and threatens to affect even relatively water-secure regions and countries. Global freshwater resources are shrinking at an increasing pace. Forty percent of the world's population depends on transboundary water resources, a situation that raises serious concerns at the international level. Unresolved issues of water resource use and allocation may create the potential for serious interstate conflicts and undermine regional stability. It is imperative that existing and potential disputes over access to shared water resources are resolved through peaceful means within the framework of legal principles and norms provided by international law. While not yet in force, the 1997 UN Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses codifies a number of rules of customary law that apply to international watercourses. However, even in the absence of a universally ratified instrument there is a body of international rules widely acknowledged as an authoritative statement of international law governing international watercourses - the International Law Association (ILA) rules on the law of international water resources. The present book, which contains the complete collection of the ILA rules on international water resources, together with comments, explanatory notes and other supporting materials, will be of significant academic and practical value to the range of experts working in this field. There is no doubt that legal scholars and researchers will find this book very helpful in discovering the conceptual underpinings and the evolution of international water law. For the practitioners, this collection will serve as a useful reference tool containing a wealth of 'black letter' normative material.

Ecohydrological Interfaces Comprehensive overview of the process dynamics and interactions governing ecohydrological interfaces Summarizing the interdisciplinary investigation of ecohydrological interface functioning, Ecohydrological Interfaces advances the understanding of their dynamics across traditional subject boundaries. It offers a detailed explanation of the underlying mechanisms and process interactions governing ecohydrological interface functioning from the micro scale to the ecosystem and regional scale. The multidisciplinary team of authors integrates and synthesises the current understanding of process dynamics at different ecohydrological interfaces to develop a unifying concept of their ecosystem functions. The work introduces novel experimental and model-based methods for characterizing and quantifying ecohydrological interface processes, taking account of innovative sensing and tracing technologies as well as microbial and molecular biology approaches. Key questions addressed in the book include: Which conditions stimulate the transformative nature of ecohydrological interfaces? How are ecohydrological interfaces organized in space and time? How does interface activity propagate from small to large scales? How do ecohydrological interfaces react to environmental change and what is their role in processes of significant societal value? As a research level text on the functionality and performance of ecohydrological interfaces, Ecohydrological Interfaces is primarily aimed at academics and postgraduate researchers. It is also appropriate for university libraries as further reading on a range of geographical, environmental, biological, and engineering topics.

Providing a guide for marine conservation practice, Marine Conservation takes a whole-systems approach, covering major advances in marine ecosystem understanding. Its premise is that conservation must be informed by the natural histories of organisms together with the hierarchy of scale-related linkages and ecosystem processes. The authors introduce a broad range of overlapping issues and the conservation mechanisms that have been devised to achieve marine conservation goals. The book provides students and conservation practitioners with a framework for thoughtful, critical thinking in order to incite innovation in the 21st century. "Marine Conservation presents a scholarly but eminently readable case for the necessity of a systems approach to conserving the oceans, combining superb introductions to the science, law and policy frameworks with carefully chosen case studies. This superb volume is a must for anyone interested in marine conservation, from students and practitioners to lay readers and policy-makers." —Simon Levin, George M. Moffett Professor of Biology, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University

The atmosphere and the ocean -- Ocean currents -- The North Atlantic gyre : observations and theories -- Other major current systems -- Global fluxes and the deep circulation.