This book uses resource economics costing approaches incorporating externalities to estimate the returns for the country’s irrigation and demonstrates how underestimating the cost of water leads farmers to overestimate profits. The importance of the subject can be judged in light of the fact that India is the largest user of groundwater both for irrigation and for drinking purposes, pumping t…
The book mainly introduces readers to the development and current status of water quality criteria (WQC) in China and other countries or areas, and proposes a minimum toxicity data requirement (MTDR; i.e., six species from three phyla) as the principle metric for deriving WQC in China. Further, ten model species from 4 different phyla are recommended as domestic test species, and the methodolog…
The revised second edition updates and expands the discussion, and incorporates additional figures and illustrative problems. Improvements include a new chapter on basic chemistry, a more comprehensive chapter on hydrology, and an updated chapter on regulations and standards. This book presents the basic aspects of water quality, emphasizing physical, chemical, and biological factors. The s…
On 4 June 1629, the Batavia, pride of the Dutch East India Company Fleet, was wrecked on her maiden voyage in a seemingly empty expanse of the Indian Ocean. The question “how did this happen?” led to 300 years of investigation by those curious to solve the enigma: what are corals and how are coral reefs formed?. Relying heavily on primary source material Part 1 traces the sequential evol…
This volume summarizes recent advances in environmental microbiology by providing fascinating insights into the diversity of microbial life that exists on our planet. The first two chapters present theoretical perspectives that help to consolidate our understanding of evolution as an adaptive process by which the niche and habitat of each species develop in a manner that interconnects individua…