United States
£ GBP
A new edition of this textbook which examines present-day water quality problems from an international perspective. It explains simply and effectively how lake sediments can be used to reconstruct pollution history. Included are over 200 additional references and a new chapter on recent climatic change and its effects on water quality and quantity.
Preface to the second edition.
About the author.
1 There is no substitute for water.
2 How long is long?.
3 Sediments: an ecosystem's memory.
4 Retrieving the sedimentary archive and establishing the geochronological clock: collecting and dating sediment cores.
5 Reading the records stored in sediments: the present is a key to the past.
6 The paleolimnologist's Rosetta Stone: calibrating indicators to environmental variables using surface-sediment training sets.
7 Acidification: finding the "smoking gun".
8 Metals, technological development, and the environment.
9 Persistent organic pollutants: industrially synthesized chemicals "hopping" across the planet.
10 Mercury - "the metal that slipped away".
11 Eutrophication: the environmental consequences of over-fertilization.
12 Erosion: tracking the accelerated movement of material from land to water.
13 Species invasions, biomanipulations, and extirpations.
14 Greenhouse gas emissions and a changing atmosphere: tracking the effects of climatic change on water resources.
15 Ozone depletion, acid rain, and climatic warming: the problems of multiple stressors.
16 New problems, new challenges.
17 Paleolimnology: a window on the past, a key to our future.
Glossary.
References.
Index
John P. Smol FRSC is a Professor in the Department of Biology at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, with a cross-appointment at the School of Environmental Studies. He holds the Canada Research Chair in Environmental Change, and is the Editor-in-Chief for the journal Environmental Reviews and is the founding editor of the Journal of Paleolimnology, which he edited from 1987 to 2007
On the first edition:
"The book is written in a very enjoyable style and the obvious enthusiasm of the author rings from the page."
- Catherine Duigan, Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems
"John Smol has produced an excellent introduction into how sedimentary records mainly from lakes but also from rivers, reservoirs and other environments can be used to study past environments [...] This is a terrific text for undergraduate and Masters students covering a vast range of material that is both accessible and up to date [...] "
- Viv Jones, The Geographical Journal
"Much thought has gone into this book [...] The chapter headings in this book show the author's facility with words and concepts [...]"
- Frank E. Round, Diatom Research
" [...] the book is compact and highly readable and makes for an excellent introduction and overview of the current state of palaeolimnology [...] a valuable text for all students of environmental change"
- Roger Flower, The Holocene
" [...] particularly well written. Smol's vast experience in writing and editing is evident in his direct writing style [...] a fine contribution that is clearly written and suitable for student and seasoned investigator alike."
Richard B. Brugam, Journal of Paleolimnology
" [...] John Smol has been one of the central figures in the field of paleolimnology throughout much of its modern development [...] the book is well written and highly informative. The examples cover much of the significant paleolimnological studies conducted during the past decades in different parts of our planet."
- Heiki Simola, SIL News
"I promise you will come away thinking!"
- Nandini Kumar, TerraGreen
