The book assembles the latest research on new design techniques in water supplies using desalinated seawater. The authors examine the diverse issues related to the intakes and outfalls of these facilities. They clarify how and why these key components of the facilities impact the cost of operation and subsequently the cost of water supplied to the consumers. The book consists of contributed articles from a number of experts in the field who presented their findings at the "Desalination Intakes and Outfalls" workshop held at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia in October, 2013. The book integrates coverage relevant to a wide variety of researchers and professionals in the general fields of environmental engineering and sustainable development.

Modern seismic data have become an essential toolkit for studying carbonate platforms and reservoirs in impressive detail. Whilst driven primarily by oil and gas exploration and development, data sharing and collaboration are delivering fundamental geological knowledge on carbonate systems, revealing platform geomorphologies and how their evolution on millennial time scales, as well as kilometric length scales, was forced by long-term eustatic, oceanographic or tectonic factors. Quantitative interrogation of modern seismic attributes in carbonate reservoirs permits flow units and barriers arising from depositional and diagenetic processes to be imaged and extrapolated between wells. This volume reviews the variety of carbonate platform and reservoir characteristics that can be interpreted from modern seismic data, illustrating the benefits of creative interaction between geophysical and carbonate geological experts at all stages of a seismic campaign. Papers cover carbonate exploration, including the uniquely challenging South Atlantic pre-salt reservoirs, seismic modelling of carbonates, and seismic indicators of fluid flow and diagenesis.

This book provides insights into the benefits of using remote sensing data from a geoscientist's perspective, by integrating the data with the understanding of Earth's surface and subsurface. In 3 sections, the book takes a detailed look at what data explorationists use when they explore for hydrocarbon resources, assess different terrain types for planning and hazards and extract present-day geologic analogs for subsurface geologic settings. The book presents the usage of remote sensing data in exploration in a structured way by detecting individual geologic features as building blocks for complex geologic systems. This concept enables readers to build their own workflows for the assessment of complex geologic systems using various combinations of remote sensing data. Section 1 introduces readers to the foundations of remote sensing for exploration, covers various methods of image processing and studies different digital elevation and bathymetry models. Section 2 presents the concept of geomorphology as a means to integrate surface and subsurface data. Different aspects of rendering in 2D and 3D are explained and used for the interpretation and extraction of geologic features that are used in exploration. Section 3 addresses remote sensing for hydrocarbon exploration in detail, from geophysical data acquisition to development and infrastructure planning. The organization of this chapter follows an exploration workflow from regional to local modeling studying basin and petroleum system modeling as well as logistics planning of seismic surveys and near-surface modeling. Aspects of field development and infrastructure planning comprise multi-temporal and dynamic modeling. The section closes with a structured approach to extracting geologic analogs from interpreted remote sensing data. The book will be of interest to professionals and students working in exploration for hydrocarbons and water resources, as well as geoscientists and engineers using remote sensing for infrastructure planning, hazard assessment and dynamic environmental studies.

The impetus for this publication was a desire to share knowledge on the Vaicos Platform Holocene and Pleistocene sedimentology, diagenesis, platform evolution, and the applicability of the platform as an analogue for ancient isolated carbonate platforms. This volume should serve as an intermediate-term documentation of research efforts and a spur for additional studies to better understand controls on sediment distribution, diagenesis, and the evolution of platform growth, furthering the Caicos Platform as an analogue for ancient, isolated, carbonate platforms.

This volume covers major advances in the study of the geomorphology, hydrology, engineering geology and management of these specialized and fragile environments. The book will be valuable for geologists, engineers and geophysicists interested in karst, along with land planners, developers, and managers of show caves, natural parks and reserves in karst areas.

Karst Hydrogeology, Geomorphology and Caves A Comprehensive Resource Covering All Aspects of Karst Hydrogeology, Geomorphology, and Caves This essential book covers all physical, chemical, and geological aspects of karst science. It reviews current knowledge on hydrogeology, geomorphology and caves in karst, based on the vast existing literature and investigations carried out by the authors worldwide. The different topics are profusely illustrated with color figures and images from all continents and climates, showing the scientific and aesthetic appeal of karst environments. The book covers in a systematic way the significant features of karst rocks, the chemistry and kinetics of their dissolution, the rate and distribution of karst denudation, the unique hydrogeology of karst terrains, the landforms endemic to karst, the morphology of caves and their diverse sedimentary records, and the multiple processes that lead to the formation of underground voids. Overall, the work reflects the increasing recognition of karst as a fundamental part of the Earth’s dynamic systems, and helps readers understand this multidisciplinary field from a holistic and nuts-and-bolts perspective. Some of the ideas discussed within the book include: How karst is gaining importance for human development, because of its valuable resources (groundwater) and associated environmental problems (impacts and hazards) The enormous technological developments achieved in recent years Recent major breakthroughs in the field and their influence on other scientific disciplines The central role played by karst science for understanding and mitigating global environmental issues (global warming, depletion of resources, human-induced hazards) For all scientists working in karst, and for students and lecturers of karst-related programs, this book serves as a valuable all-in-one source. It is also a valuable resource for professional hydrogeologists, the petroleum industry, environmental geologists, and of course speleologists, the last true geographic explorers in the world.