Average customer rating:
- Quick delivery and good quality
- Never disappointed with Dingman's text
- Good information, not so great layout
- great book for understanding hydrology
- Physical Hydrology
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Physical Hydrology (2nd Edition)
S. Lawrence Dingman
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
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ASIN: 0130996955 |
Book Description
This book combines a qualitative, conceptual understanding of hydrologic processes, an introduction to the quantitative representation of those processes and an understanding of approaches to hydrological measurements and the uncertainties involved in those measurements. Numerous worked examples and exercises are included throughout to help assimilate concepts, consider implications of relations developed in the book, and apply concepts to local conditions. This book provides an introduction to hydrological science and its concepts including Climate, the Hydrologic Cycle, Soils and Vegetation, Precipitation, Snow and Snowmelt, Water in Soils: Infiltration and Redistribution, Evapotranspiration, Ground Water in the Hydrological Cycle, Stream Response to Water-Input Events, Hydrology and Water-Resource Management. Suitable as a reference work for professionals already working in the field. It can also serve as a comprehensive, readily understood introduction to hydrology for professionals in related fields.
Customer Reviews:
Quick delivery and good quality.......2006-01-23
I am using this book as a course text in one course at grad school. In particular, I was impressed with the delivery quickly and and good quality of book.
At any rate, I am really satisfied with book and seller.
Never disappointed with Dingman's text.......2005-12-11
In the past, if I needed a quick, understandable description of any hydrologic term or process, Dingman's text was the first choice. This is a well written, well organized text which offers all the fundamentals. If need to look up some hydro term or process, this text will invariably have it and if it doesn't offer a good description, it will give you a nugget of info to build on and further your research. Great text!!
Good information, not so great layout.......2005-10-16
There is a lot of good information packed into this book but as a student, I have found it a very frustrating textbook to use. The reader is bombarded with equations without a good general overview first. A glossary would also be helpful. The units of many equations are left out. This is confusing since for many empirical equations, the units cannot be derived from dimensional analysis. Finally, like many hydrology textbooks, there are literally hundreds of Greek symbols used throughout. Without any glossary or table of symbols used in each chapter, it is very difficult to go back and find the original definition and derivation, should I forget what one of the symbols stands for.
great book for understanding hydrology.......2002-09-29
Anyone that thinks hydrology is just "water flow" is wrong! This book introduces the reader to many different concepts and explains them from *both* a mathematical and physical perspective. Hydrology is not just water...it is soil, snow, evaporation, etc...you get the idea.
In the first edition of his book (I have the old one), Dingman gives you all the tips and tricks that real-world hydrologists use and *explains* them. Keep in mind, however--this topic is very math intensive and if you are weak on algebra, hydrology--and this book in particular--could be difficult to follow. Some equations have more than a dozen variables...watch out!
I found the questions at the end of each chapter to be reasonably good, but I would like more thought questions. Sure, once you get the hang of it, anyone can crunch numbers to determine rainfall or snowmelt or whatever. But if you want to understand how/why things happen, you'll have to read the chapters--there is no way to gauge that aspect of learning.
As a meteorologist, I sometimes find myself referring to *this* book instead of my other textbooks--it is laid out well and I can quickly find what I need, when I need it. All in all, this is a very good book that I'll refer to again and again.
Physical Hydrology.......2000-04-03
I found the book extremely useful, not only as a text book, but as a reference. This book gives a good history of hydrology, what physical hydrology is, and the technical content ranges from basic to quite advanced. A good range of expertise levels, so it can be used by people at different stages of their career. Some very practical problems and solutions are highlighted in each chapter, in the form of boxes, which make them stand out. There are a number of appendices, which give details of derivations, tables of constants, and other useful facts. Overall, this is one of those books I'll keep on my shelf and reach for, for basic equations to specific methods of solution.
Book Description
An Updated Edition of the Classic Text
Polymers constitute the basis for the plastics, rubber, adhesives, fiber, and coating industries. The Fourth Edition of Introduction to Physical Polymer Science acknowledges the industrial success of polymers and the advancements made in the field while continuing to deliver the comprehensive introduction to polymer science that made its predecessors classic texts.
The Fourth Edition continues its coverage of amorphous and crystalline materials, glass transitions, rubber elasticity, and mechanical behavior, and offers updated discussions of polymer blends, composites, and interfaces, as well as such basics as molecular weight determination. Thus, interrelationships among molecular structure, morphology, and mechanical behavior of polymers continue to provide much of the value of the book.
Newly introduced topics include:
* Nanocomposites, including carbon nanotubes and exfoliated montmorillonite clays
* The structure, motions, and functions of DNA and proteins, as well as the interfaces of polymeric biomaterials with living organisms
* The glass transition behavior of nano-thin plastic films
In addition, new sections have been included on fire retardancy, friction and wear, optical tweezers, and more.
Introduction to Physical Polymer Science, Fourth Edition provides both an essential introduction to the field as well as an entry point to the latest research and developments in polymer science and engineering, making it an indispensable text for chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science and engineering, and polymer science and engineering students and professionals.
Download Description
An Updated Edition of the Classic Text Polymers constitute the basis for the plastics, rubber, adhesives, fiber, and coating industries. The Fourth Edition of Introduction to Physical Polymer Science acknowledges the industrial success of polymers and the advancements made in the field while continuing to deliver the comprehensive introduction to polymer science that made its predecessors classic texts. The Fourth Edition continues its coverage of amorphous and crystalline materials, glass transitions, rubber elasticity, and mechanical behavior, and offers updated discussions of polymer blends, composites, and interfaces, as well as such basics as molecular weight determination. Thus, interrelationships among molecular structure, morphology, and mechanical behavior of polymers continue to provide much of the value of the book. Newly introduced topics include: Nanocomposites, including carbon nanotubes and exfoliated montmorillonite clays The structure, motions, and functions of DNA and proteins, as well as the interfaces of polymeric biomaterials with living organisms The glass transition behavior of nano-thin plastic films In addition, new sections have been included on fire retardancy, friction and wear, optical tweezers, and more. Introduction to Physical Polymer Science, Fourth Edition provides both an essential introduction to the field as well as an entry point to the latest research and developments in polymer science and engineering, making it an indispensable text for chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science and engineering, and polymer science and engineering students and professionals.
Customer Reviews:
so-so.......2003-12-22
Like any other text. To pricy if you ask me.
Best beginners book in market!!.......2003-11-07
Sperling's book stands out as the most useful polymer science text, compiling essential elements of varied physical properties and behaviour. The third edition has up to date material on all aspects of polymer physics including chapters on polymer surfaces and interfaces as well as on multicomponent polymer systems and liquid crystalline polymers. In my opinion, as a beginners guide, the book is definitely outscores over all other texts in market including Billmeyer, Painter Coleman, Rodriquez, etc. The book also contains a good description of various polymer characterization techniques.
The material covered is adequate to provide basic information about each field in polymer physics, and the textbook has enough material to be useful for two or three courses. The author presents a lot of tables in the book, that succintly summarize important points related to that topic. Coupled with Strobl's book, which has slightly advanced description of polymer physics, and Doi's Introduction to polymer physics, which has mathematically intensive description of statistical mechanics of polymers, you have three texts to teach you essentially everything there is to know in Polymer Physics!! (Perhaps you can add a text for Polymer Rheology, say by Larson!)
Book Description
Completely updated, the second edition of this comprehensive volume not only covers all major areas of hydrogeology, it takes a process-oriented, integrated approach so that readers can gain a complete understanding of the relationship between physical and chemical aspects of this subject. Provides a good balance between theory and application and includes new areas such as contaminant hydrogeology. Includes extensive reference list and suggested readings.
Customer Reviews:
Incredible Resource.......2006-09-30
This book is an incredible reference for a wide array of hydrogeologic topics. Every hydrogeologist or environmental engineer would do well to have this book on his or her shelf.
Good Reference though difficult to read.......2000-06-16
I used this text in my undergraduate studies and found it difficult to glean specific answers to applied questions. However, it is very detailed reference that I found useful in my professional career.
Average customer rating:
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Chemistry of the Solid-Water Interface: Processes at the Mineral-Water and Particle-Water Interface in Natural Systems
Werner Stumm
Manufacturer: Wiley-Interscience
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ASIN: 0471576727 |
Book Description
Provides an introduction to the chemistry of the solid-water interface, progressing from the simple to more complex and applied. Discusses the important interfaces in natural systems, especially geochemistry, in natural waters, soils and sediments. The processes occurring at mineral-water, particle-water and organism-water interfaces play critical roles in regulating the composition and ecology of oceans and fresh waters, the development of soils and plant nutrient's supply, preserving the integrity of water repositories and in such applications as water technology and corrosion science.
Customer Reviews:
not an easy read.......1999-03-27
this book needs to be edited properply, it's giving Stumm a bad name
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Applied Fluvial Geomorphology for River Engineering and Management
Manufacturer: Wiley
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Geomorphology and River Management: Application of the River Styles Framework
ASIN: 0471969680 |
Book Description
This invaluable overview of fluvial geomorphology provides river engineers and managers, who may lack specialist training, with useful insights into, and understanding of, natural channel forms and fluvial processes.
Such information is a pre-requisite for carrying out environmental impact assessments and for developing environmentally sensitive design and management procedures to preserve riverine environments and restore degraded ones. Designing with nature is preferable to imposing hard engineering solutions as it sustains natural biodiversity and minimises costs. This book will also be a very useful teaching aid for students, both under- and post-graduate, studying civil engineering, environmental management or sciences, or geography who are looking to have a wider knowledge of new approaches to the subject.
Geomorphology requires the collection and consideration of a wide range of data, mostly field based but also including historical information such as archive documents and maps, which are outside the experience of most river engineers and managers. These data enable the current condition of the river to be explained, both locally and within the catchment, and establish historical changes and future trends. In addition, process studies have now identified many of the mechanisms controlling river moprhology which underpin the development of soft, bio-engineering, design procedures. The book incorporates material on methods and techniques of data collection, analysis and interpretation, making extensive use of case studies throughout.
Thus the experienced authors go some way towards demystifying applied fluvial geomorphology by demonstrating that, while there is still an element of judgement, major contributions to geomorphic understanding usually come from the careful assemblage and objective analysis of all available data and information.
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Saturated Flow and Soil Structure: A Review of the Subject and Laboratory Experiments on the Basic Relationships (Springer Series in Physical Environment)
Heiko Diestel
Manufacturer: Springer
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ASIN: 0387557911 |
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Everything you always thought you knew.......2006-03-14
Come on, admit it, you always thought you knew exactly what caused the tides, and why the Bay of Fundy has such a large tidal range! Hah! You only thought you knew. Now, thanks to Dr. Jim McCully's easy to read treatise, you will soon be able to impress all of your friends with great knowledge. Who knows, you might win some trivia contest!
No, seriously, this is a readable and witty explanation of all of the many factors that go into the tidal process. This book patiently explains why tides come and go, why some areas have more than two tides per day, and where the water goes when it goes. Dr. McCully is a knowledgeable researcher and an entertaining writer who makes all the physics and astronomy easy to understand. If you have curiosity about all things natural, if you are a yachtsman or woman, or if you love to fish (as does the author), you will find this book incredibly interesting and helpful.
Average customer rating:
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Applied Hydrogeology of Fractured Rocks
B.B. Singhal , and
R.P. Gupta
Manufacturer: Springer
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ASIN: 041275830X |
Book Description
Hydrology is a topical and growing subject, as the earth's water resources become scarcer and more vulnerable. Although more than half the surface area of continents is covered with hard fractured rocks, there has until now been no single book available dealing specifically with fractured rock hydrogeology.
This book deals comprehensively with the fundamental principles for understanding these rocks, as well as with exploration techniques and assessment. It also provides in-depth discussion of structural mapping, remote sensing, geophysical exploration, GIS, field hydraulic testing, groundwater quality and contamination, geothermal reservoirs, and resources assessment and management.
Hydrogeological aspects of various lithology groups, including crystalline rocks, volcanic rocks, carbonate rocks and clastic formations, are dealt with separately, using and discussing examples from all over the world.
Applied Hydrogeology of Fractured Rocks will be an invaluable reference source for postgraduate students, researchers, exploration scientists, and engineers engaged in the field of groundwater development in fractured rock areas.
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The Physical Chemistry of Natural Waters (Wiley - Interscience Series in Geochemistry)
Frank J. Millero
Manufacturer: Wiley-Interscience
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ASIN: 0471362786 |
Book Description
An in-depth discussion of the thermodynamics and kinetics of natural waters
Divided into three major parts-structure of matter, chemical thermodynamics, and chemical kinetics- physical chemistry is concerned with the measurement, description, and prediction of the characteristics of chemical systems and their interaction with each other with respect to the transfer of mass and energy. Physical Chemistry of Natural Waters explores how the basic concepts of physical chemistry can be used to understand the chemistry of natural waters, with most of the text confined to chemical thermodynamics and kinetics.
The extensive material in this book is the result of a course in marine physical chemistry that the author has taught over the past decade. Dr. Millero incorporates his own personal interest in solution physical chemistry and his approach to understanding the physical chemistry of seawater with the text's vast coverage of the physical chemistry of liquid phases. In addition, detailed reviews of the basics of thermodynamics and kinetics provide a comprehensive overview for a clearer understanding of the topics covered.
Environmental and physical chemists conducting research on water, seawater, rivers, lakes, and groundwater as well as graduate students studying environmental chemistry will find Physical Chemistry of Natural Waters a solid foundation on the subject of the physical chemistry of natural waters.
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- Compelling Story of an Urban River
- Great history of L.A.
- Impressive History of Los Angeles and its River
- Essential - An Amazing History of Los Angeles and its River
- The River that Made Los Angeles
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The Los Angeles River: Its Life, Death, and Possible Rebirth (Creating the North American Landscape)
Blake Gumprecht
Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press
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Down by the Los Angeles River: Friends of the Los Angeles Rivers Official Guide
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William Mulholland and the Rise of Los Angeles
ASIN: 0801866421 |
Amazon.com
Why is the historic center of Los Angeles located where it is, 15 miles from the ocean and 10 miles from the San Gabriel Mountains, on an arid plain? The answer is the Los Angeles River, which once flowed freely across that flat land. In his book, The Los Angeles River: Its Life, Death, and Possible Rebirth, Blake Gumprecht points out that before the course of the river was paved, Hollywood and Beverly Hills were marshland and that in flood years, the river carried as much water as the Mississippi.
"The destruction of the river had begun half a century before the first concrete was poured," Gumprecht writes, "when the river ... began to be viewed not as a giver of life or a thing of beauty, but as a dumping ground--for horse carcasses, petroleum waste, and the city's garbage." The river, he adds, was also viewed as a mere vehicle for a commodity, water, and a vehicle that could be improved with the addition of channels, culverts, and reservoirs. Such changes made the wide-scale development of the Los Angeles region possible, but they destroyed the living river. Now, years later, environmental activists are pressing to restore the river to something of its former self--and their efforts, if successful, will again alter the course of regional history.
The Los Angeles River has figured widely in many ecological studies of Southern California; in historical work it has figured largely as a backdrop. Gumprecht grants the river close attention as a thing unto itself, one that has affected many other aspects of the area's social, economic, and environmental history. --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
Three centuries ago, the Los Angeles River meandered through marshes and forests of willow and sycamore. Trout spawned in its waters and grizzly bears roamed its shores. The bountiful environment the river helped create supported one of the largest concentrations of Indians in North America. Today, the river is made almost entirely of concrete. Chain-link fence and barbed wire line its course. Shopping carts and trash litter its channel. Little water flows in the river most of the year, and nearly all that does is treated sewage and oily street runoff. On much of its course, the river looks more like a deserted freeway than a river.
The river's contemporary image belies its former character and its importance to the development of Southern California. Los Angeles would not exist were it not for the river, and the river was crucial to its growth. Recognizing its past and future potential, a potent movement has developed to revitalize its course. The Los Angeles River offers the first comprehensive account of a river that helped give birth to one of the world's great cities, significantly shaped its history, and promises to play a key role in its future.
Customer Reviews:
Compelling Story of an Urban River.......2006-04-02
I first saw the Los Angeles River in TV shows and movies like Terminator 2 and have ever since been interested in learning more about this strange, concrete encased urban waterway. Blake Gumprecht's book does a great job of providing the history of the Los Angeles River from its pristine condition two centuries ago into the modern era as a "Freeway for Water" in the book "The Los Angeles River."
The author balances his coverage of the river and fairly represents both sides of the struggle to restore it back to a more natural appearance versus the need to provide flood control protection with concrete fortifications.
The book is extremely well researched and documented. Extensive maps and photos shed light on the topic and make the historical changes easier to follow.
My only wish is that a future edition will include color photos.
Great history of L.A........2005-02-10
Reading this book was an assignement for a geography course I was taking in college. My first thoughts were "A book on the L.A. River? How can they write an entire book on a river that flows a couple of days per year?" My indifference to the subject was quickly dismissed after the first few pages. This book is very insightful! It gives a detailed history on L.A., from it's foundation as a tiny pueblo to the sprawling metropolis it is today, with the river & water in Southern California being the central themes. I always wondered why L.A. was built in the area it's in & Mr. Gumprecht answers that in fine detail along with many other interesting facts regarding the annexation of neighboring cities, water rights, deadly floods and ultimately the concrete channel built to contain this unpredictable river.
Whoever is interested in the histroy of this region will no doubt greatly enjoy this superb book!
Impressive History of Los Angeles and its River.......2004-01-31
If you've ever wondered why Los Angeles is in the middle of a desert (hint: it wasn't always), what the river looked like before there was a city, and why the river was buried in concrete, this is the book. An excellent description of the origins of the river and the city, with insights into the modern revitalization movement.
Among the things I learned:
--The river starts in the San Fernando Valley, but the city of Los Angeles has claimed the water as its own since at least 1810, a claim eventually known as the Pueblo Water Right.
--Not all of those concrete beds in L.A. are technically the L.A. river, which starts along the south edge of the San Fernando Valley, dodges a number of movie studios, and makes a right turn through downtown before heading for the Pacific. The others are creeks and washes that feed (fed) the river.
--The area's light rainfall was sufficient to keep the river flowing year-round until suburbia took over. Concrete and asphalt reduced the water that soaked into the ground to be released slowly into the river. Now, the primary source of flowing river water is the what's been reclaimed from sewage treatment plants.
Worth the read for all Angelenos or anyone who is interested in Los Angeles.
Essential - An Amazing History of Los Angeles and its River.......2002-12-29
This fascinating book is packed with information about the history of Los Angeles. Not many present-day Angelenos would know that the location for the city was chosen because of the once-abundant flow of the Rio de Porciuncula, or Los Angeles River. Blake Gumprecht pulls an amazing feat in researching the River's many incarnations alongside the history of the growth of Los Angeles. In addition to providing detailed reports of the River's former courses, and devastating accounts of some of the River's infamous catastrophic floods, Mr. Gumprecht explains the River's role in shaping the course of Los Angeles city politics in greater detail than any previous study.
Once an ample stream that sustained all of the city's water needs for over 100 years, the Los Angeles River was then pumped dry, smothered in concrete, and almost pushed out of the city's consciousness. Incredible photographs appear throughout the book; many of these photos will make nature-loving Angelenos yearn for the Los Angeles River of yesteryear, with its bubbling, meandering stream, and its banks lined with willows and sycamores.
Long before you approach the end of this book, you realize that, in an over-zealous attempt to control flooding, the Los Angeles River was essentially raped, depleted, and buried. The fact that, at present, most of its 51 miles are cement is a shame -- especially in a city with so little park space. Amazingly, the River still provides up to 15% of L.A.'s drinking water, albeit from subterannean pumps that tap the River's flow before it ever reaches the surface. And millions of gallons of River water were diverted to the Silver Lake reservoir.
People who never knew that there was a Los Angeles River should go see the few surviving River greenbelts in the Glendale Narrows and the Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area to appreciate our city's River as it used to be.
P.S. - I encourage other Los Angeles River buffs to look at Kevin Roderick's book "San Fernando Valley: America's Suburb" to see other beautiful pictures of the River in its natural state, before the concrete obscured it.
The River that Made Los Angeles.......1999-09-17
As a boy growing up in North Long Beach in the 1930s, I often camped out with my friends on the banks of the Los Angeles River. We would go skinny dipping, catch pollywogs and lizards, make willow whistles, and trudge through the oily sludge that lined the river bottom. We did not know that once the river flowed year-around crystal clear, teeming with fish and supporting a heavily wooded flood plain rich with swamps, lakes, and wildlife. My first surprise on reading the biography of this once-ample river was the fact that it supported one of the largest concentrations of natives in the country. The first Europeans who settled on its banks named their village after it. This book really tells three stories. The first is how the river contributed to the growth of agriculture during the first 100 years of European settlement, creating a lasting image of fertile vinyards and orchards in the sunshine. After the railroad came, the needs for water grew so rapidly they pumped the river dry and built an aqueduct to the Owens River in the north to supply their needs. The second story is about the river's revenge and the periodic devastation it caused by flooding. Time after time, the river, swollen by storms in the San Gabriel Mountains, would smash through its levies, carry off whole houses, factories, herds of cattle, orchards and vinyards, destroy roads, bridges, cemeteries, and towns, putting the whole county under water. It was not until the late 1930s that an earnest attempt was made to tame the river with a system of dams, catchment basins, and pavement. The third story is about the recent attempts to restore the river to its natural state, an exercise about which the author is skeptical. Blake Gumprecht has given us a splendid book that again shows us how much geology, climate, and topography affect how we live and think of ourselves as a people.
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