Clays and clay minerals are very important industrial minerals. There are well over one hundred documented industrial applications of clay materials. Clays are utilized in the process industries, in agricultural applications, in engineering and construction applications, in environmental remediations, in geology, and in many other miscellaneous applications. This book is an assimilation of the major and minor uses of clays and clay minerals and explains why an understanding of the structure and physical and chemical attributes of the individual clay minerals are so important. Clay is an abundant raw material which has an amazing variety of uses and properties that are largely dependent on their mineral structure and composition. Other than the clay structure and composition, there are several additional factors which are important in determining the properties and applications of a clay. These are the non-clay mineral composition, the presence of organic material, the type and amount of exchangeable ions and soluble salts, and the texture (Grim, 1950) <...>

Recurrent natural hazards, depletion of water resources and their contamination, and rapidly rising atmospheric CO2 levels are major concerns facing the globe, primarily due to a combination of various geogenic and anthropogenic processes. Lack of enough public awareness of environmental issues further complicates the scenario. In order to understand how pattern affects the environment, we must first be able to identify and quantify such patterns. Hence, this book aims to provide essential management tools (e.g., decision-support systems) with detailed information for a healthy and sustainable environment <...>

AN elementary textbook is much concerned with the fundamentals of a subject and these do not change with time. In this respect the second edition of our book has been little modified. In every other it is much altered for the subject has advanced greatly since we gathered together the material for the original version. The changes have been brought about mainly by developments in electronics and in the science of computing. The former have led to the appearance of much lighter, more sensitive and altogether much improved instruments, making it possible to collect better data far more quickly. The latter have made possible the rapid reduction of the very large amounts of data that can now be collected during a survey but even more important they make possible the use of far more sophisticated interpretation techniques than formerly. It is no exaggeration, therefore, to say that applied geophysics has moved into a new era in the interim since this book was first conceived. <...>