Environmental geology is the study of the relationship between humans and their geological environment. This relationship goes both ways. Not only do naturally occurring geological phenomena affect the lives of people each day, but also human activities affect geological processes, sometimes with tragic consequences. Given the growing global population, the potential risk for experiencing abrupt, if not catastrophic, geological and climatic changes has never been greater for more people.

Chapter 1 A Study of Airborne Trace Elements in Belgrade Urban Area: Instrumental and Active Biomonitoring Approach M. Aničić, Z. Mijić, M. Kuzmanoski, A. Stojić, M. Tomašević, S. Rajšić and M. Tasić

Chapter 2 Flow Optosensing Applied to the Analysis of Trace Elements Antonio Ruiz-Medina and Eulogio J. Llorent-Martínez

Chapter 3 Trace Metals in Fruit and Vegetable and their Effects on Human Health Stefania Papa, Giovanni Bartoli and Antonietta Fioretto

The Antarctic Research Series: Statement of Objectives Board of Associate Editors 

The Velocity Structure of Mount Erebus, Antarctica, and Its Lava Lake R. R. Dibble, B. O'Brien, and C. A. Rowe

Velocity Modeling in the Erupting Magma Column of Mount Erebus, Antarctica R. R. Dibble

The Seismic Activity of Mount Erebus in 1981-1990 Katsutada Kaminuma

Monitoring Mount Erebus by Satellite Remote Sensing D. A. Rothery and C. Oppenheimer

The Eocene Green River Formation in Wyoming has long served as a standard for lacustrine depositional systems. This lacustrine formation, excluding the culminating phase, was deposited in a closed hydrographic basin. The position of the boundary between lake and mudflat margin was dictated by the inflow evaporation ratio (inflow greater than evaporation = transgression; inflow less than evaporation = regression).

To begin, we define soil as the weathered and fragmented outer layer of the earth’s terrestrial surface. It is formed initially through disintegration, decomposition, and recomposition of mineral material contained in exposed rocks by physical, chemical, and biological processes. The material thus modified is further conditioned by the activity and accumulated residues of numerous microscopic and macroscopic organisms (plants and animals). In a series of processes that may require hundreds or even thousands of years and that is called soil genesis, the loose debris of rock fragments is transmuted into a more or less stable, internally ordered, actively functioning natural body. Ultimately, this culminates in the formation of a characteristic soil profile, which resembles a layer cake. We can visualize the soil profile as a composite living body, in the same way that we think of the human body as a distinct organism, even though in reality it is an ensemble of numerous interdependent and symbiotically coordinated groups of organelles, cells, organs, and colonies of myriad organisms. <...>

Книга написана на основе лекций по одноимѐнному предмету, читаемых автором первому курсу биологического факультета МГУ с 2006 года, однако не сводится к ним. Непосредственно на занятиях всѐ не расскажешь, здесь максимум возможного – помочь каждому понять собственный интерес к каким-то аспектам предмета и снабдить всех своего рода опорным конспектом, по которому студенты уже углубляются сами. Для этого был создан сайт лекционного курса http://naturschutz.livejournal.com/, задачи которого:

– дать представление о современном уровне знаний по охране природы;
– показать возможности фундаментальных исследований в рамках охраны природы, их сложность, красоту и интеллектуальную привлекательность (а не только насущность);
– регулярно рассказывать о работах «переднего края науки» в нашей области; <...>

Te mining sector is essential in the economic development of many resource rich African countries as it has the potential to fnance infrastructural developments which are much needed in Africa. Tis is due to the fact that various minerals are used as raw materials in different sectors including construction and transport. Most importantly, mineral materials also play an important role in industrialization and urbanization which are now rapidly escalating on the continent.

Teresa Valente Editorial for Special Issue “Pollutants in Acid Mine Drainage” Reprinted from

Darrell Kirk Nordstrom Geochemical Modeling of Iron and Aluminum Precipitation during Mixing and Neutralization of Acid Mine Drainage
Cl ´ementine Drapeau, Rabei Argane, C ´ecile Delolme, Denise Blanc, Mostafa Benzaazoua and Rachid Hakkou et al. Lead Mobilization and Speciation in Mining Waste: Experiments and Modeling
Elliott K. Skierszkan, John W. Dockrey, K. Ulrich Mayer, Viorica F. Bondici, Joyce M. McBeth and Roger D. Beckie Geochemical Controls on Uranium Release from Neutral-pH Rock Drainage Produced by Weathering of Granite, Gneiss, and Schist
Mariana Lemos, Teresa Valente, Paula Marinho Reis, Rita Fonseca, Itamar Delbem and Juliana Ventura et al. Mineralogical and Geochemical Characterization of Gold Mining Tailings and Their Potential to Generate Acid Mine Drainage (Minas Gerais, Brazil)

In this introductory chapter we describe general problems of spatial environmental data analysis, modeling, validation and visualization. Many of these problems are considered in detail in the following chapters using geostatistical models, machine learning algorithms (MLA) of neural networks and Support Vector Machines, and the Bayesian Maximum Entropy (BME) approach. The term “mapping” in the book is considered not only as an interpolation in two- or threedimensional geographical space, but in a more general sense of estimating the desired dependencies from empirical data.