Download Book announcement: Site investigations methods (Methods in

Increasing population density and industrialization are creating a high strain on the natural
environment and resources of many countries. Therefore, precautionary measures to protect
humans and their environment, as well as remedial action to repair the damages of the past,
have high priority. To analyze and solve such problems are important tasks of applied
geology. Investigation targets range from waste disposal sites, mine and mill tailings and their
impact on the environment, landslides, volcanoes, and earthquakes to hazards caused by
unstable ground due to collapsing natural cavities and underground mines. This international
series, Methods in Environmental Geology, demonstrates geological, geophysical, and
geochemical methods for environmental investigation. Due to the practical nature of this
series, all explanations of methods and approaches refer to case studies.
This handbook is designed to provide geoscientific methods to investigate landfills and
mining and industrial sites. An interdisciplinary geoscientific program is required for a site
investigation. Therefore, a broad spectrum of investigation methods in the fields of remote
sensing, geophysics, geology, hydrogeology, geochemistry, and microbiology is treated in
one book. Most of the methods described in this volume are also available and used in
developing countries. The descriptions provide information about the principle of the method,
possible applications, fundamentals, instruments, survey practice, processing and
interpretation of the data, quality assurance, personnel, equipment, time needed, examples, as
well as references and sources for further reading. Besides geoscientific methods the stepwise
procedure to investigate sites and common problems faced in efficient implementation of field
operations are treated.
This handbook is not intended to be used as a textbook, but instead to provide insights into
the fundamentals, application and limits of methods, as well as interdisciplinary case studies
from different parts of the Earth, selected as examples for extrapolation to other
geoenvironmental concerns. In this way it can be used as a practical guide for training
students.
The method descriptions and case studies in this volume also illustrate the advantages of
interdisciplinary geoscientific site investigations to decision-makers faced with their own
environmental investigations. The consistent and knowledgeable application of methods will
improve the timeliness, cost-effectiveness, and thoroughness of environmental site
assessment.