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  • Reference work
  • © 2012

Encyclopedia of Lakes and Reservoirs

  • Delivers a one-stop, one-volume compilation of the physical, chemical and ecological characteristics of the world’s lakes and reservoirs
  • Constitutes a timely and comprehensive survey of current uses and environmental conditions and trends
  • Analyzes the impacts on the environment and ecosystems of lakes and reservoirs and their ever-more-critical exploitation
  • Draws on the expertise of the world’s most prolific authors and authoritative geoscientists, ecologists and biologists
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series (EESS)

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Table of contents (186 entries)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxx
  2. A

    1. Acidification in Lakes

      • Thomas Hellström
      Pages 1-1
    2. Africa, Lakes Review

      • Rhodes W. Fairbridge (Deceased), Lars Bengtsson
      Pages 1-6
    3. Age Determination of Lake Deposits

      • Barbara Wohlfarth
      Pages 6-6
    4. Alpine Lakes

      • Reginald W. Herschy
      Pages 7-9
    5. Alternative Stable States in Shallow Lakes

      • Anders Hargeby, Irmgard Blindow
      Pages 9-13
    6. Amazon lakes

      • Edgardo Manuel Latrubesse
      Pages 13-26
    7. Antarctic Lakes

      • Dominic A. Hodgson
      Pages 26-31
    8. Antarctic Subglacial Lake Ellsworth

      • John Woodward, Martin J. Siegert, Andy M. Smith, George Royston-Bishop
      Pages 31-34
    9. Antarctic Subglacial Lake Vostok

      • George Royston-Bishop, Martin J. Siegert, John Woodward
      Pages 34-37
    10. Antarctic Subglacial Lakes

      • Martin J. Siegert, John Woodward, George Royston-Bishop
      Pages 37-39
    11. Aquatic Plants

      • Stewart J. Clarke
      Pages 39-42
    12. Arab Region, Lakes and Reservoirs

      • Mamdouh Shahin (Deceased), Lars Bengtsson
      Pages 43-53
    13. Aral Sea

      • Peter O. Zavialov
      Pages 53-56
    14. Arch Dams, Development from Cut-Stone Arches to Modern Design

      • Hubert Chanson, D. P. James
      Pages 56-68
    15. Arctic Lakes

      • Bent Hasholt
      Pages 68-68
    16. Artificial Wetlands

      • Jesper Persson
      Pages 69-69
    17. Asia, Lakes Review

      • Rhodes W. Fairbridge (Deceased), Lars Bengtsson
      Pages 69-73
    18. Australia, Climate and Lakes

      • H. A. Bridgman, Brian V. Timms
      Pages 73-80
    19. Australia, Coastal Paleolakes of “Swanland”

      • Rhodes W. Fairbridge (Deceased), Lars Bengtsson
      Pages 80-81

About this book

The world’s growing population faces the challenge of meeting ever-larger demands for  fresh water, not only for drinking but also for agriculture, industry and recreation. Already some one billion people are at risk from over-use, water withdrawals and pollution of these water bodies So scientific knowledge of the lakes and reservoirs, which hold about 90% of the world's surface fresh water, is increasingly critical to meeting the multiplicity of needs.

The Encyclopedia of Lakes and Reservoirs offers a comprehensive and authoritative review of physical, chemical and ecological characteristics of lakes and reservoirs, as well as describing their uses and environmental conditions and trends in all parts of the world.

More than 165 scientists from over 30 countries have contributed in both large and small ways to this authoritative volume. Superbly illustrated throughout, it includes some 200 entries in a wide range of topics, including acidification, artificialisation, biology, canals, climate change effects, chemicals, dams, dew ponds, drainage, ecological, eutrophication, evaporation, fisheries, geographical, geological, hydrological, hydro-electric power, nutrients, organic pollution, paleolimnology, reservoir capacities and depths, sedimentation, water resources.

These include many of the most current and most controversial environmental problems.

Reviews

From the reviews:

Selected by Choice magazine as an "Outstanding Academic Title" for 2013

“This latest addition to the ‘Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences’ series focuses on lakes and reservoirs, which comprise over 1.6 million kilometers of the Earth’s surface and hold approximately 90 percent of its surface fresh water. … The volume is profusely illustrated with graphs, charts, maps, and mathematical formulas. … Excellent author and subject indexes assist in finding relevant information. … should become one of the most authoritative references on this important subject. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All libraries; lower-level undergraduates through professionals, and general readers.” (J. C. Stachacz, Choice, Vol. 50 (7), March, 2013)

“This mammoth volume, containing around 200 entries, collates the work of 162 contributors from over 30 countries … . While the dominant focus is on physical geography, it will be of great interest to bio-geographers as contextual background, and there are plenty of sections dealing with biological theories, principles or records. This will be an essential reference text for the library.” (Frontiers of Biogeography, Vol. 4 (4), 2012)

“This encyclopaedia comprises 186 entries that are written by 162 contributors from all over the world … . an authoritative overview of scientific knowledge regarding lakes and reservoirs. … The Encyclopaedia of Lakes and Reservoirs is intended to be a reference book for scholars and students. … To sum up, the book is well done and suitable for libraries … .” (Alexander Pleßow, Environmental Earth Sciences, 2012)

Editors and Affiliations

  • Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Lars Bengtsson

  • Reading, UK

    Reginald W. Herschy

About the editors

Lars Bengtsson is professor in Water Resources Engineering at Lund University, Sweden. He was previously professor of hydrology at Uppsala University and Luleå Technical University and visiting professor in the USA, Canada and Hungary. He is and has been editorial board member of a large number of scientific journals. He has published more that 100 papers in international peer-reviewed journals. He specializes in physical processes in lakes and rivers and cold climate hydrology. 

Reginald Walter Herschy is a British consultant in hydrology dealing mainly with rivers, lakes and reservoirs. His work has taken him to Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Lesotho, Kenya, USA, Canada and South America. Dr Herschy was formerly with the UK Government for many years as head of hydrometry in England and Wales.  He is the author of some 60 technical papers on hydrology and meteorological satellites and author of several books. He is co-editor with the late Professor Rhodes Fairbridge ofthe Encyclopedia of Hydrology and Water Resources.

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 449.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book USD 499.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access