Modern biogeochemistry: Second edition: Environmental risk assessment

Abstract

At present, quantitative ecological risk assessment is widely used in different contexts, however very often without an understanding of the natural mechanisms that drive the processes of environmental and human risk. This book is aimed at generalizing the modern ideas of both biogeochemical and environmental risk assessment that have been developed in recent years. Only a few books are available for readers in this interdisciplinary area, since most books deal mainly with various technical aspects of ERA description and calculations. The text supplements existing books by providing a modern understanding of mechanisms that are responsible for ecological risks for human beings and ecosystems. To a certain extent this publication is a summary of both scientific results of various authors, and of classes in biogeochemistry and ERA, taught by the author in recent years to students in the USA, in particular at Cornell, and at different universities in Moscow, Pushchino, Seoul, and Bangkok. © 2006 Springer. All rights reserved.