The Diatoms: Applications for the Environmental and Earth Sciences

E. F. Stoermer, John P. Smol

Cambridge University Press, Jul 19, 2001 - Science - 469 pages

Diatoms are microscopic algae which are found in virtually every habitat where water is present. This volume is an up-to-date summary of the expanding field of their uses in environmental and earth sciences. Their abundance and wide distribution, and their well-preserved glass-like walls make them ideal tools for a wide range of applications as both fossils and living organisms. Examples of their wide range of applications include environmental indicators, oil exploration, and forensic examination. The major emphasis is on their use in analyzing ecological problems such as climate change, acidification, and eutrophication. The contributors to the volume are leading researchers in their fields and are brought together for the first time to give a timely synopsis of a dynamic and important area. This book should be read by environmental scientists, phycologists, limnologists, ecologists and palaeoecologists, oceanographers, archaeologists and forensic scientists.

Contents

• Applications and uses of diatoms prologue: 3
• Diatoms as indicators of environmental change in flowing waters and lakes: 9
• Assessing environmental conditions in rivers and streams with diatoms: 11
• Diatoms as indicators of hydrologic and climatic change in saline lakes: 41
• Diatoms as mediators of biogeochemical silica depletion in the Laurentian Great Lakes: 73
• Diatoms as indicators of surface water acidity: 85
• Diatoms as indicators of lake eutrophication: 128
• Continental diatoms as indicators of longterm environmental change: 169
• Diatoms as indicators of water level change in freshwater lakes: 183
• Diatoms as indicators in extreme environments: 203
• Diatoms as indicators of environmental change near arctic and alpine treeline: 205
• Freshwater diatoms as indicators of environmental change in the High Arctic: 227
• Diatoms as indicators of environmental change in antarctic freshwaters: 245
• Diatoms of aerial habitats: 264
• Diatoms as indicators in marine and estuarine environments: 275
• Diatoms as indicators of coastal paleoenvironments and relative sealevel change: 277
• Diatoms and environmental change in brackish waters: 298
• Applied diatom studies in estuaries and shallow coastal environments: 334
• Estuarine paleoenvironmental reconstructions using diatoms: 352
• Diatoms and marine paleoceanography: 374
• Other applications: 387
• Diatoms and archeology: 389
• Diatoms in oil and gas exploration: 402
• Forensic science and diatoms: 413
• Toxic and harmful marine diatoms: 419
• Diatoms as markers of atmospheric transport: 429
• Diatomite: 436
• Conclusions: 445
• Epilogue a view to the future: 447
• Glossary and acronyms: 451
• Index: 466

About the author

Eugene F. Stoermer is a past-President of the Phycological Society of America and the International Association for Diatom Research. He has worked at the University of Michigan since 1965 where he is Professor in the School of Natural Resources and Environment, studying various aspects of diatom biology and ecology.

John P. Smol co-heads the Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Laboratory (PEARL) at Queen's University, Ontario, where he is Professor in the Department of Biology. He is editor-in-chief of the Journal of Paleolimnology.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Diatoms: Applications for the Environmental and Earth Sciences; Online access with purchase: Cambridge Books Online; The Diatoms: Applications for the Environmental and Earth Sciences, Eugene F. Stoermer
• Editors: E. F. Stoermer, John P. Smol
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2001
• ISBN: 0521004128, 9780521004121
• Length: 469 pages
• Subjects: Science / Earth Sciences / Limnology; Science / Earth Sciences / Oceanography; Science / Life Sciences / Botany; Science / Life Sciences / Ecology; Technology & Engineering / Environmental / General