Jan Kozak - Böcker

This book not only discusses the important topics in the area of machine learning and combinatorial optimization, it also combines them into one.

While the first book provided a detailed look into two main kinds of natural disasters (of seismic and volcanic character), this volume presents natural disasters of all kinds: geophysical, hydrological, climatological and biological.

This book examines old and new data on some of the 18th and 19th century earthquakes that either occurred or were clearly felt in southern regions of Poland. Particular emphasis is put on a detailed study and reinterpretation of the unusually severe Outer Western Carpathians earthquake on December 3, 1786 (7 I0, 5.3 Mw, 35 km depth), which was the last in a series of seismic events in the years 1785 and 1786. An assessment is also made of what we presently know about the seismicity of the Western Carpathians in Poland based on to instrumental data. The book also presents material relating to earthquakes of 6-9 I0 that affected south Poland and the surrounding regions: Žilina in Slovakia (1858), Gera in Thuringia (1872), the Sudetes on the Czech-Polish border (1883, 1901), and Lower Silesia, Poland (1895). These are analyzed and illustrated by 17 contemporary macroseismic intensity maps, some of which are considered to be remarkable for those times. A new seismic catalog for Poland is provided with amendments and updates up to the end of 2014. Noteworthy is the data on two unforeseen events: one about 60 km NE of the Polish border in 2004 and one in central Poland in 2012. It shows how important it is, not least for practical engineering purposes, to perform seismic monitoring even in seemingly aseismic regions.

This book focuses on the presentation and evaluation of geological maps of the Central Europe from 1750 up to 1840. Milestones in presentation of stratigraphy and tectonics and new geological models on such maps will be underlined. Map descriptions contain fundamentals editorial data as well as the map author’s affiliation and biographies. It represents for the region of the Central Europe the first work of this type. Geological maps represent geological synthesis and indicate the level of geological knowledge throughout history. They serve as guidelines for an economic utilization of mineral deposits and further geological investigation.

This book examines old and new data on some of the 18th and 19th century earthquakes that either occurred or were clearly felt in southern regions of Poland. Particular emphasis is put on a detailed study and reinterpretation of the unusually severe Outer Western Carpathians earthquake on December 3, 1786 (7 I0, 5.3 Mw, 35 km depth), which was the last in a series of seismic events in the years 1785 and 1786. An assessment is also made of what we presently know about the seismicity of the Western Carpathians in Poland based on to instrumental data. The book also presents material relating to earthquakes of 6-9 I0 that affected south Poland and the surrounding regions: Žilina in Slovakia (1858), Gera in Thuringia (1872), the Sudetes on the Czech-Polish border (1883, 1901), and Lower Silesia, Poland (1895). These are analyzed and illustrated by 17 contemporary macroseismic intensity maps, some of which are considered to be remarkable for those times. A new seismic catalog for Poland is provided with amendments and updates up to the end of 2014. Noteworthy is the data on two unforeseen events: one about 60 km NE of the Polish border in 2004 and one in central Poland in 2012. It shows how important it is, not least for practical engineering purposes, to perform seismic monitoring even in seemingly aseismic regions.

This book focuses on the presentation and evaluation of geological maps of the Central Europe from 1750 up to 1840. Milestones in presentation of stratigraphy and tectonics and new geological models on such maps will be underlined. Map descriptions contain fundamentals editorial data as well as the map author’s affiliation and biographies. It represents for the region of the Central Europe the first work of this type. Geological maps represent geological synthesis and indicate the level of geological knowledge throughout history. They serve as guidelines for an economic utilization of mineral deposits and further geological investigation.

This book not only discusses the important topics in the area of machine learning and combinatorial optimization, it also combines them into one. This was decisive for choosing the material to be included in the book and determining its order of presentation.Decision trees are a popular method of classification as well as of knowledge representation. At the same time, they are easy to implement as the building blocks of an ensemble of classifiers. Admittedly, however, the task of constructing a near-optimal decision tree is a very complex process.The good results typically achieved by the ant colony optimization algorithms when dealing with combinatorial optimization problems suggest the possibility of also using that approach for effectively constructing decision trees. The underlying rationale is that both problem classes can be presented as graphs. This fact leads to option of considering a larger spectrum of solutions than those based on the heuristic. Moreover, ant colony optimization algorithms can be used to advantage when building ensembles of classifiers.This book is a combination of a research monograph and a textbook. It can be used in graduate courses, but is also of interest to researchers, both specialists in machine learning and those applying machine learning methods to cope with problems from any field of R&D.

This book tells the story of the Earth itself, explaining the interplay of its gradual geologi- levolution, presented as a generally slow and safe process, with the sudden manifestations of natural hazards, which involve disasters that affect the environment and lead to huge material damage and human losses. The natural forces at play, whether they are violent explosions ofvolcanic eruptions or almost imperceptible deformations of subsurface rock strata, nally- sulting in devastating earthquakes, all control the existence and destiny of a certain part of the global population. The development of man’s existence down through history has depended upon his understanding of the world in which he lives, and upon his ability to turn to his own best use the materials that were there for the taking. However, he has had not only to furnish himself with food, water, building materials, and energy to protect himself against occasional natural adversities. Protecting himself from them meant comprehending their causes, and the essential core of his understanding was in recording and depicting them. This book is written for anyone interested in the Earth in general, and in natural disasters in particular, presenting a unique collection of historical illustrations of volcanic eruptions and earthquake events and their repercussions. The book represents a golden mean between sci- ti c and popular works.