[A-List] New Book on disaster science.....

[Juergen Kropp <kropp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The Science of Disasters: Climate Disruptions, Heart Attacks, and Market 
Crashes, 
A. Bunde, J. Kropp, H.J. Schellnhuber (eds.), 453 pp. With 170 Figures, 
including 57 color Figures. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, 
ISBN 3-540-41324-3, 64.15 Euro

Are there universal laws govering the persistence of weather, and is it 
possible to predict climate transitions as generated by natural or
man-made 
perturbations? How can one quantify the roller-coaster dynamics of stock 
markets and anticipate mega-crashes? Can we diagnose health condition of 
patients from heartbeat time-series analysis, which may even form the
basis 
for infarct prevention? Is it possible to manage disaster risks if only 
uncertain knowledge is on hand? This book tackles these questions by
applying 
advanced methods from statistical physics and related fields to all
types of 
nonlinear dynamics prone to disaster. 

Table of Contents

Part I. General

1.  Entropy, Complexity, Predictability, and Data Analysis of Time	3-25 
    Serier and Letter Sequences
    By W. Ebeling, L. Molgedey, J. Kurths, and U. Schwarz 
    (With 9 Figures) 

2.  Wavelet Based Multifractal Formalism: Applications to DNA		26-102
    Sequences, Satellite Images of the Cloud Structure, and Stock 
    Market Data
    By A. Arneodo, B. Audit, N. Decoster, J.-F. Muzy, and C. Vaillant
    (With 22 Figures) 

Part II. Climate Systems

3.  Space-Time Variability of the European Climate			104-139
    By K. Fraedrich and C.-D. Schönwiese 
    (With 16 Figures)

4.  Is Climate Predictable?						140-169
    By K. Hasselmann 
    (With 17 Figures) 

5.  Atmospheric Persistence Analysis: Novel Approaches and Applications
170-191
    By A. Bunde, S. Havlin, E. Koscielny-Bunde, and H.J. Schellnhuber
    (With 7 Figures)

6.  Assessment and Management of Critical Events: The Breakdown of
192-216 
    Marine Fisheries and The North Atlantic Thermohaline Circulation
    By J. Kropp, K. Zickfeld, and K. Eisenack 
    (With 12 Figures) 

Part III. Biodynamics

7.  Fractal and Multifractal Approaches in Physiology			218-257
    By P.Ch. Ivanov, A.L. Goldberger, and H.E. Stanley 
    (With 22 Figures) 

8.  Physiological Relevance of Scaling of Heart Phenomena		258-281
    By L.S. Liebovitch, T. Penzel, and J.W. Kantelhardt 
    (With 11 Figures)

9.  Local Scaling Properties for Diagnostic Purposes			282-309
    By W. Bunk, F. Jamitzky, R. Pompl, C. Räth, and G. Morfill
    (With 16 Figures) 

10. Unstable Periodic Orbits and Stochastic Synchronization in		310-329
    Sensory Biology 
    By F. Moss and H. Braun 
    (With 10 Figures)

11. Crowd Disasters and Simulation of Panic Situations			330-350
    By D. Helbing, I.J. Farkas, and T. Vicsek 
    (With 9 Figures)

Part IV. Nonlinear Economics 

12. Investigations of Financial Markets Using Statistical		352-371 
    Physics Methods
    By R.N. Mantegna and H.E. Stanley 
    (With 6 Figures) 

13. Market Fluctuations I: Scaling, Multiscaling, and Their		372-409
    Possible Origins
    By T. Lux and M. Ausloos 
    (With 5 Figures)

14. Market Fluctuations II: Multiplicative and Percolation		410-435
    Models, Size Effects, and Predictions
    By D. Sornette, D. Stauffer, and H. Takayasu 
    (With 7 Figures)

Glossary								437-439

Subject Index								441-453