Central America ─ Geology, Resources and Hazards

An integrated treatment of the principal fields of classical and applied geosciences of Central America, this authoritative two-volume monograph treats the region as a whole, exploring geology, earth resources and geo-hazards across political boundaries. It reviews the published literature, and supplements it with an abundance of information from ongoing investigations and internal reports.The compendium is a result of four years’ collaborative work by the editors and more than ninety experts from eighteen countries. It is aimed at professionals, academics and students in the fields of geology, geography, biology, and engineering at the local, regional and international level. In a region which is rich in geological resources and where natural disasters are frequent, the monograph is a solid base for local and international institutions concerned with land-use, infrastructure, water and energy resources, and mining, as well as with hazard reduction and disaster prevention.

Jochen Bundschuh (1960, Germany), completed his PhD on numerical modelling of heat transport in aquifers in Tubingen in 1990. His specializations are geothermics, subsurface- and surface hydrology and integrated water resources management and connected disciplines. In 2001 he was appointed within the Integrated Expert Program of CIM (GTZ/BA), Frankfurt, Germany and works within the framework of the German governmental cooperation in mission to Costa Rica at the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), where he focuses on the sustainable use of surface and groundwater resources for power generation. He is also a professor of the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.

Prof. Bundschuh is editor of the books "Geothermal Energy Resources for Developing Countries" (2002) and "Natural Arsenic in Groundwater" (2005) and author of over 60 international scientific publications. In 2006 he was elected Vice-president of the International Society of Groundwater for Sustainable Development (ISGSD).

Guillermo E. Alvarado (1960, Costa Rica), is a geologist working for more than 20 years in different fields of volcanology andQuaternary geology in Costa Rica and other Central American countries. In 1985 he became the chief of the Seismology and Seismic Engineering section of the Institute of Electricity of Costa Rica (ICE), now the Seismic and Volcanic Hazards and Monitoring Unit. Dr. Alvarado is also professor of Volcanology and Geoarcheology at the University of Costa Rica.

Dr. Alvarado is author of eight books including "The Volcanoes of Costa Rica" (in Spanish; 2^nd edition 2000), "Costa Rica: Land of Volcanoes", (2^nd edition 2005), a book on Igneous Geomorphology (1990), and a book on Natural History (1994). He is co-author of the Geological Map of Costa Rica (Tournon and Alvarado1997), and the Tectonic Atlas of Costa Rica (Denyer et al. 2003).