Leonardo Da Vinci's Water Theory: On the origin and fate of water (IAHS Special Publications)

Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) was not only one of the greatest artists of his time, he was also a great engineer and scientist. A large part of his scientific work was dedicated to understanding the movement, circulation and physical characteristics of water in its different forms. This book makes Leonardo Da Vinci's contributions to the science of water accessible to a wider public and compares his ideas with our present knowledge. Fascinating, revealing and inspiring, Leonardo Da Vinci's Water Theory opens up a new history to the study of water. Two hundred years before Newton, Perrault and Halley, Leonardo Da Vinci was doing hypothesis-driven science and describing and classifying hydrological processes. For example, he came close to the modern definition of the hydrological cycle, recognising that water passes through the major river systems countless times, summing up to volumes much greater than those contained in the worlds oceans. Pfister, Savenije and Fenicia carefully report Da Vincis seminal work and provide a modern hydrological context.The International Association of Hydrological Sciences is the world's premier member-based organization promoting the study and practice of Hydrology. Our books are authored, edited and produced at the highest level of quality, with the most current and thorough research. Our publications and our work advance the science and the professional practice of Hydrology in a variety of Science and Engineering fields around the world. The areas that we publish in include: -Ground water -Surface water -Snow and ice hydrology -Drought and desertification -Runoff modelling -Watershed -Remote sensing -Water quality -Water resources and management -Ecohydrology/hydro-ecology -Erosion and sediment -Tracer hydrology