Water in Buildings: An Architect's Guide to Moisture and Mold

If you design buildings, or live in an area that is heavily affected by water and moisture, then this is the perfect guide to use on your next project.  Water in Buildings: An Architect’s Guide to Moisture and Mold will not only give you information on those quick fixes to problems with moisture and mold, but it gives you the background to understanding how these problems come to be.  With that knowledge you can prevent as much as you can, and prepare for the rest in your designs and projects.

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgements

1. Water: A molecule Endowed with Extraordinary Physicochemical Properties 1

Molecular Geometry and Electrical Properties
Phase Diagram
Stable Isotopes of Hydrogen and Oxygen
Thermodynamic Properties
Conduction of Heat
Optical Properties
Turbidity, Ternary Mixtures and the “Ouzo” Effect
Underwater Propagation of Sound
Syntheses and Electrolysis
Bibliography

2. Theories About the Origin of Water on Earth

The Blue Planet of the Solar System
Comets
Carbonaceous Chondrites and Icy Asteroids
Small Magnitude Evolution of the D/H Ratio of the Oceans
Chemical Composition of the Primordial Earth’s Oceans
The Early Huge “Greenhouse Effect”
pH and Redox State of the Primordial Earth’s Oceans
Archean Ultramafic Rocks: A trap for Carbon Dioxide
The Salinity of the Primordial Earth’s Oceans
Bibliography

3. The Main Water Reservoirs on Earth and their Chemical Compositions

Masses of Water Reservoirs
Ice Caps
Groundwaters
Rivers
Lakes
Brackish Waters
Oceans
Salinity
The Definition of Water Masses
The Wind-Driven Surface Ocean Circulation
Thermohaline Circulation: The Global Ocean Conveyor
The Superficial Hydrological Cycle, Water Fluxes and Residence Times
Chemical Composition of Rivers
Ocean Chemical Composition
Dissolved Salts
Dissolved Gases
Variations of Dissolved O2 and CO2 with Oceanic Depth
Brief Concept of Alkalinity
The oceanic Carbon Pump and the pH of Seawater
Chemical Composition of Rainfall
Why Are Oceans Salty
Hypersaline Waters
The Dead Sea
Mono Lake, USA
Geothermal Waters and the “Petrifying Springs”
Bibliography

4. Water and Plate Tectonics

A Brief Introduction to the Theory of “Plate Tectonics”
Catastrophic Events Related to Global Tectonics: Tsunamis
Oceanic Hydrothermal Activity
Water in the Earth’s Mantle
Water in Nominally Anhydrous Minerals
IR Spectroscopy or How to See Water Traces in Mantle Minerals
Subduction and Volcanic Activity
Continental Growth and Recycling
Bibliography

5. Water and Life

Cell Functioning and metabolic Activity
Human Body Water, Blood and pH
Cell Functioning
Body Water Balance
Body Heat Balance
Adaptation and Readaptation of Tetrapods to the Aquatic Environment
Biodiversity in the Aquatic Environment
Freshwater Biodiversity
Marine Biodiversity
Bibliography

6. Stable Isotope Tracking: Water Cycles and Climates of the Past

Principles of Stable Isotope Fractionation Between Substances
Quantum Mechanics and Isotopic Fractionation
Physiochemical Processes Responsible for Isotopic Fractionation
Techniques of Stable Isotope Measurements of Aqueous Solutions
The “Salt Effect” and the Isotopic Measurement of Brines
The Surface Water Cycle
Isotopic Fractionations During Water Evaporation and Condensation
Precipitation
The Concept of “Amount Effect”
Geographic Distribution of Rainfall δD and δ180 Values
δD and δ180 Variations of Rainfall With Altitude
Rainfall δD and δ180 Values as a Function of Air Temperature
The δ180 of the Sea Surface Waters
S and δ180 Relationships in the Ocean
S and δ180 Relationships in the Coastal Waters
The Stable Isotope Memory of Fossil Biominerals
Isotopic Fractionation Equation Between Biominerals and Water
Robustness of the Isotopic Record Through Time
Tracking the Ecology of Extinct Vertebrate Species
The Aquatic Environments of the Jurassic Turtles of Western Europe
Isotopic Records of Long-Term Climate Changes
Variations in the δD and δ180 of Polar Ice Caps
Isotopic Records of Climatic Seasonal Variations
Aqueous Inclusions Trapped in Minerals
Bibliography

Index