Acknowledgments
I want to begin my acknowledgments by thanking Springer for their willingness to
publish this edited volume. In particular, I would like to thank Johanna Schwarz
and Carlo Schneider for their work on this project and their seemingly endless
patience.
With regard to the content of this volume, I want to express my gratitude to all
of the contributing authors who devoted extensive time and effort to the writing of
their chapters. I also thank all of the reviewers who improved the quality of this
work through their careful analysis and comments.
On a professional note, I want to thank Northern Michigan University and their
Department of Earth, Environmental, and Geographical Sciences for providing
reassigned time to work on this edited volume while I was a faculty member.
Special thanks go to Dr. Susy Ziegler, who supported my work as department chair
during my time in the department. On a personal note, I want to thank my wife and
children for their loving support and the Lord for the ability to engage in this work.
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