ALBERT

Description / Table of Contents: Clays and soils are of great importance in various scientific fields, such as agriculture and environmental science, and in mineral deposits. Students and close collaborators of Georges Millot, the eminent French clay sedimentologist, have put together a book with topics ranging from weathering processes and diagenetic evalution of sediments to sedimentary mineral deposits. The book is of interest to practitioners, advanced students as well as teachers in the above fields

Description / Table of Contents: Climate Since A.D. 1500 presents a unique perspective on the 'Litte Ice Age' and the climate of the twentieth century. Leading scientists explore historical documents, dendroclimatic data and ice core records from all over the world, presenting an invaluable compilation for all those concerned with past climate and the risks of man-made climatic change in the future. This revised edition includes a new chapter summarizing the wealth of literature on climatic change over the past few years and a new and expanded index.

Description / Table of Contents: The Mineralogical Society of America sponsored a short course for which this was the text at Stanford University December 9 and 10, 1995, preceding the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union and MSA in San Fransisco, with about 100 professionals and graduate students in attendance. A silicate melt phase is the essential component of nearly all igneous processes, with dramatic consequences for the properties of the Earth's interior. Throughout Earth history and continuing to the present day, silicate melts have acted as transport agents in the chemical and physical differentiation of the Earth into core, mantle and crust. The occurrence of such magmatic processes leads to the definition of our planet as "active," and the resulting volcanism has a profound impact on the Earth's atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. Although near-surface melts are observed directly during volcanic eruptions, the properties of magmas deep within the Earth must be characterized and constrained by laboratory experiments. Many of these experiments are designed to aid in developing an atomic level understanding of the structure and dynamics of silicate melts under the P- T conditions of the Earth's crust and mantle, which will make extrapolation from the laboratory results to the behavior of natural magmas as reliable as possible. Silicate melts are also the archetypal glass-forming materials. Because of the ready availability of raw materials, and the ease with which molten silicates can be vitrified, commercial "glass" has necessarily implied a silicate composition, over most of the history of glass technology. The properties of the melt, or "slag" in metallurgical extractions, determine the nature of the glass formed, and the needs of the glass industry have provided much of the impetus for understanding the structure-property relations of molten silicates as well as for the glasses themselves. It is now recognized that any liquid might become glassy, if cooled rapidly enough, and understanding the thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of the glass transition, or passage between the liquid and glassy states of matter, has become a subject of intense interest in fundamental physics and chemistry. Glasses have also been studied in many geochemical investigations, often as substitutes for the high temperature melts, with the results being extrapolated to the liquid state. In many cases, in situ techniques for direct investigation of these refractory systems have only recently become available. Much valuable information concerning the melt structure has been gleaned from such studies. Nevertheless, there are fundamental differences between the liquid and glassy states. In liquids, the structure becomes progressively more disordered with increasing temperature, which usually gives rise to major changes in all thermodynamic properties and processes. These changes must, in general, be investigated directly by in situ studies at high temperature. Studies of glass only represent a starting point, which reflect a frozen image of the melt "structure" at the glass transition temperature. This is generally hundreds of degrees below the near-liquidus temperatures of greatest interest to petrologists. Since the early 1980s, a much deeper understanding of the structure, dynamics, and properties of molten silicates has been developed within the geochemical community, applying techniques and concepts developed within glass science, extractive metallurgy and liquid state physics. Some of these developments have far-reaching implications for igneous petrology. The purpose of this Short Course and volume is to introduce the basic concepts of melt physics and relaxation theory as applied to silicate melts, then to describe the current state of experimental and computer simulation techniques for exploring the detailed atomic structure and dynamic processes which occur at high temperature, and finally to consider the relationships between melt structure, thermodynamic properties and rheology within these liquids. These fundamental relations serve to bridge the extrapolation from often highly simplified melt compositions studied in the laboratory to the multicomponent systems found in nature. This volume focuses on the properties of simple model silicate systems, which are usually volatile-free. The behavior of natural magmas has been summarized in a previous Short Course volume (Nicholls and Russell, editors, 1990: Reviews in Mineralogy, Vol. 24), and the effect of volatiles on magmatic properties in yet another (Carroll and Holloway, editors, 1994: Vol. 30). In the chapters by Moynihan, by Webb and Dingwell, and by Richet and Bottinga, the concepts of relaxation and the glass transition are introduced, along with techniques for studying the rheology of silicate liquids, and theories for understanding the transport and relaxation behavior in terms of the structure and thermodynamic properties of the liquid. The chapter by Dingwell presents applications of relaxation-based studies of melts in the characterization of their properties. Chapters by Stebbins, by Brown, Farges and Calas, and by McMillan and Wolf present the principal techniques for studying the melt structure and atomic scale dynamics by a variety of spectroscopic and diffraction methods. Wolf and McMillan summarize our current understanding of the effects of pressure on silicate glass and melt structure. Chapters by Navrotsky and by Hess consider the thermodynamic properties and mixing relations in simple and multicomponent aluminosilicate melts, both from a fundamental structural point of view and empirical chemical models which can be conveniently extrapolated to natural systems. The chapter by Chakraborty describes the diffusivity of chemical species in silicate melts and glasses, and the chapter by Poole, McMillan and Wolf discusses the application of computer simulation methods to understanding the structure and dynamics of molten silicates. The emphasis in this volume is on reviewing the current state of knowledge of the structure, dynamics and physical properties of silicate melts, along with present capabilities for studying the molten state under conditions relevant to melting within the Earth, with the intention that these techniques and results can then be applied to understanding and modeling both the nature of silicate melts and the role of silicate melts in nature.

Description / Table of Contents: It is generally believed that Britain last became separated from mainland Europe about 8500 years ago, although earlier stages of the Quaternary are also considered in this book. The evidence for insularity, or otherwise, of both Britain and Ireland is based on a wide range of data, reflecting the multidisciplinary nature of Quaternary research. This volume provides up-to-date reviews of this evidence: physical or geological, and palaeontological data, as well as marine and non-marine organisms, are examined. Also evaluated are the possible biological repercussions of insularity: the fauna and flora of Britain and Ireland are certainly impoverished when compared with neighbouring mainland European countries - see, for example, the spectacular ecological and evolutionary consequences on the red deer populations of Jersey.

Description / Table of Contents: The role and importance of structural geology in exploration and production of hydrocarbons is increasing with the tendency towards the development of smaller, more complex structural prospects and satellite fields. The availability of high-powered computer hardware and sophisticated software has facilitated a quantum leap in the accessibility of structural restoration, modelling and visualization techniques and made the rapid and accurate manipulation of large data sets possible. Many papers in this volume fully reflect use of this latest technology and demonstrate a broad range of capabilities. The book provides anyone wishing to undertake structural interpretation in complex areas with a comprehensive review of the latest techniques available. ... I certainly learned a great deal reading through it. Structural geologists working in or with industry will want a copy for their bookshelves. Basin Research, 9, 88-89. The volume is an excellent mixture of review and research papers that underscore the importance of multidisciplinary approaches to improve interpretations of complex structures. There is a good trade off between academic research and industrial applications, and I recommend this book as a library reference. AAPG Bulletin November 1997. ... I am certain that this Special Publication will be regarded as a valuable source of techniques for structural interpretation and validation of fault geometries. I can certainly recommend this volume as an essential, and indeed, a worthwhile purchase, for academic and industry structural geologists alike. Geological Magazine.

Description / Table of Contents: Salt produces some of the most complex and beautiful deformation features on the Earth's surface, although few of these surface exposures have been examined in detail, as they are usually situated in remote hostile regions. However, salt diapirs have become a recent focus of attention because of their strategic importance in controlling hydrocarbon reserves, while their unique physical properties enable storage of hydrocarbons and toxic waste. The volume commences with analyses of outcrop, cave, mine and borehole information which add to our general understanding of internal diapir deformation patterns and overburden tectonics. Seismic imaging has also increased our knowledge of halokinesis, and several papers are presented on regional case studies. Numerical and physical modelling have provided a broader knowledge of geometry and processes. Such studies have led to new insights into what is physically possible. This volume draws on all these different approaches and should be a useful source of reference for both academic and industrial geologists.