ALBERT

Description / Table of Contents: The complexity of plate interactions and associated crustal deformation in the Eastern Mediterranean region is reflected by the numerous destructive earthquakes that have occurred throughout its history. Many of these have been well documented and studied. In addition, the Aegean region provides examples of core-complex formation, synchronous basin evolution and subsequent graben formation and continental extensional deformation following orogenic contraction. It is therefore considered to be a perfect natural laboratory for the study of these mechanisms. The region has been the subject of intensive research for several decades. This book contains current results and ideas regarding the geodynamics of the Aegean and Anatolia. It will be essential reading for all geoscientists with an interest in the structural evolution of the Eastern Mediterranean.

Description / Table of Contents: Structurally complex reservoirs form a distinct class of reservoir in which fault arrays and fracture networks, in particular, exert an overriding control on petroleum trapping and production behaviour. With modern exploration and production portfolios now commonly held in geologically complex settings, there is an increasing technical challenge to find new prospects and to extract remaining hydrocarbons from these reservoirs. This volume reviews our current understanding and ability to model the complex distribution and behaviour of fault and fracture networks, highlighting their fluid compartmentalizing effects and storage-transmissivity characteristics, and outlining approaches for predicting the dynamic fluid flow and geomechanical behaviour of these reservoirs. This collection of 25 papers provides an overview of recent progress and outstanding issues in the areas of (i) structural complexity and fault geometry, (ii) detection and prediction of faults and fractures, (iii) compartmentalizing effects of fault systems and complex siliciclastic reservoirs and (iv) critical controls affecting fractured reservoirs.

Description / Table of Contents: Restraining and releasing bends are common, but enigmatic features of strike-slip fault systems occurring in all crustal environments and at regional to microscopic scales of observation. Regional-scale restraining bends are sites of mountain building, transpressional deformation and basement exhumation, whereas releasing bends are sites of topographic subsidence, transtensional deformation, basin sedimentation and possible volcanism and economic mineralization. Because restraining and releasing bends often occur as singular self-contained domains of complex deformation, they are appealing natural laboratories for Earth scientists to study fault processes, earthquake seismology, active faulting and sedimentation, fault and fluid-flow relationships, links between tectonics and topography, tectonic and erosional controls on exhumation, and tectonic geomorphology. This volume addresses the tectonic complexity and diversity of strike-slip restraining and releasing bends with 18 contributions divided into four thematic sections: (1) a topical review of fault bends and their global distribution; (2) bends, sedimentary basins and earthquake hazards; (3) restraining bends, transpressional deformation and basement controls on development; (4) releasing bends, transtensional deformation and fluid flow.

Description / Table of Contents: The many kinds of porous geomaterials (rocks, soils, concrete, etc.) exhibit a range of responses when undergoing inelastic deformation. In doing so they commonly develop well-ordered fabric elements, forming fractures, shear bands and compaction bands, so creating the planar fabrics that are regarded as localization. Because these induced localization fabrics alter the bulk material properties (such as permeability, acoustic characteristics and strength), it is important to understand how and why localization occurs, and how it relates to its setting. The concept of damage (in several uses) describes both the precursor to localization and the context within which it occurs. A key theme is that geomaterials display a strong material evolution during deformation, revealing a close linkage between the damage and localization processes. This volume assembles perspectives from a number of disciplines, including soil mechanics, rock mechanics, structural geology, seismic anisotropy and reservoir engineering. The papers range from theoretical to observational, and include contributions showing how the deformed geomaterials emergent bulk characteristics, like permeability and seismic anisotropy, can be predicted. This book will be of interest to a wide range of geoscientists and engineers who deal with characterization of deformed materials.

Description / Table of Contents: The dangers that we face from geohazards appear to be getting worse, especially with the impact of increasing population and global climate change. This collection of papers illustrates how remote sensing technologies - measuring, mapping and monitoring the Earth's surface from aircraft or satellites - can help us to rapidly detect and better manage geohazards. The hazardous terrains examined include areas of landslides, flooding, erosion, contaminated land, shrink-swell clays, subsidence, seismic activity and volcanic landforms. Key aspects of remote sensing are introduced, making this a book that can easily be read by those who are unfamiliar with remote sensing. The featured remote sensing systems include aerial photography and photogrammetry, thermal scanning, hyperspectral sensors, airborne laser altimetry (LiDAR), radar interferometry and multispectral satellites (Landsat, ASTER). Related technologies and methodogies, such as the processing of Digital Elevation Models and data analysis using Geographical Information Systems, are also discussed.

Description / Table of Contents: This book summarizes our present understanding of the formation of passive continental margins and their ocean–continent transitions. It outlines the geological, geophysical and petrological observations that characterize extensional systems, and how such observations can guide and constrain dynamic and kinematic models of continental lithosphere extension, breakup and the inception of organized sea-floor spreading. The book focuses on imaging, mapping and modelling lithospheric extensional systems, at both the regional scale using dynamic models to the local scale of individual basins using kinematic models, with an emphasis on capturing the extensional history of the Iberia and Newfoundland margins. The results from a number of other extensional regimes are presented to provide comparisons with the North Atlantic studies; these range from the Tethyan realm and the northern Red Sea to the western and southern Australian margins, the Basin and Range Province, and the Woodlark basin of Papua New Guinea. All of these field studies, combined with lessons learnt from the modelling, are used to address fundamental questions about the extreme deformation of continental lithosphere.

Description / Table of Contents: Where were the women in Geology? This book is a first as it unravels the diverse roles women have played in the history and development of geology as a science predominantly in the UK, Ireland and Australia, and selectively in Germany, Russia and US. The volume covers the period from the late eighteenth century to the present day and shows how the roles that women have played changed with time. These included illustrators, museum collectors and curators, educationalists, researchers and geologists. Originally as wives, sisters or mothers many were assistants to their male relatives. This book looks at all these forgotten women and for the first time historians and scientists together explore the contribution they made to this male-dominated subject. There are individual profiles on remarkable women: Catherine Raisin, Dorothea Bate, Cuvier's daughters, Grace Prestwich, Annie Greenly, Nancy Kirk, Margaret Crosfield, Ethel Skeat, Maria Ogivlie Gordon, Marie Stopes, Anne Phillips, Muriel Arber and Etheldred Bennett. Pulling together this extensive research uncovered common issues and generated emergent themes. The Editors have brought this new research together under these themes and tried to answer the question Where were the women in Geology? They go on to discuss how these role models can be applicable to today's society.

Description / Table of Contents: The North China craton is the only known place where an Archaean craton with a thick tectospheric root lost half of that root in younger tectonism by processes such as delamination, convection, hydration-weakening, compositional change or some other mechanism. In this volume, authors provide data constraining the geometry and timing of root loss, aimed at understanding why and how continental roots are lost in general. Modelling how often this process may have occurred in the geological past, and how much lithospheric material has been recycled to the convecting mantle through this mechanism, could drastically change our current understanding of crustal growth rates and processes. Possible triggering mechanisms for root loss include collision of the South China (Yangtze) and North China cratons in the Triassic, the India–Asia collision, closure of the Solonker and Monhgol–Okhotsk oceans, Mesozoic subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath eastern China, impingement of mantle plumes, mantle hydration from long-term subduction and several rifting events. In this volume, we link studies of crustal tectonics with investigations aimed at determining the nature of and timing of the formation and loss of the root, in order to better-understand mechanisms of continental root formation, evolution and recycling/removal.

Description / Table of Contents: The book presents an overview of the main hazards affecting karst, including collapse and subsidence phenomena, hydrological hazards and human-induced geohazards. Consideration is also given to the problems of geohazard management in karst. The geological and hydrological properties of karst terrains make them among the most fragile in the world and pose serious problems for land managers. Sustainable development in these terrains requires efforts to limit geohazards of anthropogenic origin and to recognize and mitigate against those of natural origin. Aimed at providing the reader with worldwide case studies, the contributions cover a range of geological and morphological settings. Geographically, the fourteen papers discuss very different karst areas, from North America, the Caribbean and Asia to several karst areas in Europe, including the British Isles, Spain, France and Italy.

Description / Table of Contents: The Devonian was a peculiar period, characterized by simplified plate tectonic configurations, climatic overheating and widely flooded continents. The bloom of fishes and ammonoids, extensive reef complexes, and the conquest of land indicate major biosphere innovations, punctuated by many global events, including two of the biggest mass extinctions. The Devonian was the first system for which subdivisions were formally defined. This was achieved by significant advances in pelagic biostratigraphy. The chronostratigraphic framework and interdisciplinary techniques allow us to correlate intervals or sudden events across facies boundaries, in order to reconstruct the sedimentary and evolutionary history of the system with highest precision. This volume honors the lifetime stratigraphic achievements of Michael Robert House (1930-2002). Based on case studies from Europe, North Africa and North America, it shows how the combination of biostratigraphy, chemostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy, sequence stratigraphy and event stratigraphy can contribute to a much deeper understanding of both regional and global environmental change.

Description / Table of Contents: We are poised to embark on a new era of discovery in the study of geomorphology. The discipline has a long and illustrious history, but in recent years an entirely new way of studying landscapes and seascapes has been developed. It involves the use of 3D seismic data. Just as CAT scans allow medical staff to view our anatomy in 3D, seismic data now allows Earth scientists to do what the early geomorphologists could only dream of - view tens and hundreds of square kilometres of the Earth's subsurface in 3D and therefore see for the first time how landscapes have evolved through time. This volume demonstrates how earth scientists are starting to use this relatively new tool to study the dynamic of a range of sedimentary environments.

Description / Table of Contents: There has lately been a growth in the number and level of studies of contourite deposits. Most recent studies of contourites have two major lines of interest. One, propelled by the oil industry's continuous move into increasingly deep waters, concerns their economic significance. The other involves the stratigraphic/ palaeoceanographic record of ocean circulation changes imprinted on contourite deposits that can be a key to understanding better the climate-ocean connection. The application of many different theoretical, experimental and empirical resources provided by geophysics, sedimentology, geochemistry, petrology, scale modeling and field geology are used in the 16 papers of this volume, proposing answers to those two main aspects. The papers are subdivided into two major categories (economic interest and stratigraphic/palaeoceanographic significance), with case studies ranging from well-documented drifts to new examples of modern and fossil series, involving a large diversity of geographic and physiographic scenarios worldwide.

Description / Table of Contents: The geological record contains a fascinating diversity of reefs and shell accumulations. As my other biosedimentary structures, their facies characterization requires careful observation at outcrop and sample scale, and in thin-section to provide information about the global geometries, fabrics and textures respectively. This collection of papers encompasses the breadth of sedimentary geometries and facies displayed by Palaeozoic reefs, shell accumulations, and transitional composite deposits. The definition of reefs and shell concentrations has given rise to variations in nomenclature. The papers in this volume cover specific problems regarding the nomenclature and facies characterization of reefs, shell accumulations and transitional composite deposits. However, rather than attempt a complete revision of terms, the authors have touched on some of the important issues at this stage of development in the field: the main climatic, environmental and evolutionary factors that controlled the Palaeozoic development of shell accumulation and reefs.

Description / Table of Contents: This book is the first peer-reviewed collection of papers focusing on the potential of myth storylines to yield data and lessons that are of value to the geological sciences. Building on the nascent discipline of geomythology, scientists and scholars from a variety of disciplines have contributed to this volume. The geological hazards (such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and cosmic impacts) that have given rise to myths are considered, as are the sacred and cultural values associated with rocks, fossils, geological formations and landscapes. There are also discussions about the historical and literary perspectives of geomythology. Regional coverage includes Europe and the Mediterranean, Afghanistan, Cameroon, India, Australia, Japan, Pacific islands, South America and North America. Myth and Geology challenges the widespread notion that myths are fictitious or otherwise lacking in value for the physical sciences.

Description / Table of Contents: This Special Publication, in memory and celebration of the work of Professor Mike Coward, is about the deformation of the continental lithosphere. The collected papers discuss geometry, structural principles, processes and problems in a wide range of tectonic settings and thereby reflect the breadth of Coward's interests. They encompass the evolution of Precambrian basement gneiss terrains, the geometry and evolution of thrust systems, basement involvement and structural inheritance in basins, syn-orogenic extension, salt tectonics, the implication of structural evolution on hydrocarbon prospectivity and structural controls on mineralization. Examples are drawn from the Lewisian and Moine Thrust Belt of NW Scotland, the Italian Apennines, NW Himalayas, the Cyclades, Oman, Zagros Mountains, Colombian Cordillera, Carpathians, North Sea, offshore Brazil, regional studies of the Irumide Belt (central Africa), Taurus Mountains (Turkey), greater South America, and from the Witwatersrand Basin of South Africa and the Antler Orogeny of SW USA.

Description / Table of Contents: For the geoscientist, interest in sediment dynamics relates to the understanding of modern processes, together with their extrapolation to the interpretation of ancient deposits within the stratigraphic record. Over the years, various measurement techniques and scientific approaches have been applied to the determination of sediment transport pathways and the derivation of erosion, transport and deposition rates. Recently, a number of new techniques and approaches have been developed, associated with different temporal and spatial scales, and it is appropriate and timely to review a representative selection, by reference to recently undertaken coastal and shelf investigations. The various contributions in the volume cover, for example: optical and acoustic backscatter measurements; particle tracking; the use of mutibeam imagery; grain-size trend analysis; and analytic, numerical and conceptual modelling. Although no single method provides a complete solution to the problem posed, this overview will assist sedimentologists and sediment dynamicists in their selection of the most appropriate approaches, towards the establishment of ‘high confidence’ in the interpretation of sediment transport rates and directions.

Description / Table of Contents: Stone buildings and monuments from the cultural centres of many of the world's urban areas. Frequently these areas are prone to high levels of atmospheric pollution that promote a variety of aggressive stone decay processes. Because of this, stone decay is now widely recognized as a severe threat to much of our cultural heritage. If this threat is to be successfully addressed it is essential that the symptoms of decay are clearly identified, that appropriate stone properties are accurately characterized and that decay processes are precisely identified. It is undoubtedly the case that successful conservation has to be underpinned by a comprehensive understanding of the causes of decay and the factors that control them. The accomplishment of these demanding goals requires an interdisciplinary approach based on co-operation between geologists, environmental scientists, chemists, material scientists, civil engineers, restorers and architects. In pursuit of this collaboration, this volume aims to strengthen the knowledge base dealing with the causes, consequences, prevention and solution of stone decay problems.

Description / Table of Contents: Fractured reservoirs contain a significant proportion of the global hydrocarbon reserves; however, they commonly exhibit unpredictable and extreme production behaviour. To develop such reservoirs it is necessary to obtain the best understanding possible of the fracture network and its impact on the fluid flow within the reservoir, using the full range of geoscience and engineering datasets available at all scales. This book presents an overview of current techniques and the latest technologies used to understand and exploit fractured reservoirs. The contributions are organized into sections on outcrop analogues, the application of geophysical techniques for fracture detection and imaging, numerical and analogue modelling and case studies from fields in the Middle East, Europe and North America. A number of the case studies also consider ways of assessing uncertainties in fracture geometry description and the implications for effective reservoir management.

Description / Table of Contents: This topical volume of the Journal of Pure and Applied Geophysics utilizes new information not previously accessible for fog related research. It focuses on surface and remote sensing observations of fog, various numerical model applications using new parameterizations, fog climatology, and new statistical methods. The results presented in this special issue come from research efforts in North America and Europe, mainly from the Canadian Fog Remote Sensing And Modeling (FRAM) and European COST-722 fog/visibility related projects. Students, postgraduates, and researchers, interested in cloud physics, physical meteorology, aviation meteorology, climate, weather forecasting, and in other adjacent disciplines, can use this book as a basis for future developments in fog research. It is hoped that this book will lead to new scientific challenges in fog related research, teaching, and applications.

Description / Table of Contents: Tsunamis like the Indian Ocean tsunami caused by the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake in 2004 or the Chilean earthquake in the Pacific Ocean in 1960 motivate international collaborations for the development of tsunami warning systems. Since 1960 the Tsunami Commission, established by the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics, has been holding a biannual International Tsunami Symposium (ITS). This volume contains 20 contributions of leading scientists mostly presented at the 22nd International Tsunami Symposium held in summer 2005 in Greece. Consolidated findings based on hydrophone records, seismometer readings, and tide gauges are presented. Reports of post-tsunami surveys and numerical simulations for tsunamis such as the 2004 Indian Ocean event, as well as geological studies of tsunamis in Japan, Central and North America are given. Probabilistic tsunami hazard analysis and tsunami warning systems, among others, are described as are methods to predict tsunamis and mitigate their hazards.

Description / Table of Contents: Fluids rich in water, carbon and sulfur species and a variety of dissolved salts are a ubiquitous transport medium for heat and matter in the Earth’s interior. Fluid transport through the upper mantle and crust controls the origin of magmatism above subduction zones and results in natural risks of explosive volcanism. Fluids passing through rocks affect the chemical and heat budget of the global oceans, and can be utilized as a source of geothermal energy on land. Fluid transport is a key to the formation and the practical utilization of natural resources, from the origin of hydrothermal mineral deposits, through the exploitation of gaseous and liquid hydrocarbons as sources of energy and essential raw materials, to the subsurface storage of waste materials such as CO2. Different sources of fluids and variable paths of recycling volatile components from the hydrosphere and atmosphere through the solid interior of the Earth lead to a broad range of fluid compositions, from aqueous liquids and gases through water-rich silicate or salt melts to carbon-rich endmember compositions. Different rock regimes in the crust and mantle generate characteristic ranges of fluid composition, which depending on pressure, temperature and composition are miscible to greatly variable degrees. For example, aqueous liquids and vapors are increasingly miscible at elevated pressure and temperature. The degree of this miscibility is, however, greatly influenced by the presence of additional carbonic or salt components. A wide range of fluid–fluid interactions results from this partial miscibility of crustal fluids. Vastly different chemical and physical properties of variably miscible fluids, combined with fluid flow from one pressure – temperature regime to another, therefore have major consequences for the chemical and physical evolution of the crust and mantle. Several recent textbooks and review articles have addressed the role and diverse aspects of fluids in crustal processes. However, immiscibility of fluids and the associated phenomena of m ultiphase fluid flow are generally dealt with only in subsections with respect to specific environments and aspects of fluid mediated processes. This volume of Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry attempts to fill this gap and to explicitly focus on the role that co-existing fluids play in the diverse geologic environments. It brings together the previously somewhat detached literature on fluid–fluid interactions in continental, volcanic, submarine and subduction zone environments. It emphasizes that fluid mixing and unmixing are widespread processes that may occur in all geologic environments of the entire crust and upper mantle. Despite different P-T conditions, the fundamental processes are analogous in the different settings.

Description / Table of Contents: Remerciements --- Avertissement --- Introduction --- Partie 1. Les grandes évolutions du passé --- Chapitre 1. La glace et les glaciers, indicateurs des changements climatiques --- Chapitre 2. La valse des glaciers et du climat dans le passé --- Les grands mécanismes en jeu --- Chapitre 3. Le Petit Âge Glaciaire --- La grande avancée des glaciers du dernier millénaire --- Chapitre 4. Quelles ont été les causes du Petit Âge Glaciaire ? --- Partie 2. Le temps du repli (XIXe-XXe siècle) --- Chapitre 5. Les glaciers des Alpes et du nord de l’Europe après le Petit Âge Glaciaire --- Chapitre 6. Le recul des glaciers dans le monde au XXe siècle --- Partie 3. Comment les glaciers varient-ils ? --- Chapitre 7. Des fluctuations des fronts aux bilans de masse --- Chapitre 8. Comment le climat influence-t-il les glaciers ? --- Partie 4. Quels glaciers pour quel climat ? --- Chapitre 9. Évolution de la cryosphère depuis les années 1960 --- Chapitre 10. Le XXIe siècle vu par les modèles --- Réponses des glaciers au nouveau climat --- Chapitre 11. Glaciers en recul : quelles conséquences ? --- Conclusion --- Pour en savoir plus --- Glossaire --- Table des encadrés

Description / Table of Contents: Understanding the process underlying the origin of Earth magnetic field is one of the greatest challenges left to classical Physics. Geomagnetism, being the oldest Earth science, studies the Earth’s magnetic field in its broadest sense. The magnetic record left in rocks is studied in Paleomagnetism. Both fields have applications, pure and applied: in navigation, in the search for minerals and hydrocarbons, in dating rock sequences, and in unraveling past geologic movements such as plate motions they have contributed to a better understanding of the Earth. Consisting of more than 300 articles written by ca 200 leading experts, this authoritative reference encompasses the entire fields of Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism in a single volume. It describes in fine detail at an assessable level the state of the current knowledge and provides an up-to-date synthesis of the most basic concepts. As such, it will be an indispensable working tool not only for geophysicists and geophysics students but also for geologists, physicists, atmospheric and environmental scientists, and engineers.

Description / Table of Contents: During the last decades, measurements of various geodynamic processes have gained ever increasing importance. Temporal variations of the deformation and gravity fields monitored by geodetic measuring techniques reflect isostatic, tectonic or volcanic processes in the earth's interior. Recordings of hydrologic or oceanographic phenomena allow conclusions on surface processes. This volume reflects the major developments during recent years in these areas of research. Most of the papers in this book were presented at the workshop on "Deformation and Gravity Change: Indicators of Isostasy, Tectonics, Volcanism and Climate Change", which took place at the Casa de los Volcanes on Lanzarote, Spain, during March 1-4, 2005. It was jointly organized and supported by the International Association of Geodesy (IAG), the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, the Spanish Council for Scientific Research and the Cabildo Insular de Lanzarote. The workshop also served as the first meeting of the members of the IAG Working Group ICCT2 on "Dynamic Theories of Deformation and Gravity Fields".

Description / Table of Contents: Over 25 years ago, Volume 9 of Reviews in Mineralogy: Amphiboles and Other Hydrous Pyriboles seemed to contain all that was possible to know about this group of fascinating minerals. The subsequent twenty-five years have shown that this assessment was wrong: Nature was keeping a lot in reserve, and has since revealed considerable new complexity in the constitution and behavior of amphiboles. Some of the advances in knowledge have been due to the use of new experimental techniques, some have been due to the investigation of hitherto neglected rock-types, and some have been due to the development of new ideas. The identification and systematic investigation of variable LLE (Light Lithophile Elements), particularly Li and H, led to the identification of several new amphibole species and the recognition that variable Li and H play an important role in chemical variations in amphiboles from both igneous and metamorphic parageneses. In turn, this work drove the development of microbeam SIMS to analyze LLE in amphiboles. Detailed mineralogical work on metasyenites showed hitherto unexpected solid-solution between Na and Li at the M(4) site in monoclinic amphiboles, a discovery that has upset the current scheme of amphibole classification and nomenclature and initiated new efforts in this direction. Systematic and well-planned synthesis of amphiboles, combined with careful spectroscopy, has greatly furthered our understanding of cation and anion order in amphiboles. The use of bond-valence theory to predict patterns of SRO (Short-Range Order) in amphiboles, and use of these predictions to understand the infrared spectra of well-characterized synthetic-amphibole solid-solutions, has shown that SRO is a major feature of the amphibole structure, and has resulted in major advances in our understanding of SRO in minerals. There has been significant progress relating changes in amphibole composition and cation ordering to petrogenetic conditions and trace-element behavior. Work on the nature of fibrous amphiboles and their toxicity and persistence in living organisms has emphasized the importance of accurate mineralogical characterization in environmental and health-related problems. The current volume has taken a different approach from previous volumes concerned with major groups of rock-forming minerals. Some of the contents have previously been organized by the investigative technique or groups of similar techniques: crystal-structure refinement, spectroscopy, TEM etc. Here, we have taken an approach that focuses on aspects of amphiboles rather than experimental techniques: crystal chemistry, new compositions, long-range order, short-range order etc., and all experimental results germane to these topics are discussed in each chapter. The intent of this approach is to focus on amphiboles, and to emphasize that many techniques are necessary to fully understand each aspect of the amphiboles and their behavior in both natural and industrial processes.

Description / Table of Contents: The idea for this book was conceived in early June, 2005 at a paleoaltimetry workshop held at Lehigh University, Lehigh, Pennsyalvania and organized by Dork Sahagian. The workshop was funded by the tectonics program at NSF, and was designed to bring together researchers in paleoaltimetry to discuss different techniques and focus the community on ways of improving paleoelevation estimates and consequent interpretations of geodynamics and tectonics. At this meeting, some commented that a comprehensive volume describing the different methods could help advance the field. I offered to contact the Mineralogical Society of America and the Geochemical Society about publishing a RiMG volume on paleoaltimetry. Because many of the techniques used to infer paleoelevations are geochemically-based or deal with thermodynamic principles, the GS and MSA agreed to the project. Two years and roughly 1000 e-mails later, our book has arrived. The book is organized into 4 sections: (1) Geodynamic and geomorphologic rationale (Clark). This chapter provides the broad rationale behind paleoaltimetry, i.e., why we study it. (2) Stable isotope proxies. These 4 chapters cover theory of stable isotopes in precipitation and their response to altitudinal gradients (Rowley), and stable isotopes sytematics in paleosols (Quade, Garzione and Eiler), silicates (Mulch and Chamberlain) and fossils (Kohn and Dettman). (3) Proxies of atmospheric properties. These 4 chapters cover temperature lapse rates (Meyer), entropy (Forest), and atmospheric pressure proxies, including total atmospheric pressure from gas bubbles in basalt (Sahagian and Proussevitch), and the partial pressure of CO2 (Kouwenberg, Kürshner, and McElwain). Note that clumped isotope thermometry (Quade, Garzione and Eiler) also provides direct estimates of temperature. (4) Radiogenic and cosmogenic nuclides. These 2 chapters cover low-temperature thermochronologic approaches (Reiners) and cosmogenic isotopes (Riihimaki and Libarkin). Some chapters overlap in general content (e.g., basic principles of stable isotopes in precipitation are covered to different degrees in all stable isotope chapters), but no attempt was made to limit authors' discussion of principles, or somehow attempt to arrive at a "consensus view" on any specific topic. Because science advances by critical discussion of concepts, such restrictions were viewed as counterproductive. This does mean that different chapters may present different views on reliability of paleoelevation estimates, and readers are advised to read other chapters in the book on related topics – they may be more closely linked than they might at first appear! I hope readers of this book will discover and appreciate the synergy among paleoaltimetry, climate change, and tectonic geomorphology. These interrelationships create a complex, yet rich field of scientific enquiry that in turn offers insights into climate and geodynamics.

Description / Table of Contents: Understanding, modeling and prediction of mesoscale processes in the atmosphere, ocean and environmental systems have gained importance in the last decade or so. This is because of the availability of more sophisticated observational systems, provided by technological innovations and more realistic simulations using advanced dynamical models. This volume contains many original findings on mesoscale processes in atmospheric and oceanic systems through mathematical modeling, numerical simulations and field experiments. These scientific papers examine and provide the latest developments on a range of topics that include tropical cyclones/hurricanes, mesoscale variability and modeling, seasonal monsoons and land surface processes including atmospheric boundary layer.

Description / Table of Contents: Exciting developments in earthquake science have benefited from new observations, improved computational technologies, and improved modeling capabilities. Designing realistic supercomputer simulation models for the complete earthquake generation process is a grand scientific challenge due to the complexity of phenomena and range of scales involved from microscopic to global. The present volume - Part II - incorporates computational environment and algorithms, data assimilation and understanding, model applications and iSERVO. Topics covered range from iSERVO and QuakeSim: implementing the international solid earth research virtual observatory by integrating computational grid and geographical information web services; LURR (Load-Unload Response Ratio) described in six papers involving this promising earthquake forecasting model; pattern informatics and phase dynamics and their applications, which was also a highlight in the Workshop; computational algorithms, including continuum damage models and visualization and analysis of geophysical datasets; evolution of mantle material; the state vector approach; and assimilation of data such as geodetic data, GPS data, and seismicity and laboratory experimental data.

Description / Table of Contents: In the last four centuries geologists have traversed the globe, searching for economically important materials or simply to satisfy their intellectual curiosity. Geologists have often been at the vanguard of scientific exploration. The microscopist Robert Hooke explored the Isle of Wight, and Charles Darwin the Cape Verde islands and parts of South America. The volcanic wonders of Italy and central France attracted native and foreign visitors including Lyell and Murchison. The Tyrrell brothers faced great hardship in northern Canada, as did the actor and mineralogist Charles Lewis Giesecke in Greenland. The development of Sydney, Australia depended on finding limestone for building. French geologists relied on camels in the Sahara, and Grenville Cole trusted his tricycle to carry him across Europe. Four Centuries of Geological Travel: The Search for Knowledge on Foot, Bicycle, Sledge and Camel focuses on the complexities of geological exploration and will be of particular interest to Earth scientists, historians of science and to the general reader interested in science.

Description / Table of Contents: The Proterozoic and early Phanerozoic was a time punctuated by a series of significant events in Earth history. Glaciations of global scale wracked the planet, interfingered with dramatic changes in oceanic and atmospheric chemistry and marked changes in continental configuration. It was during these dynamic and ‘weedy’ times that metazoans first appeared. Their subsequent diversification culminated in the appearance of hard tissue skeletons and deep "farming" of the marine substrate in late Proterozoic and first few millions of years of the Phanerozoic. The papers in this book deal specifically with the precise timing of physical events and teasing out of the effects which these changing environments, climates, global chemistry and palaeogeography had on the development and diversification of animals, resulting in the spectacular Ediacaran/Vendian faunas of the late Precambrian.

Description / Table of Contents: This book is an exploration of varying approaches to the study of the deposition, diagenesis and stratigraphy of evaporites. The volume includes papers from chemical modellers, who work on the basis of geochemical representations of the formative water bodies, and from basin-wide depositional-stratigraphical modellers, who propose depositional scenarios that are fitted to individual basinal pictures. Until now there have been only a few studies of evaporite formation that explain the characteristic features we observe in the real rock record. This volume is a collection of relevant papers in which these features are integrated in a realistic manner, based on our new understanding of saline water bodies, to the diverse tectonic, chemical and depositional constraints of their individual basins. In additional there are several review articles that offer oversight and extensive referencing of basins worthy of further study. This book is a valuable resource for sedimentologists and stratigraphers looking for an up-to-date reference on evaporite deposits.

Description / Table of Contents: The study of reservoir and repository performance requires the integration of many different fields in Earth sciences, among them rock physics and geomechanics. The aim of this book is to emphasize how rock physics and geomechanics help to get a better insight into important issues linked to reservoir management for exploitation of natural resources, and to repository safety assessment for hazardous waste storage in geological environment. The studies presented here deal with the hydromechanical coupling in fractured rocks, the key experiments in safety assessment of repositories, the development of damaged zones during excavation in a shaley formation, the influence of temperature on the properties of shales, the poroelastic response of sandstones, the development and propagation of compaction bands in reservoir rocks, imaging techniques of geomaterials, the characterization and modelling of reservoirs using 4D seismic data, the mechanical behaviour of fractured rock masses, the petrophysical properties of fault zones, models for rock deformation by pressure solution and the elastic anisotropy in cracked rocks.

Description / Table of Contents: Die Region - mit den markanten Erhebungen des Hohen Meißners und des Thüringer Waldes - stellt geologisch und bergbaugeschichtlich einen Teil der deutschen Mittelgebirge dar, der Fachleute sowie Amateure und Naturfreunde gleichermaßen fasziniert. Die vorliegende Bibliographie versucht erstmals länderübergreifend die umfangreiche Fachliteratur der Dreiländer-Region zu erschließen. Dabei wurden sowohl fachwissenschaftliche als auch heimatkundliche Publikationen und unveröffentlichtes Material berücksichtigt.

Description / Table of Contents: Die Region - mit den markanten Erhebungen des Hohen Meißners und des Thüringer Waldes - stellt geologisch und bergbaugeschichtlich einen Teil der deutschen Mittelgebirge dar, der Fachleute sowie Amateure und Naturfreunde gleichermaßen fasziniert. Die vorliegende Bibliographie versucht erstmals länderübergreifend die umfangreiche Fachliteratur der Dreiländer-Region zu erschließen. Dabei wurden sowohl fachwissenschaftliche als auch heimatkundliche Publikationen und unveröffentlichtes Material berücksichtigt.

Description / Table of Contents: This book provides an overview of the principal environments, main processes and manifestations of hypogenic speleogenesis, and refines the relevant conceptual framework. It consolidates the notion of hypogenic karst as one of the two major types of karst systems (the other being epigenetic karst). Karst is viewed in the context of regional groundwater flow systems, which provide the systematic transport and distribution mechanisms needed to produce and maintain the disequilibrium conditions necessary for speleogenesis. Hypogenic and epigenic karst systems are regularly associated with different types, patterns and segments of flow systems, characterized by distinct hydrokinetic, chemical and thermal conditions. Epigenic karst systems are predominantly local systems, and/or parts of recharge segments of intermediate and regional systems. Hypogenic karst is associated with discharge regimes of regional or intermediate flow systems. Various styles of hypogenic caves that were previously considered unrelated, specific either to certain lithologies or chemical mechanisms are shown to share common hydrogeologic genetic backgrounds. In contrast to the currently predominant view of hypogenic speleogenesis as a specific geochemical phenomenon, the broad hydrogeological approach is adopted in the book. Hypogenic speleogenesis is defined with reference to the source of fluid recharge to the cave-forming zone, and type of flow system. It is shown that confined settings are the principal hydrogeologic environment for hypogenic speleogenesis. However, there is a general evolutionary trend for hypogenic karst systems to lose their confinement due to uplift and denudation and due to their own expansion. Confined hypogenic caves may experience substantial modification or be partially or largely overridden under subsequent unconfined (vadose) stages, either by epigenic processes or continuing unconfined hypogenic processes, especially when H2S dissolution mechanisms are involved. Hypogenic confined systems evolve to facilitate cross-formational hydraulic communication between common aquifers, or between laterally transmissive beds in heterogeneous soluble formations, across cave-forming zones. The latter originally represented low-permeable, separating units supporting vertical rather than lateral flow. Layered heterogeneity in permeability and breaches in connectivity between different fracture porosity structures across soluble formations are important controls over the spatial organization of evolving ascending hypogenic cave systems. Transverse hydraulic communication across lithological and porosity system boundaries, which commonly coincide with major contrasts in water chemistry, gas composition and temperature, is potent enough to drive various disequilibrium and reaction dissolution mechanisms. Hypogenic speleogenesis may operate in both carbonates and evaporites, but also in some clastic rocks with soluble cement. Its main characteristic is the lack of genetic relationship with groundwater recharge from the overlying or immediately adjacent surface. It may not be manifested at the surface at all, receiving some expression only during later stages of uplift and denudation. In many instances, hypogenic speleogenesis is largely climate-independent. There is a specific hydrogeologic mechanism inherent in hypogenic transverse speleogenesis (restricted input/output) that suppresses the positive flow-dissolution feedback and speleogenetic competition in an initial flowpath network. This accounts for the development of more pervasive channeling and maze patterns in confined settings where appropriate structural prerequisites exist. As forced-flow regimes in confined settings are commonly sluggish, buoyancy dissolution driven by either solute or thermal density differences is important in hypogenic speleogenesis. In identifying hypogenic caves, the primary criteria are morphological (patterns and meso-morphology) and hydrogeological (hydrostratigraphic position and recharge/flow pattern viewed from the perspective of the evolution of a regional groundwater flow system). Elementary patterns typical for hypogenic caves are network mazes, spongework mazes, irregular chambers and isolated passages or crude passage clusters. They often combine to form composite patterns and complex 3-D structures. Hypogenic caves are identified in various geological and tectonic settings, and in various lithologies. Despite these variations, resultant caves demonstrate a remarkable similarity in cave patterns and meso-morphology, which strongly suggests that the hydrogeologic settings were broadly identical in their formation. Presence of the characteristic morphologic suites of rising flow with buoyancy components is one of the most decisive criteria to identify hypogenic speleogenesis. Hypogenic speleogenesis is much more widespread than it was previously presumed. Hypogenic caves include many of the largest, by integrated length and by volume, documented caves in the world. The refined conceptual framework of hypogenic speleogenesis has broad implications in applied fields and promises to make karst and cave expertise more demanded by practicing hydrogeology, geological engineering, economic geology and mineral resource industries. Any generalization of hydrogeology of karst aquifers, as well as approaches to practical issues and resource prospecting in karst regions, should take into account the different nature and characteristics of hypogenic and epigenic karst systems. Hydraulic properties of karst aquifers, evolved in response to hypogenic speleogenesis, are characteristically different from epigenic karst aquifers. In hypogenic systems, cave porosity is roughly an order of magnitude greater, and areal coverage of caves is five times greater than in epigenic karst systems. Hypogenic speleogenesis commonly results in more isotropic conduit permeability pervasively distributed within highly karstified areas measuring up to several square kilometers. Although being vertically and laterally integrated throughout conduit clusters, hypogenic systems, however, do not transmit flow laterally for considerable distances. Hypogenic speleogenesis can affect regional subsurface fluid flow by greatly enhancing initially available cross-formational permeability structures, providing higher local vertical hydraulic connections between lateral stratiform pathways for groundwater flow, and creating discharge segments of flow systems, the areas of low-fluid potential recognizable at the regional scale. Discharge of artesian karst springs, which are modern outlets of hypogenic karst systems, is often very large and steady, being moderated by the high karstic storage developed in the karstified zones and by the hydraulic capacity of an entire artesian system. Hypogenic speleogenesis plays an important role in conditioning related processes such as hydrothermal mineralization, diagenesis, and hydrocarbon transport and entrapment. The appreciation of the wide occurrence of hypogenic karst systems, marked specifics in their origin, development and characteristics, and their scientific and practical importance, calls for revisiting and expanding of the current predominantly epigenic paradigm of karst and cave science.

Description / Table of Contents: Large caldera collapses represent catastrophic natural events, second only to large meteoritic impacts. In addition, some calderas are densely populated, making the risk extreme, even for moderate eruptions. Understanding caldera mechanisms, unrest and the danger of eruption is therefore a crucial challenge for Earth sciences. Several key features of caldera behaviour have yet to be fully understood. Through a combination of case studies and theoretical modelling, the following topics are addressed in this volume: the conditions required to produce and to release large volumes of magma erupted during caldera formation; how magmatic feeding systems evolve before and after a caldera has formed; the processes that limit the behaviour of precursors to eruptions; how pre-emptive precursors can be distinguished from those that drive unrest without an eruption; and given that post-collapse eruptions may occur across a wide area, the optimum procedures for designing hazard maps and mitigation strategies.

Description / Table of Contents: This collection of 27 review and research papers provides an overview of the geodynamic concepts of channel flow and ductile extrusion in continental collision zones. The focal point tor this volume is the proposal that the middle or lower crust acts as a ductile, partially molten channel flowing out from beneath areas of over-thickened crust, such as the Tibetan plateau, towards the topographic surface at plateau margins. This controversial proposal explains many features related to the geodynamic evolution of the plateau and, for example, extrusion and exhumation of the crystalline core of the Himalayan mountain chain to the south. In this volume thermal-mechanical models for channel flow, extrusion and exhumation are presented, and geological and geophysical evidence both for and against the applicability of such models to the Himalayan-Tibetan Plateau system, as well as older continental collision zones such as the Hellenides, the Appalachians and the Canadian Cordillera, are discussed.

Description / Table of Contents: Earth sciences are becoming ever more concerned with how their disciplines, their research and teaching, need to become directly related to environmental and social concerns. The biology of the surface layers and at depth is increasingly important in the geosciences. A knowledge of biological and physical-chemical functions in terrestrial ecosystems (such as biomass production, filtering, buffering and transformation, water routing, and maintenance of biodiversity) that are studied in soil science provides a background for Earth sciences. The papers in this volume address issues of soil formation, soil management, soil protection and the role of biodiversity that must be considered for a sustainable soil use. The papers are aimed at geoscientists in the broadest sense, and others concerned with soil use who will also find chapters relevant to their interests. Soils knowledge used within other Earth sciences is essential for maintaining healthy ecosystems, for the solutions of problems in environmental quality and for sustainable use of soils by humans.

Description / Table of Contents: Marine sediment cores are the fundamental data source for information on seabed character, depositional history and environmental change. They provide raw data for a wide range of research including studies of climate change, palaeoceanography, slope stability, oil exploration, pollution assessment and control, seafloor survey for laying cables, pipelines and construction of seafloor structures. During the last three decades, a varied suite of new technologies have been developed to analyse cores, often non-destructively, to produce high-quality, closely spaced, co-located downcore measurements. These techniques can characterize sediment physical properties, geochemistry and composition in unprecedented detail. Palaeoenvironmentally significant proxies can now be logged at decadal, and in some cases, annual or sub-annual scales, allowing highly detailed insights into climatic history and associated environmental change. These advances have had a profound effect on many aspects of the Earth Sciences and our understanding of the Earth's history. In this volume, recent advances in analytical and logging technology and their application to the analysis of sediment cores are presented. Developments in providing access to core data and associated datasets, and advances in data mining technology in order to integrate and interpret new and legacy datasets within the wider context of seafloor studies are also discussed.

Description / Table of Contents: During the Permian, the single supercontinent Pangaea stretched from pole to pole. Early Permian glacial deposits are found in southern Gondwana. Along the sutures of Pangaea, mountain ranges towered over vast tropical lowlands. Interior areas included dry deserts where dune sands accumulated. Gypsum and halite beds document the evaporation of hot, shallow seas that formed the most extensive salt deposits in the geological record. The Permian period (251 to 299 Ma) encompasses nine ages (stages) arranged into three epochs (series). Most of the Permian marine timescale has been defined by global stratotype sections and points for the stage boundaries. This volume presents new data regarding the biostratigraphy and biochronology of the non-marine Permian and provides a basis for temporally ordering Permian geological and biotic history on land, and correlating that history to events in the marine realm.

Description / Table of Contents: Since Karl Pearson wrote his paper on spurious correlation in 1897, a lot has been said about the statistical analysis of compositional data, mainly by geologists such as Felix Chayes. The solution appeared in the 1980s, when John Aitchison proposed to use Iogratios. Since then, the approach has seen a great expansion, mainly building on the idea of the ‘natural geometry’ of the sample space. Statistics is expected to give sense to our perception of the natural scale of the data, and this is made possible for compositional data using Iogratios. This publication will be a milestone in this process. This book will be of interest to geologists using statistical methods. It includes the intuitive justification of the methodology, convincing through case studies and presenting user-friendly software, which includes a section for those who need to see the proof of the mathematical consistency of the methods used.

Description / Table of Contents: Sandstone aquifers are common worldwide: they contain a significant proportion of the Earth’s fresh water supplies. However, because of their textural complexity and the frequent occurrence of both matrix and fracture flow, prediction of flow and pollutant migration is still a considerable challenge. This volume contains a collection of papers summarizing current research on an example sandstone aquifer: the UK Permo-Triassic Sandstone sequence. These red bed, organic-poor sandstones are of fluvial and aeolian origin, are often strongly textured, and are cut by discontinuities of a wide range of permeabilities. Matrix flow often dominates, but fracture flow also occurs. The papers in the volume deal with research on saturated and unsaturated flow, and solute and non-aqueous-phase liquid movement. They cover investigations from laboratory to regional scale, and involve a wide range of approaches, from petrophysical through geophysical and hydrochemical to modelling. The book is intended to be of interest to researchers and practitioners involved in water resources and groundwater pollution, and to hydrogeology, water engineering, and environmental science students.

Description / Table of Contents: The seismically and volcanically active East African Rift System is an ideal laboratory for continental break-up processes: it encompasses all stages of rift development. Its northernmost sectors within the Afar volcanic province include failed rifts, nascent seafloor spreading, and youthful passive continental margins associated with one or more mantle plumes. A number of models have been proposed to explain the success and failure of continental rift zones, but there remains no consensus on how strain localizes to achieve rupture of 125–250 km thick plates, or on the interaction between the plates and asthenospheric processes. This collection of papers provides new structural, stratigraphic, geochemical and geophysical data and numerical models needed to resolve fundamental questions concerning continental break-up and mantle plume processes. It focuses on how mantle melt intrudes and is distributed through the plate, and how this magma intrusion process controls along-axis segmentation and facilitates break-up.

Description / Table of Contents: High-latitude settings are sensitive to climatically driven palaeoenvironmental change and the resultant biotic response. Climate change through the peak interval of Cretaceous warmth, Late Cretaceous cooling, onset and expansion of the Antarctic ice sheet, and subsequently the variability of Neogene glaciation, are all recorded within the sedimentary and volcanic successions exposed within the James Ross Basin, Antarctica. This site provides the longest onshore record of Cretaceous-Tertiary sedimentary and volcanic rocks in Antarctica and is a key reference section for Cretaceous-Tertiary global change. The sedimentary succession is richly fossiliferous, yielding diverse invertebrate, vertebrate and plant fossil assemblages, allowing the reconstruction of both terrestrial and marine systems. The papers within this volume provide an overview of recent advances in the understanding of palaeoenvironmental change spanning the mid-Cretaceous to the Neogene of the James Ross Basin and related biotic change, and will be of interest to many working on Cretaceous and Tertiary palaeoenvironmental change.

Description / Table of Contents: For over half a century neutron scattering has added valuable information about the structure of materials. Unlike X-rays that have quickly become a standard laboratory technique and are available to all modern researchers in physics, chemistry, materials and earth sciences, neutrons have been elusive and reserved for specialists. A primary reason is that neutron beams, at least so far, are only produced at large dedicated facilities with nuclear reactors and accelerators and access to those has been limited. Yet there are a substantial number of experiments that use neutron scattering. While earth science users are still a small minority, neutron scattering has nevertheless contributed valuable information on geological materials for well over half a century. Important applications have been in crystallography (e.g. atomic positions of hydrogen and Al-Si ordering in feldspars and zeolites, Mn-Fe-Ti distribution in oxides), magnetic structures, mineral physics at non-ambient conditions and investigations of anisotropy and residual strain in structural geology and rock mechanics. Applications range from structure determinations of large single crystals, to powder refinements and short-range order determination in amorphous materials. Zeolites, feldspars, magnetite, carbonates, ice, clathrates are just some of the minerals where knowledge has greatly been augmented by neutron scattering experiments. Yet relatively few researchers in earth sciences are taking advantage of the unique opportunities provided by modern neutron facilities. The goal of this volume, and the associated short course by the Mineralogical Society of America held December 7-9 in Emeryville/Berkeley CA, is to attract new users to this field and introduce them to the wide range of applications. As the following chapters will illustrate, neutron scattering offers unique opportunities to quantify properties of earth materials and processes. Focus of this volume is on scientific applications but issues of instrumental availabilities and methods of data processing are also covered to help scientists from such diverse fields as crystallography, mineral physics, geochemistry, rock mechanics, materials science, biomineralogy become familiar with neutron scattering. A few years ago European mineralogists spearheaded a similar initiative that resulted in a special issue of the European Journal of Mineralogy (Volume 14, 2002). Since then the field has much advanced and a review volume that is widely available is highly desirable. At present there is really no easy access for earth scientists to this field and a more focused treatise can complement Bacon's (1955) book, now in its third edition, which is still a classic. The purpose of this volume is to provide an introduction for those not yet familiar with neutrons by describing basic features of neutrons and their interaction with matter as well illustrating important applications. The volume is divided into 17 Chapters. The first two chapters introduce properties of neutrons and neutron facilities, setting the stage for applications. Some applications rely on single crystals (Chapter 3) but mostly powders (Chapters 4-5) and bulk polycrystals (Chapters 15-16) are analyzed, at ambient conditions as well as low and high temperature and high pressure (Chapters 7-9). Characterization of magnetic structures remains a core application of neutron scattering (Chapter 6). The analysis of neutron data is not trivial and crystallographic methods have been modified to take account of the complexities, such as the Rietveld technique (Chapter 4) and the pair distribution function (Chapter 11). Information is not only obtained about solids but about liquids, melts and aqueous solutions as well (Chapters 11-13). In fact this field, approached with inelastic scattering (Chapter 10) and small angle scattering (Chapter 13) is opening unprecedented opportunities for earth sciences. Small angle scattering also contributes information about microstructures (Chapter 14). Neutron diffraction has become a favorite method to quantify residual stresses in deformed materials (Chapter 16) as well as preferred orientation patterns (Chapter 15). The volume concludes with a short introduction into neutron tomography and radiography that may well emerge as a principal application of neutron scattering in the future (Chapter 17).

Description / Table of Contents: Mechanical properties and fluid transport in rocks are intimately linked as deformation of a solid rock matrix immediately affects the pore space and permeability. This may result in transient or permanent changes of pore pressures and effective pressures causing rock strength to vary in space and time. Fluid circulation and deformation processes in crustal rocks are coupled, producing significant complexity of mechanical and fluid transport behavior. This often poses severe technical and economic problems for reservoir and geotechnical engineering projects involved in oil and gas production, CO2 sequestration, mining and underground waste disposal. For example, the depletion of hydrocarbon and water reservoirs leading to compaction may have adverse effects on well production. Solution/precipitation processes modify porosity and affect permeability of aquifers and reservoir rocks. Fracture damage from underground excavation will critically influence the long-term stability and performance of waste storage. Part I of this topical volume covers mainly the nucleation and evolution of crack damage in rocks, new or modified techniques to measure rock fracture toughness and a discussion of upscaling techniques relating mechanical and fluid transport behaviour in rocks at different spatial scales. Part II, to be published later in 2006, will include studies investigating the coupling of rock deformation and fluid flow.

Description / Table of Contents: Mechanical properties and fluid transport in rocks are intimately linked as deformation of a solid rock matrix immediately affects the pore space and permeability. The coupling of fluid circulation and deformation processes in crustal rocks results in significant complexity of the mechanical and fluid transport behavior. This often poses severe technical and economic problems for reservoir and geotechnical engineering projects involved in oil and gas production, CO2 sequestration, mining and underground waste disposal. The volume results from the 5th Euroconference on Rock Physics and Geomechanics, which was held in Potsdam, Germany in September 2004. Part I of the topical volume mainly contains contributions investigating the nucleation and evolution of crack damage in rocks, new or modified techniques to measure rock fracture toughness and a discussion of upscaling techniques relating mechanical and fluid transport behavior in rocks at different spatial scales. Part II contains contributions discussing fluid flow and transport in rocks as observed on the laboratory scale and in boreholes. The evolution of rock damage pertinent to the stability of underground excavations is studied and scaling relations of elastic properties and seismic events are discussed.

Description / Table of Contents: The Hiroshi Wakita Volume I is a collection of original papers regarding the role of terrestrial fluids in earthquake and volcanic processes. The importance of monitoring volcanic gases for studying volcanic eruptions is widely recognized by the scientific community. On the other hand, the usefulness of hydrologic and geochemical monitoring in earthquake studies, especially in earthquake prediction, has been controversial. This Pure and Applied Geophysics volume provides the results of some of the most recent studies on terrestrial fluids involved in both processes. The volume honors Hiroshi Wakita for his scientific contributions. Volume II will be published later in 2006. Both volumes should be useful to researchers and graduate students in the field.

Description / Table of Contents: Seit nunmehr 20 Jahren findet regelmäßig alle zwei Jahre das Symposium "Tektonik, Struktur- und Kristallingeologie" statt. Die Tagung soll insbesondere jungen Nachwuchswissenschaftlern die Möglichkeit bieten, ihre Ergebnisse zu diskutieren und einem breiten Fachpublikum vorzustellen.In diesem Jahr wird schon TSK 11 durchgeführt - zum zweiten Mal nach 1994 wieder in Göttingen.

Description / Table of Contents: During the past decade, work on cool water carbonates has expanded to become a mainstream research area. Studies on modern and Quaternary deposits will continue to be important; however, there is increasing momentum towards unravelling sediment processes, biota-sediment interactions and diagenetic products in Cenozoic and older cool-water carbonates. Many contributions in this book document Cenozoic and Quaternary carbonates from landlocked (microtidal) water-bodies. These carbonates display important differences in biota and fabric distributions when compared with world ocean examples. Consequently, the scientific community is now better placed to reinterpret pre-Tertiary carbonates where there is a suspicion that they have developed under microtidal conditions. Some papers in the book provide new approaches to interpreting environmental change within macrotidal regimes and others lay firm foundations for future cool-water carbonate diagenetic research. The aim of the book is to illustrate recent international contributions to cool-water carbonates research, with an emphasis on Neogene and Recent case studies. Contributions are divided into three sections: microtidal carbonates from the Mediterranean realm; macrotidal examples from New Zealand, Australia and Mexico; and early diagenetic fabrics.

Description / Table of Contents: Twenty-four years have elapsed since the publication of Halbouty’s AAPG Memoir of 1982, The Deliberate Search for the Subtle Trap. Since then, the technologies employed in hydrocarbon exploration have become extraordinarily sophisticated, yet current exploration for stratigraphic traps is to some extent restricted to areas where seismic data simplifies exploration by allowing direct inference of fluid fill and reservoir development. This Special Publication draws upon contributions that examine current industry perceptions of stratigraphic trap exploration and the technologies, tools and philosophies employed in such exploration, given the changing industry environment. This book contains a collection of papers examining a number of themes related to exploration for stratigraphic traps, ranging from play and risk assessment, through regional assessments of stratigraphic trapping potential, specific exploration programmes targeted at stratigraphic traps to specific working traps and plays where stratigraphic trapping is prevalent.

Description / Table of Contents: Analogue and Numerical Sandbox Models --- Analogue benchmarks of shortening and extension experiments / Guido Schreurs, Susanne J. H. Buiter, David Boutelier, Giacomo Corti, Elisabetta Costa, Alexander R. Cruden, Jean-Marc Daniel, Silvan Hoth, Hemin A. Koyi, Nina Kukowski, Jo Lohrmann, Antonio Ravaglia, Roy W. Schlische, Martha Oliver Withjack, Yasuhiro Yamada, Cristian Cavozzi, Chiara Del Ventisette, Jennifer A. Elder Brady, Arne Hoffmann-Rothe, Jean-Marie Mengus, Domenico Montanari and Faramarz Nilforoushan / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 253, 1-27, 1 January 2006, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.253.01.01 --- The numerical sandbox: comparison of model results for a shortening and an extension experiment / Susanne J. H. Buiter, Andrey Yu. Babeyko, Susan Ellis, Taras V. Gerya, Boris J. P. Kaus, Antje Kellner, Guido Schreurs and Yasuhiro Yamada / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 253, 29-64, 1 January 2006, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.253.01.02 --- Models of Orogenic Processes --- Interaction between normal faults and pre-existing thrust systems in analogue models / Giacomo Corti, Serena Lucia, Marco Bonini, Federico Sani and Francesco Mazzarini / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 253, 65-78, 1 January 2006, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.253.01.03 --- Surface topography and internal strain variation in wide hot orogens from three-dimensional analogue and two-dimensional numerical vice models / Alexander R. Cruden, Mohammad H. B. Nasseri and Russell Pysklywec / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 253, 79-104, 1 January 2006, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.253.01.04 --- Relative importance of trenchward upper plate motion and friction along the plate interface for the topographic evolution of subduction-related mountain belts / Andrea Hampel and Adrian Pfiffner / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 253, 105-115, 1 January 2006, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.253.01.05 --- Deformation transfer in viscous detachments: comparison of sandbox models to the South Pyrenean Triangle Zone / Hemin A. Koyi and Maura Sans / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 253, 117-134, 1 January 2006, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.253.01.06 --- Analogue modelling of a reactivated, basement controlled strike-slip zone, Sierra de Albarracín, Spain: application of sandbox modelling to polyphase deformation / S. Merten, W. G. Smit, D. A. Nieuwland and H. E. Rondeel / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 253, 135-152, 1 January 2006, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.253.01.07 --- Lithospheric scale gravitational flow: the impact of body forces on orogenic processes from Archaean to Phanerozoic / Patrice F. Rey and Gregory Houseman / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 253, 153-167, 1 January 2006, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.253.01.08 --- Analogue and numerical modelling of accretionary prisms with a décollement in sediments / Yasuhiro Yamada, Kei Baba and Toshifumi Matsuoka / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 253, 169-183, 1 January 2006, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.253.01.09 --- Models of Sedimentary Basins --- Integrated four-dimensional modelling of sedimentary basin architecture and hydrocarbon migration / S. M. Clarke, S. D. Burley, G. D. Williams, A. J. Richards, D. J. Meredith and S. S. Egan / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 253, 185-211, 1 January 2006, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.253.01.10 --- Rifting through a heterogeneous crust: insights from analogue models and application to the Gulf of Corinth / L. Mattioni, L. Le Pourhiet and I. Moretti / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 253, 213-231, 1 January 2006, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.253.01.11 --- 3D modelling of rifting through a pre-existing stack of nappes in the Gulf of Corinth (Greece): a mixed analogue/numerical approach / L. Le Pourhiet, L. Mattioni and I. Moretti / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 253, 233-252, 1 January 2006, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.253.01.12 --- Inversion of a symmetric basin: insights from a comparison between analogue and numerical experiments / M. Panien, S. J. H. Buiter, G. Schreurs and O. A. Pfiffner / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 253, 253-270, 1 January 2006, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.253.01.13 --- Lower crustal rheological expression in inverted basins / Mike Sandiford, David L. Hansen and Sandra N. McLaren / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 253, 271-283, 1 January 2006, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.253.01.14 --- Geometric and experimental models of extensional fault-bend folds / Martha O. Withjack and Roy W. Schlische / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 253, 285-305, 1 January 2006, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.253.01.15 --- Models of Surface Processes and Deformation --- Recent advances and current problems in modelling surface processes and their interaction with crustal deformation / Jean Braun / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 253, 307-325, 1 January 2006, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.253.01.16 --- Macroscale dynamics of experimental landscapes / Stephane Bonnet and Alain Crave / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 253, 327-339, 1 January 2006, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.253.01.17 --- Numerical modelling of erosion processes in the Himalayas of Nepal: effects of spatial variations of rock strength and precipitation / V. Godard, J. Lavé and R. Cattin / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 253, 341-358, 1 January 2006, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.253.01.18 --- Models of Faults and Fluid Flow --- Effects of compaction processes on stresses, faults, and fluid flow in sedimentary basins: examples from the Norwegian margin / Knut Bjørlykke / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 253, 359-379, 1 January 2006, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.253.01.19 --- Multiple faults in ductile simple shear: analogue models of flanking structure systems / Ulrike Exner, Bernhard Grasemann and Neil S. Mancktelow / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 253, 381-395, 1 January 2006, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.253.01.20 --- Using an elastic dislocation model to investigate static Coulomb stress change scenarios for earthquake ruptures in the eastern Marmara Sea region, Turkey / Jordan R. Muller, Atilla Aydin and Tim J. Wright / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 253, 397-414, 1 January 2006, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.253.01.21 --- Oil reservoirs in foreland basins charged by thrustbelt source rocks: insights from numerical stress modelling and geometric balancing in the West Carpathians / Michal Nemčok and Andreas Henk / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 253, 415-428, 1 January 2006, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.253.01.22 --- Relation between effective friction and fault slip rate across the Northern San Andreas fault system / Ann-Sophie Provost and Jean Chéry / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 253, 429-436, 1 January 2006, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.253.01.23

Description / Table of Contents: Earth is a water planet. Oceans of liquid water dominate the surface processes of the planet. On the surface, water controls weathering as well as transport and deposition of sediments. Liquid water is necessary for life. In the interior, water fluxes melting and controls the solid-state viscosity of the convecting mantle and so controls volcanism and tectonics. Oceans cover more than 70% of the surface but make up only about 0.025% of the planet's mass. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the cosmos, but in the bulk Earth, it is one of the most poorly constrained chemical compositional variables. Almost all of the nominally anhydrous minerals that compose the Earth's crust and mantle can incorporate measurable amounts of hydrogen. Because these are minerals that contain oxygen as the principal anion, the major incorporation mechanism is as hydroxyl, OH-, and the chemical component is equivalent to water, H2O. Although the hydrogen proton can be considered a monovalent cation, it does not occupy same structural position as a typical cation in a mineral structure, but rather forms a hydrogen bond with the oxygens on the edge of the coordination polyhedron. The amount incorporated is thus quite sensitive to pressure and the amount of H that can be incorporated in these phases generally increases with pressure and sometimes with temperature. Hydrogen solubility in nominally anhydrous minerals is thus much more sensitive to temperature and pressure than that of other elements. Because the mass of rock in the mantle is so large relative to ocean mass, the amount that is incorporated the nominally anhydrous phases of the interior may constitute the largest reservoir of water in the planet. Understanding the behavior and chemistry of hydrogen in minerals at the atomic scale is thus central to understanding the geology of the planet. There have been significant recent advances in the detection, measurement, and location of H in the nominally anhydrous silicate and oxide minerals that compose the planet. There have also been advances in experimental methods for measurement of H diffusion and the effects of H on the phase boundaries and physical properties whereby the presence of H in the interior may be inferred from seismic or other geophysical studies. It is the objective of this volume to consolidate these advances with reviews of recent research in the geochemistry and mineral physics of hydrogen in the principal mineral phases of the Earth's crust and mantle.

Description / Table of Contents: The importance of sulfide minerals in ores has long been, and continues to be, a major reason for the interest of mineralogists and geochemists in these materials. Determining the fundamental chemistry of sulfides is key to understanding their conditions of formation and, hence, the geological processes by which certain ore deposits have formed. This, in turn, may inform the strategies used in exploration for such deposits and their subsequent exploitation. In this context, knowledge of structures, stabilities, phase relations and transformations, together with the relevant thermodynamic and kinetic data, is critical. As with many geochemical systems, much can also be learned from isotopic studies. The practical contributions of mineralogists and geochemists to sulfide studies extend beyond areas related to geological applications. The mining of sulfide ores, to satisfy ever increasing world demand for metals, now involves extracting very large volumes of rock that contains a few percent at most (and commonly less than one percent) of the metal being mined. This is true of relatively low value metals such as copper; for the precious metals commonly occurring as sulfides, or associated with them, the mineable concentrations (grades) are very much lower. The "as-mined" ores therefore require extensive processing in order to produce a concentrate with a much higher percentage content of the metal being extracted. Such mineral processing (beneficiation) involves crushing and grinding of the ores to a very fine grain size in order to liberate the valuable metal-bearing (sulfide) minerals which can then be concentrated. In some cases, the metalliferous (sulfide) minerals may have specific electrical or magnetic properties that can be exploited to enable separation and, hence, concentration. More commonly, froth flotation is used, whereby the surfaces of particles of a particular mineral phase are rendered water repellent by the addition of chemical reagents and hence are attracted to air bubbles pulsed through a mineral particle-water-reagent pulp. An understanding of the surface chemistry and surface reactivity of sulfide minerals is central to this major industrial process and, of course, knowledge of electrical and magnetic properties is very important in cases where those particular properties can be utilized. In the years since the publication of the first ever Reviews in Mineralogy volume (1974, at that time called MSA "Short Course Notes") which was entitled Sulfide Mineralogy, sulfides have become a focus of research interest for reasons centering on at least two other areas in addition to their key role in ore deposit studies and mineral processing technology. It is in these two new areas that much of the research on sulfides has been concentrated in recent years. The first of these areas relates to the capacity of sulfides to react with natural waters and acidify them; the resulting Acid Rock Drainage (ARD), or Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) where the sulfides are the waste products of mining, has the capacity to damage or destroy vegetation, fish and other aquatic life forms. These acid waters may also accelerate the dissolution of associated minerals containing potentially toxic elements (e.g., As, Pb, Cd, Hg, etc.) and these may, in turn, cause environmental damage. The much greater public awareness of the need to prevent or control AMD and toxic metal pollution has led to regulation and legislation in many parts of the world, and to the funding of research programs aimed at a greater understanding of the factors controlling the breakdown of sulfide minerals. The second reason for even greater research interest in sulfide minerals arose initially from the discoveries of active hydrothermal systems in the deep oceans. The presence of life forms that have chemical rather than photosynthetic metabolisms, and that occur in association with newly-forming sulfides, has encouraged research on the potential of sulfide surfaces in catalyzing the reactions leading to assembling of the complex molecules needed for life on Earth. These developments have been associated with a great upsurge of interest in the interactions between microbes and minerals, and in the role that minerals can play in biological systems. In the rapidly growing field of geomicrobiology, metal sulfides are of major interest. This interest is related to a variety of processes including, for example, those where bacteria interact with sulfides as part of their metabolic activity and cause chemical changes such as oxidation or reduction, or those in which biogenic sulfide minerals perform a specific function, such as that of navigation in magnetotactic bacteria. The development of research in areas such as geomicrobiology and environmental mineralogy and geochemistry, is also leading to a greater appreciation of the role of sulfides (particularly the iron sulfides) in the geochemical cycling of the elements at or near the surface of the Earth. For example, the iron sulfides precipitated in the reducing environments beneath the surface of modern sediments in many estuarine areas may play a key role in the trapping of toxic metals and other pollutants. In our understanding of "Earth Systems," geochemical processes involving metal sulfides are an important part of the story. The main objective of the present text is to provide an up-to-date review of sulfide mineralogy and geochemistry. The emphasis is, therefore, on such topics as crystal structure and classification, electrical and magnetic properties, spectroscopic studies, chemical bonding, high and low temperature phase relations, thermochemistry, and stable isotope systematics. In the context of this book, emphasis is on metal sulfides sensu stricto where only the compounds of sulfur with one or more metals are considered. Where it is appropriate for comparison, there is brief discussion of the selenide or telluride analogs of the metal sulfides. When discussing crystal structures and structural relationships, the sulfosalt minerals as well as the sulfides are considered in some detail (see Chapter 2; also for definition of the term "sulfosalt"). However, in other chapters there is only limited discussion of sulfosalts, in part because there is little information available beyond knowledge of chemical composition and crystal structure.

Description / Table of Contents: The very successful orbital missions of the 1990's, Clementine and Lunar Prospector, provided key mineralogical, geochemical, and geophysical data sets that extended our view of the Moon beyond what we knew from Apollo and Luna exploration to a truly global perspective. These new data sets have been integrated with information gained from three preceding decades of study of lunar samples and older, less complete remotely sensed data sets. Although there have been no new lunar sample-return missions since Apollo and Luna, new samples are available in the form of meteorites, recognized to be pieces of the Moon. These, too, play a role in improved knowledge of the Moon and in helping to couple information obtained by remote sensing with information obtained from rock and soil samples. As we stand on the edge of a new era of lunar and planetary exploration, including new missions to the Moon, Mars, and other planets and moons, we find it essential to examine in depth how the wide variety of data sets obtained during the course of lunar exploration can be used together to better understand the formation of the Moon and how it evolved to its present state. Such an understanding holds important lessons for the new era of lunar exploration as well as the exploration of other planets in the Solar System. This will ultimately lead to better knowledge of how our own planet Earth - with its unique environment suitable for the origin and evolution of life - originated and changed with time. This book assesses the current state of knowledge of lunar geoscience, given the data sets provided by missions of the 1990's, and lists remaining key questions as well as new ones for future exploration to address. It documents how a planet or moon other than the world on which we live can be studied and understood in light of integrated suites of specific kinds of information. The Moon is the only body other than Earth for which we have material samples of known geologic context for study. This book seeks to show how the different kinds of information gained about the Moon relate to each other and also to learn from this experience, thus allowing more efficient planning for the exploration of other worlds.

Description / Table of Contents: Part I: An integrated framework of disaster risk management --- An Integrated Risk Analysis Framework for Emerging Disaster Risks: Toward a better risk management of flood disaster in urban communities / S. Ikeda / pp. 1-21 --- Fundamental Characteristics of Flood Risk in Japan's Urban Areas / T. Sato / pp. 23-40 --- Integration Framework of Flood Risk Management: What should be integrated? / K. Seo / pp. 41-56 --- Public Preference and Willingness to Pay for Flood Risk Reduction / G. Zhai / pp. 57-87 --- New Mode of Risk Governance Enhanced by an e-community Platform / T. Nagasaka / pp. 89-107 --- Part II: Interdisciplinary studies of flood risk --- Uncertainty in Flood Risks and Public Understanding of Probable Rainfall / S. Shimokawa and Y. Takeuchi / pp. 109-119 --- Public Perception of Flood Risk and Community-based Disaster Preparedness / T. Motoyoshi / pp. 121-134 --- Residents' Perception about Disaster Prevention and Action for Risk Mitigation: The case of the Tokai flood in 2000 / K. Takao / pp. 135-151 --- Roles of Volunteers in Disaster Prevention: Implications of questionnaire and interview surveys / I. Suzuki / pp. 153-163 --- Issues and Attitudes of Local Government Officials for Flood Risk Management / K. Terumoto / pp. 165-176 --- The Niigata Flood in 2004 as a Flood Risk of "Low Probability but High Consequence" / T. Sato, T. Fukuzono, and S. Ikeda / pp. 177-192 --- Insurance Issues of Catastrophic Disasters in Japan: Lessons from the 2005 Hurricane Katrina Disaster / H. Tsubokawa / pp. 193-198 --- Part III: Pilot studies of implementing social platform of risk management in local community: Participatory flood risk communication support system (Pafrics) --- Participatory Flood Risk Communication Support System (Pafrics) / T. Fukuzono, T. Sato, Y. Takeuchi, K. Takao, S. Shimokawa, I. Suzuki, G. Zhai, K. Terumoto, T. Nagasaga, K. Seo, and S. Ikeda / pp. 199-211 --- Flood Risk Communication with Pafrics / Y. Takeuchi and I. Suzuki / pp. 213-224

Description / Table of Contents: Medical Mineralogy and Geochemistry is an emergent, highly interdisciplinary field of study. The disciplines of mineralogy and geochemistry are integral components of cross-disciplinary investigations that aim to understand the interactions between geomaterials and humans as well as the normal and pathological formation of inorganic solid precipitates in vivo. Research strategies and methods include but are not limited to: stability and solubility studies of earth materials and biomaterials in biofluids or their proxies (i.e., equilibrium thermodynamic studies), kinetic studies of pertinent reactions under conditions relevant to the human body, molecular modeling studies, and geospatial and statistical studies aimed at evaluating environmental factors as causes for activating certain chronic diseases in genetically predisposed individuals or populations. Despite its importance, the area of Medical Mineralogy and Geochemistry has received limited attention by scientists, administrators, and the public. The objectives of this volume are to highlight some of the existing research opportunities and challenges, and to invigorate exchange of ideas between mineralogists and geochemists working on medical problems and medical scientists working on problems involving geomaterials and biominerals. Examples presented in this volume (Table of contents below) include the effects of inhaled dust particles in the lung (Huang et al. 2006; Schoonen et al. 2006), biomineralization of bones and teeth (Glimcher et al. 2006), the formation of kidney-stones, the calcification of arteries, the speciation exposure pathways and pathological effects of heavy metal contaminants (Reeder et al. 2006; Plumlee et al. 2006), the transport and fate of prions and pathological viruses in the environment (Schramm et al. 2006), the possible environmental-genetic link in the occurrence of neurodegenerative diseases (Perl and Moalem 2006), the design of biocompatible, bioactive ceramics for use as orthopaedic and dental implants and related tissue engineering applications (Cerruti and Sahai 2006) and the use of oxide-encapsulated living cells for the development of biosensors (Livage and Coradin 2006).

Description / Table of Contents: This book summarizes the results of an interdisciplinary meeting held in Obergurgl in 2006. Based on current knowledge the meeting aimed at a research strategy for the research focus “alpine space – man and environment” of Innsbruck University.

Description / Table of Contents: This second special issue of Pure and Applied Geophysics in honor of Keiiti Aki focuses on recent advances in quantifying and interpreting heterogeneities in lithosperic structures and earthquake behavior. The volume provides a combination of reviews, methodological studies and applications on topics related to Aki's pioneering contributions. It also includes material on Keiiti Aki and a list of his publications. The discussed subjects include research associated with dynamic earthquake rupture, studies on imaging earthquake locations and structures using P and S seismic phases, and studies associated with imaging source and structure properties using scattered coda waves. The volume will be useful to students and researchers alike, who are interested in the nature of large- and small-scale heterogeneities in the earth's lithosphere and earthquake properties.

Description / Table of Contents: Exciting developments in earthquake science have benefited from new observations, improved computational technologies, and improved modeling capabilities. Designing realistic supercomputer simulation models for the complete earthquake generation process is a grand scientific challenge due to the complexity of phenomena and range of scales involved from microscopic to global. The book is divided into two parts: The present volume - Part I - focuses on microscopic simulation, scaling physics, dynamic rapture and wave propagation, earthquake generation, cycle and seismic pattern. Topics covered range from numerical developments, rupture and gouge studies of the particle model, Liquefied Cracks and Rayleigh Wave Physics, studies of catastrophic failure and critical sensitivity, numerical and theoretical studies of crack propagation, developments in finite difference methods for modeling faults, long time scale simulation of interacting fault systems, modeling of crustal deformation, through to mantle convection.

Description / Table of Contents: This book provides an insight into the overall tectonic evolution of the Western Mediterranean region and North Africa. The tectonic setting of the region reflects a long-lived and complex evolution, mainly related to the Alpine Orogeny. This inheritance is expressed by an intricate pattern of arc-shaped mountain chains, the Alps, the Betic-Rif Cordilleras and the Apennine-Maghrebian belt, whose southern branches mark the present limit between the African and Eurasian plates. The volume covers the Maghrebian chains in North Africa, from Tunisia to Morocco and the Western and Central Mediterranean, from Spain to Italy from the pre-orogeric phases (Palaeozoic-Mesozoic) to the post-collisional neotectonic and Quaternary development. It includes both original research papers and syntheses dealing with the aspects of structural, sedimentary, metamorphic and marine geology.

Description / Table of Contents: The Eastern Mediterranean region is a classic area for the study of tectonic processes and settings related to the development of the Tethyan orogenic belt. The present set of research and synthesis papers by Earth scientist from countries in this region and others provides an up-to-date, interdisciplinary overview of the tectonic development of the Eastern Mediterrenean region from Precambrian to Recent. Key topics include continental rifting, ophiolite genesis and emplacement, continental collision, extensional tectonics, crustal exhumation and intraplate deformation (e.g. active faulting). Alternative tectonic reconstructions of the Tethyan orogen are presented and discussed, with important implications for other regions of the world. The book will be an essential source of information and interpretation for academic researchers (geologists and geophysicists), advanced undergraduates and also for industry professionals, including those concerned with hydrocarbons, minerals and geological hazards (e.g. earthquakes).

Description / Table of Contents: In the Earth sciences, the concept of fractals and scale invariance is well recognized in many natural objects. However, the use of fractals for spatial and temporal analyses of natural hazards has been less used (and accepted) in the Earth sciences. This book brings together 12 contributions that emphasize the role of fractal analyses in natural hazard research, including andslides, wildfires, floods, catastrophic rock fractures and earthquakes. A wide variety of spatial and temporal fractal-related approaches and techniques are applied to ‘natural’ data, experimental data and computer simulations. These approaches include probabilistic hazard analysis, cellular-automata models, spatial analyses, temporal variability, prediction and self-organizing behaviour. The main aims of this volume are (a) to present current research on fractal analyses as applied to natural hazards and (b) to stimulate the curiosity of advanced Earth science students and researchers in the use of fractals analyses for the better understanding of natural hazards.

Description / Table of Contents: This volume gives a broad view of the application of geoscience techniques to the study of monuments and objects from excavations and museums, including their origin, technique of manufacture, age and conservation. It reaffirms the important contribution of geosciences in the interdisciplinary approach to the study of complex materials such as minerals, rocks, glass, metals, mortar, plaster, slags and pottery. The papers in this book cover three topics: the study of pottery, glass, stone and mortar; the application of Raman spectroscopy to a wide variety of objects; and the future of archaeometry. Interdisciplinary studies including field geology, geophysics, microscopy, textural analysis, physical methods and geochemistry are used to unlock information from the ancient materials, such as the provenance of the raw materials, the firing technology, the ancient recipes, and the alteration pathways.

Description / Table of Contents: This Special Publication has 24 papers with an international authorship, and is prefaced by an introductory overview which presents highlights in the field. The first section covers the acceptance by science of the reality of the falls of rock and metal from the sky, an account that takes the reader from BCE (before common era) to the nineteenth century. The second section details some of the world's most important collections in museums - their origins and development. The Smithsonian chapter also covers the astonishingly numerous finds in the cold desert of Antarctica by American search parties. There are also contributions covering the finds by Japanese parties in the Yamato mountains and the equally remarkable discoveries in the hot deserts of Australia, North Africa, Oman and the USA. The other seven chapters take the reader through the revolution in scientific research on meteoritics in the later part of the twentieth century, including terrestrial impact cratering and extraordinary showers of glass from the sky; tektites, now known to be Earth-impact-sourced. Finally, the short epilogue looks to the future. The History of Meteoritics and Key Meteorite Collections should appeal to historians of science, meteoriticists, geologists, astronomers, curators and the general reader with an interest in science.

Description / Table of Contents: The Erosion and Sedimentation Manual provides a comprehensive coverage of subjects in nine chapters (i.e., introduction, erosion and reservoir sedimentation, noncohesive sediment transport, cohesive sediment transport, sediment modeling for rivers and reservoirs, sustainable development and use of reservoirs, river processes and restoration, dam decommissioning and sediment management, and reservoir surveys and data analysis). Each chapter is self-contained, with cross references of subjects that are discussed in different chapters of this manual. The manual also includes a list of commonly used notations used in the erosion and sedimenation literature, conversion factors between the Imperial and metric units, physical properties of water, and author and subject indexes for easy reference. Each chapter has a list of references for readers who would like to seek out more detailed information on specific subjects. The manual should serve as a useful book for researchers, university professors and graduate students, and engineers in solving erosion and sedimentation problems.