ALBERT

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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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.

Description / Table of Contents: Boreholes are commonly drilled into crystalline rocks to evaluate their suitability for various applications such as waste disposal (including nuclear waste), geothermal energy, hydrology, sequestration of greenhouse gases and for fault analysis. Crystalline rocks include igneous, metamorphic and even some sedimentary rocks. The quantification and understanding of individual rock masses requires extensive modelling and an analysis of various physical and chemical parameters. This volume covers the following aspects of the petrophysical properties of crystalline rocks: fracturing and deformation, oceanic basement studies, permeability and hydrology, and laboratorybased studies. With the growing demands for sustainable and environmentally effective development of the subsurface, the petrophysics of crystalline rocks is becoming an increasingly important field.

Description / Table of Contents: Weather and climate are of concern to virtually all countries worldwide. For many countries the economy depends largely on agriculture, which is significantly affected by variations in weather and climate. This volume contains many original findings on weather and climate related to atmospheric and oceanic processes through mathematical modeling, numerical simulations, and field experiments and it will be useful as a reading material in graduate level courses dealing with weather, climate, boundary layer and air quality. The scientific community at large, especially younger scientists, will find this book a useful addition to their personal and institutional libraries.

Description / Table of Contents: Weather and climate are of concern to virtually all countries worldwide. For many countries the economy depends largely on agriculture, which is significantly affected by variations in weather and climate. This volume contains many original findings on weather and climate related to atmospheric and oceanic processes through mathematical modeling, numerical simulations, and field experiments and it will be useful as a reading material in graduate level courses dealing with weather, climate, boundary layer and air quality. The scientific community at large, especially younger scientists, will find this book a useful addition to their personal and institutional libraries.

Description / Table of Contents: Alluvial fans: geomorphology, sedimentology, dynamics — introduction. A review of alluvial-fan research / Adrian M. Harvey, Anne E. Mather and Martin Stokes / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 251, 1-7, 1 January 2005, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2005.251.01.01 --- Flow events on a hyper-arid alluvial fan: Quebrada Tambores, Salar de Atacama, northern Chile / Anne E. Mather and Adrian Hartley / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 251, 9-24, 1 January 2005, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2005.251.01.02 --- Fans with forests: contemporary hydrogeomorphic processes on fans with forests in west central British Columbia, Canada / D. J. Wilford, M. E. Sakals, J. L. Innes and R. C. Sidle / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 251, 25-40, 1 January 2005, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2005.251.01.03 --- The fluvial megafan of Abarkoh Basin (Central Iran): an example of flash-flood sedimentation in arid lands / Nasser Arzani / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 251, 41-59, 1 January 2005, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2005.251.01.04 --- Climate and tectonically controlled river style changes on the Sajó-Hernád alluvial fan (Hungary) / Gyula Gábris and Balázs Nagy / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 251, 61-67, 1 January 2005, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2005.251.01.05 --- Quaternary telescopic-like alluvial fans, Andean Ranges, Argentina / F. Colombo / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 251, 69-84, 1 January 2005, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2005.251.01.06 --- Morphometry and depositional style of Late Pleistocene alluvial fans: Wadi Al-Bih, northern UAE and Oman / Asma Al-Farraj and Adrian M. Harvey / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 251, 85-94, 1 January 2005, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2005.251.01.07 --- Climatic controls on alluvial-fan activity, Coastal Cordillera, northern Chile / Adrian J. Hartley, Anne E. Mather, Elizabeth Jolley and Peter Turner / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 251, 95-116, 1 January 2005, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2005.251.01.08 --- Differential effects of base-level, tectonic setting and climatic change on Quaternary alluvial fans in the northern Great Basin, Nevada, USA / Adrian M. Harvey / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 251, 117-131, 1 January 2005, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2005.251.01.09 --- Reconciling the roles of climate and tectonics in Late Quaternary fan development on the Spartan piedmont, Greece / Richard J.J. Pope and Keith N. Wilkinson / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 251, 133-152, 1 January 2005, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2005.251.01.10 --- Luminescence dating of alluvial fans in intramontane basins of NW Argentina / R. A. J. Robinson, J. Q. G. Spencer, M. R. Strecker, A. Richter and R. N. Alonso / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 251, 153-168, 1 January 2005, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2005.251.01.11 --- Factors controlling sequence development on Quaternary fluvial fans, San Joaquin Basin, California, USA / G. S. Weissmann, G. L. Bennett and A. L. Lansdale / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 251, 169-186, 1 January 2005, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2005.251.01.12 --- Tertiary alluvial fans at the northern margin of the Ebro Basin: a review / Gary Nichols / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 251, 187-206, 1 January 2005, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2005.251.01.13 --- Source area and tectonic control on alluvial-fan development in the Miocene Fohnsdorf intramontane basin, Austria / Michael Wagreich and Philipp E. Strauss / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 251, 207-216, 1 January 2005, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2005.251.01.14 --- Upper Cretaceous-Palaeocene basin-margin alluvial fans documenting interaction between tectonic and environmental processes (Provence, SE France) / S. Leleu, J.-F. Ghienne and G. Manatschal / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 251, 217-239, 1 January 2005, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2005.251.01.15

Description / Table of Contents: The sustainable development of minerals, whick are non-renewable resources, is a major challenge in today's world. In this regard the true definition of sustainability' is a debating point itself: can such a concept exist with respect to non-renewable resources? Perhaps the ideal sustainability model is one that minimizes negative environmental impact and maximizes benefits to society, the economy and regional/national development. Developed and near-developed economies rely for commodity supplies on developing countries where major mining operations are often a mainstay of the domestic economy. Limited environmental regulation and low wages lead to charges of exploitation. also, large numbers of people have no alternative to living ny informal, often dangerous, 'artisanal' mining. This Special Publication gives examples from developing countries at all scales of mineral extraction. The volume reviews environmental, economic, health and social problems and highlights the need to solve these before sustainability can be achieved. The better solutions require mutual understanding, through full involvement of all stakeholders, education, training and investment so that small-scale ansd artisinal mines can grow into well-managed operations. At larger scales, most major interantional mining companies have now inoproved their practices and are monitoring their [rogress, although there is no room for complacency in this rapidly changing are.

Description / Table of Contents: This collection of research and review papers addresses the question of structural evolution during deformation to high strains and the physical properties of rocks that have been affected by high-strain zones. The discussions range from natural examples at outcrop to microscopic studies. They include experiments and numerical models based on the active processes in high-strain zones as well as studies on the physical properties of highly strained rocks in the field and laboratory. Specific questions addressed include magnetotelturic imaging of faults, magnetic fabrics, fabric development, seismic properties of highly strained rocks, change of theology with strain, influence of melt on the localization of deformation, the relationship between deformation and metamorphism as well as new methods in the analysis of deformation. The book is aimed at an interdisciplinary group of readers interested in the effects of high strain in rocks.

Description / Table of Contents: Submarine slopes provide the critical link between shallow-water and deep-water sedimentary environments. They accumulate a sensitive record of sediment supply, accommodation creation/destruction, and tectonic processes during basin filling. There is a complex stratigraphic response to the interplay between parameters that control the evolution of submarine slope systems, e.g. slope gradient, topographic complexity, sediment flux and calibre, base-level change,tectonic setting, and post-depositional sediment remobilization processes. The increased understanding of submarine slope system has been driven partly by the discovery of large hydrocarbon fields in morphologically complex slope settings, such as the Gulf of Mexico and offshore West Africa, and has led to detailed case studies and improved generic models for their evolution. This volume brings together research papers from modern, outcrop and subsurface settings to highlight these recent advances in understanding of the stratigraphic evolution of submarine slope systems.

Description / Table of Contents: The introduction of the term periglacial by Łoziński in 1909 to describe the cold-climate conditions in the zone adjacent to, but beyond, the Pleistocene glaciers encouraged the separate development of geocryological and glaciological research. Geological and geomorphological processes at the interface between glaciers and permafrost have, as a result, been given less attention than they warrant, and the influence of one on the other has in many respects been neglected. This book includes a collection of papers that emphasize glacier-permafrost interactions. Papers consider permafrost and its influence on glacitectonic processes, glacial meltwater systems and ground-ice development in proglacial and ice-marginal environments. In addition, recent research findings are reported on paraglacial processes, permafrost evolution, rock glaciers, the formation of ice-wedge casts and periglacial slope evolution. It is hoped that this book will stimulate interest in the interface between glacial and periglacial systems, and encourage further collaborative research involving glaciologists and glacial geologists on the one hand, and geocryologists and permafrost scientists on the other.

Description / Table of Contents: Often regarded as the ‘Cinderella’ of palaeontological studies, palaeobotany has a history that contains some fascinating insights into scientific endeavour, especially by palaeontologists who were perusing a personal interest rather than a career. The problems of maintaining research facilities in universities, especially in the modern era, are described and reveal a noticeable absence of a national UK strategy to preserve centres of excellence in an avowedly specialist area. Accounts of some of the pioneers demonstrate the importance of collaboration between taxonomists and illustrators. The importance of palaeobotany in the rise of geoconservation is outlined, as well as the significant and influential role of women in the discipline. Although this volume has a predominantly UK focus, two very interesting studies outline the history of palaeobotanical work in Argentina and China.

Description / Table of Contents: The Neuquén Basin of northern Patagonia provides an excellent case study in basin analysis and sequence stratigraphy. The basin is one of the largest petroleum provinces in South America and includes a dramatic record of relative sea-level changes as well as a unique and globally important palaeontological record. Understanding this region is also central to unravelling the history of the Andes. The latest developments in the study of the area have been combined in this volume to give an integrated series of case studies that document the structural, igneous, sedimentological and palaeontological history of the region from the Triassic to the Recent. This publication provides an introduction into this fascinating region as well as a resource that includes the most complete and up-to-date studies of the area.

Description / Table of Contents: This book consists of 18 papers on deformation mechanisms, theology and tectonics. The main approaches include experimental rock deformation, microstructural analysis, field structural studies, analogue and numerical modelling. New results on various topics are presented, ranging from brittle to ductile deformation and grain-scale to lithosphere-scale mechanisms. The volume will be of interest to academic and industrial researchers in the fields of structural geology, interactions between metamorphism, fluids and deformation, and large-scale tectonic processes.

Description / Table of Contents: In Materials Science, investigations aiming to prepare new types of molecular sieves (porous materials) have opened a productive field of research inspired by the crystal structures of minerals. These new molecular sieves are distinct from zeolites in that they have different kinds of polyhedra that build up their structures. Of particular interest are the new molecular sieves characterized by a mixed "octahedral"-tetrahedral framework (heteropolyhedral frameworks), instead of a purely tetrahedral framework as in zeolites. Heteropolyhedral compounds have been extensively studied since the early 1990's, with particular attention having been focused on titanosilicates, such as ETS-4 (synthetic analog of the mineral zorite) and ETS-10. However, titanosilicates are not the only representatives of novel microporous mineral phases. The search for "octahedral"-tetrahedral silicates was extended to metals other than titanium, for instance, the zirconosilicates with the preparation of synthetic counterparts of the minerals gaidonnayite, petarasite and umbite. Many microporous heteropolyhedral compounds containing metals such as Nb, V, Sn, Ca and lanthanides, have been reported and a wide number of distinct structural types (e.g., rhodesite-delhayelite and tobermorite) have been synthesized and structurally characterized. Moreover, the potential applications of these novel materials have been evaluated, particularly in the areas of catalysis, separation of molecular species, ion exchange and optical and magnetic properties. A comprehensive review of the mineralogical, structural, chemical and crystal-chemical studies carried on natural phases may be extremely useful to inspire and favor investigations on analogs or related synthetic materials. A similar synergy between mineralogists and materials scientists already occurred in the "classical" case of zeolites, in which the wide and deep structural and crystal-chemical knowledge accumulated in the study of the natural phases was extraordinarily useful to the chemists who are active in the field of molecular sieves. In particular, the structural investigation of the natural phases may be extremely rewarding and helpful in orienting the work of synthesis and in understanding the nature of the synthetic products, for the following reasons: Whereas rarely the crystalline synthetic products are suitable for single-crystal structural investigations, the natural counterparts are often well crystallized. Crystallization in nature occurs from chemical systems characterized by a wide compositional range, thus producing compounds with a very rich and variable crystal chemistry, which may provide precious information, suggesting possible substituting elements and addressing the synthetic work in a very productive way. The present volume follows a meeting on "Micro- and mesoporous mineral phases" (Rome, December 6-7, 2004) that was jointly organized by the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei (ANL) and the International Union of Crystallography (IUCr) via its Commission on Inorganic and Mineral Structures (CIMS). The meeting was convened by Fausto Calderazzo, Giovanni Ferraris, Stefano Merlino and Annibale Mottana and financially supported by several other organizations representing both Mineralogy (e.g., the International Mineralogical Association and the European Mineralogical Union) and Crystallography (e.g., the European Crystallographic Association and the Italian Association of Crystallography). To participants, ANL staff, organizations, and, in general, all involved persons, our sincere acknowledgments; in particular, we are grateful to Annibale Mottana who was able to convince the ANL Academicians to schedule and support the meeting. This volume of the RiMG series highlights the present knowledge on micro- and mesoporous mineral phases, with focus on their crystal-chemical aspects, occurrence and porous activity in nature and experiments. As zeolites are the matter of numerous ad hoc meetings and books - including two volumes in this series - they do not specifically appear in the present volume. The phases of the sodalite and cancrinite-davyne groups, which mineralogists consider distinct from zeolites, are instead considered (in the order, chapter 7 by W. Depmeier and part of chapter 8 by E. Bonaccorsi and S. Merlino, respectively). The first two chapters of the volume cover general aspects of porous materials. This includes the application of the IUPAC nomenclature developed for ordered porous materials to non-zeolite mineral phases (L.B. McCusker, chapter 1) and the extension to heteropolyhedral structures of a topological description by using nodes representing the coordination polyhedra (S.V. Krivovichev, chapter 2). Chapters from 3 to 7 are dedicated to various groups of heteropolyhedral porous structures for which the authors emphasize some of the more general aspects according to their research specialization. G. Ferraris and A. Gula (chapter 3) put the emphasis on the modular aspects of well-known porous phases (such as sepiolite, palygorskite and rhodesite-related structures) as well as on heterophyllosilicates that may be not strictly porous phases (according to the definition given in chapter 1) but could be the starting basis for pillared materials. The porous mineral phases typical of hyperalkaline rocks (such as eudialytes and labuntsovites) are discussed by N.V. Chukanov and I.V. Pekov under their crystal-chemical (chapter 4) and minerogenetic (chapter 5) aspects showing the role of ion exchange during the geological evolution from primary to later phases, with experimental cation exchange data also being reported. J. Rocha and Z. Lin (chapter 6) emphasize how research on the synthesis of octahedral-pentahedral-tetrahedral framework silicates has been inspired and motivated by the many examples of such materials provided by nature; synthesis, structure and possible technological applications of a wide number of these materials are also described. Following chapters 7 and 8 - which besides the cancrinite-davyne group, presents the crystallographic features of the minerals in the tobermorite and gyrolite groups - M. Pasero (chapter 9) illustrates the topological and polysomatic aspects of the "tunnel oxides," a historical name applied to porous oxides related to MnO2, and reviews their main technological applications. The next two chapters (10 and 11) draw attention to "unexpected" porous materials like apatite and sulfides. T.J. White and his team (chapter 10) convincingly show that the apatite structure type displays porous properties, some of which are already exploited. Chapter 10 also contains two appendices that report crystal and synthesis data for hundreds of synthetic apatites, a number that demonstrates how wide the interest is for this class of compounds. E. Makovicky (chapter 11) analyzes the structures of natural and synthetic sulfides and selenides showing that, even if experimental work proving porous activity is practically still missing, several structure types display promising channels. Chapter 12, by M. Mellini, is the only one dedicated to mesoporous mineral phases - which are crystalline compounds with pores wider than 2 nm. Examples discussed are carbon nanotubes, fullerenes - which occur also in nature - chrysotile, opal and, moving from channels to cages, clathrates.

Description / Table of Contents: The publication of this volume occurs at the one-hundredth anniversary of 1905, which has been called the annus mirabilus because it was the year of a number of enormous scientific advances. Among them are four papers by Albert Einstein explaining (among other things) Brownian motion, the photoelectric effect, the special theory of relativity, and the equation E = mc2. Also of significance in 1905 was the first application of another major advance in physics, which dramatically changed the fields of Earth and planetary science. In March of 1905 (and published the following year), Ernest Rutherford presented the following in the Silliman Lectures at Yale: "The helium observed in the radioactive minerals is almost certainly due to its production from the radium and other radioactive substances contained therein. If the rate of production of helium from known weights of the different radioelements were experimentally known, it should thus be possible to determine the interval required for the production of the amount of helium observed in radioactive minerals, or, in other words, to determine the age of the mineral." Rutherford E (1906) Radioactive Transformations. Charles Scriber's Sons, NY Thus radioisotopic geochronology was born, almost immediately shattering centuries of speculative conjectures and estimates and laying the foundation for establishment of the geologic timescale, the age of the Earth and meteorites, and a quantitative understanding of the rates of processes ranging from nebular condensation to Quaternary glaciations. There is an important subplot to the historical development of radioisotopic dating over the last hundred years, which, ironically, arises directly from the subsequent history of the U-He dating method Rutherford described in 1905. Almost as soon as radioisotopic dating was invented, it was recognized that the U-He [or later the (U-Th)/He method], provided ages that were often far younger than those allowed by stratigraphic correlations or other techniques such as U/Pb dating. Clearly, as R.J. Strutt noted in 1910, He ages only provided "minimum values, because helium leaks out from the mineral, to what extent it is impossible to say" (Strutt, 1910, Proc Roy Soc Lond, Ser A 84:379-388). For several decades most attention was diverted to U/Pb and other techniques better suited to measurement of crystallization ages and establishment of the geologic timescale. Gradually it became clear that other radioisotopic systems such as K/Ar and later fission-track also provided ages that were clearly younger than formation ages. In 1910 it may have been impossible to say the extent to which He (or most other elements) leaked out of minerals, but eventually a growing understanding of thermally-activated diffusion and annealing began to shed light on the significance of such ages. The recognition that some systems can provide cooling, rather than formation, ages, was gradual and diachronous across radioisotopic systems. Most of the heavy lifting in this regard was accomplished by researchers working on the interpretation of K/Ar and fission-track ages. Ironically, Rutherford¹s He-based radioisotopic system was one of the last to be quantitatively interpreted as a thermochronometer, and has been added to K/Ar (including 40Ar/39Ar) and fission-track methods as important for constraining the medium- to low-temperature thermal histories of rocks and minerals. Thermochronology has had a slow and sometimes fitful maturation from what were once troubling age discrepancies and poorly-understood open-system behaviors, into a powerful branch of geochronology applied by Earth scientists from diverse fields. Cooling ages, coupled with quantitative understanding of crystal-scale kinetic phenomena and crustal- or landscape-scale interpretational models now provide an enormous range of insights into tectonics, geomorphology, and subjects of other fields. At the same time, blossoming of lower temperature thermochronometric approaches has inspired new perspectives into the detailed behavior of higher temperature systems that previously may have been primarily used for establishing formation ages. Increased recognition of the importance of thermal histories, combined with improved analytical precision, has motivated progress in understanding the thermochronologic behavior of U/Pb, Sm/Nd, Lu/Hf, and other systems in a wide range of minerals, filling out the temperature range accessible by thermochronologic approaches. Thus the maturation of low- and medium-temperature thermochronology has led to a fuller understanding of the significance of radioisotopic ages in general, and to one degree or another has permeated most of geochronology. Except in rare cases, the goal of thermochronology is not thermal histories themselves, but rather the geologic processes responsible for them. Thermochronometers are now routinely used for quantifying exhumation histories (tectonic or erosional), magmatism, or landscape evolution. As thermochronology has matured, so have model and interpretational approaches used to convert thermal histories into these more useful geologic histories. Low-temperature thermochronology has been especially important in this regard, as knowledge of thermal processes in the uppermost few kilometers of the crust require consideration of coupled interactions of tectonic, geodynamic, and surface processes. Exciting new developments in these fields in turn drive improved thermochronologic methods and innovative sampling approaches.

Description / Table of Contents: As geomicrobiologists, we seek to understand how some of nature's most complex systems work, yet the very complexity we seek to understand has placed many of the insights out of reach. Recent advances in cultivation methodologies, the development of ultrahigh throughput DNA sequencing capabilities, and new methods to assay gene expression and protein function open the way for rapid progress. In the eight years since the first Geomicrobiology volume (Geomicrobiology: Interactions between microbes and minerals; volume 35 in this series) we have transformed into scientists working hand in hand with biochemists, molecular biologists, genome scientists, analytical chemists, and even physicists to reveal the most fundamental molecular-scale underpinnings of biogeochemical systems. Through synthesis achieved by integration of diverse perspectives, skills, and interests, we have begun to learn how organisms mediate chemical transformations, the ways in which the environment determines the architecture of microbial communities, and the interplay between evolution and selection that shapes the biodiversity of the planet. This volume presents chapters written by leaders in the rapidly maturing field we refer to as molecular geomicrobiology. Most of them are relatively young researchers who share their approaches and insights and provide pointers to exciting areas ripe for new advances. This volume ties together themes common to environmental microbiology, earth science, and astrobiology. The resesarch presented here, the associated short course, and the volume production were supported by funding from many sources, notably the Mineralogical Society of America, the Geochemical Society, the US Department of Energy Chemical Sciences Program and the NASA Astrobiology Institute.

Description / Table of Contents: Statistical Seismology aims to bridge the gap between physics-based and statistics-based models. This volume provides a combination of reviews, methodological studies, and applications, which point to promising efforts in this field. The volume will be useful to students and professional researchers alike, who are interested in using stochastic modeling for probing the nature of earthquake phenomena, as well as an essential ingredient for earthquake forecasting.

Description / Table of Contents: This issue is addressed to researchers dealing with seismic studies as the result of an interactive process as part of macroseismic approaches and an a-priori determination of the elements if the territory is involved in the seismic risk evaluation. The significant features which distinguish the work can be identified in the use of new methods for the evaluation of the damage scenarios of historical earthquakes (the local intensity virtual distribution); the adoption of a quick procedure of 2nd level seismic microzonation, depicted on a reduced number of parameters and in situ surveys; the characterization of an innovative seismic vulnerability evaluation procedure based on the analyses of the safety reducers and social priority levels of the elements of territory. The proposed studies, carried out in Sicily and Calabria (Italy), define an operative level of approaches aimed at engineering and civil protection applications.

Description / Table of Contents: Understanding how fluids flow through though rocks is very important in a number of fields. Almost all of the world's oil and gas are produced from underground reservoirs. Knowledge of how they got where they are, what keeps them there and how they migrate through the rock is very important in the search for new resources, as well as for maximising the extraction of as much of the contained oil/gas as possible. Similar understanding is important for managing groundwater resources and for predicting how hazardous or radioactive waste or carbon dioxide will behave if stored or disposed of underground. Unravelling the complex behaviour of fluids as they flow through rock is difficult, but important. We cannot see through rock, so we need to predict how and where fluids flow. Understanding the type of rock, its porosity, the character and pattern of fractures within it and how fluids flows through it are important. Some contributors to this volume have been trying to understand real rocks in real situations and others have been working on computer models and laboratory simulations. Put together, these approaches have yielded very useful results, many of which are discussed in this volume.

Description / Table of Contents: Mineral deposits are not only primary sources of wealth generation, but also act as windows through which to view the evolution and interrelationships of the Earth system. Deposits formed throughout the last 3.8 billion years of the Earth’s history preserve key evidence with which to test fundamental questions about the evolution of the Earth. These include: the nature of early magmatic and tectonic processes, supercontinent reconstructions, the state of the atmosphere and hydrosphere with time, and the emergence and development of life. The interlinking processes that form mineral deposits have always sat at the heart of the Earth system and the potential for using deposits as tools to understand that evolving system over geological time is increasingly recognized. This volume contains research aimed both at understanding the origins of mineral deposits and at using mineral deposits as tools to explore different long-term Earth processes.

Description / Table of Contents: The Early-Middle Pleistocene transition (around 1.2 to 0.5 Ma) marks a profound shift in Earth’s climate state. Low-amplitude 41 ka climate cycles, dominating the earlier part of the Pleistocene, gave way progressively to a 100 ka rhythm of increased amplitude that characterizes our present glacial—interglacial world. This volume assesses the biotic and physical response to this transition both on land and in the oceans: indeed it examines the very nature of Quaternary climate change. Milankovitch theory, palaeoceanography using isotopes and microfossils, marine organic geochemistry, tephrochronology, the record of loess and soil deposition, terrestrial vegetationa! change, and the migration and evolution of hominins as well as other large and small mammals, are all considered. These themes combine to explore the very origins of our present biota.

Description / Table of Contents: The Australide orogen, the southern hemisphere Neoproterozoic to Mesozoic terrane accretionary orogen that forms the palaeo-Pacific margin of Gondwana, is one of the largest and longest-lived orogens on Earth. This book brings together a series of reviews and multidisciplinary research papers that comprehensively cover the Australides from the Tasman orogen of eastern Australia to the Neoproterozoic and Palaeozoic orogens of South America, taking in New Zealand and Antarctica along the way. It deals with the evolution of the southern Gondwana margin, as it grew during a series of terrane accretion episodes from the late Proterozoic through to final fragmentation in mid-Cretaceous times. global perspectives are given by comparison with the Palaeozoic northern Gondwana margin and documentation of world-wide terrane accretion episodes in the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic and mid-Cretaceous. The Tasmanides of eastern Australia, and the terrane histories of New Zealand and souther South America are given comprehensive up-to-date reviews.

Description / Table of Contents: More then 20 years of collaboration between European soil scientists has resulted in the publication by the European Commission of the first ever "Soil Atlas of Europe". Based on soil data and information collected within the European Soil Information System (EUSIS) developed by the Joint Research Centre, the atlas illustrates in 128 pages of maps, tables, figures and graphs, the richness of European soil resources and the need for their sustainable management. The Atlas compiles existing information on different soil types in easily understandable maps covering the entire European Union and bordering countries.

Description / Table of Contents: The 16th ICSMGE held at Osaka, Japan in 2005 responds to the needs of the engineering and construction community, promoting dialog and exchange between academia and practice in various aspects of soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering. This is reflected in the central theme of the conference "Geotechnology in Harmony with the Global Environment". The proceedings of the conference are of great interest for geo-engineers and researchers in soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering. Volume 1 contains 5 plenary session lectures, the Terzaghi Oration, Heritage Lecture, and 3 papers presented in the major project session. Volumes 2, 3, and 4 contain papers with the following topics: Soil mechanics in general; Infrastructure and mobility; Environmental issues of geotechnical engineering; Enhancing natural disaster reduction systems; Professional practice and education. Volume 5 contains the report of practitioner/academic forum, 20 general reports, a summary of the sessions and workshops held during the conference.