ALBERT

Description / Table of Contents: The interplay between Geology and Biology has shaped the Earth from the early Precambrian, 4 billion years ago. Moving beyond the borders of the classical core disciplines, Geobiology strives to identify cause-and-effect chains and synergisms between the geo- and the biospheres that have been driving evolution of life in modern and ancient environments. Combining modern methods, geobiological information can be extracted not only from visible remains of organisms, but also from organic molecules, rock fabrics, minerals, isotopes and other tracers. Exploring these processes and their signatures also creates enormous applied potentials with respect to issues of environment protection, public health, energy and resource management. The Encyclopedia of Geobiology is designed as a key reference for students, researchers, teachers, and the informed public to provide basic, but comprehensible knowledge on this rapidly expanding discipline at the interface between modern geo- and biosciences.

Description / Table of Contents: Acetogens.-Acid Rock Drainage.- Acidophiles.-Acritarchs.- Aerobic Metabolism.-Algae (Eukaryotic) .-Alkalinity.-Amber.-Anaerobic Oxidation of Methane with Sulfate.-Anaerobic Transformation Processes, Microbiology.-Anammox.-Animal Biocalcification, Evolution.-Animal Skeletons, Advent.-Archaea.-Arsenic.-Asteroid and Comet Impacts.-Astrobiology.-Bacteria.-Bacterioplankton.-Banded Iron Formations.-Basalt (Glass, Endoliths) .-Beggiatoa.-Biodeterioration (of Stone).-Bioerosion.-Biofilms.-Biofilms and Fossilization.- Biogeochemical Cycless.- Biological Control on Diagenesis: Influence of Bacteria and Relevance to Ocean Acidification.-Biological Volcanic Rock Weathering.-Biomarkers (Molecular Fossils). -Biomarkers (Organic, Compound-Specific Isotopes).- Biomining (Mineral Bioleaching, Mineral Biooxidation).-Bioprotection.- Biosignatures in Rocks.- Biosilicification.- Black Shales.- Breakup of Rodinia.- Calcareous Algae.- Calcification.-Calcified Cyanobacteria.-Calcite Precipitation, Microbially Induced.-Calcium Biogeochemistry.-Cap Carbonates.-Carbon (Organic, Cycling) .-Carbon (Organic, Degradation) .-Carbon Cycle.-Carbon Isotopes.-Carbonate Environments.-Carbonates.-Cathodoluminescence Microscopy.-Chemolithotrophy.-Cherts.-Chondrites.-Chroococcidiopsis.-Clay Authigenesis, Bacterial.-Coccolithophores.-Cold Seeps.-Comets.-Commensalism.-Community.-Copper.-Cosmic Molecular Clouds.-Critical Intervals in Earth History.-Cryobiosphere.-Cyanobacteria.-Deep Biosphere of Salt Deposits.-Deep Biosphere of Sediments.-Deep Biosphere of the Oceanic Deep Sea.-Deep Fluids.-Degradation (of Organic Matter) .-Denitrification.-Desert Varnish.-Detachment.-Diatoms.-Dinoflagellates.-Divalent Earth Alkaline Cations in Seawater.-Diversity.-Dolomite, Microbial.-Early Earth.-Early Precambrian Eukaryotes.-Ecological Niche.-Ediacaran Biota.-Endoliths.-Endosymbiosis.-Evaporites.-Exoenzymes.-Extracellular Polymeric Substances (EPS) .-Extreme Environments.-Fe(II)-Oxidizing Prokaryotes.-Fe(III)-Reducing Prokaryotes.-Fermentation.-Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) .-Foraminifera.-Frutexites.-Fungi and Lichens.-Gallionella.-Geobacter.-Geochronology.-Geomycology.-Geyserite.-Glass.-Glaucophytes.-Gold.-Gondwanaland, Formation.-Great Oxygenation Event (GOE) .-Green Algae.-Guild.-Habitat.-Halobacteria Halophiles.-Haptophytes.-Heavy Metals.-Histology.-Hot Springs and Geysers.-Hydrogen.-Hydrothermal Environments, Fossil.-Hydrothermal Environments, Marine.-Hydrothermal Environments, Terrestrial.-Hypersaline Environments.-Ichnology.-Immunolocalization.-Iron Isotopes.-Iron Sulfide Formation.-Isotope Fractionation (Metal) .-Isotopes (Methods) .-Isotopes and Geobiology.-Isotopes, Radiogenic.-Karst Ecosystems.-Lateral Gene Transfer.-Leptothrix.-Magnetotactic Bacteria.-Manganese (Sedimentary Carbonates and Sulfides) .-Mass Extinctions, Phanerozoic.-Mat-Related Sedimentary Structures.-Metagenomics.-Metalloenzymes.-Metallogenium.-Metals, Acquisition by Marine Bacteria.-Meteoritics.-Methane Oxidation (Aerobic) .-Methane, Origin.-Methanogens.-Microbial Biomineralization.-Microbial Communities, Structure, and Function.-Microbial Degradation.-Microbial Ecology of Submarine Caves.-Microbial Mats.-Microbial Silicification Bacteria (or Passive) .-Microbial Surface Reactivity.-Microbialites, Modern.-Microbialites, Stromatolites, and Thrombolites.-Microbial-Metal Binding.-Microbiocorrosion.-Microsensors for Sediments, Microbial Mats, and Biofilms.-Molar-tooth Structure.-Moonmilk.-Mud Mounds.-Mutualism.-Mycorrhizae.-Nan(n)obacteria.-Nanocrystals, Microbially Induced.-Nickel, Biology.-Nitrification.-Nitrogen.-Nitrogen Fixation.-Ores, Microbial Precipitation and Oxidation.-Organic Carbon.-Organomineralization.-Origin of Life.-Origins of the Metazoa.-Parasitism.-Pedogenic Carbonates.-Permafrost Microbiology.-Phosphorus, Phosphorites.-Photosynthesis.-Piezophilic Bacteria.-Pore Waters.-Protozoa (Heterotroph, Eukaryotic) .-Pyrite Oxidation.-Radioactivity (Natural) .-Radiolaria.-Raman Microscopy (Confocal) .-Reduction Spheroids.-Reefs.-Remineralization (of Organic Matter) .-Rhodophyta.-RNA-World.-Saline Lakes.-Salinity History of the Earths Ocean.-Scanning Probe Microscopy (Includes Atomic Force Microscopy) .-Sediment Diagenesis Biologically Controlled.-Selenium.-Shales.-Shewanella.-Siderite.-Siderophores.-Silica Biomineralization, Sponges.-Silicoflagellates.-Sinter.-Skeleton.-Small Shelly Fossils.-Snowball Earth.-Soda Lakes.-Soda Ocean Hypothesis.-Soils.-Species (Microbial) .-Speleothems.-Sponges (Porifera) and Sponge Microbes.-Stromatactis.-Stromatolites.-Subsurface Filamentous Fabrics.-Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria.-Sulfide Mineral Oxidation.-Sulfur Cycle.-Sulfur Isotopes.-Symbiosis.-Syntrophy.-Terrestrial Deep Biosphere.-Thioester World.-Thiomargarita.-Thiotrophic Bacteria.-Thrombolites.-Tidal Flats.-TOF-SIMS.-Trace Fossils: Neoproterozoic.-Tufa, Freshwater.-Waulsortian Mud Mounds.-Whale and Wood Falls.-Zinc.

Description / Table of Contents: Acoustic remote sensing of the ocean environment has seen a remarkable progress in the last ten-fifteen year as a result of an increasing understanding of the experimental techniques and procedures and of the subtleties of the interaction of sound with complex physical and biological processes. This is particularly true in the shallow water environment, where acoustic methods have the potential to allow for a fast and accurate characterization and assessment of the environment. To review the state of the art and the research progress in the field, a workshop was held in the island of Ischia, Italy, in June 2004. Special emphasis has been placed on the experimental applications, to realistically assess their potential and capabilities of the methods proposed.

Description / Table of Contents: Contents: The Permanent Scatterer Technique.- The Integer Least-Squares Estimator.- The STUN Algorithm.- Synthetic Data Experiments.- Real Data Processing.- Conclusions and Recommendations.

Description / Table of Contents: Contents: 1. Spectroscopic measurements of tropospheric composition from satellite measurements in the ultraviolet and visible: Steps toward continuous pollution monitoring from space. 2. ESA spectroscopy studies in support of spaceborne atmospheric composition sounding.- 3. The MIPAS experiment aboard ENVISAT: remote sensing of atmospheric composition.- 4. Performance of the operational retrieval code for MIPAS on ENVISAT and possible improvements of retrieval techniques for environment and climate.- 5. New measurements of trace species in the upper troposphere from infra-red spectra of the atmosphere.- 6. Remote sensing of the Non-LTE atmosphere.- 7. Quantitative spectroscopy and atmospheric measurements.- 8. Quantitative laboratory spectroscopy of atmospheric trace gases.- 9. Global modeling of high-resolution spectra of linear molecules CO2, N2O and C2H2.- 10. CDSD-296, the high-precision carbon dioxide spectroscopic databank: version for atmospheric applications.- 11. Theoretical quantitative spectroscopy: computer simulation of molecular spectra.- 12. Recent results on infrared molecular line broadening and shift parameters.- 13. Half-widths and line shifts of water vapor for atmospheric applications: measurement and theory.- 14. Quantitative rotational spectroscopy for atmospheric research.- 15. Pressure-broadening of the 22.2 GHz line of water: basic results for remote sensing of the atmosphere.- 16. Rotational spectroscopy at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.- 17. Correlation between precipitable water and rainfall using Global Positioning System (GPS) technique.- 18. Extreme variability of aerosol optical properties: the Cairo aerosol characterization experiment case study.- 19. Urban air pollution and its photochemistry studied by laser spectroscopic.