ALBERT

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: Neoproterozoic successions are major hydrocarbon producers around the world. In North Africa, large basins with significant surface outcrops and thick sedimentary fills are widespread. These basins are now emerging as potential sources of hydrocarbons and are attracting interest from geological researchers in academia and the oil and gas industry.This volume focuses on recent developments in the understanding and correlation of North African basin fills and explores novel approaches to prospecting for source and reservoir rocks. The papers cover aspects of petroleum prospectivity and age-equivalent global petroleum systems, Neoproterozoic tectonics and palaeogeography, sequence stratigraphy, glacial events and global climatic models, faunal and floral evolution and the deposition of source rocks.The broader aim of this volume is to compare major environmental change, the emergence of life, the global carbon cycle and the implications for hydrocarbon exploration of well-studied Neoproterozoic successions worldwide.

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: Stable Isotope Geochemistry is an introduction to the use of stable isotopes in the geosciences. It is subdivided into three parts: theoretical and experimental principles; fractionation processes of light and heavy elements; the natural variations of geologically important reservoirs. Since the application of stable isotopes to earth sciences has grown in the last few years, a new edition appears necessary. Recent progress in analysing the rare isotopes of certain elements for instance allow the distinction between mass-dependent and mass-independent fractionations. Special emphasis has been given to the growing field of heavy elements. Many new references have been added, which will enable quick access to recent literature. For students and scientists alike the book will be a primary source of information with regard to how and where stable isotopes can be used to solve geological problems.

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: This text contains the first comprehensive presentation of methods and algorithms used in basin modeling. It provides geoscientists and geophysicists with an extensive in-depth view of the theory behind the models. Heat flow analysis, chemical kinetics of petroleum generation, pressure analysis, PVT modeling and several fluid flow models are discussed in detail. Advanced topics such as probabilistic methods for risk assessment or new approaches such as modeling of migration with invasion percolation are also included. Comprehensive lists of rock and fluid properties and parameters of geochemical kinetics make the book a unique reference in geological process modeling.Preface.- 1 Introduction to Quantitative Basin Modeling.- 2 Pore Pressure, Compaction and Tectonics.- 3 Heat Flow Analysis.- 4 Chemical Kinetics.- 5 PVT Analysis.- 6 Migration and Accumulation.- 7 Risk Analysis.- 8 Mathematical Methods.- Appendices: A Unit Conversions and Constants.- B Thermal Properties.- C Compaction and Flow Parameter.- D Methane Density.- E Component Properties.- F Analytic Groundwater Flow Solution from Tóth.- G One Dimensional Consolidation Solution from Gibson.- H Analytic Solutions to Selected Heat Flow Problems.- I Composition and Components for Fig. 5.13.- J Flowpath Bending.- Index.

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: There is much interest in gas hydrates in relation to their potential role as an importantdriver for climate change and as a major new energy source; however, many questionsremain, not least the size of the global hydrate budget. Much of the current uncertaintycentres on how hydrates are physically stored in sediments at a range of scales. Thisvolume details advances in our understanding of sediment-hosted hydrates, and containspapers covering a range of studies of real and artificial sediments containing bothmethane hydrates and CO2 hydrates. The papers include an examination of the techniquesused to locate, sample and characterize hydrates from natural, methane-rich systems, soas to understand them better. Other contributions consider the nature and stability ofsynthetic hydrates formed in the laboratory, which in turn improve our ability to makeaccurate predictive models.

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: Contents: 1. Isotopes and radioactivity; 2. The principles o radioactive dating; 3. Radiometric dating methods; 4. Dating by cosmogenic isotopes; 5. Uncertainties and results of radiometric dating; 6. Radiogenic isotope geochemistry; 7. Stable isotope geochemistry; 8. Isotope geology and dynamic reservoir analysis

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: Hydrogen may be the most abundant element in the universe, but in science and in nature oxygen has an importance that is disproportionate to its abundance. Human beings tend to take it for granted because it is all around us and we breathe it, but consider the fact that oxygen is so reactive that in a planetary setting it is largely unstable in its elemental state. Were it not for the constant activity of photosynthetic plants and a minor amount of photo dissociation in the upper atmosphere, we would not have an oxygen-bearing atmosphere and we would not be here. Equally, the most important compound of oxygen is water, without which life (in the sense that we know it) could not exist. The role of water in virtually all geologic processes is profound, from formation of ore deposits to igneous petrogenesis to metamorphism to erosion and sedimentation. In planetary science, oxygen has a dual importance. First and foremost is its critical role in so many fundamental Solar System processes. The very nature of the terrestrial planets in our own Solar System would be much different had the oxygen to carbon ratio in the early solar nebula been somewhat lower than it was, because elements such as calcium and iron and titanium would have been locked up during condensation as carbides, sulfides and nitrides and even (in the case of silicon) partly as metals rather than silicates and oxides. Equally, the role of water ice in the evolution of our Solar System is important in the early accretion and growth of the giant planets and especially Jupiter, which exerted a major control over how most of the other planets formed. On a smaller scale, oxygen plays a critical role in the diverse kinds of physical evolution of large rocky planets, because the internal oxidation state strongly influences the formation and evolution of the core, mantle and crust of differentiated planets such as the Earth. Consider that basaltic volcanism may be a nearly universal phenomenon among the evolved terrestrial planets, yet there are basalts and basalts. The basalts of Earth (mostly), Earth's Moon, Vesta (as represented by the HED meteorites) and Mars are all broadly tholeiitic and yet very different from one another, and one of the primary differences is in their relative oxidation states (for that matter, consider the differences between tholeiitic and calc-alkaline magma series on Earth). But there is another way that oxygen has proven to be hugely important in planetary science, and that is as a critical scientific clue to processes and conditions and even sources of materials. Understanding the formation and evolution of our Solar System involves reconstructing processes and events that occurred more than 4.5 Ga ago, and for which the only contemporary examples are occurring hundreds of light years away. It is a detective story in which most of the clues come from the laboratory analysis of the products of those ancient processes and events, especially those that have been preserved nearly unchanged since their formation at the Solar System's birth: meteorites; comets; and interplanetary dust particles. For example, the oxidation state of diverse early Solar System materials ranges from highly oxidized (ferric iron) to so reducing that some silicon exists in the metallic state and refractory lithophile elements such as calcium exist occur in sulfides rather than in silicates or carbonates. These variations reflect highly different environments that existed in different places and at different times. Even more crucial has been the use of oxygen 3-isotope variations, which began almost accidentally in 1973 with an attempt to do oxygen isotope thermometry on high-temperature solar nebula grains (Ca-, Al-rich inclusions) but ended with the remarkable discovery of non-mass-dependent oxygen isotope variations in high-temperature materials from the earliest Solar System. The presolar nebula was found to be very heterogeneous in its isotopic composition, and virtually every different planet and asteroid for which we have samples has a unique oxygen-isotopic fingerprint. The idea for this book originated with Jim Papike, who suggested the idea of a study initiative (and, ultimately, a published volume) focused on the element that is so critically important in so many ways to planetary science. He recognized that oxygen is such a constant theme through all aspects of planetary science that the proposed initiative would serve to bring together scientists from a wide range of disciplines for the kind of cross-cutting dialogue that occurs all too rarely these days. In this sense the Oxygen Initiative is modeled on the Basaltic Volcanism Study Project, which culminated in what remains to this day a hugely important reference volume (Basaltic Volcanism Study Project 1981). After obtaining community input and feedback, primarily through the Curation and Analysis Planning Team for Extraterrestrial Materials (CAPTEM) and the Management Operations Working Group for NASA's Cosmochemistry Program, a team of scientists was assembled who would serve as chapter writing leads, and the initiative was formally proposed to and accepted by the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI; Dr. Stephen Mackwell, Director) for sponsorship. A formal proposal was then submitted to and approved by the Mineralogical Society of America to publish the resulting volume in the Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry (RiMG) series. Three open workshops were held as preludes to the book: Oxygen in the Terrestrial Planets, held in Santa Fe, NM July 20-23, 2004; Oxygen in Asteroids and Meteorites, held in Flagstaff, AZ June 2-3, 2005; and Oxygen in Earliest Solar System Materials and Processes (and including the outer planets and comets), held in Gatlinburg, TN September 19-22, 2005. The workshops were each organized around a small number of sessions (typically 4-6), each focusing on a particular topic and consisting of invited talks, shorter contributed talks, and ample time for discussion after each talk. In all of the meetings, the extended discussion periods were lively and animated, often bubbling over into the breaks and later social events. As a consequence of the cross-cutting approach, the final book spans a wide range of fields relating to oxygen, from the stellar nucleosynthesis of oxygen, to its occurrence in the interstellar medium, to the oxidation and isotopic record preserved in 4.56 Ga grains formed at the Solar System's birth, to its abundance and speciation in planets large and small, to its role in the petrologic and physical evolution of the terrestrial planets.

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: Contents: 1. Introduction. 2. The seismic reflection method and its constraints. 3. Seismic stratigraphic techniques. 4. Dynamics of basin-wide sedimentation patterns and sea level changes. 5. Hydrocarbon habitat. 6. Seismic reservoir characterisation. 7. Volumetrics and prospect evaluation. 8. Concluding remarks.

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: Contents: Part I. Basic Principles: 1. The tectonic stress field; 2. Pore pressure at depth in sedimentary basins; 3. Basic constitutive laws; 4. Rock failure in compression, tension and shear; 5. Fractures and faults in three dimensions; Part II. Measuring Stress Orientation and Magnitude: 6. Compressive and tensile failures in vertical wells; 7. Determination of S3 from minifracs and extended leak-off tests and constraining the magnitude of SHmax from wellbore failures in vertical wells; 8. Wellbore failure and stress determination in deviated wells; 9. Stress fields - from tectonic plates to reservoirs around the world; Part III. Applications: 10. Minimizing wellbore instability; 11. Critically stressed faults and fluid flow; 12. Reservoir depletion.

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

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

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: Contents: Part I. Basic Principles: 1. The tectonic stress field; 2. Pore pressure at depth in sedimentary basins; 3. Basic constitutive laws; 4. Rock failure in compression, tension and shear; 5. Fractures and faults in three dimensions; Part II. Measuring Stress Orientation and Magnitude: 6. Compressive and tensile failures in vertical wells; 7. Determination of S3 from minifracs and extended leak-off tests and constraining the magnitude of SHmax from wellbore failures in vertical wells; 8. Wellbore failure and stress determination in deviated wells; 9. Stress fields - from tectonic plates to reservoirs around the world; Part III. Applications: 10. Minimizing wellbore instability; 11. Critically stressed faults and fluid flow; 12. Reservoir depletion.

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: Contents: 1. Basic principles and applications of reservoir characterization 2 Tools and techiques for characterizing oil and gas reservoirs 3. Basic sedimentary rock properties 4. Geologic time and stratigraphy 5. Geologic controls on reservoir quality 6. Fluvial deposits and reservoirs 7. Eolian (Windblown) deposits and reservoirs 8. Nondeltaic, shallow marine deposits and reservoirs 9. Deltaic deposits and reservoirs 10. Deepwater deposits and reservoirs 11. Sequence stratigraphy for reservoir characterization 12. An example of integrated characterization for Reservoir Development and exploration: Northeast Betara field, Jabung subbasin, South Sumatra, Indonesia R

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: Contents: 1. Why we should care: the impact of anthropogenic carbon dioxide on the carbon cycle.2. The thermodynamic background.3. Carbon dioxide and CO2-H2O mixtures.4. The aqueous electrolytic solution.5. The product solid phases.6. The kinetics of mineral carbonation.7. Reaction path modeling of geological CO2 sequestration.

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: One principal need in petroleum recovery from carbonate reservoirs is the description of the three-dimensional distribution of petrophysical properties in order to improve performance predictions by means of fluid-flow computer simulations. The book focuses on a rock based approach for the integration of geological, petrophysical, and geostatistical methods to construct a reservoir model suitable to input into flow simulation programs. This second edition includes a new chapter on model construction and new examples of limestone, dolostone, and touching-vug reservoir models as well as improved chapters on basic petrophysical properties, rock-fabric/petrophysical relationships, calibration of wireline logs, and sequence stratigraphy.

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: In situ-produced cosmogenic nuclides can provide chronologies of environmental change over the past few thousand to several millions of years and may be used to quantify a wide range of weathering and sediment transport processes. These nuclides are thus now used across a broad spectrum of earth science disciplines, including paleoclimatology, geomorphology, and active tectonics. This book is organized around sections that focus on specific aspects of the utilization of cosmogenic nuclides in earth sciences: (1) development of new methods for application of in situ-produced cosmogenic nuclides (burial dating methods, extending their utilization to carbonate-rich and mafic environments); (2) glacial geology (Laurentide Ice Sheet, northern Alps); (3) active tectonics, focusing on applications to constrain slip rates of active faults in Asia (Tibet and Mongolian Gobi-Altay); and (4) landscape development (quantifying sediment production or erosion rates and processes and application of exposure dating to landslides in Hong Kong).

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: Artificial neurons versus biological neurons of the human brain. - Fuzzy set versus crisp set, Fuzzy functions. - Evolutionary computing versus Darwinian evolution. - Strengths and weaknesses of NN, FL and GA and how to integrate these techniques for optimal results.The monograph includes a complete and stand alone seismic interpretation software, OpendTect, and a 3D test data set. Soft computing techniques are emerging as valuable methodologies capable of solving a wide spectrum of complex geoscientific problems. In this much needed monograph an in-depth but easy to follow overview of Neural Networks (NN), Fuzzy Logic (FL), and Genetic Algorithms (GA) technologies is provided and a comprehensive collection of recent applications of these technologies in the petroleum industry is highlighted.

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: This book brings together the essential theory required to understand the behaviour of trace elements in magmas, and magma-derived rocks.

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: An integrated study was performed with the objective to improve reservoir quality prediction from 3D seismics, geological data and concepts. Seismic facies classes, derived from Neural Network analysis, correlate with reservoir characteristics. They can be used for predictive exploration purposes. Deformation zones indicate the extent of extensional fractures, which can have positive or negative effects on reservoir characteristics, depending on the diagenetic facies. The diagenetic conceptional model has been substantiated, verified in essential parts, and extended (inversion of reservoir qualities), based on well data, modelling and seismic analysis. Petroleum System Modelling added the time frame for diverse relevant processes and enabled to evaluate their effects on hydrocarbon migration. The importance of pre-oil hydrocarbon migration and spatial distance to Carboniferous source rocks for Rotliegend reservoir characteristics must be stressed.

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: Contents: Carbon, the Earth and life. Chemical composition of biogenic matter. Production, preservation and degradation of organic matter. Long-term fate of organic matter in the geosphere. Chemical stratigraphy. The carbon cycle and climate. Anthropogenic carbon and the environment.

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: Contents: The Earth's Aggregate Physical and Chemical State. Introduction to Thermodynamics. Mixture and Simple Phase Relations. Mineral Chemistry. Aqueous Solutions. Chemistry of Natural Waters. Chemistry of Igneous Rocks. Chemical Controls on Soil Formation, Diagenesis, Metamorphism, and Hydrothermal Ore Deposition . Radioactive Isotope Geochemistry. Stable Isotope Geochemistry. Surface Sorption Geochemistry. Chemical Kinetics. Oxidation and Reduction. Organic Geochemistry. Atmospheric Chemistry

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: 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.

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: Contents: The Focused Ion Beam Instrument. Ion,Solid Interactions. Focused Ion Beam Gases for Deposition and Enhanced Etch. Three-Dimensional Nanofabrication Using Focused Ion Beams. Device Edits and Modifications. The Uses of Dual Beam FIB in Microelectronic Failure Analysis. High Resolution Live Imaging of FIB Milling Processes for Optimum Accuracy. FIB for Materials Science Applications. Practical Aspects of FIB TEM Specimen Preparation. FIB LiftOut Specimen Preparation Techniques. A FIB MicroSampling Technique and a Site Specific TEM Specimen Preparation Method. DualBeam (FIBSEM) Systems. Focused Ion Beam Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (FIBSIMS). Quantitative Three Dimensional Analysis Using Focused Ion Beam Microscopy. Applications of FIB in Combination with Auger Electron Spectroscopy.

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: Contents: Terrestrial craters: Structure, geophysics and cratering motions. - Terrestrial craters: Ejecta studies. - Shock metamorphism. - The planetary perspective.

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: Contents: 1. The Discovery of Silicate Melts. An Industrial and Geological Perspective. 2. Glass Versus Melt. 3. Glasses and Melts vs. Crystals. 4. Melt and Glass Structure - Basic Concepts. 5. Silica - A Deceitful Simplicity. 6. Binary Metal Oxide-Silica Systems I. Physical Properties.7. Binary Metal Oxide-Silica Systems II. Structure. 8. Aluminosilicate Systems I. Physical Properties. 9. Aluminosilicate Systems II. Structure. 10. Iron-bearing Melts I. Physical Properties. 11. Iron-bearing Melts II. Structure. 12. The Titanium Anomalies. 13. Phosphorus. 14. Water - An Elusive Component. 15. Volatiles I. The System C-O-H-S. 16. Volatiles II. Noble Gases and Halogens. 17. Natural Melts.

Beschreibung / Inhaltsverzeichnis: The IUGS/IAGC Global Geochemical Baselines Programme aims to establish a global geochemical reference baseline for 〉60 determinants in a range of media for environmental and other applications. The European contribution to the programme has been carried out by government institutions from 26 countries under the auspices of the Forum of European Geological Surveys (FOREGS) The main objectives of this European survey were: 1) to apply standardised methods of sampling, chemical analysis and data management to prepare a geochemical baseline across Europe; and 2) to use this reference network to level national baseline datasets. Samples of stream water, stream sediment and three types of soil (organic top layer, minerogenic top and sub soil) have been collected at 900 stations, each representing a catchment area of 100 km2, corresponding to a sampling density of about one sample per 4700 km2. In addition, the uppermost 25 cm of floodplain sediment was sampled from 790 sites each representing a catchment area of 1000 km2. All soil and sediment samples were prepared at the same laboratory, and all samples of particular sample types were analysed by the same method at the same laboratory. More than 50 elements, both total and aqua regia extractable concentrations, and other parameters (such as pH and grain size) were determined on the 〈2 mm grain size fraction of minerogenic samples, and total concentrations of organic soil samples were measured after using a strong acid digestion. Nine laboratories of European geological surveys carried out the analytical work. Altogether, 360 geochemical maps showing the distribution of elements across Europe have been prepared. All the results and field observations are organised in a common database and the maps are published as a Geochemical Atlas of Europe. All the sampling sites were photographed and this photo archive is also available. Samples have been archived in the Slovak Republic for possible future use. Initial results show that the distribution patterns of both water and solid samples are related to such factors as large-scale tectonic provinces, geochemical variation of large lithological units, extension of the Weichselian glaciation, and contamination reflecting industrialized areas and regions of intensive agriculture. Key words (GeoRef Thesaurus, AGI): geochemical surveys, baseline studies, soils, sediments, stream water, sampling, sample preparation, chemical analysis, geochemical maps, atlas, areal geology, Europe