ALBERT

Description / Table of Contents: Magnetic susceptibility (MS) is a tool frequently used by geologists on sediments or rocks to perform correlations and sea-level or climatic reconstructions. Applied measurements are made on unoriented, bulk samples and bulk MS is mostly influenced by the magnetic mineral content of the rock and often interpreted as influenced by detrital inputs. Magnetic data acquisition is fast and straightforward and this allows the high-resolution sampling needed for palaeoclimatic research (e.g. spectral analysis). However, the link with detrital inputs is not always preserved and the impact of diagenesis on the final MS signal can blur primary information. This volume includes contributions dealing with the origin of the magnetic minerals, and the application of MS as a palaeoenvironmental or palaeoclimatic proxy and also as a tool to provide astronomical calibration in order to improve the chronology of selected time intervals.

Description / Table of Contents: This Special Publication will be an important tool for geoscientists, aimed at increasing the awareness of their societal role and responsibility in conducting education, research and practice activities. What are the responsibilities of a geoscientist ? And what motivations are needed to push geoscientists to practice the Earth sciences in an ethical way? The major environmental challenges affecting human communities require not only a strictly scientific and technical preparation by the geoscientists, but also a reflection on their broader obligations towards society. It is important that geoscientists consider geoethics as an indispensable framework on which to base their training and activity. The principles of geoethics can guide them to pursue the common good by weighing the benefits and costs of each choice, and identifying eco-friendly and society-friendly solutions that guarantee the respect of the right balance between human life and the dynamics of the Earth. Communication and dissemination of geosciences should become core activities in building a knowledge-based society, which is able better to protect itself and the Earth ecosystems in order to guarantee a life in harmony with our planet for future generations.

Description / Table of Contents: A major rifting episode began in the Afar region of northern Ethiopia in September 2005. Over a ten-day period, c. 2.5 km3 of magma were intruded along a 60 km-long dyke separating the Arabian and Nubian plates. Over the next five years, a further 13 dyke intrusions caused continued extension, eruptions and seismicity. This activity led to a renewed international focus on the role of magmatism in rifting, with major international collaborative projects working in Afar and Ethiopia to study the ongoing activity and to place it in a broader context. This book brings together articles that explore the role of magmatism in rifting, from the initiation of continental break-up through to full seafloor spreading. We also explore the hazards related to rifting and the associated volcanism. This work has implications for our understanding of how continents break-up and the associated distribution of resources in rift basins and continental margins.

Description / Table of Contents: Wetlands and Water Framework Directive: protection, management and climate change --- Synergies and Conflicts between Water Framework Directive and Natura 2000: Legal requirements, technical guidance and experiences from practice --- Can Natura 2000 Sites Benefit from River Basin Management Planning Under a Changing Climate? Lessons from Germany --- Do water management and climate-adapted management of wetlands interfere in practice? Lessons from the Biebrza Valley, Poland --- Wetlands in river valleys as an effect of fluvial processes and anthropopression --- New vision of the role of land reclamation systems in nature protection and water management

Description / Table of Contents: Introduction: concept of TAIGA --- Geochemical constraints on potential biomass sustained by subseafloor water-rock interactions --- Microbial cell densities, community structures, and growth in the hydrothermal plumes of subduction hydrothermal systems --- Systematics of distributions of various elements between ferromanganese oxides and seawater from natural observation, thermodynamics, and structures --- Evaluating hydrothermal system evolution using geochronological dating and biological diversity analyses --- Quantification of microbial communities in hydrothermal vent habitats of the Southern Mariana Trough and the Mid-Okinawa Trough --- Development of hydrothermal and frictional experimental systems to simulate sub-seafloor water–rock–microbe interactions --- Experimental hydrogen production in hydrothermal and fault systems: Significance for habitability of subseafloor H2 chemoautotroph microbial ecosystems --- Experimental assessment of microbial effects on chemical interaction between seafloor massive sulfides and seawater at 4℃ --- A compilation of the stable isotopic compositions of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur in soft body parts of animals collected from deep-sea hydrothermal vent and methane seep fields: variations in energy source and importance of subsurface microbial processes in the sediment-hosted systems --- Tectonic background of four hydrothermal fields along the Central Indian Ridge --- Indian Ocean hydrothermal systems: seafloor hydrothermal activities, physical and chemical characteristics of hydrothermal fluids, and vent-associated biological communities --- Petrology and geochemistry of mid-ocean ridge basalts from the southern Central Indian Ridge --- Petrology of peridotites and related gabbroic rocks around the Kairei-hydrothermal field in the Central Indian Ridge --- Distribution and Biogeochemical Properties of Hydrothermal Plumes in the Rodriguez Triple Junction --- Vent fauna in the Central Indian Ridge --- The mantle dynamics, the crustal formation, and the hydrothermal activity of the Southern Mariana Trough back-arc Basin --- Seismic structure and seismicity in the Southern Mariana Trough and their relation to hydrothermal activity --- Electrical resistivity structure of the Snail site at the Southern Mariana Trough spreading center --- Asymmetric seafloor spreading of the southern Mariana Trough back-arc basin --- Geochemical characteristics of active backarc basin volcanisms at the southern end of Mariana Trough --- Mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of hydrothermal minerals collected from hydrothermal vent fields in the Southern Mariana spreading center --- Dating of hydrothermal mineralization in active hydrothermal fields in the Southern Mariana Trough --- Intra-field variation of prokaryotic communities on and below the seafloor in the back-arc hydrothermal system of the Southern Mariana Trough --- Vent fauna in the Mariana Trough --- Population history of a hydrothermal vent-endemic snail Alviniconcha hessleri in the Mariana Trough --- Hydrothermal activity in the Okinawa Trough backarc basin -geological background and hydrothermal mineralization- --- Active rifting structures in Iheya Graben and adjacent area of the mid-Okinawa Trough observed through seismic reflection surveys --- ESR dating of barite in sea-floor hydrothermal sulfide deposits in the Okinawa Trough --- Fluid geochemistry of high-temperature hydrothermal fields in the Okinawa Trough --- Sediment‒pore water system associated with native sulfur formation at Jade hydrothermal field in Okinawa Trough --- Comparative investigation of microbial communities associated with hydrothermal activities in the Okinawa Trough --- In situ determination of bacterial growth in mixing zone of hydrothermal vent field on the Hatoma Knoll, Southern Okinawa Trough --- Vent Fauna in the Okinawa Trough --- Brief report of side-scan sonar observations around the Yokoniwa NTO massif --- Examination of volcanic activity: AUV and submersible observations of fine-scale lava flow distributions along the Southern Mariana Trough spreading axis --- Brief report of side-scan sonar imagery observations of the Archaean, Pika, and Urashima hydrothermal sites --- The Yoron Hole: the shallowest hydrothermal site in the Okinawa Trough --- The Irabu Knoll: Hydrothermal site at the eastern edge of the Yaeyama Graben --- Tarama Knoll: Geochemical and biological profiles of hydrothermal activity --- Petrography and geochemistry of basement rocks drilled from Snail, Yamanaka, Archean, and Pika hydrothermal fields at the Southern Mariana Trough by Benthic Multi-coring System (BMS) --- Pore fluid chemistry beneath active hydrothermal fields in the mid-Okinawa Trough: Results of shallow drilling by BMS during TAIGA11 cruise --- The characteristics of the seafloor massive sulfide deposits at the Hakurei Site in the Izena Hole, the Middle Okinawa Trough --- Occurrence of hydrothermal alteration minerals at the Jade hydrothermal field, in the Izena Hole, mid-Okinawa Trough --- Geochemistry of hydrothermal fluids collected from active hydrothermal systems in the southern Mariana Trough backarc spreading center --- Gamma ray doses in water around sea floor hydrothermal area in South Mariana --- 226Ra-210Pb and 228Ra-228Th dating of barite in submarine hydrothermal sulfide deposits collected at Okinawa Trough and South Mariana Trough --- OSL dating of sea floor sediments at the Okinawa Trough --- Immediate change of radiation doses from hydrothermal deposits --- Periodic behavior of deep sea current in the Hatoma Knoll hydrothermal system --- The gelatinous macroplankton community at the Hatoma Knoll hydrothermal vent

Description / Table of Contents: Hydrothermally influenced microbial habitats and communities represent a much wider spectrum of geological setting, chemical in-situ regimes, and biotic community than the classical examples from basalt-hosted black smoker chimneys at active mid-ocean spreading centers. Hydrothermal vent ecosystems now include hydrothermally heated and chemically altered sediments, microbiota fueled by serpentinization reactions, and low-temperature vents with unusual menus of electron donors. Novel marine provinces and hydrothermal areas are being charted and explored, such as new hydrothermal vent systems in the Arctic, around Antarctica, in the Western Pacific and in the Indian Ocean. Novel environmental gradients and niches provide habitats for unusual or unprecedented microorganisms and microbial ecosystems. The discovery of novel extremophiles such as Aciduliprofundum and the Nanoarchaeota underscores that hydrothermal vent microbial communities can no longer be characterized as assemblages of only “typical” sulfur oxidizers, methanogens and heterotrophs. Different stages of hydrothermal activity, from early onset to peak activity, gradual decline, and persistence of cold and fossil vent sites, correspond to different colonization waves by microorganisms as well as megafauna. This research topic will continue to stretch the limits of hydrothermal vent microbiology, and also provide a forum for the chemical and microbial linkages of hydrothermal vents to the ocean water column and the ocean crust or sedimentary subsurface.

Description / Table of Contents: The West Africa margin, formed by the progressive separation of the South American and African continents, has enjoyed a rich and varied exploration history and become a significant hydrocarbon-producing region. The amalgamation of hydrocarbon exploration approaches and imaginative ideas, leveraged with modern technologies, is yielding significant scientific and economic successes within the region. The main objective of this Special Publication is to provide an overview of the advancement in understanding of the crustal structure, tectonic evolution and Mesozoic to Cenozoic stratigraphy of the West Africa margin both onshore and offshore, with a particular focus on the petroleum geology.

Description / Table of Contents: Scandinavia and its Arctic territories of Svalbard and Greenland represent geographical regions with a long history of Mesozoic palaeontology. However, the last few decades have witnessed a surge of new discoveries. Especially famous are the Triassic and Late Jurassic Lagerstätten of East Greenland and Spitsbergen in the Svalbard Archipelago, together with the Late Cretaceous strata of southern Sweden and the UNESCO World Heritage locality at Stevns Klint in Denmark. The latter records one of the most complete terminal Mesozoic rock successions known globally. Collectively, these deposits encompass the spectrum of Mesozoic biotic evolution, including the explosive radiation of marine faunas after the Permian–Triassic extinction, seminal specialization of amniotes for life in the sea, Late Triassic–Jurassic domination of the land by dinosaurs and the Cretaceous development of modern terrestrial floras and marine ecosystems. This volume, authored by leading experts in the field, encapsulates key aspects of the latest research and will provide a benchmark for future investigations into the Scandinavian Mesozoic world.

Description / Table of Contents: This special issue emerged following the 2013 8th International Statistical Seismology (StatSei8) workshop in Beijing. The articles within have been collected to report on exciting new research in statistical seismology methods and applications; it contains a collection of the newest methods, techniques and results related to statistical analysis of earthquake occurrence and earthquake probability forecasting. The articles within ultimately help to define future research directions in the field. Especially, the rapid development of observation technologies has brought geophysical research into the big-data era. This includes not only non-seismicity geophysical data, such as GPS observation on surface displacement, InSAR observation of the co-seismic deformation, ionospheric observations, etc., but also extended seismological data including slow earthquakes, tremor, and VLF earthquakes. The subject of statistical seismology bridges the gap between physical and statistical models. Many significant achievements have been accomplished during the last several decades, including formulation of conditional intensity models for quantifying seismicity rates, earthquake probability forecasts, and theories related to rigorous testing of forecast models.

Description / Table of Contents: Ten years ago, on December 26, 2004, one of the world’s most destructive natural disasters occurred. A magnitude Mw 9.1 earthquake (third strongest ever instrumentally recorded) generated a global tsunami that killed about 230,000 people along the coasts of 14 countries in the Indian Ocean and propagated as far as the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans. Since then, various countries from around the globe contributed major funding to tsunami research and mitigation, enabling the installation of hundreds of new high-precision instruments, the development of new technology and the establishment of more modern communication systems. As a result, incredible progress has been achieved in tsunami research and operation during the ten years after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The papers presented in this second of two special volumes of Pure and Applied Geophysics reflect the state of tsunami science during this time, including two papers devoted to global observations. Five papers provide new findings specifically in the Indian Ocean. Eight papers cover Pacific Ocean studies, focusing mainly on the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Remaining papers in the volume describe studies in the Atlantic and Mediterranean and general tsunami source studies. The volume is of interest to scientists and practitioners involved in all aspects of tsunamis from earthquake source processes to transoceanic wave propagation and coastal impacts. Postgraduate students in geophysics, oceanography and coastal engineering – as well as students in the broader geosciences, civil and environmental engineering – will also find the book to be a valuable resource, as it combines recent case studies with advances in tsunami science and natural hazards mitigation.