ALBERT

Description / Table of Contents: Variations in seismic Q are sensitive to a much greater extent than are seismic velocity variations on factors such as temperature, fluid content, and the movement of solid state defects in the earth. For that reason an understanding of Q and its variation with position in the earth and with time should provide information in earth's tectonic evolution, as well as on aspects of its internal structure. Progress in understanding Q has suffered from difficulty in obtaining reliable amplitude data at global and temporary stations. Moreover, laboratory determinations of Q, until recently, were most often made at frequencies much higher than those measured by seismologists for waves propagating through the earth. Recent advances in seismic station distribution and quality, as well as in methodology at both high and low fequencies, have greatly improved the quality of observational data available to seismologists from global stations. Concurrent advances have been made in measuring Q using laboratory samples at frequencies that pertain to the earth and in theoretical understanding of seismic wave attenuation. Papers of this volume present new information on Q in the earth from several perspectives: methodology, results from global and regional observations of both body and surface waves, laboratory measurements, and theoretical understanding. The editors believe that we have reached a new threshold in Q studies and that advances in data quality and methodology will spur increased interest in this difficult, but interesting field.

Description / Table of Contents: This volume contains twenty-five research papers on seismicity patterns, their interpretation and their possible relevance to learning how to predict earthquakes. The interpretation of seismicity patterns has become somewhat controversial. Some researchers present case histories suggesting that earthquakes may be predicted by increased seismic moment release or seismic quiescence and, in general, by understanding the processes of self-organized criticality. Others deny these hypotheses. Although the problem of recognizing foreshocks in real time remains unsolved, new properties of microearthquakes as a function of time are coming to light. Computer modeling of seismicity also is advancing in sophistication and relevance. Surprisingly, b-values seem to hold substantial information about varying local conditions of earthquake generation.

Description / Table of Contents: Earthquakes in shallow subduction zones account for the greatest part of seismic energy release in the Earth and often cause significant damage; in some cases they are accompanied by devastating tsunamis. Understanding the physics of seismogenic and tsunamigenic processes in such zones continues to be a challenging focus of ongoing research. The seismologic and geodetic work reported in this volume highlights the recent advances made toward quantifying and understandig the role of shallow plate coupling in the earthquake generation process. The relation between regional seismotectonics, features in the downgoing plate, and the slip distribution in earthquakes are examined for recent and great historical events. In addition to papers reporting new results, review articles on tsunami and tsunamigenic earthquakes and depth dependent plate interface properties are presented. These observational results, along with complementary laboratory and theoretical studies, can assist in assessing the seismic potential of a given region.

Description / Table of Contents: Donald B. Mcintyre: James Hutton’s Edinburgh: a précis / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 150:1-12, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.150.01.01 --- Don L. Anderson: A theory of the Earth: Hutton and Humpty Dumpty and Holmes / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 150:13-35, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.150.01.02 --- Peter J. Wyllie: Hot little crucibles are pressured to reveal and calibrate igneous processes / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 150:37-57, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.150.01.03 --- Werner Schreyer: High-pressure experiments and the varying depths of rock metamorphism / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 150:59-74, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.150.01.04 --- Andrew J. Watson: Coevolution of the Earth’s environment and life: Goldilocks, Gaia and the anthropic principle / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 150:75-88, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.150.01.05 --- Ursula B. Marvin: Impacts from space: the implications for uniformitarian geology / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 150:89-117, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.150.01.06 --- Ian W. D. Dalziel: Vestiges of a beginning and the prospect of an end / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 150:119-155, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.150.01.07 --- S. K. Monro and A. J. Crosbie: The Dynamic Earth project and the next millennium / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 150:157-167, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.150.01.08 --- Robert H. Dott, Jr: Closing remarks for the Hutton bicentenary, Edinburgh / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 150:169-173, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.150.01.09 --- Dennis R. Dean: Hutton Scholarship, 1992–1997 / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 150:175-179, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.150.01.10

Description / Table of Contents: Nick Cameron, Ray Bate, Val Clure, and Jeremy Benton: Oil and gas habitats of the South Atlantic: Introduction / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 153:1-9, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.153.01.01 --- The Geological and Geophysical Framework --- Garry D. Karner and Neal W. Driscoll: Tectonic and stratigraphic development of the West African and eastern Brazilian Margins: insights from quantitative basin modelling / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 153:11-40, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.153.01.02 --- Kerry Gallagher and Roderick Brown: The Mesozoic denudation history of the Atlantic margins of southern Africa and southeast Brazil and the relationship to offshore sedimentation / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 153:41-53, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.153.01.03 --- Renato M. Darros de Matos: History of the northeast Brazilian rift system: kinematic implications for the break-up between Brazil and West Africa / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 153:55-73, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.153.01.04 --- Bruce R. Rosendahl and Henrike Groschel-Becker: Deep seismic structure of the continental margin in the Gulf of Guinea: a summary report / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 153:75-83, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.153.01.05 --- R. Crossley and D. Cripps: Templates from mainland Africa and the Red Sea for interpreting the early evolution of the South Atlantic / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 153:85-96, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.153.01.06 --- Oil and Gas Habitats --- P. Dolan: Western Africa: an unfinished story of oil and gas exploration / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 153:97-99, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.153.01.07 --- M. P. Coward, E. G. Purdy, A. C. Ries, and D. G. Smith: The distribution of petroleum reserves in basins of the South Atlantic margins / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 153:101-131, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.153.01.08 --- Ian Davison: Tectonics and hydrocarbon distribution along the Brazilian South Atlantic margin / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 153:133-151, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.153.01.09 --- Eric H. A. Jungslager: Petroleum habitats of the Atlantic margin of South Africa / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 153:153-168, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.153.01.10 --- Organic Geochemistry --- C. F. Schiefelbein, J. E. Zumberge, N. R. Cameron, and S. W. Brown: Petroleum systems in the South Atlantic margins / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 153:169-179, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.153.01.11 --- R. Burwood: Angola: source rock control for Lower Congo Coastal and Kwanza Basin petroleum systems / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 153:181-194, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.153.01.12 --- Applications --- Ann Holbourn, Wolfgang Kuhnt, Abderrazzak El Albani, Thomas Pletsch, Florian Luderer, and Thomas Wagner: Upper Cretaceous palaeoenvironments and benthonic foraminiferal assemblages of potential source rocks from the western African margin, Central Atlantic / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 153:195-222, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.153.01.13 --- A. El Albani, W. Kuhnt, F. Luderer, J. P. Herbin, and M. Caron: Palaeoenvironmental evolution of the Late Cretaceous sequence in the Tarfaya Basin (southwest of Morocco) / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 153:223-240, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.153.01.14 --- Thomas Wagner and Thomas Pletsch: Tectono-sedimentary controls on Cretaceous black shale deposition along the opening Equatorial Atlantic Gateway (ODP Leg 159) / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 153:241-265, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.153.01.15 --- R. C. Preece, M. A. Kaminski, and T. W. Dignes: Miocene benthonic foraminiferal morphogroups in an oxygen minimum zone, offshore Cabinda / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 153:267-282, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.153.01.16 --- Raymond H. Bate: Non-marine ostracod assemblages of the Pre-Salt rift basins of West Africa and their role in sequence stratigraphy / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 153:283-292, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.153.01.17 --- R. V. Dingle: Walvis Ridge barrier: its influence on palaeoenvironments and source rock generation deduced from ostracod distributions in the early South Atlantic Ocean / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 153:293-302, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.153.01.18 --- Exploration Studies and Issues --- Jonathan P. Turner: Detachment faulting and petroleum prospectivity in the Rio Muni Basin, Equatorial Guinea, West Africa / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 153:303-320, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.153.01.19 --- Joanne Bagguley and Sarah Prosser: The interpretation of passive margin depositional processes using seismic stratigraphy: examples from offshore Namibia / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 153:321-344, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.153.01.20 --- I. G. Stanistreet and H. Stollhofen: Onshore equivalents of the main Kudu gas reservoir in Namibia / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 153:345-365, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.153.01.21 --- Dougal A. Jerram, Nigel Mountney, and Harald Stollhofen: Facies architecture of the Etjo Sandstone Formation and its interaction with the Basal Etendeka Flood Basalts of northwest Namibia: implications for offshore prospectivity / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 153:367-380, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.153.01.22 --- J. Clemson, J. Cartwright, and R. Swart: The Namib Rift: a rift system of possible Karoo age, offshore Namibia / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 153:381-402, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.153.01.23 --- P. F. Barker: Falkland Plateau evolution and a mobile southernmost South America / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 153:403-408, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.153.01.24 --- S. R. Lawrence, M. Johnson, S. R. Tubb, and S. J. Marshallsea: Tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the North Falkland region / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 153:409-424, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.153.01.25 --- P. J. E. Bransden, P. Burges, M. J. Durham, and J. G. Hall: Evidence for multi-phase rifting in the North Falklands Basin / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 153:425-443, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.153.01.26 --- Neil S. Meadows: Basin evolution and sedimentary fill in the Palaeozoic sequences of the Falkland Islands / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 153:445-464, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.153.01.27