ALBERT

Description / Table of Contents: The Hiroshi Wakita Volume II 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 hydrological and geochemical monitoring in earthquake studies, especially in earthquake prediction, has been controversial. This Pure and Applied Geophysics volume provides the results of recent studies on terrestrial fluids involved in both processes. The volume honors Hiroshi Wakita for his scientific contributions. It should be useful to researchers and graduate students in the field.

Description / Table of Contents: Volcanoes become active when fluids are in motion, and erupt when these fluids escape into the atmosphere. Volcanic fluids are a mixture of solid, liquid and gas. These mixtures result in a complex range of flow behaviour, especially during interaction with conduit geometry. These processes are not directly observable and must be inferred from interpretations of field observation and measurement. One of the outcomes of this complexity is the generation of pressure and force transients as high-density phases accelerate and decelerate during unsteady flow. These transients are one means of flexing the conduit wall, a process that manifests itself as ground motion and is detectable as volcano seismic signals. On eruption, volcanic fluids interact with the atmosphere and generate acoustic and thermal signals. In this Special Publication we present a series of papers based on field, numerical and experimental approaches that seek to establish links between geophysical signals and fluid motion in volcanic conduits.

Description / Table of Contents: This collection of papers addresses the issues surrounding communication of environmental geoscience. Geologists whose research deals with environmental problems such as landslides, floods, earthquakes and other natural hazards that affect people's health and safety, must communicate their results effectively to the public, policy makers and politicians. There are many examples of geological studies being ignored in policy and public action; this is in due in part to geoscientists being poor communicators. These papers document issues in communicating environmental geoscience, outline successes and failures through case studies, describe ways in which geoscientists can improve communication skills and show how new methods can make communication more effective.

Description / Table of Contents: Increasingly, researchers have reported that passive margins do not show a simple uninterrupted thermal sag pattern of post-rift subsidence following continental separation. Rather, the structural and stratigraphic development of such margins may record evidence of complex phases of differential subsidence, exhumation and fold development. Some of the fold structures observed on passive continental margins appear to be related to regional stresses transmitted through basement rocks, whereas others are related to gravitational sliding and toe-thrusting. This special publication concentrates on the first of these categories. The morphology and distribution of such folds, together with potential mechanisms for generation of regional stress, are described in a series of papers by authorities in the field. As well as being an enigmatic feature of passive margin geology, the compressive folds have significance in the exploration for petroleum.

Description / Table of Contents: This book deals with various interesting aspects of the histories of geomorphology and Quaternary geology in different parts of the world. The papers cover a range of topics: the origin of the term ‘Quaternary’, histories of ideas and debates relating to aspects of fluvial geomorphology (USA and Australia), glacial geomorphology and glaciation (Northern Europe, the Baltic countries, Russia, Iceland, and New Zealand), desert dunes and the geology of Australia, peneplains in China, a palaeo-Tokyo Bay in Japan, together with biographies of Charles Cotton (New Zealand), Valerija Cepulyte (Lithuania) and Ceslovas Pakuckas (Lithuania and Poland) that highlight their respective contributions to the disciplines of geomorphology and Quaternary geology. There is an autobiographical contribution from E. E. Milanovsky (Russia) on his work in Siberia, the Caucasus and Iceland, illustrated by his sketches made in the field.

Description / Table of Contents: Faults are primary focuses of both fluid migration and deformation in the upper crust. The recognition that faults are typically heterogeneous zones of deformed material, not simple discrete fractures, has fundamental implications for the way geoscientists predict fluid migration in fault zones, as well as leading to new concepts in understanding seismic/aseismic strain accommodation. This book captures current research into understanding the complexities of fault-zone internal structure, and their control on mechanical and fluid-flow properties of the upper crust. A wide variety of approaches are presented, from geological field studies and laboratory analyses of fault-zone and fault-rock properties to numerical fluid-flow modelling, and from seismological data analyses to coupled hydraulic and rheological modelling. The publication aims to illustrate the importance of understanding fault-zone complexity by integrating such diverse approaches, and its impact on the rheological and fluid-flow behaviour of fault zones in different contexts.

Description / Table of Contents: Some 75 years after the visionary work of Wegener and du Toit, Neoproterozoic to Mesozoic geological correlations between South America and Africa are re-examined in the light of plate tectonics and modern geological investigation (structural and metamorphic studies, stratigraphic logging, geochemistry, geochronology and palaeomagnetism). The book presents both reviews and new research relating to the shared Gondwana origins of countries facing each other across the South Atlantic Ocean, especially Brazil, Argentina, Cameroon, Nigeria, Angola, Namibia and South Africa. This is the first comprehensive treatment to be readily available in book form. It covers the common elements of cratonic areas pre-dating Gondwana, and how they came together in late Precambrian and Cambrian times with the formation of the Pan-African/Brasiliano orogenic belts (Dom Feliciano, Brasília, Ribeira, Damara, Gariep, Kaoko, etc.). The subsequent shared Palaeozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary record (Karoo system) prior to Gondwana break-up is also reviewed.

Description / Table of Contents: This volume, in honour of Peter L. Forey, is about fishes as palaeobiogeographic indicators in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. The last 250 million years in the history of Earth have witnessed the break-up of Pangaea, affecting the biogeography of organisms. Fishes occupy almost all freshwater and marine environments, making them a good tool to assess palaeogeographic models. The volume begins with studies of Triassic chondrichthyans and lungfishes, with reflections on Triassic palaeogeography. Phylogeny and distribution of Late Jurassic neoselachians and basal teleosts are broached, and are followed by five papers about the Cretaceous, dealing with SE Asian sharks, South American ray-finned fishes and coelacanths, European characiforms, and global fish palaeogeography. Then six papers cover Tertiary subjects, such as bony tongues, eels, cypriniforms and coelacanths. There is generally a good fit between fish phylogenies and the evolution of the palaeogeographical pattern, although a few discrepancies question details of current palaeogeographic models and/or some aspects of fish phylogeny.

Description / Table of Contents: This volume of NGU Special Publication presents some of the ongoing research at the Geological Survey of Norway and shows how geology and geological knowledge influence many areas of society. The global demand for geological resources is on the rise, and knowing where to look for these resources is becoming increasingly more important. In addition, quantifying these resources is vital to ensure present-day as well as future supplies. As society and technology evolve (cf., the Stone Age-, Bronze Age-, Iron Ageprogression) so does the demand for geological resources. A sagacious assessment of geological resources therefore requires a broad, research-based approach.

Description / Table of Contents: This volume of the IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Sciences presents a selection of papers given at the Donald D Harrington Symposium on the Geology of the Aegean held on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin on April 28-30, 2008. Donald D Harrington was born in Illinois in 1899 and moved westward after serving in the Army Air Corps during World War I. Mr Harrington took a position as a landman with Marlin Oil Company in Oklahoma. When the Texas Panhandle oil boom hit in 1926, he moved to Amarillo, Texas, where he met Sybil Buckingham—the granddaughter of one of Amarillo's founding families. They married in 1935 and went on to build one of the most successful independent oil and gas operations in Texas history. The couple created the Don and Sybil Harrington Foundation in 1951 to support worthy causes such as museums, medical research, education, and the arts. At the Harrington Symposium on the Geology of the Aegean, researchers presented papers organized under five general themes: (1) the geology of Aegean in general (2) the geologic history of specific domains within the Aegean (Cyclades, Menderes, Kazdag, Rhodope, Crete, southern Balkans, etc) (3) the dynamic tectonic processes that occur within the Aegean (4) its geo-archeological history, natural history and hazards and (5) comparisons of the Aegean to regions elsewhere (e.g., Basin and Ranges; Asian extensional terranes). The Aegean is a locus of dynamic research in a variety of fields, and the symposium provided an opportunity for geologists from a range of disciplines to interact and share new results and information about their research in the area...

Description / Table of Contents: The 14th International Symposium for the Advancement of Boundary Layer Remote Sensing (ISARS 2008) addresses acoustical, optical and microwave techniques to probe the lower part of the atmosphere. The symposium focuses on the physical basis of remote sensing techniques and new instruments. A theme for the conference is also various applications of remote sensing, this year with special emphasis on wind energy. ISARS is an informal association of scientists from all over the world which organizes a symposium every second year. While the abbreviation ISARS has remained unchanged since the start in Calgary 1981, the words have changed from International Symposium on Acoustic Remote Sensing and Associated Techniques of the Atmosphere and Oceans because other techniques than the acoustic have become important for boundary layer remote sensing. Specifically lasers for remote wind sensing are developing rapidly. By the end of each symposium the chairman of the next has been elected. So far the symposia have taken place in different countries each time with different chairs. The scientific organizing committee, which consists mainly of chair persons of previous symposia, maintains the continuity of themes and of the organization in general. After the last symposium held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, many of the papers appeared in revised and improved form in a special issue of Meteorologische Zeitschrift. A similar special issue is also planned to follow ISARS 2008. I wish to express my gratitude to the scientific organizing committee for valuable advice and to the local organizing committee for all their effort with the conference papers and the conference itself. Jakob Mann, Conference Chair

Description / Table of Contents: This volume of IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science presents a selection of papers that were given at the 24th Conference of the Danube Countries. Within the framework of the International Hydrological Program IHP of UNESCO. Since 1961 the Danube countries have successfully co-operated in organizing conferences on Hydrological Forecasting and Hydrological Water Management Issues. The 24th Conference of the Danube Countries took place between 2-4 June 2008 in Bled, Slovenia and was organized by the National Committee of Slovenia for the International Hydrological Program of UNESCO, under the auspices of the President of Republic of Slovenia. It was organized jointly by the Slovenian National Commission for UNESCO and the Environmental Agency of the Republic of Slovenia, under the support of UNESCO, WMO, and IAHS...

Description / Table of Contents: Caldera-formation is one of the most awe-inspiring and powerful displays of nature's force. Resultant deposits may cover vast areas and significantly alter the immediate topography. Post-collapse activity may include resurgence, unrest, intra-caldera volcanism and potentially the start of a new magmatic cycle, perhaps eventually leading to renewed collapse. Since volcanoes and their eruptions are the surface manifestation of magmatic processes, calderas provide key insights into the generation and evolution of large-volume silicic magma bodies in the Earth's crust. Despite their potentially ferocious nature, calderas play a crucial role in modern society's life. Collapse calderas host essential economic deposits and supply power for many via the exploitation of geothermal reservoirs, and thus receive considerable scientific, economic and industrial attention. Calderas also attract millions of visitors world-wide with their spectacular scenic displays. To build on the outcomes of the 2005 calderas workshop in Tenerife (Spain) and to assess the most recent advances on caldera research, a follow-up meeting was proposed to be held in Mexico in 2008. This abstract volume presents contributions to the 2nd Calderas Workshop held at Hotel Misión La Muralla, Querétaro, Mexico, 19–25 October 2008. The title of the workshop `Reconstructing the evolution of collapse calderas: Magma storage, mobilisation and eruption' set the theme for five days of presentations and discussions, both at the venue as well as during visits to the surrounding calderas of Amealco, Amazcala and Huichapan. The multi-disciplinary workshop was attended by more than 40 scientist from North, Central and South America, Europe, Australia and Asia. Contributions covered five thematic topics: geology, geochemistry/petrology, structural analysis/modelling, geophysics, and hazards...

Description / Table of Contents: Terrestrial fluids, earthquakes and volcanoes: The Hiroshi Wakita volume III is a special publication to honor Professor Hiroshi Wakita for his scientific contribution to science, which has been closely linked with one of the major objectives of this 2008 International Year for the Earth Planet. Reducing natural risks in active tectonic and volcanic environments by searching and detecting early warning hydrological and geochemical signatures related to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions has been a major life research goal for Hiroshi Wakita. This third special issue of Pure and Applied Geophysics consists of 9 original papers written by researchers from Taiwan, Italy, Turkey, Iceland, USA, Sweden, India and Spain dealing with various aspects of the role of terrestrial fluids in earthquake and volcanic processes. It also includes a list of Hiroshi Wakita’s scientific publications. This volume III will be useful to students and professional researchers who are interested in the role of terrestrial fluids in earthquakes and volcanic activity.

Description / Table of Contents: There are continual rounds of annual conferences, special sessions and other symposia that provide ample opportunity for researchers to convene and discuss igneous processes. However, the origins of laccoliths and sills continue to inspire and confound geologists. In one sense, this is surprising. After all, don't we know all we need to know about these rocks by now? As testified by the diverse range of topics covered in this volume, the answer is clearly ‘no’. This book contains contributions on physical geology, igneous petrology, volcanology, structural geology, crustal mechanics and geophysics that cover the entire gambit of geological processes associated with the shallow emplacement of magma. High-level intrusions in sedimentary basins can also act as hydrocarbon reservoirs and as sources for thermal maturation. In drawing together a diversity of perspectives on the emplacement of sills, laccoliths and dykes we hope to advance further our understanding of their behaviour.

Description / Table of Contents: This book is the first to describe the history of geoconservation. It draws on experience from the UK, Europe and further afield, to explore topics including: what is geoconservation; where, when and how did it start; who was responsible; and how has it differed across the world? Geological and geomorphological features, processes, sites and specimens, provide a resource of immense scientific and educational importance. They also form the foundation for the varied and spectacular landscapes that help define national and local identity as well as many of the great tourism destinations. Mankind's activities, including contributing to enhanced climate change, pose many threats to this resource: the importance of safeguarding and managing it for future generations is now widely accepted as part of sustainable development. Geoconservation is an established and growing activity across the world, with more participants and a greater profile than ever before. This volume highlights a history of challenges, set-backs, successes and visionary individuals and provides a sound basis for taking geoconservation into the future.

Description / Table of Contents: There is a general consensus that for the next few decades at least, the Earth will continue its warming. This will inevitably bring about serious environmental problems. For human society, the most severe will be those related to alterations of the hydrological cycle, which is already heavily influenced by human activities. Climate change will directly affect groundwater recharge, groundwater quality and the freshwater-seawater interface. The variations of groundwater storage inevitably entail a variety of geomorphological and engineering effects. In the areas where water resources are likely to diminish, groundwater will be one of the main solutions to prevent drought. In spite of its paramount importance, the issue of ‘Climate Change and Groundwater’ has been neglected. This volume presents some of the current understanding of the topic.

Description / Table of Contents: Stromatolites are the most intriguing geobiological structures of the entire history of the earth since the early beginning of the fossil record in the Archaean. Traditionally, stromatolites and related microbial sediments are interpreted as biosedimentological remains of biofilms and microbial mats. Stromatolites are important environmental and evolutionary archives that give us plenty of information on ancient habitats, biodiversity, and evolution of complex benthic biosystems. However, many aspects of the formation, biology, and geobiology of these structures are still cryptic and poorly understood. The symposium is dedicated to Ernst Louis Kalkowsky (1851–1938), who introduced the terms “Stromatolith” and “Ooid” to the earth science community in 1908.

Description / Table of Contents: The 3D geological model is still regarded as one of the newest and most innovative tools for reservoir management purposes. The computer modelling of structures, rock properties and fluid flow in hydrocarbon reservoirs has evolved from a specialist activity to part of the standard desktop toolkit. The application of these techniques has allowed all disciplines of the subsurface team to collaborate in a common workspace. In today's asset teams, the role of the geological model in hydrocarbon development planning is key and will be for some time ahead. The challenges that face the geologists and engineers will be to provide more seamless interaction between static and dynamic models. This interaction requires the development of conventional and unconventional modelling algorithms and methodologies in order to provide more risk-assessed scenarios, thus enabling geologists and engineers to better understand and capture inherent uncertainties at each aspect of the geological model's life.

Description / Table of Contents: This publication is about the world’s surface ice on land outside the two polar ice sheets. It provides a sound and well illustrated review on the basis of available data, the global distribution of glaciers and ice caps, and their changes since maximum extents of the so-called Little Ice Age. The publication also provides the background knowledge needed to understand the compiled glacier observations in view of the ongoing climate change. It presents the latest state of knowledge on glacier changes in view of the available data sets and the scientific literature, and discusses the challenges of the 21st century for the monitoring of glaciers and ice caps. The publication was prepared in a joint project of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS). It was written by the officers of the WGMS and reviewed by scientists from around the world with expertise in the research and monitoring of glaciers and ice caps.

Description / Table of Contents: 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 (see Clayton 2008) 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.

Description / Table of Contents: The Encyclopedia of GIS features an alphabetically arranged comprehensive and authoritative treatment of this subject matter. Authored by world experts and peer-reviewed for accuracy and currency, the entries explain the key software, data sets, and processes used by geographers and computational scientists. Nearly 200 topics include major overviews, such as Geoinformatics, Spatial Cognition, and Location-Based Services. Short entries define specific terms and concepts, such as the Global Positioning System, Digital Elevation/Terrain Model, and Remote Sensing. Larger entries include key citations to the literature, and (online) internal hyperlinks to definitional entries and current standards.The reference will be published as a print volume with abundant black and white art, and simultaneously as an XML online reference with hyperlinked citations, cross-references, four-color art, links to web-based maps, and other interactive features.

Description / Table of Contents: In recent years, large earthquakes in the circum-Pacific region have repeatedly demonstrated its particular vulnerability to this potentially devastating natural hazard, including the M ~ 9.2 Northern Sumatra earthquake and tsunami of 2004 which resulted in the deaths of nearly 300,000 people. In the late-1990s, major advancements in seismic research greatly added to the understanding of earthquake fault systems, as large quantities of new and extensive remote sensing data sets, that provided information on the solid earth on scales previously inaccessible, were integrated with a combination of innovative analysis techniques and advanced numerical and computational methods implemented on high-performance computers. This book includes a variety of studies that focus on the modeling of tsunamis and earthquakes, both large-scale simulation and visualization programs, as well as detailed models of small-scale features. Particular attention is paid to computational techniques, languages, and hardware that can be used to facilitate data analysis, visualization, and modeling. Also included are studies of several earthquake forecasting techniques and associated comparisons of their results with historic earthquake data. Finally, the volume ends with theoretical analyses of statistical properties of seismicity by internationally recognized experts in the field. This volume will be of particular interest to researchers interested in the multiscale simulation and visualization of large earthquakes and tsunamis.

Description / Table of Contents: Faults are primary focuses of both fluid migration and deformation in the upper crust. The recognition that faults are typically heterogeneous zones of deformed material, not simple discrete fractures, has fundamental implications for the way geoscientists predict fluid migration in fault zones, as well as leading to new concepts in understanding seismic/aseismic strain accommodation. This book captures current research into understanding the complexities of fault-zone internal structure, and their control on mechanical and fluid-flow properties of the upper crust. A wide variety of approaches are presented, from geological field studies and laboratory analyses of fault-zone and fault-rock properties to numerical fluid-flow modelling, and from seismological data analyses to coupled hydraulic and rheological modelling. The publication aims to illustrate the importance of understanding fault-zone complexity by integrating such diverse approaches, and its impact on the rheological and fluid-flow behaviour of fault zones in different contexts.

Description / Table of Contents: Biogeochemical controls on palaeoceanographic environmental proxies: an introduction / William E. N. Austin and Rachael H. James / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 303, 1-2, 1 January 2008, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP303.1 --- Biogeochemical controls on palaeoceanographic environmental proxies: a review / Rachael H. James and William E. N. Austin / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 303, 3-32, 1 January 2008, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP303.2 --- Some fundamental features of biomineralization / R. J. P. Williams / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 303, 33-44, 1 January 2008, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP303.3 --- Vital effects and beyond: a modelling perspective on developing palaeoceanographical proxy relationships in foraminifera / Richard E. Zeebe, Jelle Bijma, Bärbel Hönisch, Abhijit Sanyal, Howard J. Spero and Dieter A. Wolf-Gladrow / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 303, 45-58, 1 January 2008, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP303.4 --- Foraminifer test preservation and diagenesis: comparison of high latitude Eocene sites / Paul N. Pearson and Catherine E. Burgess / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 303, 59-72, 1 January 2008, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP303.5 --- The influences of growth rates on planktic foraminifers as proxies for palaeostudies – a review / D. N. Schmidt, T. Elliott and S. A. Kasemann / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 303, 73-85, 1 January 2008, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP303.6 --- Fine-scale growth patterns in coral skeletons: biochemical control over crystallization of aragonite fibres and assessment of early diagenesis / J. P. Cuif, Y. Dauphin, A. Meibom, C. Rollion-Bard, M. Salomé, J. Susini and C. T. Williams / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 303, 87-96, 1 January 2008, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP303.7 --- Modern deep-sea benthic foraminifera: a brief review of their morphology-based biodiversity and trophic diversity / A. J. Gooday, H. Nomaki and H. Kitazato / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 303, 97-119, 1 January 2008, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP303.8 --- On the use of benthic foraminiferal δ13C in palaeoceanography: constraints from primary proxy relationships / Andreas Mackensen / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 303, 121-133, 1 January 2008, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP303.9 --- The carbon and oxygen stable isotopic composition of cultured benthic foraminifera / Daniel C. McCorkle, Joan M. Bernhard, Christopher J. Hintz, Jessica K. Blanks, G. Thomas Chandler and Timothy J. Shaw / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 303, 135-154, 1 January 2008, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP303.10 --- Seasonal dynamics of coastal water masses in a Scottish fjord and their potential influence on benthic foraminiferal shell geochemistry / Alix G. Cage and William E. N. Austin / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 303, 155-172, 1 January 2008, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP303.11 --- Isotopic variability in the intertidal acorn barnacle Semibalanus balanoides: a potentially novel sea-level proxy indicator / K. F. Craven, M. I. Bird, W. E. N. Austin and J. Wynn / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 303, 173-185, 1 January 2008, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP303.12

Description / Table of Contents: The boundaries of rigid cratons can be affected by subsequent orogenic events, leading to ‘metacratonic’ characteristics not often properly recognized and still poorly understood. Major lithospheric thickening is absent and early events such as ophiolites are preserved; however, metacratonic boundaries are affected by major shear zones, abundant magmatism and mineralizations, and local high-pressure metamorphism. West Africa, marked by the large Eburnian (c. 2 Ga) West African craton, the absence of Mesoproterozoic events, the major Pan-African (0.9–0.55 Ga) mobile belts that generated the Peri-Gondawanan terranes, and the weaker but enlightening Variscan and Alpine orogenies, is an excellent place for tackling this promising concept of metacratonization. The papers in this book consider most of the West African craton boundaries, from the reworking of the Palaeoproterozoic terranes, through the Pan-African encircling terranes, the late Neoproterozoic-early Palaeozoic extension period and the Peri-Gondwanan terranes, the Variscan imprint to the current situation.

Description / Table of Contents: Twenty years have passed since Menzies & Hawkesworth extended the concept of metasomatism to mantle processes. The aim of this book is to gather together progress made on this topic since then. Most of the 14 papers reported in the volume rely on in situ major and trace element analyses of minerals and glasses in mantle xenoliths, and deal with different kinds of metasomatic agents at variable fluid/rock ratios in tectonic settings as different as intra-plate, mid-ocean ridge (ophiolites) and supra-subduction. The book contributes to the wide debate on the nature of the fluids migrating into the mantle wedge, as well as on the different residential times of the subduction signature. In addition papers on intra-plate settings deal with the problem of relating various metasomatic signatures to one single metasomatic event through an infiltration-reaction process.

Description / Table of Contents: A Complutense International Seminar on "Earth Sciences and Mathematics" was organised and held in Madrid at the Facultad de Ciencias Matemáticas of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid September, 13th-15th, 2006. Scientists from both fields, Mathematics and Earth Sciences, took part in this International Seminar, addressing scientific problems related with our planet from clearly complementary approaches, seeking to gain and learn from this dual approach and proposing a closer collaboration in the near future. This volume is the first one of a Topical Issue on "Earth Sciences and Mathematics" and contains papers addressing different topics as deformation modelling applied to natural hazards, inverse gravimetric problem to determine 3D density structure, advanced differential SAR interferometry, climate change, geomagnetic field, Earthquake statistics, meteorological studies using satellite images, climate energy balance models, study of soils properties, and multifractal data sets.

Description / Table of Contents: The morphology of Earth's surface reflects the interaction of climate, tectonics and denudational processes operating over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. These processes can be considered catastrophic or continuous; depending on the timescale of observation or interest. Recent research had required integration of historically distinct subjects such as geomorphology, sedimentology, climatology and tectonics. Together, these have provided new insights into absolute and relative rates of denudation, and the factors that control the many dynamic processes involved. Specific subject areas covered are sediment transport processes and the timescales of competing processes, the role of the geological record and landscapes in constraining different processes, the nature of landscape evolution at different spatial scales and in contrasting geological environments.

Description / Table of Contents: Magmas are subject to a series of processes that lead to their differentiation during transfer through, and storage within, the Earth's crust. The depths and mechanisms of differentiation, the crustal contribution to magma generation through wall-rock assimilation, the rates and timescales of magma generation, transfer and storage, and how these link to the thermal state of the crust are subject to vivid debate and controversy. This volume presents a collection of research articles that provide a balanced overview of the diverse approaches available to elucidate these topics, and includes both theoretical models and case studies. By integrating petrological, geochemical and geophysical approaches, it offers new insights to the subject of magmatic processes operating within the Earth's crust, and reveals important links between subsurface processes and volcanism.

Description / Table of Contents: Geological correlations of East Antarctica with adjoining continents have been puzzling geologists ever since the concept of a Gondwana supercontinent surfaced. Despite the paucity of outcrops because of ice cover, difficulty of access and extreme weather, the past 50 years of Japanese Antarctic Research Expeditions (JARE) has successfully revealed vital elements of the geology of East Antarctica. This volume presents reviews and new research from localities across East Antarctica, especially from Dronning Maud Land to Enderby Land, where the geological record preserves a history that spans the Archaean and Proterozoic. The reviews include extensive bibliographies of results obtained by geologists who participated in the JARE. Comprehensive geological, petrological and geochemical studies, form a platform for future research on the formation and dispersion of Rodinia in the Mesoproterozoic and subsequent assembly of Gondwana in the Neoproterozoic to Early Palaeozoic.

Description / Table of Contents: Minerals are intrinsically resistant to the processes that homogenize silicate liquids—their compositions thus yield an archive of volcanic and magmatic processes that are invisible at the whole rock scale. New experiments, and recent advances in micro-analytical techniques open a new realm of detail regarding the mineralogical record; this volume summarizes some of this progress. The alliance of the sub-fields reviewed in this volume bear upon fundamental issues of volcanology: At what depths are eruptions triggered, and over what time scales? Where and why do magmas coalesce before ascent? If magmas stagnate for thousands of years, what forces are responsible for initiating final ascent, or the degassing processes that accelerate upward motion? To the extent that we can answer these questions, we move towards formulating tests of mechanistic models of volcanic eruptions (e.g., Wilson, 1980; Slezin, 2003; Scandone et al., 2007), and hypotheses of the tectonic controls on magma transport (e.g., ten Brink and Brocher, 1987; Takada, 1994; Putirka and Busby, 2007). Our goal, in part, is to review how minerals can be used to understand volcanic systems and the processes that shape them; we also hope that this work will spur new and integrated studies of volcanic systems. Our review begins by tracing the origins of mineral grains, and methods to estimate pressures (P) and temperatures (T) of crystallization. Hammer shows how "dynamic" experiments (conducted with varying P or T) yield important insights into crystal growth. Chapters by Putirka, Anderson, and Blundy and Cashman review various igneous geothermometers and geobarometers and introduce new calibrations. Among these chapters are many familiar models involving olivine, amphibole, feldspar, pyroxene, and spinel. Blundy and Cashman introduce new methods based on phase equilibria, and in another chapter, Hansteen and Klügel review P estimation based on densities of entrapped fluids and appropriate equations of state. Rutherford's chapter returns to the issue of disequilibrium, with a review of methods to estimate magma ascent rates, and a summary of results. Our volume then moves to a review of melt inclusions. Kent shows how pre-mixed magma compositions can be preserved as inclusions, providing a window into pre-eruptive conditions. Métrich and Wallace review the volatile contents in basaltic melt inclusions and "magma degassing paths". Such methods rely upon vapor saturation pressures, which are derived from experimentally calibrated models. Chapters by Moore and Blundy and Cashman test two of the most important models, by Newman and Lowenstern (2002) (VolatileCalc) and Papale et al. (2006). Moore provides a guide to the appropriate use of these models, and their respective errors. The next four chapters document insights obtained from isotopic studies and diffusion profiles. Ramos and Tepley review developments of micro-analytical isotope measurements, which now have the potential to elucidate even the most cryptic of open system behaviors. Cooper and Reid examine the time scales for such processes through U-series age dating techniques, and Bindeman reviews oxygen isotopes and their uses as tracers of both magmas and crystals. Costa then reviews yet another means to estimate the rates of magmatic processes, using mineral diffusion profiles, with important implications for magma processing. In the next two chapters, Streck reviews an array of imaging methods and mineral textures, and their potential for disentangling mixed magmas, and Armienti takes a new look at the analysis of crystal size distributions (CSD), with applications to Mt. Etna. Our volume concludes with a chapter by Bachmann and Bergantz summarizing compositional zonations and a review of the thermal and compositional forces that drive open system behavior. Finally, descriptions of many of the most common analytical approaches are also reviewed within these chapters. Analytical topics include: secondary ion mass spectrometry (Blundy and Cashman; Kent); electron microprobe (Blundy and Cashman; Kent; Métrich and Wallace; laser ablation ICP-MS (Kent; Ramos and Tepley); Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (Moore; Métrich and Wallace); microsampling and isotope mass spectrometry (Ramos and Tepley); U-series measurement techniques (Cooper and Reid); Nomarski differential interference contrasts (Streck); micro-Raman spectroscopy (Métrich and Wallace); back-scattered electron microscopy, and cathodoluminescence (Blundy and Cashman). As noted, our hope is that integrated studies can bring us closer to understanding how volcanic systems evolve and why eruptions occur. Our primary goal is to review how minerals can be used to understand volcanic systems; we also hope that this review might spur new and integrated studies of volcanic systems.