ALBERT

Description / Table of Contents: Considerable progress has been made recently in quantifying geometrical and physical properties of fault surfaces and adjacent fractured and granulated damage zones in active faulting environments. There has also been significant progress in developing rheologies and computational frameworks that can model the dynamics of fault zone processes. This volume provides state-of-the-art theoretical and observational results on the mechanics, structure and evolution of fault zones. Subjects discussed include damage rheologies, development of instabilities, fracture and friction, dynamic rupture experiments, and analyses of earthquake and fault zone data.

Description / Table of Contents: During the last decades, the monitoring and modelling of various geodynamic processes have gained ever increasing importance. In particular, temporal variations of the deformation and gravity fields recorded by new types of geodetic measuring techniques and reflecting isostatic, tectonic or volcanic processes in the earth's interior as well as climatologically induced changes on its surface have opened new avenues. The present volume succeeds a similar topical volume published in 2007 and reflects the most recent developments in these fields of research. Part of the papers in this book were presented at the second workshop on 'Deformation and Gravity Change: Indicators of Isostasy, Tectonics, Volcanism and Climate Change' that took place at the Casa de los Volcanes on Lanzarote, Spain, during March 27-30, 2007. It was jointly organized and supported by the International Association of Geodesy (IAG), the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, the Spanish Council for Scientific Research and the Cabildo Insular de Lanzarote. The workshop also served as the second meeting of the members of the IAG Working Group ICCT2 on 'Dynamic Theories of Deformation and Gravity Fields'.

Description / Table of Contents: Onshore fold–thrust belts are commonly perceived as ‘difficult’ places to explore for hydrocarbons and are therefore often avoided. However, these belts host large oil and gas fields and so these barriers to effective exploration mean that substantial unexploited resources may remain. Over time, evaluation techniques have improved. It is possible in certain circumstances to achieve good 3D seismic data. Structural restoration techniques have moved into the 3D domain and increasingly sophisticated palaeo-thermal indicators allow better modelling of burial and uplift evolution of source and reservoirs. Awareness of the influence of pre-thrust structure and stratigraphy and of hybrid thick and thin-skinned deformation styles is augmenting the simplistic geometric models employed in earlier exploration. But progress is a slow, expensive and iterative process. Industry and academia need to collaborate in order to develop and continually improve the necessary understanding of subsurface geometries, reservoir and charge evolution and timing; this publication offers papers on specific techniques, outcrop and field case studies.

Description / Table of Contents: During the last three decades geosciences and geo-engineering were influenced by two essential scenarios: First, the technological progress has changed completely the observational and measurement techniques. Modern high speed computers and satellite based techniques are entering more and more all geodisciplines. Second, there is a growing public concern about the future of our planet, its climate, its environment, and about an expected shortage of natural resources. Mathematics concerned with geoscientific problems, i.e., Geomathematics, is becoming increasingly important. The "Handbook of Geomathematics" as a central reference work in this area comprises the following scientific fields: (I) observational and measurement key technologies; (II) modelling of the system Earth (geosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere); (III) analytic, algebraic, and operator-theoretic methods; (IV) statistical and stochastic methods; (V) computational and numerical analysis methods; (VI) historical background and future perspectives.

Description / Table of Contents: The discovery of dinosaurs and other large extinct ‘saurians’ - a term under which the Victorians commonly lumped ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, pterosaurs and their kin - makes exciting reading and has caught the attention of palaeontologists, historians of science and the general public alike. The papers in this collection go beyond the familiar tales about famous ‘fossil hunters’ and focus on relatively little-known episodes in the discovery and interpretation (from both a scientific and an artistic point of view) of dinosaurs and other inhabitants of the Mesozoic world. They cover a long time span, from the beginnings of ‘modern’ scientific palaeontology in the 1700s to the present, and deal with many parts of the world, from the Yorkshire coast to Central India, from Bavaria to the Sahara. The characters in these stories include professional palaeontologists and geologists (some of them well-known, others quite obscure), explorers, amateur fossil collectors, and artists, linked together by their interest in Mesozoic creatures.

Description / Table of Contents: Frontiers in Geofluids is a collection of invited papers chosen to highlight recent developments in our understanding of geological fluids in different parts of the Earth, and published to mark the first ten years of publication of the journal Geofluids. The scope of the volume ranges from the fundamental properties of fluids and the phase relationships of fluids encountered in nature, to case studies of the role of fluids in natural processes. New developments in analytical and theoretical approaches to understanding fluid compositions, fluid properties, and geological fluid dynamics across a wide range of environments are included. A recurrent theme of research published in Geofluids is the way in which similar approaches can be applied to geological fluids in very different settings and this is reflected in the diverse range of applications of fluid studies that are included here. They include deep groundwater flow, hydrocarbons in faulted sedimentary basins, hydrothermal ores, and multiphase flow in mid-ocean ridge systems. Other topics covered are geothermal waters, crustal metamorphism, and fluids in magmatic systems. The book will be of great interest to researchers and students interested in crustal and mantle fluids of all sorts.

Description / Table of Contents: Fjords are glacially over-deepened, semi-enclosed marine basins, but are often neglected as a sedimentary realm. They represent the transition from the terrestrial to the marine environment and as such have the potential to preserve evidence of environmental change. Typically most fjords have been glaciated a number of times and some high-latitude fjords still possess a resident glacier. The stratigraphic record in fjords largely preserves a glacial–deglacial cycle of deposition. Sheltered water and high sedimentation rates potentially make fjords ideal depositional environments for preserving continuous records of climate and environmental change with high temporal resolution. Fjords are also referred to as miniature oceans providing the unique opportunity to study marine processes in great detail. With predictions of warming climates, changing ocean circulation and rising sea levels, this volume is a timely look at these environmentally sensitive coastlines.

Description / Table of Contents: Despite agreement on first-order features and mechanisms, critical aspects of the origin and evolution of the Tibetan Plateau, such as the exact timing and nature of collision, the initiation of plateau uplift, and the evolution of its height and width, are disputed, untested or unknown. This book gathers papers dealing with the growth and collapse of the Tibetan Plateau. The timing, the underlying mechanisms, their interactions and the induced surface shaping, contributing to the Tibetan Plateau evolution are tightly linked via coupled and feedback processes. We present interdisciplinary contributions allowing insight into the complex interactions between lithospheric dynamics, topography building, erosion, hydrological processes and atmospheric coupling. The book is structured in four parts: early processes in the plateau formation; recent growth of the Tibetan Plateau; mechanisms of plateau growth; and plateau uplift, surface processes and the monsoon.

Description / Table of Contents: Slope tectonics: a short introduction / Michel Jaboyedoff, Giovanni B. Crosta and Doug Stead / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 351, 1-10, 1 January 2011, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP351.1 --- Paraglacial gravitational deformations in the SW Alps: a review of field investigations, 10Be cosmogenic dating and physical modelling / S. El Bedoui, T. Bois, H. Jomard, G. Sanchez, T. Lebourg, E. Trics, Y. Guglielmi, S. Bouissou, A. Chemenda, Y. Rolland, M. Corsini and J. L. Pérez / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 351, 11-25, 1 January 2011, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP351.2 --- Inheritance of ductile and brittle structures in the development of large rock slope instabilities: examples from western Norway / A. Saintot, I. H. C. Henderson and M.-H. Derron / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 351, 27-78, 1 January 2011, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP351.3 --- Regional spatial variations in rockslide distribution from structural geology ranking: an example from Storfjorden, western Norway / Iain H. C. Henderson and Aline Saintot / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 351, 79-95, 1 January 2011, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP351.4 --- Rock slope instabilities in Sogn and Fjordane County, Norway: a detailed structural and geomorphological analysis / Martina Böhme, Aline Saintot, Iain H. C. Henderson, Helge Henriksen and Reginald L. Hermanns / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 351, 97-111, 1 January 2011, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP351.5 --- Controlling factors for deep-seated gravitational slope deformation (DSGSD) in the Aosta Valley (NW Alps, Italy) / G. Martinotti, D. Giordan, M. Giardino and S. Ratto / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 351, 113-131, 1 January 2011, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP351.6 --- Palaeostress analysis of a giant Holocene rockslide near Boaco and Santa Lucia (Nicaragua, Central America) / Ivo Baron̆, Markéta Kernstocková, Roman Novotný, David Buriánek, Petr Hradecký, Pavel Havlic̆ek and Rostislav Melichar / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 351, 133-145, 1 January 2011, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP351.7 --- Complex landslide behaviour and structural control: a three-dimensional conceptual model of Åknes rockslide, Norway / Michel Jaboyedoff, Thierry Oppikofer, Marc-Henri Derron, Lars Harald Blikra, Martina Böhme and Aline Saintot / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 351, 147-161, 1 January 2011, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP351.8 --- Structural analysis of Turtle Mountain: origin and influence of fractures in the development of rock slope failures / Andrea Pedrazzini, Michel Jaboyedoff, Corey R. Froese, C. Willem Langenberg and Francisco Moreno / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 351, 163-183, 1 January 2011, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP351.9 --- A structural, geomorphological and InSAR study of an active rock slope failure development / I. H. C. Henderson, T. R. Lauknes, P. T. Osmundsen, J. Dehls, Y. Larsen and T. F. Redfield / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 351, 185-199, 1 January 2011, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP351.10 --- Numerical modelling of Plio-Quaternary slope evolution based on geological constraints: a case study from the Caramanico Valley (Central Apennines, Italy) / G. Bianchi Fasani, E. Di Luzio, C. Esposito, S. Martino and G. Scarascia-Mugnozza / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 351, 201-214, 1 January 2011, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP351.11 --- Valley shape influence on deformation mechanisms of rock slopes / Christian Ambrosi and Giovanni B. Crosta / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 351, 215-233, 1 January 2011, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP351.12 --- The Celentino deep-seated gravitational slope deformation (DSGSD): structural and geomechanical analyses (Peio Valley, NE Italy) / M. Ghirotti, S. Martin and R. Genevois / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 351, 235-251, 1 January 2011, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP351.13 --- Megafans and outsize fans from catastrophic slope failures in Alpine glacial troughs: the Malser Haide and the Val Venosta cluster, Italy / David Jarman, Federico Agliardi and Giovanni B. Crosta / Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 351, 253-277, 1 January 2011, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP351.14

Description / Table of Contents: Understanding the sediments deposited by glaciers or other cold-climate processes assumes enhanced significance in the context of current global warming and the predicted melt and retreat of glaciers and ice sheets. This volume analyses glacial, proglacial and periglacial settings focusing, among others, on sedimentation at termini of tidewater glaciers, on hitherto not-well-understood high-mountain features, and on sediments such as slope and aeolian deposits whose clasts were sourced in glacial and periglacial regions, but have been transported and deposited by azonal processes. Difficulties are thus often encountered in inferring Pleistocene and pre-Pleistocene cold-climate conditions when the sedimentary record lacks many of the specific diagnostic indicators. The main objective of this volume is to establish the validity and limitations of the evidence that can be obtained from widely distributed clastic deposits, in order to achieve reliable palaeogeographic and palaeoclimatic reconstructions. At a more general level and on the much longer geological timescale, an understanding of ice-marginal and periglacial environments may better prepare us for the unavoidable reversal towards cooler and perhaps even glacial times in the future.