In the heart of Africa, a unique lake attracts the attention of scientists since the beginning of the 20th century. At the foot of the Virunga volcano chain, Lake Kivu harbors a vast amount of dissolved carbon dioxide and methane, making this lake the most dangerous lake on Earth. But the lake furnishes also many goods and services for surrounding populations and may soon become the most important energy supplier in the area. At the beginning of gas exploitation, the time has come for gathering the large amount of scientific information acquired during past and present research on Lake Kivu. The eleven chapters cover many aspects of the physics, geochemistry and biology of the lake, with a particular focus on the unique physical and geochemical features of the water column and on the ecological functioning of the surface waters. The impacts of the introduced fish species and the potential impacts of methane exploitation are also summarized. This multi-disciplinary book may also be used as an introduction to the limnology and biogeochemistry of large tropical lakes, as it covers various aspects of the physics, geochemistry, biology and ecology of the African Great Rift lakes.

Radiography, the use of penetrating radiation to produce shadow images of the internal structure of materials, has been with us since Roentgen made his discovery of x rays in 1895. However, applications of radiography in the earth sciences and in the related field of soils engineering have, until recent ly, been slow to develop. Bruhl reported optimistically on applications in paleontology as early as 1896 and there have been additional reports through the years. However, very few paleontologists adopted the method and the significant literature is relatively restricted. In soil mechanics, Gerber observed the movement oflead pellets in sand during a plate-bearing test as early as 1929. Gradual ly, radiography was applied to other tests including those on footings, compaction of soils, strain in sand, effects of pile penetration, and displace ments under moving wheel loads. Recently, such work has broadened into much varied and sophisticated research. Applications in geology may be dated to Hamblin's work on rocks re ported in 1962. His demonstration that many fine textural and structural details can be observed in slices of rock led to experimentation by others on unconsolidated sediments and soils. Work is now expanding at an un precedented rate. In some operations, such as the logging of oceanographic cores, it is already a routine process. The advantages of radiography lie in its nondestructive nature and its ability to reveal features that sometimes cannot be seen in any other way."

Taphonomic bias is a pervasive feature of the fossil record. A pressing concern, however, is the extent to which taphonomic processes have varied through the ages. It is one thing to work with a biased data set and quite another to work with a bias that has changed with time. This book includes work from both new and established researchers who are using laboratory, field and data-base techniques to characterise and quantify the temporal and spatial variation in taphonomic bias. It may not provide all the answers but it will at least shed light on the right questions.

The founders of geology at the beginning of the last century were suspicious oflaboratories. Hutton's well-known dictum illustrates the point: "There are also superficial reasoning men . . . they judge of the great oper ations of the mineral kingdom from having kindled a fire, and looked into the bottom of a little crucible. " The idea was not unreasonable; the earth is so large and its changes are so slow and so complicated that labo ratory tests and experiments were of little help. The earth had to be studied in its own terms and geology grew up as a separate science and not as a branch of physics or chemistry. Its practitioners were, for the most part, experts in structure, stratigraphy, or paleontology, not in silicate chemistry or mechanics. The chemists broke into this closed circle before the physicists did. The problems of the classification of rocks, particularly igneous rocks, and of the nature and genesis of ores are obviously chemical and, by the mid- 19th century, chemistry was in a state where rocks could be effectively analyzed, and a classification built up depending partly on chemistry and partly on the optical study of thin specimens. Gradually the chemical study of rocks became one of the central themes of earth science."

Uniting the conceptual foundations of the physical sciences and biology, this groundbreaking multidisciplinary book explores the origin of life as a planetary process. Combining geology, geochemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, evolution and statistical physics to create an inclusive picture of the living state, the authors develop the argument that the emergence of life was a necessary cascade of non-equilibrium phase transitions that opened new channels for chemical energy flow on Earth. This full colour and logically structured book introduces the main areas of significance and provides a well-ordered and accessible introduction to multiple literatures outside the confines of disciplinary specializations, as well as including an extensive bibliography to provide context and further reading. For researchers, professionals entering the field or specialists looking for a coherent overview, this text brings together diverse perspectives to form a unified picture of the origin of life and the ongoing organization of the biosphere.

Carbon dioxide and other `greenhouse' gases are increasing in the atmosphere due to the burning of fossil fuels, the destruction of rain forests, etc., leading to predictions of a gradual global warming which will perturb the global biosphere. An important process which counters this trend toward potential climate change is the removal of carbon dioxide from the surface ocean by photosynthesis. This process packages carbon in phytoplankton which enter the food chain or sink into the deep sea. Their ultimate fate is a `rain' of organic debris out of the surface-mixed layer of the ocean. On a global scale, the mechanisms and overall rate of this process are poorly known. The authors of the 25 papers in this volume present their state-of-the-art approaches to quantifying the mechanisms by which the `rain' of biogenic debris nourishes deep ocean life. Prominent deep sea ecologists, geochemists and modelers address relationships between data and models of carbon fluxes and food chains in the deep ocean. An attempt is made to estimate the fate of carbon in the deep sea on a global scale by summing up the utilization of organic matter among all the populations of the abyssal biosphere. Comparisons are made between these ecological approaches and estimates of geochemical fluxes based on sediment trapping, one-dimensional geochemical models and horizontal (physical) input from continental margins. Planning interdisciplinary enterprises between geochemists and ecologists, including new field programs, are summarized in the final chapter. The summary includes a list of the important gaps in understanding which must be addressed before the role of the deep-sea biota in global-scale processes can be put in perspective.

The analysis of materials containing several elements used to be a difficult problem for analytical chemists, so a well established sequence of wet chemical qualitative tests were performed to ensure each element was detected. Quantitative tests could then be carried out on the sample, according to the range of elements present. Most analytical chemists were very familiar with these techniques, having been taugth them from a very early stage in their education and careers. The analytical chemist can now call on a range of specialist instrumental techniques which can detect the presence of many elements, often simultaneously, and often quantitatively, providing rapid results on samples which, in the past, could take days. The drawback is that the instruments tend to be expensive, suited to particular sample types or matrices and complex in both setting up and in the interpretation of results. Furthermore the general analytical chemist may have access and familiarity with only one or two methods. Written by an international team of contributors, each experts in their particular fields, this book familiarizes analytical chemists with the range of elemental analysis techniquers, to enable them to specify the most appropriate test for any given sample. In addition, it contains important chapters on sample preparation and quality control, essential elements in obtaining accurate and reliable analytical results. As such, this book will be essential reading for all analytical chemists. The techniques of elemental analysis are important in many other disciplines, so the book will be of particular interest to those commissioning a wide range of analytical measurements, such as chemists, geologists, environmental scientists and biologists. The breadth and depth of coverage will also make the book very useful for advanced students.

This volume focuses on isotopic signatures of volatile elements as tracers for evolutionary processes during the formation of the Sun and the planets from an interstellar molecular cloud and, in turn, illuminates how the isotopic compositions of the present-day solar system objects have been established.
The book is an integrated collection of articles by experts in planetary science, solar and plasma physics, astrophysics, mineralogy and chemistry that met for an interdisciplinary workshop at the International Space Science Institute in Bern in January 2002. The authors present analyses of isotope abundance ratios for volatile elements in the sun, planets, satellites, comets, meteorites and interplanetary dust particles, as well as a review of isotopic ratios in star-forming interstellar clouds. This provides insight into the physical and chemical processes in the pre-solar molecular cloud that collapsed to form the Sun and the solar accretion disk. Furthermore, information is presented on dynamical processes and conditions inside this protoplanetary disk, in particular the degree of reprocessing of interstellar solid material, the formation of solids inside the disks, and the formation of terrestrial and giant planets and their satellites. Isotopic fractionation processes discussed in this book include chemical reactions such as ion-molecule and photochemical reactions, nuclear processes inside the sun and in its atmosphere, plasma processes, gravitational escape of gases from planetary atmospheres exposed to the solar wind and solar radiation, thermodynamic processes, a variety of accretion and adsorption processes and mixing of material from the interstellar environment with the material of the evolving solar system.
The volume is intended to provide active researchers in the fields of planetary science and space physics with an up-to-date status report on the topic, and also to serve graduate students with introductory material into the field.

Dr. Heinonen reviews and critically evaluates the scientific literature on the biological role of inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi ) published from 1940 to the end of 1999. He describes and classifies all known biochemical reactions that produce Ppi; describes and evaluates all published methods used in biological Ppi; and compiles and critically evaluates information on the concentration of PPi (with the conclusion that, contrary to common belief, PPi exists throughout the living world in rather high concentrations). Many reactions in which PPi is used as a biochemical energy source instead of ATP have been described in recent decades, especially in bacteria, protists, and plants. These reactions are evaluated from the bioenergetic and regulatory points of view. Also considered is the possible role of PPi as a source of biochemical energy in the primitive phases of life, before ATP. Data is presented on the regulatory role of PPi in living systems, such as activities of enzymes, fidelity of syntheses of macromolecules, and proliferation of cells. PPi may also regulate the formation and dissolution of bone as well as pathologic calcification of soft tissues and the formation of urinary stones. The formation of calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystals in the extracellular fluids of joints cause the disease called pseudogout. Biological Role of Inorganic Pyrophosphate book is a unique and invaluable source of references (about 1120) and summarized data for professionals who study or plan to study the role of PPi in living systems. Many different branches of science (biochemistry, microbiology, bioenergetics, plant physiology, parasitology, evolution, orthopedics, rheumatology) have involvement with PPi. This book sums up available knowledge in one place and will help scientists cross disciplinary boundaries.

Oceanographic discontinuities (e. g. frontal systems, upwelling areas, ice edges) are often areas of enhanced biological productivity. Considerable research on the physics and biology of the physical boundaries defining these discontinues has been accomplished (see [I D. The interface between water and sediment is the largest physical boundary in the ocean, but has not received a proportionate degree of attention. The purpose of the Nato Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) was to focus on soft-sediment systems by identifying deficiencies in our knowledge of these systems and defining key issues in the management of coastal sedimentary habitats. Marine sediments play important roles in the marine ecosystem and the biosphere. They provide food and habitat for many marine organisms, some of which are commercially important. More importantly from a global perspective, marine sediments also provide "ecosystem goods and services" [2J. Organic matter from primary production in the water column and contaminants scavenged by particles accumulate in sediments where their fate is determined by sediment processes such as bioturbation and biogeochemical cycling. Nutrients are regenerated and contaminants degraded in sediments. Under some conditions, carbon accumulates in coastal and shelf sediments and may by removed from the carbon cycle for millions of years, having a potentially significant impact on global climate change. Sediments also protect coasts. The economic value of services provided by coastal areas has recently been estimated to be on the order of $12,568 9 10 y" [3J, far in excess of the global GNP.

Fission track dating is based on the microscopic observation and counting of etchable tracks left by the spontaneous fission of uranium in minerals. Since its development in 1963 the method attracted a steadily growing interest from geologists and geochronologists throughout the world. Apart from its relative experimental ease the success must be mainly ascribed to the specific ability of the method of unravelling the thermal and tectonic history of rocks, a potential which only became fully exploited during the last decade with the systematic introduction of track size analysis. The present work is the first one to deal entirely with fission track dating covering all of its aspects from the origin of the fission tracks, the basis of track etching and fading, the various dating techniques as well as practical procedures and the geologic interpretation to the most recent applications in geology and archaeology.

This book presents the statistical analysis of compositional data sets, i.e., data in percentages, proportions, concentrations, etc. The subject is covered from its grounding principles to the practical use in descriptive exploratory analysis, robust linear models and advanced multivariate statistical methods, including zeros and missing values, and paying special attention to data visualization and model display issues. Many illustrated examples and code chunks guide the reader into their modeling and interpretation. And, though the book primarily serves as a reference guide for the R package "compositions," it is also a general introductory text on Compositional Data Analysis. Awareness of their special characteristics spread in the Geosciences in the early sixties, but a strategy for properly dealing with them was not available until the works of Aitchison in the eighties. Since then, research has expanded our understanding of their theoretical principles and the potentials and limitations of their interpretation. This is the first comprehensive textbook addressing these issues, as well as their practical implications with regard to software. The book is intended for scientists interested in statistically analyzing their compositional data. The subject enjoys relatively broad awareness in the geosciences and environmental sciences, but the spectrum of recent applications also covers areas like medicine, official statistics, and economics. Readers should be familiar with basic univariate and multivariate statistics. Knowledge of R is recommended but not required, as the book is self-contained.

The future of the Common Fisheries Policy depends on progress in the relevant areas of research. This applies to the whole range of management decisions, where precise, reliable and complete data are essential to inform those who must decide on the pursuit of existing activities, especially in the area of maritime fisheries, and the development of promising new activities such as aquaculture. Every day the Director-General of DG XIV requires more and more information to prepare decisions which will affect the future of all those in the Community who are dependent on fishing and aquaculture. There is thus a high level of direct demand from DG XIV. Over and above this immediate and specific requirement for short- and medium-term applications, research affects the competitivity of the Community. This is one area which favours the collaboration across frontiers of all those who seek to advance knowledge. But although DG XIV is uniquely placed to appreciate the importance of research into fisheries and aquaculture, there is no question of succumbing to the temptation to directly control the scope of research or its conduct. The notion of subsidiarity can best be understood by examining the existing structures in the Member States. The Commission must act first and foremost as a catalyst, by promoting the circulation of information and the coordination of research programmes.

This is the first book to deal specifically with the procedures used in the analysis of structural relationships and the determination of structural successions in complexly deformed rocks such as migmatites and gneisses. The establishment of structural successions enables: The rigorous control of the dating of specific events in the deformational history by constraining the sites of the dated rocks within the structural succession; The establishment of the time span of orogenic events throughout the structural succession, and the rate of orogenic processes;Their comparison to be used as a basis for correlation between dismembered and separated crustal segments in continental reconstructions;The resolution of the complex relationships between deformed ore bodies and host rocks in high grade terranes, and hence determination of the structural control of ore bodies, an essential part of any successful geological exploration, and a precondition to efficient exploitation. With its new approach, and the use of practical field examples from various parts of the world, this highly illustrated work will form an invaluable reference resource for postgraduates, lecturers and researchers in the structural and isotope geology of high-grade metamorphic terranes, as well as for exploration and survey geologists working in the field. Dr Alaric M. Hopgood who holds an Honorary Readership at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, was a Reader in the Department of Geology there until 1995.

This Special Issue of Water, Air and Soil Pollution offers original contributions from BIOGEOMON, an international symposium on ecosystem behavior and the evaluation of integrated monitoring of small catchments, held in Prague, Czech Republic, in September 1993. The meeting attracted nearly 200 scientists from 27 countries on five continents. BIOGEOMON was a loose continuation of another international meeting, GEOMON, which was held in Prague in 1987. Both sym posia provided a forum for the discussion of ideas on environmental problems in western and eastern Europe, with important contributions from the American continent. With the dramatic collapse of the iron curtain, it was our hope that more so than GEOMON, BIOGEOMON would provide opportunities for the free exchange of ideas, fostering the development of research collaborations between its participants. With international openness comes the increasing realization that every indus trialized nation has its own legacy of environmental degradation. Anthropogenic impacts differ in severity and scale; air and water transport of pollutants transform local impacts into regional and global ones, ignoring political boundaries and eco nomic differences. Environmental consequences of anthropogenic activities often are detectable at the ecosystem level. Thus, the challenge of ecosystem science, and to the individuals who practice it, is to develop a comprehensive understanding of ecosystem function in the past and at present, and to apply such understanding toward minimizing future insults to the local, regional, and global environment.

The management and disposal of radioactive wastes are key international issues requiring a sound, fundamental scientific basis to insure public and environmental protection. Large quantities of existing nuclear waste must be treated to encapsulate the radioactivity in a form suitable for disposal. The treatment of this waste, due to its extreme diversity, presents tremendous engineering and scientific challenges. Geologic isolation of transuranic waste is the approach currently proposed by all nuclear countries for its final disposal. To be successful in this endeavor, it is necessary to understand the behavior of plutonium and the other actinides in relevant environmental media. Conceptual models for stored high level waste and waste repository systems present many sCientific difficulties due to their complexity and non-ideality. For example, much of the high level nuclear waste in the US is stored as alkaline concentrated electrolyte materials, where the chemistry of the actinides under such conditions is not well understood. This lack of understanding limits the successful separation and treatment of these wastes. Also, countries such as the US and Germany plan to dispose of actinide bearing wastes in geologic salt deposits. In this case, understanding the speciation and transport properties of actinides in brines is critical for confidence in repository performance and risk assessment activities. Many deep groundwaters underlying existing contaminated sites are also high in ionic strength. Until recently, the scientific basis for describing actinide chemistry in such systems was extremely limited."

Since their first industrial use polymers have gained a tremendous success. The two volumes of "Polymers - Opportunities and Risks" elaborate on both their potentials and on the impact on the environment arising from their production and applications. Volume 11 "Polymers - Opportunities and Risks I: General and Environmental Aspects" is dedicated to the basics of the engineering of polymers - always with a view to possible environmental implications. Topics include: materials, processing, designing, surfaces, the utilization phase, recycling, and depositing. Volume 12 "Polymers - Opportunities and Risks II: Sustainability, Product Design and Processing" highlights raw materials and renewable polymers, sustainability, additives for manufacture and processing, melt modification, biodegradation, adhesive technologies, and solar applications. All contributions were written by leading experts with substantial practical experience in their fields. They are an invaluable source of information not only for scientists, but also for environmental managers and decision makers.

Anoxic basins are ofgreat interest to oceanographersofall disciplines. Theirextreme conditionsresult from acombinationofhigh oxygen utilization and restricted circulation. It is necessery to understand present -day anoxic environments ifwe are to understand the early evolution of the oceans (e.g. SiIlen, 1965). Sarmiento et al.(1988a) explored the causes of anoxia in the global ocean, which is in effect a "closed" basin and in marginal seas such as the Eastern Mediterranean (Sarmiento et al. 1988b). Anoxic conditions have been proposed toexist in various ocean basins at different times in the geological past (e.g. the Crataceous period; Weissert, 1981) and possibly as recent as the last glacial maximum (e.g., Sarmiento and Toggweiler,1984). The modern Black Sea has been considered as the type anoxic basin. It is the world's 2 3 largest permanaently anoxic basin (area = 423,000 km; volume = 534,000 km ) and is thought to be aquasi-steady state system. It is extremely isolated from the rest ofthe world's oceans. Only the narrow and shallow Bosporus Strait provides water exchange with the Mediterranean. Concentrationsofhydrogen sulfide reach valuesof350 Mm in the deep water and the oxygen-hydrogen sulfide Interface exists between 80 and 200m waterdepth. The hydrographic regime is characterized by low salinity surface water of riverine origin overlying high salinity deep waterofMediterranean origin. Asteep pycnocline is the primary phycical barrier to mixing and is the origin of the stability of the anoxic interface.

Here is a collection of papers from BIOGEOMON, The Fourth International Symposium on Ecosystem Behavior. The contributions address a wider-than-ever range of concerns: aspects of catchment monitoring and modeling; nitrogen transformations and processes; stable and radiogenic isotopes; biogeochemistry of restored ecosystems; and the dynamics of such chemicals as mercury and phosphorous, among many other topics.

The workshop "From Dust to Terrestrial Planets" was initiated by a working group of planetary scientists invited to ISSI by Johannes Geiss in November 1997. The group split to focus on three topics, one of which was the history of the early solar system, including the formation of the terrestrial planets in the inner solar system. Willy Benz, Gunter Lugmair, and Frank Podosek were invited to convene planetary scientists, astrophysicists, and cosmochemists to synthesize the current knowledge on the origin and evolution of our inner planetary system. The convenors raised the interest of scientists from all over the world in the detailed assessment of the available astronomical, chronological, geochemical and dynamical constraints of the first period of inner solar system evolution. In partic ular, this included appraisal of the newest results from astronomical observations by the Hubble Space Telescope, the Infrared Space Observatory, and other space and ground-based facilities of solar-like systems and nebular disks, possibly repre senting early stages of the solar accretion disk and planet formation. At the same time, the current models of the origin, evolution, transport, and accretion processes of circum stellar disks were presented. This included the new insights provided by the recent discovery of extrasolar giant planets, which were considered insofar as they are relevant to the overall dynamics of the inner part of the solar system.

Brominated flame retardants are one of the last classes of halogenated compounds that are still being produced worldwide and used in large quantities in many applications. They are used in plastics, textiles, electronic circuitry, and other materials to prevent fires. This volume covers the state-of-the-art of the analysis, fate and behaviour of brominated flame retardants. Experts in the field provide an overview of the compounds physico-chemical properties and uses, their occurrence in the environment and biota, advanced chemical analytical methods, degradation studies, toxicological effects and human exposure. This book is a valuable and comprehensive source of information for environmental scientists interested in brominated flame retardant issues, and for authorities and producers."

In the dozen years since the first edition appeared, there has been a great advance in understanding of the Earth's deep interior. This is not because there have been breakthroughs in understanding, or even many changes of ideas, but largely because of many small advances, often the result of improved tech niques. This has led to a complete revision of the book. For instance, we have a much better idea of how the cloud of gas that formed the Solar Nebula evolved into the Sun and the planets, and of the chemical processes that accompanied its evolution and determined the mix of elements in the Earth. We have a better understanding of convection and how plates are an essential part of it, and how it is accompanied by chemical processes that have extracted the materials to build continents. Although the major variation within the Earth is radial, improved geophysical and geochemical techniques have made progress in investigating and under standing the lateral heterogeneities, and it is encouraging that when geochemists and geophysicists talk about lateral heterogeneities they can sometimes be referring to the same thing. Plumes have become very fashionable as the cause of hot-spot magmatism and associated geochemical anomalies, probably origi nating at the base of the mantle (though clear evidence for their existence is lacking)."

Solid-solution equilibria of marine evaporites are important in a wide range of science and technology. However, the data had not yet been summarized in a form that is at the same time comprehensive and permits to understand how the quinary seawater system builds up from its bounding systems. Thus the goal of the present volume is at the same time scientific and educational. The understanding of solid-solution equilibria of the various systems with respect to dissolution, precipitation and transformation of solids, their application to the evolution of brines, and a fast access to data is a necessary requirement for any modelling, especially in Geoscience. Another goal is to show the avail ability of data. Unfortunately, though solubility data are numereous there are substantial gaps, especially with respect to high temperatures. But also up to about 100 0 C data are missing for some of the systems so that they cannot be described entirely. Based on the present volume further work on the solubili ties of the minerals of marine evaporites may be promoted. The data have been viewed and collected over several years by the first author. The second author entered the preparation of the volume when it was realized that besides graphics and tables a fast access to data was required. Although both authors are responsible for the whole volume, responsibility is weighted somewhat differently for the various parts."

Soils form a unique and irreplaceable essential resource for all terrestrial organisms, including man. Soils form not only the very thin outer skin of the earth's crust that is exploited by plant roots for anchorage and supply of water and nutrients. Soils are complex natural bodies formed under the influence of plants, microorganisms and soil animals, water and air from their parent material, i.e. solid rock or unconsolidated sediments. Physically, chemically and mineralogically they usually differ strongly from the parent material, and normally are far more suitable as a rooting medium for plants. In addition to serving as a substrate for plant growth, including crops and pasture, soils play a dominant role in the biogeochemical cycling of water, carbon, nitrogen and other elements, influencing the chemical composition and turnover rates of substances in the atmosphere and the hydrosphere. Soils take decades to millennia to form. We tread on them and do not usually see their interior, so we tend to take them for granted. But improper and abusive agricultural management, careless land- clearing and reclamation, man-induced erosion, salinisation and acidification, desertification, air- and water pollution, and withdrawal of land for housing, industry and transportation now destroy soils more rapidly than they can be formed.

This volume of Advanced Mineralogy encompasses six different areas having two features in common: they are related to one of the largest enterprises of the second half of this century; and represent the ultimate and final extension of the concept of mineral matter. - Understanding mineral matter in Space is one of the principal purposes of cosmic exploration. This includes the results of compa rative planetology, lunar epopee, sophisticated meteorite studies (now more than 500 meteorite minerals), discovery of the interstellar mineral dust forming some 60 trillion of earth masses in the Galaxy, and terrestrial impact crater studies. It is possible now to speak of mineralogy of the Universum, and the mineralogical type of the states of matter in the Universe. Direct samples of mantle xenoliths and ultrahigh pressure-tem perature experiments make it possible to consider the mineral ogical composition of the Earth as a whole, including the upper an lower mantle and the Earth's core. Deep ocean drilling programs, a scientific fleet of hundreds of vessels and several submersibles have brought about great dis coveries in the geology, metalogeny, and mineralogy of the ocean floor the largest part of the Earth's surface, in particular revealing new genetic, crystallochemical, and ore types of min eral formation."