This book presents the study of limnogeomorphology, in which past proxy data such as lacustrine sediments with information on landform development can be linked to modern observed data acquired by instruments, including hydro-geomorphological and sedimentary data. Traditionally, in the field of earth sciences, it has been thought that geophysical studies dealing mainly with the present process were not smoothly linked to geological studies that originated from historical studies. Although such earth-surface process studies are closely related to those on historical landform development in the field of geomorphology, they have been studied separately. Those two geomorphology studies correspond to process geomorphology (dynamic geomorphology) and historical geomorphology. There have been some attempts to combine them; however, they lacked past quantitative records available for further analyses. In the study of limnogeomorphology, proxy data can be converted to quantitative information to be utilized in future environmental discussions. This book also covers information not only on large lake-catchment systems, but on small systems. Those include long-term and short-term and large-scale and small-scale environmental changes in east Eurasia such as Lake Baikal, Lake Khuvsgul, Lake Biwa, and small lakes in Japan, Mongolia, China, and Korea.

This book contains a selection of peer-reviewed papers presented at the VIII Hotine-Marussi Symposium on Mathematical Geodesy in Rome, 17-21 June, 2013. The scientific sessions focused on global reference systems, geodetic data analysis, geopotential modelling, gravity field mapping as well as digital terrain modelling. A special chapter is dedicated to understand the generation of Flash.

Land Surface Remote Sensing: Environment and Risks explores the use of remote sensing in applications concerning the environment, including desertification and monitoring deforestation and forest fires. The first chapter covers the characterization of aerosols and gases by passive remote sensing. The next chapter presents the correlation of optical images for quantifying the deformation of the Earth's surface and geomorphological processes. The third chapter is examines remote sensing applications in the mining environment. The fourth chapter depicts the strong potential of radar imagery for volcanology and urban and mining subsidence studies. The next two chapters deal respectively with the use of remote sensing in locust control and the contribution of remote sensing to the epidemiology of infectious diseases. In the last ten years, spatial observation of the Earth-particularly continental surfaces-has expanded considerably with the launch of increasing numbers of satellites covering various applications (hydrology, biosphere, flow of surface, snow, ice, landslide, floods). This has paved the way for an explosion in the use of remote sensing data. This book offers essential coverage of space-based observation techniques for continental surfaces. The authors explore major applications and provide a corresponding detailed chapter for the physical principles, physics of measurement, and data processing requirements for each technique, bringing you up-to-date descriptions of techniques used by leading scientists in the field of remote sensing and Earth observation.

This book addresses the feasibility of CO2-EOR and sequestration in a mature Indian oil field, pursuing for the first time a cross-disciplinary approach that combines the results from reservoir modeling and flow simulation, rock physics modeling, geomechanics, and time-lapse (4D) seismic monitoring study. The key findings presented indicate that the field under study holds great potential for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and subsequent CO2 storage. Experts around the globe argue that storing CO2 by means of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) could support climate change mitigation by reducing the amount of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere by ca. 20%. CO2-EOR and sequestration is a cutting-edge and emerging field of research in India, and there is an urgent need to assess Indian hydrocarbon reservoirs for the feasibility of CO2-EOR and storage. Combining the fundamentals of the technique with concrete examples, the book is essential reading for all researchers, students and oil & gas professionals who want to fully understand CO2-EOR and its geologic sequestration process in mature oil fields.

This unique book provides a concise account of Indian Paleogene and presents a unified view of the Paleogene sequences of India. The Paleogene, comprising the early part of the Cenozoic Era, was the most dynamic period in the Earth's history with profound changes in the biosphere and geosphere. The period spans ~42 million years, beginning from post- K/T mass extinction event at ~65 Ma and ending at ~23 Ma, when the first Antarctic ice sheet appeared in the Southern Hemisphere. The early Paleogene (Paleocene-Eocene) has been considered a globally warm period, superimposed on which were several transient hyperthermal events of extreme warmth. Of these, the Palaeocene Eocene Thermal Maxima (PETM) boundary interval is the most prominent extreme warming episode, lasting 200 Ka. PETM is characterized by 2-60/00 global negative carbon isotope excursion. The event coincided with the Benthic Extinction Event (BEE) in deep sea and Larger Foraminifera Turnover (LFT) in shallow seas. Rapid ~60-80 warming of high latitudinal regions led to major faunal and floral turnovers in continental, shallow-marine and deep-marine areas. The emergence and dispersal of mammals with modern characteristics, including Artiodactyls, Perissodactyls and Primates (APP), and the evolution and expansion of tropical vegetation are some of the significant features of the Paleogene warm world. In the Indian subcontinent, the beginning and end of the Paleogene was marked by various events that shaped the various physiographic features of the Indian subcontinent. The subcontinent lay within the equatorial zone during the earliest part of the Paleogene. Carbonaceous shale, coal and lignite deposits of early Eocene age (~55.5-52 Ma) on the western and north-eastern margins of the Indian subcontinent are rich in fossils and provide information on climate as well as the evolution and paleobiogeography of tropical biota. Indian Paleogene deposits in the India-Asia collision zone also provide information pertaining to the paleogeography and timing of collision. Indian Paleogene rocks are exposed in the Himalayan and Arakan mountains; Assam and the shelf basins of Kutch-Saurashtra, Western Rajasthan; Tiruchirappalli-Pondicherry and Andaman and, though aerially limited, these rocks bear geological evidence of immense importance.

This book summarizes the technical advances in recent decades and the various theories on rock excavation raised by scholars from different countries, including China and Russia. It not only focuses on rock blasting but also illustrates a number of non-blasting methods, such as mechanical excavation in detail. The book consists of 3 parts: Basic Knowledge, Surface Excavation and Underground Excavation. It presents a variety of technical methods and data from diverse sources in the book, making it a valuable theoretical and practical reference resource for engineers, researchers and postgraduates alike.

This book focuses on the links between deep earth (mantle) and shallow processes in areas of active tectonics in the Arabian Plate and Surrounding Areas. It also provides key information for energy resources in these areas. The book is a compilation of selected papers from the Task Force of the International Lithosphere Program (ILP). It comprises a set of research studies from the Middle East, North Africa and the Mediterranean domain focusing on (1) the architecture, geodynamic evolution and modelling of the Red Sea rift system and its surroundings, and tectonics and sedimentation in the Gulf of Corinth, (2) the crustal architecture and georesources of the North Algerian Offshore, (3) Reservoirs, aquifers and fluid transfers in Saudi Basins, Petroleum systems and salt tectonics in Yemen and (4) Cretaceous-Eocene foreland inversions in Saudi Arabia.

This book introduces readers to the rich and varied thermal springs of the Tibetan Plateau, which is steadily rising due to the collision of two continental plates. Readers will discover a wealth of information on boiling springs and hot springs, including their location and elevation, temperature, geological characteristics, and water chemical data, as well as tables on warm and tepid springs. Shedding new light on this vital supplement to hydroelectric resources in remote southwest China, the book will appeal to a broad relationship, from experts researching the Tibetan Plateau to companies specializing in geothermal exploration.

This book describes the Aguablanca Ni-Cu-PGE sulfide deposit, the first, and to date only, mineralization of this type in southwestern (SW) Europe. Since its discovery in 1993, this ore deposit has attracted the attention of the resource geology community due to its unusual geodynamic context, namely an active plate margin. The book focuses on the key features of the deposit and reports on the ore-forming processes that were most important for its formation.

This informative book takes readers on an enjoyable journey through the La Garrotxa volcanoes. In addition to a general description of the main geological and volcano logical values of the region, it also provides a detailed account of the history of the region, its biological diversity, and its cultural heritage including architecture, folklore and gastronomy. La Garrotxa Volcanic Zone was declared a Natural Park in 1982 to protect the numerous sites of special interest that are found in this region. The Natural Park has been pioneering in many initiatives aimed at preserving the landscape and natural values and promoting awareness of the area within the community. An important part of this book is dedicated to the insights into the educational programs and outreach developed to disseminate the main values of this region. It shows how sustainable tourism has been implemented and the management plan that has been designed to preserve such important natural and cultural values. Including local experts' views on the topics covered, this book will appeal to a general audience interested not only in visiting the area but also in gaining insights into an example of geoheritage and geoconservation that has successfully integrated of education, tourism, planning and environmental management.

This book highlights the aeolian processes in the desert zone of Kazakhstan and Central Asian Deserts, and analyzes the current status of dust and sand storms in Central Asia and Kazakhstan. It also highlights the analyses, dynamics and long-term observations of storms on the basis of numerous cartographic materials and satellite images. Dust/sand storms are a common and important phenomenon in the arid and semi-arid regions of Kazakhstan and Central Asia as well,especially in its southern parts, where areas are covered by a great variety of deserts and offer a significant source of mineral and salt aerosols. The deserts of Kazakhstan mostly cover lowlands and extend from the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea to the piedmonts of the Tien-Shan Mountain. In Kazakhstan and Central Asia desertification processes due to wind erosion in the form of dust/sand storms were observed in semi-desert and desert landscapes.

Mallorca - the island of Robert Graves, Joan Miro, and Archduke Ludwig Salvador - has become the most popular holiday destination in the Mediterranean, with nearly 10 million visitors a year. Few, however, are aware of the 5,000 year history of Mallorca and its resulting landscape featuring late Bronze Age navetes and talayots, Roman cities, and a major medieval trading port with one of Europe's largest cathedrals. Mallorca's landscape has been formed with a pattern of country houses and enclosed fields, and the relics of major 19th-century industries, including textiles and shoe-making workshops. 120 years of tourism, latterly on a massive scale, endangers much of what has gone before. This pioneering work, based on more than 10 years of local research, describes and analyzes all these elements that together form the contemporary landscape. Written in an accessible style and well-illustrated with maps and photographs, this book will appeal to student and concerned reader alike and should be read by all who are inquisitive about what they see around them when they visit the island. *** ..".a must for anyone curious about this lesser sung story of history, making 'Mallorca' a fine and quite recommended read, not to be missed." - The Midwest Book Review, Library Bookwatch, April 2013, The World History Shelf *** "Buswell's latest book has no peer in English....he draws on various epistemological perspectives to portray the landscape as a cultural artifact that is unique due to changing human settlement and exploitation, but also is a palimpsest bearing telltale signs of sequent occupancy never completely erased." - The AAG Review of Books, Fall 2013

Research into the anthropogenic and taphonomic processes that affect the formation of maritime archaeological resources has grown significantly over the last decade in both theory and the analysis of specific sites and associated material culture. The addition of interdisciplinary inquiry, investigative techniques, and analytical modeling, from fields such as engineering, oceanography, and marine biology have increased our ability to trace the unique pathways through which archaeological sites progress from initial deposition to the present, yet can also link individual sites into an integrated socio-environmental maritime landscape. This edited volume presents a global perspective of current research in maritime archaeological landscape formation processes. In addition to "classically" considered submerged material culture and geography, or those that can be accessed by traditional underwater methodology, case studies include less-often considered sites and landscapes. These landscapes, for example, require archaeologists to use geophysical marine survey equipment to characterize extensive areas of the seafloor or go above the surface to access maritime archaeological resources that have received less scholarly attention.

These proceedings contain a selection of peer-reviewed papers presented at the International Symposium on Geodesy for Earthquake and Natural Hazards (GENAH), Matsushima, Japan, 22-26 July, 2014. The scientific sessions focused on monitoring temporal and spatial changes in Earth's lithosphere and atmosphere using geodetic satellite systems, high rate GNSS as well as high resolution imaging (InSAR, Lidar). Researchers in various fields of geodesy discussed the role of geodesy in disaster mitigation and how groups with different techniques can collaborate toward such a goal.

The region of the Sao Francisco river valley in eastern Brazil encompasses two main components of the geologic framework of the South American continent: the Sao Francisco craton and its marginal orogenic belts. Cratons, as the oldest, differentiated and relatively stable pieces of the continental lithosphere, preserve a substantial part of the Earth's memory. Orogenic belts, on the other hand, record collisional processes that occurred during a limited time span. Because of their topographic relief, mountain belts developed along craton margins provide however access to rock successions not exposed in the low lands of the adjacent cratons. The combination of geologic information obtained in cratonic domains and their marginal orogenic belts thus form the basis for deciphering substantial periods of Earth's history. Corresponding to the most intensively studied portion of the Precambrian nucleus of the South American plate, the Sao Francisco craton and its margins host a rock record that spans from the Paleoarchean to the Cenozoic. Precambrian sedimentary successions that witness ancient Earth processes - many of them of global significance - are especially well preserved and exposed in this region. With all these attributes the Sao Francisco craton together with its fringing orogenic belts can be viewed as a 'continent within a continent' or a 'continent in miniature'.

This book sheds new light on improved methods for the study of the initiation and run-out of earthquake-induced landslides. It includes an initiation study method that considers tension-shear failure mechanism; an improved, rigorous, dynamic sliding-block method based on dynamic critical acceleration; and a run-out analysis of earthquake-induced landslides that takes account of the trampoline effect, all of which add to the accuracy and accessibility of landslide study. The book includes abundant illustrations, figures and tables, making it a valuable resource for those looking for practical landslide research tools.

This atlas illustrates the characteristics of present-day bedforms, from the shoreline to deep-sea environments, and it also includes short reviews of the main mechanisms that generate such bedforms. The atlas is aimed at the research community, in addition to students, the public at large and companies with interests in the marine environment. The book is divided into seven sections composed of a number of short chapters: 1) bedform analysis and the main physical processes, 2) bedforms in the coastal zone, 3) bedforms on prodeltas and sorted bedforms, 4) bedforms on the continental shelf, 5) bedforms and benthos, 6) bedforms in submarine canyons and 7) slope and deep-sea bedforms. This atlas offers a comprehensive, though not exhaustive, view of the diversity of bedforms and associated processes and of the morphological and temporal scales in the enclosed tideless western Mediterranean Sea.

This book focuses on the metallogeny and main tectonic events of the North China Craton from early Precambrian to Phanerozoic. It covers the Archean crustal growth, Paleoproterozoic rifting-subduction-collision processes, Great Oxidation Event, Meso-Neoproterozoic multiple rifting, Phanerozoic reworking of the North China Craton, as well as metallogeny related to above different processes. The North China Craton is one of the oldest cratons in the world. It has experienced a complex geological evolution since the early Precambrian, and carries important records of secular changes in tectonics and metallogeny. It provides a systematic review and new results on the growth and evolution of the North China Craton and metallogeny. It will be of broad interest to the earth scientists working in the fields of economic geology, geochemistry, and tectonics of the North China Craton and eastern Asian.

Sixty-five million years ago, a comet or asteroid larger than Mount Everest slammed into the Earth, inducing an explosion equivalent to the detonation of a hundred million hydrogen bombs. Vaporized detritus blasted through the atmosphere upon impact, falling back to Earth around the globe. Disastrous environmental consequences ensued: a giant tsunami, continent-scale wildfires, darkness, and cold, followed by sweltering greenhouse heat. When conditions returned to normal, half the plant and animal genera on Earth had perished. This horrific chain of events is now widely accepted as the solution to a great scientific mystery: what caused the extinction of the dinosaurs? Walter Alvarez, one of the Berkeley scientists who discovered evidence of the impact, tells the story behind the development of the initially controversial theory. It is a saga of high adventure in remote locations, of arduous data collection and intellectual struggle, of long periods of frustration ended by sudden breakthroughs, of friendships made and lost, and of the exhilaration of discovery that forever altered our understanding of Earth's geological history.

This book provides an overview of the major changes induced by hydrocarbons (HCs) affecting rocks and surface sediments and their implications for non-seismic exploration methods, particularly for marine territories near Cuba. It examines the use of a digital elevation model (DEM) at 90x90m resolution for the detection of subtle, positive geomorphic anomalies related to hydrocarbon microseepage (vertical migration) on possible oil and gas targets. The results support the conclusion that the DEM data provides a low cost and fast offshore oil and gas preliminary exploration strategy. This data is useful serving to focus prospective areas with supplementary unconventional methods such as magnetic-induced polarization (MIP), useful to propose more expensive volumes for detailed 2D-3D seismic surveys.

This book portrays the Himalayan-born River Saraswati, a legendary river that was the lifeline of a progressive and vibrant society for more than three thousand years. Written in simple language and richly illustrated, it highlights the events that resulted in the robbing of the Saraswati of its water and the end of a wonderful culture. The author weaves a geological narrative out of a mass of data generated by explorers, archaeologists, sedimentologists, geohydrologist, seismologists and remote-sensing specialists. The story explains how a great Himalayan river disappeared and how the Harappan Civilization vanished from the banks of the river Saraswati more than three and half thousand years ago in the wake of tectonic upheavals in the foothills of the Himalaya at a time when the rainfall had drastically declined. And it reveals that nowadays the Saraswati is an extraordinary wide water-less channel coursing through the vast but dry floodplain in western India.

Study of microstructures is an indispensable component of understanding structural geology of any terrain. A number of ‘new’ microscopic structures such as ‘flanking microstructures’, trapezoid-shaped mineral grains, reversal of ductile shear sense, micro-duplexes, V-pull aparts, and new minerals nucleating inside host minerals have recently been described in individual manuscripts. However, for the sake of brevity, microstructural papers cannot show all possible variation in their morphology. The proposed book aims to present these structures with attractive colour photographs. Each photomicrograph will have a comprehensive caption. The book also presents grain boundary migration, boudins, symptoms of metamorphic retrogression, and how well known shear sense indicators (S-C fabrics, mineral fish etc.) vary in morphology in serial-sections. The target audience is for graduate and postgraduate geosciences students and researchers of structural geology.

Teide Volcano has many different meanings: For the Guanche aborigines, who endured several of its eruptions, it was Echeide (Hell). Early navigators had in Teide, a lifesaving widely visible landmark that was towering over the clouds. For the first explorers, Teide was a challenging and dangerous climb, since it was thought that Teide's peak was so high that from its summit the sun was too close and far too hot to survive. Teide was considered the highest mountain in the world at that time and measuring its height precisely was a great undertaking and at the time of global scientific significance. For von Buch, von Humboldt, Lyell and other great 18th and19th century naturalists, Teide helped to shape a new and now increasingly 'volcanic' picture, where the origin of volcanic rocks (from solidified magma) slowly casted aside Neptunism and removed some of the last barriers for the development of modern Geology and Volcanology as the sciences we know today. For the present day population of Tenerife, living on top of the world's third tallest volcanic structure on the planet, Teide has actually become "Padre Teide", a fatherly protector and an emblematic icon of Tenerife, not to say of the Canaries as a whole. The UNESCO acknowledged this iconic and complex volcano, as "of global importance in providing evidence of the geological processes that underpin the evolution of oceanic islands". Today, 'Teide National Park' boasts 4 Million annual visitors including many 'volcano spotters' and is a spectacular natural environment which most keep as an impression to treasure and to never forget. For us, the editors of this book, Teide is all of the above; a 'hell of a job', a navigation point on cloudy days, a challenge beyond imagination, a breakthrough in our understanding of oceanic volcanism that has shaped our way of thinking about volcanoes, and lastly, Teide provides us with a reference point from where to start exploring other oceanic volcanoes in the Canaries and beyond. Here we have compiled the different aspects and the current understanding of this natural wonder.

Sedimentary basins host, among others, most of our energy and fresh-water resources: they can be regarded as large geo-reactors in which many physical and chemical processes interact. Their complexity can only be well understood in well-organized interdisciplinary co-operations. This book documents how researchers from different geo-scientific disciplines have jointly analysed the structural, thermal, and sedimentary evolution as well as fluid dynamics of a complex sedimentary basin system which has experienced a variety of activation and reactivation impulses as well as intense salt tectonics. In this book we have summarized our geological, geophysical and geochemical understanding of some of the most important processes affecting sedimentary basins in general and our view on the evolution of one of the largest, best explored and most complex continental sedimentary basins on Earth: The Central European Basin System.

Landslides have geological causes but can be triggered by natural processes (rainfall, snowmelt, erosion and earthquakes) or by human actions such as agriculture and construction. Research aimed at better understanding slope stability and failure has accelerated in recent years, accompanied by basic field research and numerical modeling of slope failure processes, mechanisms of debris movement, and landslide causes and triggers. Written by seventy-five world-leading researchers and practitioners, this book provides a state-of-the-art summary of landslide science. It features both field geology and engineering approaches, as well as modeling of slope failure and run-out using a variety of numerical codes. It is illustrated with international case studies integrating geological, geotechnical and remote sensing studies, and includes recent slope investigations in North America, Europe and Asia. This is an essential reference for researchers and graduate students in geomorphology, engineering geology, geotechnical engineering and geophysics, as well as professionals in natural hazard analysis.