The mining sector is of major importance to the economy of Chile. Although dominated by copper - Chile is the world's leading producer - its production of potassium and sodium nitrate, gold, silver, rhenium, lithium iodine, molybdenum, boron and selenium, for example, is significant. Prominent representatives of the international minerals industry have contributed the papers that appear in Mining Latin America/Mineria Latinoamericana, the volume that lends its name to the conference organized by the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, in association with the Instituto de Ingenieros de Minas de Chile, the Sociedad Nacional de Mineria Chilena and Latinomineria being held in Santiago de Chile in May, 1994. This book should be of interest to mining engineers, geotechnical engineers, geologists, and mineralogists.

This book reviews the state of the art of natural disasters like floods and landslides, highlighting the possibility of safe and correct land planning and management by means of a global approach to territory. In fact, the events deriving from slope dynamics (gravitational phenomena) and fluvial dynamics (floods) are commonly triggered by the same factor (heavy rainfall), occur at the same time and are closely related. For this reason, this book analyses floods and slope stability phenomena as different aspects of the same dynamic system: the drainage basin.

This monograph presents the state of art of the geologic knowledge about the Spanish coast obtained through scientific research in the last 30 years.From a general point of view, coasts are the most quickly changing systems of the Earth. This is critical, since many human resources, such as the main part of economic and social activities, are located in the coastal areas. Especially in the case of Spain these coasts include cities, wide industrial areas (including harbor complexes), important ecologic systems, and our main economic resource: tourism. Understanding the dynamic functioning of each element of this coast is vital for correct future coastal management, so as to solve problems derived from bad plans developed in the last decades of the twentieth century. This is a valuable text for advanced graduate students and coastal researchers, which connects the specific dynamic functioning of the main Spanish coastal environments and their relationships with human activities.

The past half century has seen an evolution in thinking from 'flood control' to 'flood risk management', recognizing that risk results from both hazard and vulnerability. Rather than rely only on engineering structures to reduce flood magnitude or extent, recent policies emphasize avoiding construction in flood-prone areas (or moving people from floodplains), reducing impacts on exposed populations through early warning systems, and insurance to aid in recovery. Implementing this new approach faces many challenges but also offers opportunities for synergies, as described in this book for a range of large floodplain rivers and smaller urban streams across North America and Europe. This book is unique in presenting the voices of those on the front lines of implementing a new paradigm in flood risk management, each river with a unique set of challenges and opportunities derived from its specific geography as well as differences in governance between the American and European contexts.

This book addresses students and young researchers who want to learn to use numerical modeling to solve problems in geodynamics. Intended as an easy-to-use and self-learning guide, readers only need a basic background in calculus to approach most of the material. The book difficulty increases very gradually, through four distinct parts. The first is an introduction to the Python techniques necessary to visualize and run vectorial calculations. The second is an overview with several examples on classical Mechanics with examples taken from standard introductory physics books. The third part is a detailed description of how to write Lagrangian, Eulerian and Particles in Cell codes for solving linear and non-linear continuum mechanics problems. Finally the last one address advanced techniques like tree-codes, Boundary Elements, and illustrates several applications to Geodynamics. The entire book is organized around numerous examples in Python, aiming at encouraging the reader to le arn by experimenting and experiencing, not by theory.

This book focuses on scientific and technological aspects of groundwater-resources assessment and surveillance. It describes relevant risks and investigates selected techniques for the monitoring and mitigation of the individuated threats to groundwater quality. The authors discuss the concepts of groundwater-resources protection and offer examples of both geogenic and anthropogenic degradation of groundwater quality, such as heavy metals from mining activities and natural water-rock interactions, as well as risk of contamination due to geological CO2 storage practices etc. The volume also covers non-invasive monitoring techniques and briefly addresses innovative sensor technologies for the online assessment of water quality. Furthermore, the role played by geochemical techniques, the potential of environmental isotopes and the support provided by physical modelling are highlighted. The chapters guide the reader through various viewpoints, according to the diverse disciplines involved, without aiming to be exhaustive, but instead picking representative topics for their relevance in the context of groundwater protection and control. This book will be of interest to advanced students, researchers, policy-makers and stakeholders at various levels.

This book collects selected full papers presented at the International Symposium on Energy Geotechnics 2018 (SEG-2018), held on 25th - 28th September 2018, at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). It covers a wide range of topics in energy geotechnics, including energy geostructures, energy geostorage, thermo-hydro-chemo-mechanical behaviour of geomaterials, unconventional resources, hydraulic stimulation, induced seismicity, CO2 geological storage, and nuclear waste disposal as well as topics such as tower and offshore foundations. The book is intended for postgraduate students, researchers and practitioners working on geomechanics and geotechnical engineering for energy-related applications.

This book presents a collection of essays that address various facets of the hydrogeology of Israel. Despite its small geographic size, Israel exhibits a variety of climates and is located between two regional fluctuating base levels. The respective chapters discuss the variety of hydrogeological configurations and hydrological processes produced by these geographical circumstances. In some cases, the interpretation of these aspects is deliberately left open to debate, because the authors were asked to provide, in addition to their own views, also alternative and even conflicting ones. Hydrogeological configurations similar to those in Israel can be found in other countries around the world. Therefore, researchers, scholars and professionals in this interdisciplinary field can benefit from and directly apply the considerable experience and expertise that has been gathered in Israel over the past few decades.

This book covers the more basic aspects of carbonate minerals and their interaction with aqueous solutions; modern marine carbonate formation and sediments; carbonate diagenesis (early marine, meteoric and burial); the global cycle of carbon and human intervention; and the role of sedimentary carbonates as indicators of stability and changes in the Earth's surface environment. The selected subjects are presented with sufficient background information to enable the non-specialist to understand the basic chemistry involved. Tested on classes taught by the authors, and approved by the students, this comprehensive volume will prove itself to be a valuable reference source to students, researchers and professionals in the fields of oceanography, geochemistry, petrology, environmental science and petroleum geology.

This book provides a snapshot of the research activities of the Institute of Geotechnical Engineering, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna, Austria. The topics are broad ranged including: * Centrifuge model testing * Constitutive model * Granular physics * Numerical simulation * Soil bioengineering The topics reflect our geotechnical research in a changing world. Traditional topics in foundation engineering are fading out and new topics are emerging. The European Commission is gratefully acknowledged for funding the following projects within its program FP7 and Horizon2020: MUMOLADE (Multiscale modelling of landslide and debris flow), REVENUES (Reinforced Vegetation Numerical Evaluation of Slopes) and GEORAMP (Geohazards - Risk Assessment, Mitigation and Prevention).

This book deals with a rapidly growing field aiming at producing food and energy in a sustainable way for humans and their children. It is a discipline that addresses current issues: climate change, increasing food and fuel prices, poor-nation starvation, rich-nation obesity, water pollution, soil erosion, fertility loss, pest control and biodiversity depletion. This series gathers review articles that analyze current agricultural issues and knowledge, then proposes alternative solutions.

This book helps to establish a simple framework to identify and use bird species as a bioindicator for high nature value (HNV) farmlands. This book focuses on suitable methods for monitoring the HNV areas, and presents the results of several case studies. The chapters put forward ways to integrate ecosystems assessment, geographical information systems (GIS) and strategies for conservation of local biodiversity. An innovative framework focuses on the use of species distribution models (SDMs) in order to explore the importance of each characteristic of HNV farmlands. Furthermore, the book examines the relationships among bird species richness, land use diversity and landscape metrics at a local scale in the farmlands.

Environmental and Health Issues in Unconventional Oil and Gas Development offers a series of authoritative perspectives from varied viewpoints on key issues relevant in the use of directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing, providing a timely presentation of requisite information on the implications of these technologies for those connected to unconventional oil and shale gas development. Utilizing expertise from a range of contributors in academia, non-governmental organizations, and the oil and gas industry, Environmental and Health Issues in Unconventional Oil and Gas Development is an essential resource for academics and professionals in the oil and gas, environmental, and health and safety industries as well as for policy makers.

John K. DeLaski, M.D. practiced medicine in the Penobscot Bay region of Maine and, in addition, was a naturalist with keen powers of observation. His study of the landscape led to the conclusion that a thick glacier had overtopped the highest hills, flooded all of Penobscot Bay, extended far to the east and west and probably was part of a greater continental glacier. He published these very critical field observations and inferences in numerous articles in local newspapers and magazines, and in the American Journal of Science in 1864. His work put him on the "team" of Benjamin Silliman, James D. Dana and Louis Agassiz as an advocate for glaciation as the regional land shaping force opposed to that of the Biblical Deluge, a major scientific conflict of the day both in North America and Europe. He remained a shadowy player, in the background, but clearly contributed critical observations to the argument through personal interactions with Agassiz and other prominent naturalists. They incorporated DeLaski's observations into their own presentations, often without giving him credit. John DeLaski's summary work, a 400 page handwritten manuscript for the book, "The Ancient Great Glacier of North America", was dated 1869. He died in 1874 and the book was not published. The historic significance of DeLaski's unpublished book is based upon its startling contribution to one of the major scientific questions of the day of whether the surficial geology of northern U.S. and Canada was caused by the actions of the Biblical Flood or by continental glaciation. If published, this would have been the first book on this continent, at least, to present a holistic discussion of the controversy in which he presented his critical observations of the surficial geology in Maine, southern New England and New Brunswick, Canada and concluded that these depositional and erosional features must be of glacial origin. DeLaski then incorporated other evidence into the book for glaciation reported by others from the region during a decade or two, and from the mid and far west and Canada to advocate that the entire region was covered by an ice sheet that was at least 5,000 feet and probably much thicker over interior northern U.S. and Canada and which terminated along a glacial margin which extended from southern new England as far westward along the courses of the Ohio, and Missouri Rivers. All this was done while most "naturalists" still advocated the Biblical Flood to explain the major components of the surficial geology in North America and abroad. DeLaski's book containing his critical observations of clearly so many landscape features of glacial origin, if published would have been a pivotal document that would have strongly supported those arguing for glaciations in the glaciations vs. flood international argument.

Continuing the tradition of International Dyke Conference, this book is largely based on contributions from the IDC7 but also includes some chapters by invitation. It focuses on mafic dyke swarms and related associations: e.g. links with sills, kimberlites, syenites, carbonatites, and volcanics, discussing the following themes: (i) regional maps/reviews of dyke swarms and related units, (ii) the role of giant dyke swarms in the reconstruction of supercontinents/paleocontinents, (iii) mapping of dykes using remote sensing techniques, (iv) geochronology of dyke swarms, (v) petrology, geochemistry and petrogenesis of dykes, (vi) emplacement mechanism of dykes, (vii) dyke swarms and planetary bodies, and (viii) links to mineralization and resources.

The liquid phase of soil (soil solution) is a very thin, penetrating and all-embracing water layer. It has the most extensive surface among the biosphere components and interacts with all these components. Presented in this work is a new complex approach developed for soil liquid phase investigation that is based on "in situ" measurements. Investigation of the soil liquid phase can be of great significance in environmental research.

This volume sums up the vast experience of the authors' research into soil liquid phase composition in various ecosystems of Central and Eastern Europe. It describes the methodological basics of soil liquid phase research: methods of soil solution extraction, the main problems of application of ion-selective electrodes for immediate "in situ" assessment of ionic activity in soil liquid phase and redox potential, and ways to overcome those problems. Data are presented on soil liquid phase composition in natural and agricultural ecosystems, their redox, pH, carbonate and other regimes as well as the relations between the composition of the soil liquid phase and different ecological properties.

This work is devoted to the pursuit of new approaches to soil liquid phase analysis with a goal of discovering the role of soil liquid phase in the functioning of natural and agricultural ecosystems in recent soil-formation, formation of primary biological production, and in bio-geochemical turnover of elements. It includes new field investigation data as well as all data generalization carried out by means of a special complex database (developed by the authors) on soil liquid phase composition and other soil-ecological properties in various ecosystems in Central and Eastern Europe.

This book is the first English edition that integrally considers both methodological aspects and results of investigation of composition, formation, dynamics, spatial heterogeneity, and interrelations of soil liquid phase with other components of ecosystems. Soil scientists, agricultural chemists and ecologists will find this title of great interest.

The book introduces tourism earth-science as a new scientific discipline by applying the principles of earth-science in the study of natural and human tourism resources. It involves studying the geo-scientific characteristics of these tourism resources through surveys, evaluation and aesthetic value assessment. It also discusses about the principles behind geopark establishment and management. It is an important publication providing direction for geopark and tourism developments in China. The book is a tool for geological heritage survey, assessment and research. It can also be used to assist planning of geopark, national parks, heritage protection and scientific interpretation. It is a valuable teaching material for teachers and students of geoscience and tourism as well as providing useful guidance for geopark managers and tour guides in their operation. In addition, the book also offers scientific knowledge of the surrounding natural and cultural landscapes to the public and the general visitors.

The Tide-Dominated Han River Delta provides a thorough analysis of a river delta in which tidal currents have reworked the river-borne sediment, generating characteristic geomorphological and sedimentological signatures in the process. Such "tide-dominated" deltas are common in the modern ocean, forming the substrate upon which entire populations are built. Furthermore, ancient examples contain enormous volumes of hydrocarbon. Despite this, tide-dominated deltas remain less well understood than their wave- and river-dominated counterparts, largely because processes within them are inherently more complex and fewer modern examples have been investigated in detail. This multi-year study by a team of experts in coastal geoscience represents the most complete documentation of a tide-dominated delta to date. Results help advance, and are applicable to, a broad range of fields within sedimentary geology, including clastic sedimentology, seismic and sequence stratigraphy, and coastal geomorphology, in addition to petroleum geology and reservoir engineering.

This thesis explores fluid distribution along the Nankai-Trough megathrust fault around the Kii Peninsula of Japan, where devastating earthquakes are expected to occur in the near future. Exploring fluid distribution along subduction zones is an important issue because the fluid is considered to control the occurrence of earthquakes. One of the effective strategies to estimate fluid content is retrieving receiver functions (RFs) from seismograms, but in the case of ocean-bottom seismometers (OBSs), noisy P-wave reverberations within the seawater column make such an analysis difficult. The author therefore developed a novel technique to suppress the water reverberations, which allows obtaining the fluid distribution data along a wide depth range on the plate interface. This thesis first presents the new technique, called the water layer filter method, and demonstrates its efficiency by using both synthetic and observation data. Then, using the method, a receiver function image of the Philippine Sea Plate is constructed to reveal dehydration processes of the subducting oceanic crust around the Kii Peninsula. Finally, the author performs high-frequency receiver function inversion analysis. The results indicate the presence of a thin fluid-rich sediment layer along the megathrust fault off the Kii Peninsula that acts as a pathway of fluid. Nowadays, the number of offshore observations is increasing worldwide. In this respect, the attempt to better analyze OBS data employing the new method will become more important in future studies.