This series presents critical reviews of the present position and future trends in modern chemical research. The short and concise reports on chemistry are each written by world renowned experts. This series is still valid and useful after 5 or 10 years. More information as well as the electronic version of the whole content available at: springerlink.com.

Fluid-aided mass transfer and subsequent mineral re-equilibration are the two defining features of metasomatism and must be present in order for metamorphism to occur. Coupled with igneous and tectonic processes, metasomatism has played a major role in the formation of the Earth's continental and oceanic crust and lithospheric mantle as well as in their evolution and subsequent stabilization. Metasomatic processes can include ore mineralization, metasomatically induced alteration of oceanic lithosphere, mass transport in and alteration of subducted oceanic crust and overlying mantle wedge, which has subsequent implications regarding mass transport, fluid flow, and volatile storage in the lithospheric mantle overall, as well as both regional and localized crustal metamorphism. Metasomatic alteration of accessory minerals such as zircon or monazite can allow for the dating of metasomatic events as well as give additional information regarding the chemistry of the fluids responsible. Lastly present day movement of fluids in both the lithospheric mantle and deep to mid crust can be observed utilizing geophysical resources such as electrical resistivity and seismic data. Such observations help to further clarify the picture of actual metasomatic processes as inferred from basic petrographic, mineralogical, and geochemical data. The goal of this volume is to bring together a diverse group of geologists, each of whose specialities and long range experience regarding one or more aspects of metasomatism during geologic processes, should allow them to contribute to a series of review chapters, which outline the basis of our current understanding of how metasomatism influences and helps to control both the evolution and stability of the crust and lithospheric mantle.

Presented here is the story of the mining and sale of uranium and radium ore through biographical vignettes, chemistry, physics, geology, geography, occupational health, medical utilization, environmental safety and industrial history. Included are the people and places involved over the course of over 90 years of interconnected mining and sale of radium and uranium, finally ending in 1991 with the abandonment of radium paint and medical devices, Soviet nuclear parity, and the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.

Modeling of Magmatic and Allied Processes presents methods and models for the quantification of geological processes. Conceptual models for magmatic differentiation involving crystallization and mixing are presented and applied to field and textural data. Model equations for the degree of partial melting in presence perturbations of lithospheric geotherms and partitioning of trace/radioactive elements in the matrix and melts, and the formation of continents with melt additions are described.  Diverse magmatic products are shown to result from differentiation processes rather than magmatic source heterogeneities. The degree of partial melting depends on mantle temperatures, for which parameterized thermal convection models are reviewed. Perturbations in geotherms caused by mantle heat flow, CO2 flux from great depths and tectonic thrusting are analyzed. The petrogenetic significance of accessory minerals of felsic magma evolution is assessed with the help of examples from Carpathian granitoids. Methods for simulating the 3-D Concentration and Distribution Models (DC-DMs) and fractal dimension of evolving magma systems are described with examples. The use of conventional scanning electron microscopy methods and electron microprobe to characterize and infer magmatic processes is explained, and the background and economic potential of hydrothermal systems are examined. The nature of oxidizing felsic magmas along with their potential for copper mineralization is discussed. In closing, the handling, calculation and plotting of geochemical data for igneous rock suites using the R-language-based software Geochemical Data Toolkit (GCDkit) along with plug-in modules for the forward and reverse mass-balance calculation of fractional crystallization are demonstrated.

The aim of this book is to present the latest findings in the properties and application of Supplementary Cementing Materials and blended cements currently used in the world in concrete. Sustainability is an important issue all over the world. Carbon dioxide emission has been a serious problem in the world due to the greenhouse effect. Today many countries agreed to reduce the emission of CO2. Many phases of cement and concrete technology can affect sustainability. Cement and concrete industry is responsible for the production of 7% carbon dioxide of the total world CO2 emission. The use of supplementary cementing materials (SCM), design of concrete mixtures with optimum content of cement and enhancement of concrete durability are the main issues towards sustainability in concrete industry.

This book will broaden readers' understanding of pegmatites in a special geodynamic setting, dealing with the emplacement of the Hagendorf-Pleystein Pegmatite Province (HPPP) in the Central European Variscides. This treatise illustrates the complex processes leading to the formation and partial destruction of the pegmatites, documenting the geochronological, chemical, mineralogical, geological and geomorphological / sedimentological data set. The book starts with a detailed account of the economic geology of the various pegmatites, explaining why these deposits are a major resource of ceramic raw materials. In its concluding section, a model of the pegmatite evolution in an ensialic orogen provides meaningful insights into the genetic aspects of pegmatite generation. The Late Paleozoic rare-element pegmatites of the HPPP, Oberpfalz-SE, Germany, rank among the largest concentrations in Europe. The biggest pegmatite of this mining district totals 4.4 million tons of ore (Hagendorf-South). The mining history of the HPPP is restricted to the 20th century, when local entrepreneurs started mining operations in search of ceramic raw materials, feldspar and quartz. Today the "Silbergrube Aplite" is still worked for feldspar. The traditional mining of pegmatitic and aplitic rocks in Central Europe, such as the Bohemian Massif, which is shared by Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland and Austria, has been focused on these industrial minerals. In addition to these major commodities, lithium was mined for a period of time. But even today many of these pegmatites of calc-alkaline affiliation have not lost their appeal to mineralogists and mineral enthusiasts for their wealth of minerals that contain P, Nb, Ta, Li, Be, B, U, Th, Sc, Ti and Sn. The most favorable crustal section to bring about pegmatitic rocks of this type, encompassing pegmatoids, metapegmatites, reactivated pseudopegmatites and pegmatites sensu stricto is the ensialic orogen, exemplified by the Variscan (Hercynian) Orogen, which geodynamically connects the Paleozoic pegmatite provinces in North America and Europe. The geological history of the HPPP, however, goes much further than the Carboniferous-Permian magmatic activity, when the last structural disturbances of the Variscan orogeny affected the NE-Bavarian Basement between 450 and 330 Ma. During this time mafic magmatic rocks together with calcareous and arenaceous sediments were converted into paragneisses, calcsilicate rocks, and amphibolites. It is the period of time when tectonic shortening led to over thrusting and when the emplacement of nappes and the architectural elements of the ensialic orogen began taking shape. During the Late Permian, the Mesozoic and the Cenozoic, the HPPP did not lie idle in geological terms; hypogene and supergene alteration continued and found its most recent expression in alluvial-fluvial "nigrine" placer deposits, which resulted from the unroofing of the pegmatites and aplites in the HPPP and can be used even outside HPPP as an ore guide to pegmatites.

This multi-disciplinary book will cater to students and those who want to have a more critical look behind the scenes of Antarctic science. This book will take a systems approach to providing insights into Antarctic ecosystems and the geophysical environment. Further, the book will link these insights to a discussion of current issues, such as climate change, bio prospecting, environmental management and Antarctic politics. It will be written and edited by experienced Antarctic researchers and scientists from a wide range of disciplines. Academic references will be included for those who wish to delve deeper into the topics discussed in the book.

This book provides information on the distribution of the available energy resources throughout the continent and how it is linked to the development of individual states. Africa is considered one of the poorest continents in the world, mainly because its development has historically depended on imported resources including technical expertise. This view and its associated resource management strategy are based on the perception that Africa lacks sufficient energy resources to drive its development agenda. Analyses of individual countries' energy potentials, exploitation levels and distribution mechanisms are provided with a view to identifying additional factors that are stifling Africa's economic development. One critical factor is the relationship between available energy resources and the energy mixes chosen by different states, and how these can be exploited to produce the right blend of energy for various applications such as industrial, transport, domestic, and recreational uses. The authors provide an in-depth analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of different energy sources in terms of their environmental, industrialization and distribution costs, impacts, and the development options best suited for improving Africa's economic situation. This analysis is based on the assertion that Africa is indeed blessed with abundant energy resources, which have not been effectively exploited. The book not only reviews Africa's energy situation in general, but also reveals that, while there are certainly circumstances peculiar to individual countries, the similarities, especially within Sub-Saharan African countries, outweigh the differences. That being said, the challenges and available opportunities in each country should be viewed with due consideration given to the prevailing national resource management environment. Many initiatives in Africa fail because of the many loopholes in the management structures, which allow corruption, theft, and mere selfishness to thrive. In addition to the negative impacts of these factors on implementation activities, there is also a general lack of institutional support for initiatives that could otherwise be very progressive. Thus, taken together, these retrogressive practices stifle African energy development plans. The book offers a valuable guide for developers, investors, researchers and environmentalist, providing in-depth insights on the relationship between available energy resources and development trends in Africa. "By harnessing the wind and sun, your vast geothermal energy and rivers for hydropower, you can turn this climate threat into an economic opportunity." US President Obama's address to the African Union (2015)

This handbook is a reference guide for selecting and carrying out numerous methods of soil analysis. It is written in accordance with analytical standards and quality control approaches. It covers a large body of technical information including protocols, tables, formulae, spectrum models, chromatograms and additional analytical diagrams. The approaches are diverse, from the simplest tests to the most sophisticated determination methods.

This unparelleled reference synthesizes the methods used in microfacies analysis and details the potential of microfacies in evaluating depositional environments and diagenetic history, and, in particular, the application of microfacies data in the study of carbonate hydrocarbon reservoirs and the provenance of archaeological materials. Nearly 230 instructive plates (30 in color) showing thin-section photographs with detailed explanations form a central part of the content. Helpful teaching-learning aids include detailed captions for hundreds of microphotographs, boxed summaries of technical terms, many case studies, guidelines for the determination and evaluation of microfacies criteria, self-testing exercises for recognition and characterization skills, and more

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.

Metamorphic Crystallization investigates the upper regions of the crystalline Earth, where countless solid-state chemical changes have taken place during the long history of the planet. The exploration proceeds in five stages. Firstly, a brief reminder of the importance of field, microscopic, and experimental phase-equilibrium results in metamorphic studies is given, followed by a review of classical thermodynamics as applied to minerals. Different kinds of mineral equilibria are defined, and representative natural and experimental examples of each kind are examined. The kinetics of reactions involving crystals (reaction rate, diffusion, nucleation, crystal growth), referring to certain experiments that have provided information on these microprocesses, are reviewed. Finally, the granular microstructure of natural samples (crystal shape, size, spatial distribution) together with chemical data are examined, and an interpretation of these observations in terms of mineral kinetics is pursued. This exploration intends to leave the reader more appreciative of changes which occur within the Earth, and more interested in the application of thermodynamics and kinetics in the study of these changes.

The book summarizes the occurrence, geochemistry, mineralogy, petrology and phase-equilibria studies in air and under high pressures related to the most intriguing group of potassium-rich mafic and ultramafic rocks, often including host of exotic mineral assemblages including feldspathoids. Mantle-derived K-rich melts had intrigued most of the founders of Geology and many of the later experts in the field of Igneous Petrology, because they are sometimes associated with carbonatites and even diamond. They tend to contain anomalous concentration of many such elements as K, Rb, Sr, U, F, P, etc., along with Ni, Co and Cr indicating a mixture of crust and mantle materials. Although these rocks occur rarely in ancient geologic time, they have been erupting mostly in modern geological history (less than last 120 Ma or so). Are the old age data real or the result of a sampling problem? Modern observations leave no doubt that sediments must be subducted on a large scale. There is now evidence that the upper mantle (and perhaps even the lower mantle) is not homogeneous but rather like a fruit cake, and that there are thermal anomalies in the mantle resulting from deep mantle plumes or subduction. Is this related to release of these unusual rocks clearing the mantle of left over subduction materials? This volume, written for those interested in the geochemistry of K-rich melts from the deep Earth, reviews the present state of knowledge of these unique igneous rocks. The author is an expert in the field of Igneous Petrology and the book will serve as a valuable reference book for researchers and academicians in the discipline.

Tight gas reservoirs have very low permeability and porosity, which cannot be produced at economical flow rates unless the well is efficiently stimulated and completed using advanced and optimized technologies. Economical production on the basis of tight gas reservoirs is challenging in general, not only due to their very low permeability but also to several different forms of formation damage that can occur during drilling, completion, stimulation, and production operations. This study demonstrates in detail the effects of different well and reservoir static and dynamic parameters that influence damage mechanisms and well productivity in tight gas reservoirs. Geomechanics, petrophysics, production and reservoir engineering expertise for reservoir characterization is combined with a reservoir simulation approach and core analysis experiments to understand the optimum strategy for tight gas development, delivering improved well productivity and gas recovery.

This book is the collection of papers from the latest International Uranium Mining and Hydrogeology Conference (UMH VII) held in September 2014, in Freiberg, Germany. It is divided to five sessions: Uranium Mining, Uranium and Phosphates, Clean-up technologies for water and soil. Uranium and daughter nuclides and basic research and modeling. Each session covers a wide range of related topic and provides readers with up to date research and solutions on those matters.

Diamonds in Nature: A Guide to Rough Diamonds illustrates the range of crystal shapes, colours, surface textures, and mineral inclusions of rough, uncut, naturally forming diamonds. Each chapter contains photographs that show the unique physical characteristics of the diamonds, and the accompanying text describes the processes that led to their formation. This book is an invaluable reference manual for professional geoscientists-including gemmologists and exploration geologists.

This textbook details basic principles of planetary science that help to unify the study of the solar system. It is organized in a hierarchical manner so that every chapter builds upon preceding ones. Starting with historical perspectives on space exploration and the development of the scientific method, the book leads the reader through the solar system. Coverage explains that the origin and subsequent evolution of planets and their satellites can be explained by applications of certain basic principles of physics, chemistry, and celestial mechanics and that surface features of the solid bodies can be interpreted by principles of geology.

This book describes the nature and origin of the Macraes gold deposit. It also documents the key features of this spectacular deposit for a wide range of professionals in the resource geology community. This world-class gold deposit has been a spectacular geological and economic success story, as it has developed from a small historical gold mine in discontinuous quartz veins measuring only meters to a large-scale mine in deposits spreading over kilometres in extensive disseminated gold-bearing rock.

This book highlights the basics of crystal optics methods and refractive index (RI) measurement techniques in various solids, as well as their scientific and technological applications. In addition to new techniques for cases when traditional techniques are impractical, such as for highly refracting powders, anomalous dispersion of light in the studied solid, or for colloids, it also describes conventional methods of RI measurement.

This book addresses human factors research in energy, an emphasis on human factors applications in design, construction, and operation of nuclear, electrical power generation, and oil and gas assets. It discusses advanced strategies in the optimization of human and environmental performance, as well as personal and process safety. The book covers a wealth of topics in design and operation management of both offshore and onshore facilities, including design of control rooms, front-end engineering design (FEED), criticality analysis, offshore transport, human contributions to accidents, cognitive bias in decision making, safety-critical human tasks, and many others. Based on the AHFE 2016 International Conference on Human Factors in Energy, held on July 27-31, 2016, in Walt Disney World (R), Florida, USA, the book fills an important gap in the current literature, providing readers with state-of-the-art knowledge in human factors best-practice approaches across different types of industries and energy applications.

This thesis deals with Rare Earth Elements (REE), especially with neodymium used in permanent magnets, from a very scientific basis by providing basic research data. Despite the fact that REE are newsworthy and very important elements for a considerable bandwidth of todays' technologies, accompanied by the monopolistic supply-situation and Chinese politics, there are inexplicable data discrepancies about REE which have been recognized frequently but usually have not been addressed accordingly. So this analysis started with the hypothesis that the four application areas, namely computer hard disk drives (HDD), mobile phones, wind turbines and e-mobility (automotive traction), account for about 80% of the global annual neodymium-demand. The research methodology was a laboratory analysis of the composition of used magnets for HDDs and mobile phones and a literature and official report analysis of wind turbine and automotive neodymium use. The result was amazing and the hypothesis had to be withdrawn as these four areas only account for about 20% of neodymium use. This result raises some questions concerning actual use and thus potential recycling options.

On a Sustainable Future of the Earth's Natural Resources is divided into three sections, with individual chapters contributed by experts on diff erent facets of the earth sciences, natural resources management and related issues. The first section focuses on the status of Earth's resources; land, water, biota and atmosphere. Reviews on the rate of exploitation and the need to conserve these resources for future sustenance are also covered in this section. Th e following section includes chapters elucidating environmental, ecological, climatological and anthropological pressures on sustained nourishment with the Earth's resources. The last section describes management practices, issues and perspectives on sociological, legal, administrative, ICT and strategic efforts that need to be implemented in order to sustain our natural resources. This book covers a broad spectrum of the Earth's resources and sustenance, offering a comprehensive perspective on their past, present and future.

This book deals with the rare earth elements (REE), which are a series of 17 transition metals: scandium, yttrium and the lanthanide series of elements (lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium and lutetium). They are relatively unknown to the wider public, despite their numerous applications and their critical role in many high-tech applications, such as high-temperature superconductors, phosphors (for energy-saving lamps, flat-screen monitors and flat-screen televisions), rechargeable batteries (household and automotive), very strong permanent magnets (used for instance in wind turbines and hard-disk drives), or even in a medical MRI application. This book describes the history of their discovery, the major REE ore minerals and the major ore deposits that are presently being exploited (or are planned to be exploited in the very near future), the physical and chemical properties of REEs, the mineral processing of REE concentrates and their extractive metallurgy, the applications of these elements, their economic aspects and the influential economical role of China, and finally the recycling of the REE, which is an emerging field.