GeoScienceWorld 2024 eBook Collection

A Global Synthesis of the Ordovician System: Part 1 by D. A. T. Harper; B. Lefebvre; I. G. Percival; T. Servais The Ordovician is one of the longest and geologically most active periods in Phanerozoic history. The unique Ordovician biodiversifications established modern marine ecosystems, whereas the first plants originated on land. The two volumes cover all key topics on Ordovician research and provide a review of Ordovician successions across the globe.

A Global Synthesis of the Ordovician System: Part 2 by T. Servais; D. A. T. Harper; B. Lefebvre; I. G. Percival The Ordovician is one of the longest and geologically most active periods in Phanerozoic history. The unique Ordovician biodiversifications established modern marine ecosystems, whereas the first plants originated on land. The two volumes cover all key topics on Ordovician research and provide a review of Ordovician successions across the globe.

Base, Precious, and Critical Metal Deposits of the Paleoproterozoic Skellefte District, Sweden by Rodney Allen; Tobias E. Bauer; Mac Fjellerad Persson; Nils F. Jansson; Patrick Mercier-Langevin The Skellefte district has been one of the most important mining districts of Europe for the last century, as it hosts close to 90 volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits and occurrences, including the Kristineberg, Renström, and Au-rich Boliden VMS deposits. Several lode Au (±Te), porphyry Cu-Au, pegmatite-hosted rare-metal, and Ni deposits and occurrences are present in the district as well, including deposits such as Björkdal and Tallberg. This trip visited active mines and advanced-stage exploration and development projects.

Cathodoluminescence and its Application to Geoscience by Ian M. Coulson This short course volume addresses both the theory behind the phenomenon of cathodoluminescence (CL) and the application of this microscopic technique to all fields of geoscience investigation. Aimed at the graduate student, researcher and practicing professional, short course chapters will cover the basics of theory, causes of cathodoluminescence in minerals and materials, instrumentation, recent advances in cathodoluminescence imaging and spectroscopy data collection, and interpretation of spectral responses. Case studies relating to sedimentological, petrological, mineralogical, petroleum geology and economic geology fields are included.

The Chalk Aquifers of Northern Europe by R. P. Farrell; N. Massei; A. E. Foley; P. R. Howlett; L. J. West The Cretaceous Chalk aquifers of Northern Europe underlie and support many sensitive ecosystems whilst at the same time being an important source of drinking water. This volume brings together the outcomes of numerous projects and case studies to provide the latest applied and theoretical understanding of all aspects of Chalk hydrogeology in Northern Europe.

Chemical Geodynamics of the Earth’s Mantle: New Paradigms by Costanza Bonadiman; Elisabetta Rampone This volume in the EMU Notes in Mineralogy Series celebrates the success of the International winter school ‘MElting and fluid/melt-rock REactions in the MAntle-MEREMA’. The excellent intellectual milieu led a group of top-level lecturers to accept the invitation to publish their cutting-edge research in this volume. Although finalizing the chapters took longer than expected, we have ultimately compiled an outstanding selection of contributions that provides readers who have broad interests with information on how petrology and geochemistry, combined with geophysics, can shed light on mantle dynamics.

Coccolithophores: The Calcifying Haploid Phase in Living Species Biology, Adaptive Morphology, Taxonomy by Marie-Pierre Aubry The tiny marine protists of the sunlit ocean known as coccolithophores may be the most iconic example of an organism with a haplo-diplobiontic life cycle, with a dimorphism so extreme that their exoskeletons were commonly assigned to separate species and genera when first described. A wealth of data has been recorded for the diploid phase of the coccolithophores, with comprehensive syntheses of their biology, ecology and phylogeny. In contrast, knowledge of the more fragile haploid phase has lagged to an extent that prevents a holistic approach to the study of coccolithophores in general. This book represents the first attempt at remedying this chaotic situation.

Conservation Palaeobiology of Marine Ecosystems by R. Nawrot; S. Dominici; A. Tomašových; M. Zuschin he accelerating pace of global change requires better understanding of the long-term resilience and adaptive capacities of marine ecosystems. This volume brings together studies that demonstrate how combining palaeoecological records with other types of geohistorical data informs biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management by providing data on baseline community states.

The Consummate Geoscientist: A Celebration of the Career of Maarten de Wit by A. J. Hynes; J. B. Murphy Papers in this special publication mirror Maarten's career as a leading expert on Gondwana evolution and Archean tectonics. Maarten also contributed to our understanding of Archean life, African erosional history and South African shale-gas development, and was a vigorous supporter of the advancement of South African students from varied backgrounds.

Core Values: the Role of Core in Twenty-first Century Reservoir Characterization by A. Neal; M. Ashton; L. S. Williams; S. J. Dee; T. J. H. Dodd; J. D. Marshall Through state-of-the-art reviews and case studies this volume illustrates how innovative technologies, approaches and thinking continue to reinvent the value of both newly-acquired and legacy core for subsurface evaluation. Such an assessment is timely given that the sector sits at a pivotal point in terms of changing economics, demographics, skillsets and energy solutions.

Emerging Energy Resources in India by Kalachand Sain; Sukanta Roy; Harsh K. Gupta The present volume on emerging energy resources with reference to India has been conceived keeping the evolving energy scenario and future requirements in the country. The status of eight emerging energy resources, viz., Gas Hydrates, Geothermal Energy, Ocean Energy, Solar Energy, Coal-bed Methane, Shale Gas, Hydrogen Energy and Biomass Energy, have been dealt comprehensively by renowned domain experts. Each chapter deals with a specific energy resource and provides a brief update on the current status vis-a-vis the global scenario, the resource potential and technological interventions for optimal exploitation, and prognosis for the future.

Enabling Secure Subsurface Storage in Future Energy Systems by J. M. Miocic; N. Heinemann; K. Edlmann; J. Alcalde; R. A. Schultz The subsurface storage of energy and carbon dioxide in geological formations will be key for the transition towards a low-carbon energy system. In this book, recent developments of subsurface storage of renewable energy vectors and CO2 are presented and knowledge gaps discussed.

Exploration for Platinum-Group Element Deposits by James E. Mungall The principal aim of this book and the short course is to bridge a gap between exploration geologists and academics. Our goal is to disseminate current knowledge of platinum group element ore genesis and exploration techniques to as wide an audience as possible worldwide.

Forensic Data Processing by Joe Dellinger Our seismic data are a kind of digital palimpsest: a manuscript written on imperfectly erased reused paper that contains multiple overlapping layers of writing. Each layer of writing has its own story; it may be fresh and distinct, easy to read, or broken up into fragments and faded into near invisibility. In our processing we typically pay the most attention to the data layer that we plan to use for imaging, and ignore the others to the extent that we can get away with doing so. The deeper layers become “noise”. However, the better we can understand the various layers of the data, the better we can turn each layer into either additional useful signal or structured (i.e. predictable) noise. Preserving the structure of the noise is important. It allows us to do better, possibly much better, than we could by treating it as Gaussian random noise. For random noise the best we can typically do is stacking. While stacking is a powerful tool, its noise-suppression abilities are effective only up to a point. Each incremental increase in the stack size N costs the same to acquire, yet results in ever less S/N improvement. Even worse, noise in real data often contains statistical outliers that will dominate over the noise-suppression power of stack as N becomes large. We can damage our data at every step of the process from acquisition to final delivered product. If you are not checking for problems, you may be unaware that anything is amiss. The next game-changing improvement in our ability to guide business decisions by producing higher-quality Earth images may only happen if we can treat our seismic data with greater scientific rigor than has been standard practice. The goal of this book is to teach you the skills that you will need to do that.

Fossil Records of Rajasthan, Western India by Umesh Behari Mathur; Anil K. Mathur This work encapsulates all the fossil wonders of the State of Rajasthan in a single, well- illustrated account. Rajasthan is a treasure house not only because of its palaeontological and mineral wealth but also because of its hydrocarbon potential. Therefore, it deserves all the attention it is getting as a destination for its fossil treasures that range in age from the Precambrian to the Quaternary. The book records the interesting finds of stromatolites, the associated phosphorites and a remarkable microbiota consisting of blue green algae and other shelly fossils. International attention has been recently focused on the Precambrian-Cambrian discoveries that detail the transition of the first multicellular life in the Vendian world. These exquisitely preserved fossils are preserved as body fossils as well as their tracks and trails. Rajasthan also is one of the very few places in the country where a prolific Palaeozoic invertebrate fauna has been recorded from the Bhadaura Formation. These faunas acquire a special significance as these are associated with the glacial Bap Boulder beds and illustrate the existence of a vast glacial ice sheet spread over a part of erstwhile Gondwanaland. The Mesozoic era is illustrated by the classic Jurassic sections yielding a variety of invertebrate and wood fossils as well as now the famous Fategarh Formation which produces invertebrate and vertebrate fossils. The Cenozoic fossils are prolific: recent findings include the presence of primitive whales while the lignites have yielded palaeobotanical remains along with a variety of fish and snakes. The Quaternary period is extensive and has yielded a variety of fossils ranging from ostracods to ostriches. The introduction of an International Chronological chart is very helpful to students to understand the sequence of fossils described. The book is an essential reading for all those interested in the palaeontology of Rajasthan.

Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste in Deep Clay Formations: 40 Years of RD&D by X. L. Li; M. Van Geet; C. Bruggeman; M. De Craen Over the past four decades, research in the HADES underground research laboratory has demonstrated that the geological disposal of radioactive waste in clay can provide a safe and feasible disposal solution. This Special Publication presents the main contributions of the HADES laboratory to Belgian and international research into geological disposal.

The Geology and Geochemistry of Uranium and Thorium Deposits by Michel Cuney; Kurt Kyser The purpose of this volume is to highlight the research that can be integrated into refining exploration strategies for uranium and also discuss new developments in thorium deposits as a future energy resource as it will become an increasingly important by-product of REE mining.

Geology and Mineral Resources of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry by N. P. Nathan; K. Gopalakrishnan Tamil Nadu is endowed with a variety of mineral deposits / prospects, the prominent among them include lignite, graphite, limestone, iron ore, magnesite, molybdenum and Platinum Group of Elements. Besides, significant resouces of garnet, ilmenite, rutile etc are available in the beach placers along the East coast. Tamil Nadu always remain in the forefront in the Dimension Stone industry in identifying and marketing several commercial varieties such as Black granite (dolerite), Kashmir white (garnetiferous quartzofeldspathic rock), Paradiso (pink migmatite), etc. We have made all efforts to synthesise and incorporate all the new data published till recently to give an up-to-date geological information for the benefit of the readers.

Geology of Himachal Pradesh by S. V. Srikantia; O. N. Bhargava Himachal Pradesh lies in the Western Himalaya and embraces a vast mountainous terrain between the rivers Ravi in the northwest and the Tons - Yamuna in the southeast. The Himalaya, unlike other terrains in the Indian Peninsula, has distinctive stratigraphic edifice, structural framework and tectonic divisions and has assumed the present orogenic configuration during a span of 60 million years. Thus, it represents a young terrain and morphologically an active one. Besides, the Himalaya represents the greatest example of continent-continent collision due to the meeting of two convergent plates of India and Eurasia and as a consequence, there was widespread Cenozoic transgressions and development of major thrusts and thrust sheets, directed towards the converging plate i.e. the Indian subcontinent.

Geology of Odisha by Jayanta Kumar Nanda; Manoranjan Mohanty; Satya Narayana Mahapatro Geology of Odisha is very complex yet fascinating. Its Precambrian geological set up comprises parts of two Archaean cratons and a Proterozoic mobile belt. These cratons and mobile belts constitute key components of the supercontinents of Columbia, Rodinia and Gondwanaland. Their evolutionary history and amalgamation through geological time have been topics of interest to researchers. Recently, vestiges of Hadean (> 4 Ga) crustal material have been reported from parts of the Singhbhum Craton lying within the State thus making it one of the oldest continental crust known and it now has material evidence to explore the early history of earth. A Neoarchaen Rengali Province has been proposed in recent literature. These Palaeo-Meso- to Neoarchaean terranes also hosts some of the major economic mineral deposits and sustain large active mines. Some of these geological povinces are the largest producers in the country of iron and manganese ores, chromite, bauxite, graphite, dimension stone and others. These cratons and the adjoining mobile belts also provide target areas for exploration for gold, basemetals, rare-metals, rare-earth elements, radio-active elements, gemstones & diamond and many industrial minerals. The Mahanadi graben which cuts through the craton-mobile belt boundary region hosts sedimentary strata of Gondwana (Permo-Carboniferous) age and a large resource of coal. Odisha is, therefore, a hub of mineral based industries and thermal power plants. Geologists both from academia and mining sectors have immense interest in the geological framework and economic mineral deposits of this State.

Gold and Silver Mines of the Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico. Part I: La India, Sonora, and Pinos Altos, Chihuahua Part II: Palmarejo District, Chihuahua Part III: La Cienega District, Durango by G. Gastelum-Morales This three-day field trip was possible by air travel from one location to another, visiting the following mines: La India, Pinos Altos, Palmarejo, and La Cienega. Detailed road logs and descriptions provide an excellent overview of the mines and surrounding areas.

The Green Stone Age: Exploration and Exploitation of Minerals for Green Technologies by M. Smelror; K. Hanghøj; H. Schiellerup Metals and minerals are essential for improving the quality of our lives, for new green energy technologies, and for a sustainable environment. This book addresses challenges in meeting the future demand for metals and minerals and presents results from ongoing research, surveying, exploration and exploitation of key minerals needed to supply the green and sustainable societies of the future.

GSA Field Guide 67 - Geology and Geologic Hazards of the Blue Ridge: Field Excursions for the 2024 GSA Southeastern Section Meeting, Asheville, North Carolina, USA by Arthur J. Merschat; Mark W. Carter The three field guides in this volume explore facets of the geology of western North Carolina, USA. The trip to Buck Creek and Chunky Gal Mountain examines high-temperature mafic and ultramafic rocks interpreted to be part of a dismembered ophiolite thrust onto Laurentian crust during the Taconic orogeny. The second trip traverses rugged terrain along the Blue Ridge Escarpment from near the South Carolina state line to Hickory Nut Gorge just southeast of Asheville to examine rockfalls, rockslides, debris flows, and debris slides triggered by extreme rainfall events. The trip to Sparta, North Carolina, highlights the results of interdisciplinary studies among collaborators following the 2020 Mw 5.1 earthquake.

GSA Field Guide 68 - Field Guides to the Ozarks: Exploring Karst, Ore, Trace Fossils, and Orogenesis by Charles W. Rovey; Matthew P. McKay The four guides in this volume are associated with the GSA 2024 Joint North-Central and South-Central Section Meeting in Springfield, Missouri, USA, near the heart of the Ozarks physiographic province. They explore urbanization in a karst terrane as well as the geology and genesis of the Viburnum Trend Mississippi Valley–type ore district. One chapter tackles the trace fossils and paleosalinity of the Northview Formation. The last chapter addresses the geology of the Ouachita Mountains and linkages to North American late Paleozoic orogenesis.

Ice Ages, Climate Dynamics and Biotic Events: the Late Pennsylvanian World by S. G. Lucas; W. A. DiMichele; S. Opluštil; X. Wang The Middle through Late Pennsylvanian was a time of ice ages, climate dynamics and a turning point in terrestrial biotic evolution. This provides a laboratory for studying changes in a glacial world. This book focuses on a dynamic Late Pennsylvanian world that bears close comparison to the late Cenozoic world.

Ichnology in Shallow-marine and Transitional Environments by C. Cónsole-Gonella; S. de Valais; I. Díaz-Martínez; P. Citton; M. Verde; D. McIlroy The ichnology of shallow-marine to transitional environments is a key field of study with respect to understanding the variability of environmental parameters from inshore marginal-marine settings to the offshore transition zone. Over the last decades ichnology has evolved from being a tool to determine bathymetry, becoming the standard palaeoenvironmental methodology by which trace fossils can be used to inform sedimentary facies models. In particular, the analysis of mixed assemblages of invertebrate and vertebrate trace fossils allows detailed palaeoenvironmental and facies analysis. This volume focuses on the ichnological record of shallow-marine to transitional environments through the geological record, in addition to modern ones through neoichnology.

Landforms of India from Topomaps and Images by R. Vaidyanadhan; K. V. Subbarao

Landslide Atlas of Kerala by K. S Sajinkumar; Oommen Thomas The hilly regions of Kerala witness landslides during every rainy season i.e., from June to November. Although rainfall is the prime triggering factor for landslides in Kerala, the thickness of the veneer of soil, the steepness of slope, as well as the anthropogenic activities control the spatial distribution of landslides. The primary type of landslides occurring in Kerala is debris flow, though other kinds like debris slide and rock fall are also prevalent.

Machine Learning Methods in Geoscience by Gerard Schuster This book presents the theory of machine learning (ML) algorithms and their applications to geoscience problems. Geoscience problems include traveltime picking of seismograms by a fuzzy cluster method, migration and inversion of seismic data by neural network (NN) methods, geochemical analysis and dating of rock samples by Gaussian discriminant analysis, convolutional neural network (CNN) picking of faults, cracks, and bird types in images, Bayesian inversion of seismic data, clustering of earthquake data and semblance plots, principal component analysis of seismic data and geochemical records, filtering of seismic sections, seismic interpolation by an NN, transformer analysis of seismic data, and Recurrent NN deconvolution of a seismic trace. More than half of the described algorithms fall under the class of neural network methods. Their description is at a level that can be understood by anyone with a modest background in linear algebra, calculus, and probability. An elementary working knowledge of MATLAB is useful and almost every chapter is accompanied by lab exercises to reinforce the ML principles: lab exercises are at http://utam.gg.utah.edu/Classes/ML/LAB1/index.labs.html. Contributions of geoscience ML labs from readers will be welcome, and vetted labs will be posted to make this an evolving document of fast-growing ML methods. YouTube lectures associated with some chapters will be posted as well, e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEjUYeIKAjo. For readers unfamiliar with MATLAB or Python, many of the labs use the CoLaboratory (CoLab) notebook, which is an easy-to-use product from Google that allows for the execution of Keras-based ML computer codes. It also provides for the free use of a cloud-based GPU processor that can be accessed as soon as you log into the site. There is no need for the troublesome installation of notebook software.

Melt Inclusions in Plutonic Rocks by James D. Webster The volume discusses means to ensure high-quality melt inclusion research, provides practical methods to evaluate and investigate melt inclusions, describes important new analytical techniques and useful examples of their application to natural systems, and summarizes current understanding of plutonic systems ranging from basaltic to rhyolitic in composition.

Palynology in Hydrocarbon Exploration (The Indian Scenario) Part III by N.C. Mehrotra; P. N. Kapoor Palynology is a specialized branch of Paleobotany. It has evolved into a significant geoscience in synergy with sedimentology and micro-paleontology and organic geochemistry that all combined now a days credibly contribute to petroleum exploration by way of bringing out details of various aspects of Sedimentary Geology and Petroleum Geology such as (a) biostratigraphy, (b) depositional environments, (c) paleoceanography and paleogeography and depositional settings for different biostratigraphic sequences and (d) delineation of organic matter facies and evaluation of their hydrocarbon source proclivity.

Porphyry Systems of Central and Southern BC: Tour of Central BC Porphyry Deposits from Prince George to Princeton by James M. Logan; Tom G. Schroeter This six-day trip presents the geological setting and structural history of the central Intermontane belt, a composite of Late Triassic to Early Jurassic volcanic and plutonic arc rocks and porphyry-related mineral deposits that developed on the fringes of ancestral North America before terrane accretion in late Early Jurassic. The trip comprises transects of southern Stikine, Cache Creek, and Quesnel terranes, with visits to six operating mines: Endako (Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc.), Gibraltar (Taseko Mines Limited), Mount Polley (Imperial Metals Corporation), Highland Valley (Teck Resources Limited), New Afton (New Gold Incorporated), and Copper Mountain (Copper Mountain Mining Corporation).

Proceedings of XXIII Indian Colloquium on Micropaleontology and Stratigraphy and International Symposium on Global Bioevents in Earth's History by N. Malarkodi; Gerta Keller; A. N. Reddy; B.C. Jaiprakash

Sequence Stratigraphy of the Jurassic–Lowermost Cretaceous (Hettangian–Berriasian) of the North Sea Region by P. Copestake; M. A. Partington This volume provides a landmark documentation of Jurassic sequence stratigraphy in the North Sea Basin, onshore UK and adjacent regions of the British Isles. It includes detailed sequence descriptions, historical syntheses and updated lithostratigraphy and biozonation schemes, all illustrated by numerous case studies, maps, well displays, seismic lines and biozonation charts.

The Source-to-Sink Vade-mecum: History, Concepts and Tools | Vade-mecum de l'approche Source-To-Sink: Histoire, Concepts et Outils by Sébastien Castelltort, et.al. In the form of a carry-along vade-mecum, in English and French, this volume offers a comprehensive history of the source-to-sink approach, tracing its origins from early geomorphological thinkers to its current applications in exploration, quantitative geomorphology and paleoclimate research. The reader will gain a deeper understanding of the major controls of erosion, transfer, and deposition, and how they shape landscapes and the sedimentary record. The book also describes the latest developments on the propagation of environmental signals from source to sink. The book contains all the basic science concepts needed to understand the complex interactions between the Earth's surface and its sedimentary systems. Also designed as a text-book for teaching the subject in academia or industry, each concept is carefully explained with dedicated figures, making it easy to understand for both students and professionals.

Straits and Seaways: Controls, Processes and Implications in Modern and Ancient Systems by V.M. Rossi; S.G. Longhitano; C. Olariu; F.L. Chiocci Straits and seaways are the key features that connect oceans, seas and lakes. They regulate water, sediment and biota exchanges, and influence local and global climate. A good understanding of the dynamic evolution of straits and seaways is therefore fundamental to accurately reconstruct the palaeogeography, tectonics, palaeoecology and stratigraphy of interconnected basins, the climate dynamics of Earth's past as well as to exploit both conventional and renewable energy resources. This volume provides a comprehensive collection of articles dealing with both ancient and modern case studies, bringing together different but complementary disciplines, such as marine geology, process sedimentology and stratigraphy. With the contents encompassing the evolution, geomorphology, stratigraphy, sedimentology, oceanography and palaeogeography of straits and seaways, and their influence on climate, the book will be of interest to Earth scientists working in many fields.

Tertiary-Age Epithermal Precious Metal Deposits of the Walker Lane, SW Nevada by Borden Putnam; K. Brock Riedell; Ryan Taylor; Joanne Lipske; Rael Lipson The 21st in the series of SEG Foundation-sponsored student field trips provided the opportunity to assess the stratigraphic, structural, and mineralogical characteristics of Tertiary-age low- and high-sulfidation precious metal deposits of the Walker Lane, SW Nevada. Southwest Nevada hosts numerous examples of these deposit types. Tectonism in the region created the basin and range which provides vast areas of geologic exposure. This complex structural history, punctuated with eras of igneous activity, makes exploring and mining in the Great Basin a rewarding experience.

Visages of Geodiversity and Geoheritage by L. Kubalíková; P. Coratza; M. Pál; Z. Zwoliński; P. N. Irapta; B. van Wyk de Vries The book presents both thematic and geographical variety of approaches to geodiversity and geoheritage research. Besides the conceptual chapters focused on geodiversity and geoheritage's links to biodiversity, culture or sustainable tourism and development, the volume includes case studies that reflect an integrated view on heritage, conservation or management aspects.

Volcanic Processes in the Sedimentary Record: When Volcanoes Meet the Environment by A. Di Capua; R. De Rosa; G. Kereszturi; E. Le Pera; M. Rosi; S. F. L. Watt This book brings together research, review and methodological papers that provide an updated view on the sedimentary record of volcanism, spanning diverse processes and environments. It aims to bridge the gap between volcanological and sedimentological approaches to the investigation of processes governing the generation, dispersion and accumulation of volcaniclastic deposits.

Working with Migmatites by Edward W. Sawyer; Michael Brown Working with Migmatites is intended to fill the information gap between those who have a long-term interest in migmatites and those wanting to begin working with them. The field, petrographic, and petrological aspects of migmatites are emphasized. A two-tier classification scheme for the morphologies of migmatites is proposed.