Ecosystem Dynamics in a Polar Desert


Book Description

Presents information from the primary abiotic forces defining the system, and from the present hydrology, biogeochemistry and physics of major sites of organic carbon production of the McMurdo Dry Valleys. Additionally, research on the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the dry valley soils is included. The role of environmental management in long-term ecological studies is also addressed. The accompanying CDROM provides details and scale to visualize the McMurdo Dry Valleys from an ecosystem perspective.




Evolution of Archean Crust and Early Life


Book Description

This book presents an integrated approach to the study of the evolution of the Archean lithosphere, biosphere and atmosphere, and as such it is a unique contribution to our understanding of the early Earth and life. The structural and geochemical make-up of both the oceanic and continental crust of the Archean Earth is documented in some case studies of various cratons, and the implications of the Phanerozoic plate and plume tectonic processes for the Archean geology are discussed in several chapters in the book. All chapters are process-oriented and data-rich, and reflect the most recent knowledge and information on the Archean Earth. The interdisciplinary approach of examining the evolution of the Archean crust, oceans, and life that we adopt in this book sets it apart from previous publications on Precambrian geology. The book will be attractive to researchers in academia and in industry, and to senior undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty in earth and natural sciences.




The Formation and Evolution of Africa


Book Description

The African continent preserves a long geological record that covers almost 75% of Earth's history. The Pan-African orogeny (c. 600-500 Ma) brought together old continental kernels (West Africa, Congo, Kalahari and Tanzania) to form Gondwana and subsequently the supercontinent Pangaea by the late Palaeozoic. The break-up of Pangaea since the Jurassic and Cretaceous, primarily through opening of the Central Atlantic, Indian, and South Atlantic oceans, in combination with the complicated subduction history to the north, gradually shaped the African continent. This volume contains 18 contributions that discuss the geology of Africa from the Archaean to the present day.




Geology of Southwest Gondwana


Book Description

This book focuses on the geological evolution of Southwest (SW) Gondwana and presents state-of-the-art insights into its evolution. It addresses the diachronic assembly of continental fragments derived from the break-up of the Rodinia supercontinent later amalgamated to build SW Gondwana during the Neoproterozoic–Cambrian transition, which on a global scale includes parts of present-day South America, Africa and Madagascar. The book presents 24 state-of-the-art reviews including the most crucial controversies. Most experienced scientists about the geology of SW Gondwana from Europe, Africa, South America and Australia present contributions on key areas addressing the interactions between the main cratons and fold belts on both sides of the South Atlantic Ocean. Chapters related to the geology of the major Archean- Paleoproterozoic cratons and Neoproterozoic Brasiliano/Pan-African fold belts enable readers to gain an in-depth understanding of the tectonometamorphic and magmatic evolution of SW Gondwana. The book covers a wide range of issues including metallogenetic, sedimentary, paleobiological and paleoclimatic processes and allows a deep insight into this key period of the Earth’s evolution.




Tectonic Controls and Signatures in Sedimentary Successions


Book Description

Stratigraphers and sedimentologists who are presently describing and interpreting the infill of sedimentary basins are generally agreed that it is difficult to disentangle the signatures of tectonic processes from those of climate and eustatic sea level change in the resultant rock succession. Until better criteria are developed to distinguish between the roles played by the major variables, it is still most useful to document and interpret basin-fill architectures where we know, from independent evidence, that one of the main controls is likely to have been a major contributor. This book contains a collection of papers describing situations where the tectonic setting is fairly well established, and it can be assumed that at least the tectonic factor has contributed to the resultant signatures.




The History of Geophysics in Southern Africa


Book Description

Geophysics is a comparatively young science which only evolved as a distinct discipline during the 19th century. However, its phenomena (like earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and lightning) had been objects of fear, curiosity and speculation since ancient times. In this book, Johan de Beer and his research team reveal that geophysical activity in South Africa can be traced back to as early as 1488. This is a truly astonishing revelation which deserves to be firmly entrenched as part of the country?s proud history. The book also discusses the history and formation of South African geophysical institutions that made a huge and seldom acknowledged contribution to the technological development of southern Africa.







African Basins


Book Description

Following on from the first 2 books in the series, Sedimentary Basins of the World, which covered Chinese Sedimentary Basins (Volume 1) and South Pacific Sedimentary Basins (Volume 2), comes Volume 3, on African Basins. Africa covers a larger land area than the USA, Europe, India and the ASEAN nations put together. It is rich in natural resources, including oil, gas, coal and nearly every metalliferous mineral. Yet Africa is still one of the least explored continents. This book brings together in one volume, concise reviews of basins previously documented in a vast array of diffuse literature. It also contains some of the first detailed accounts of several basins which have never before been described in such depth. These include the onshore Owambo, Iullemmeden, and Sudanese rift basins, and the offshore basins of southern Africa. The contributions are by authors, and teams of authors, with great knowledge and experience of the basins that they describe. The thirteen chapters are arranged in 3 parts covering North Africa, Central Africa and Southern Africa and the book is illustrated by maps, cross-sections, stratigraphic sections and seismic lines. Each chapter includes a comprehensive bibliography and the book concludes with a subject index. For academic geologists researching the geology of Africa, and for industrial geologists seeking natural resources within African sedimentary rocks, this book is an invaluable source of information.




Ore Deposits and Mantle Plumes


Book Description

PERTH Western Australia March 2000 Increasingly explorationists are seeking to find new ore deposits in poorly prospected areas, be they geographically remote, such as in the Arctic, or geologically remote, such as those under sedimentary cover. Modern prospecting techniques, including low-detection-level geochemistry and the use of advanced geophysical instrumentation have greatly assisted explorers but fundamental to any soundly based exploration program remains an understanding of the geological framework of ore deposits. This allows the development of deposit models on macroscopic and mesoscopic scales. This book by Dr. Franeo Pirajno draws on his extensive and wide global experience. To set the scene for a discussion of ore deposit generation Franeo details the Earths internal structures and mantle dynamics. He then explores the impact of mantle plumes on the crust and in particular their role in the production of magmatic environments, and in continental scale rifting. This includes a descriptive section on magmatic provinces around the globe, which highlights the importance of plumes. Any study of Earth processes needs to take into account the effects of extraterrestrial bombardment, and in particular the results from the impacts of large bolides. The effects of these impacts on the atmosphere and on life have now been recognised as profound. It is likely that the effect ofthese impacts on the Earth's crust is as equally profound.