Special Publication 503 celebrates the career of R. Damian Nance. It features 27 articles, with more than 110 authors based in 18 different countries. These articles include contributions on the processes responsible for the formation and breakup of supercontinents, the controversies concerning the status of Pannotia as a supercontinent, the generation and destruction of Paleozoic oceans, and the development of the Appalachian-Ouachitan-Caledonide-Variscan orogens. In addition to field work, the approaches to gain that understanding include examining the relationships between stratigraphy and structural geology, precise geochronology, geochemical and isotopic fingerprinting, geodynamic modelling, regional syntheses, palaeogeographic modelling, and good old-fashioned arm-waving! The wide range of topics mirrors the breadth and depth of Damian’s contributions, interests and expertise. Like Damian’s papers, the contributions range from the predominantly conceptual to detailed field work, but all are targeted at understanding important tectonic processes. Their scope not only varies in scale from global to regional to local, but also in the range of approaches required to gain that understanding.

This volume focuses on Late Mesoproterozoic to early Cambrian events related to Gondwana assembly and break up. The nineteen papers provide a comprehensive review including advanced knowledge and new data from all critical areas of East Gondwana. The recent knowledge of the evolution of East Gondwana, which was regarded as an integral part of the Mesoproterozoic supercontinent Rodinia, is the major theme of the volume, which is reinforced by highlighting this radical and new understanding of the evolution of this region.

The shifting continents of the Earth are heading for inevitable collision: 250 million years from now, all the land masses on this planet will come together in a single, gigantic supercontinent which no human is ever likely to see. That future supercontinent will not be the first to form on Earth, nor will it be the last. Each cycle lasts half a billion years, making it the grandest of all the patterns in nature. It is scarcely a century since science first understood how Pangaea, the supercontinent which gave birth to dinosaurs, split apart, but scientists can now look back three-quarters of a billion years into the Earth's almost indecipherable past to reconstruct Pangaea's predecessor, and computer-model the shape of the Earth's far-distant future. Ted Nield's book tells the astounding story of how that science emerged (often in the face of fierce opposition), and how scientists today are using the most modern techniques to draw information out of the oldest rocks on Earth. It also reveals the remarkable human story of the Altantis-seeking visionaries and madmen who have been imagining lost or undiscovered continents for centuries. Ultimately all supercontinents exist only in the human imagination, but understanding the 'Supercontinent Cycle' represents nothing less than finally knowing how our planet works.

The supercontinent-cycle hypothesis attributes planetary-scale episodic tectonic events to an intrinsic self-organizing mode of mantle convection, governed by the buoyancy of continental lithosphere that resists subduction during the closure of old ocean basins, and the consequent reorganization of mantle convection cells leading to the opening of new ocean basins. Characteristic timescales of the cycle are typically 500 to 700 million years. Proposed spatial patterns of cyclicity range from hemispheric (introversion) to antipodal (extroversion), to precisely between those end members (orthoversion). Advances in our understanding can arise from theoretical or numerical modelling, primary data acquisition relevant to continental reconstructions, and spatiotemporal correlations between plate kinematics, geodynamic events and palaeoenvironmental history. The palaeogeographic record of supercontinental tectonics on Earth is still under development. The contributions in this Special Publication provide snapshots in time of these investigations and indicate that Earth’s palaeogeographic record incorporates elements of all three end-member spatial patterns.

Covering the Cosmos from before the Big Bang through to the creation of our universe and up to but not including our arrival on stage; our will is not yet imposed, we had no hand, act nor part in its provisions, beyond investigating to understand what has been delivered us. The many aspects of the Cosmos are melded, in a headline driven style, to paint a cohesive picture as well as allowing the reader choose to delve further where they may choose to paint their personal picture. Cosmos – includes; • The creation mechanism for our Universe and why there exists a possible Multiverse. • The creation mechanisms of the galaxies with their diversity of Star types. • The space exploration of our Solar System. • The Earth and Moon from their birth to their life driving engines for our planet. • The evolutionary processes that led to our arrival on the planet. • Our natural world with its great events. • Documentary video links on all topics of the book are included. The story is factual in manner, in the proper tradition of reporting, no personal opinions are expressed. The life stories of the standout personalities, in text and video, without whom what is now known, could not have been unraveled, in the case of Cosmos, they are; • Galileo Galilei • Isaac Newton • Albert Einstein • Charles Darwin This is a Video Book, vBook, beyond its text there are 150+ video titles, 100+ viewing hours, downloaded and stored locally on your computer, to be able to watch anytime, offline, without the need for local internet connection. Google ‘Cosmos’ and you get about 27,800,000 search results, so over these last several years I’ve searched out the best documentary videos with their hyperlinks included here, blending their content to report cohesively, supplementing, where appropriate, from Wikipedia and also include those hyperlinks for readers wanting to delve further. The ‘List of Contents’ runs to 6 levels to provide a form of map to the reader as the reporting sequence is not a mere chronology of Cosmic events, it delves, as necessary into the stories as to how the events became understood to us. There is a 7th level, hyperlinked, at its base, which brings further background content, from Wikipedia, to those who choose to read further into any of the topics. The ‘Index’ allows navigation for the reader who has specific interests to investigate through the fabric of the report. The ‘Text’ is structured to 4 levels beginning with the primary, headline driven, main body content followed by relevant Wikipedia extracts, indented in purple, for those choosing to read further into a particular topic through to hyperlinked Wikipedia - Full Article text within the book and in turn out to the website itself. For the reader that wants to stay with the big picture, main body content, there is a “Skip” link to take you past each of the extracts, on to the next headline title and main body content. There are 150+ video content links delivering 100+ hours of viewing time, of the best documentary film available online. The main sequence structure is; • Cosmology – Universe & Multiverse • Geology – Earth & Moon • Biology – Life – Plant & Animal • Ecology – Evolution & Environment – Plant, Animal & Human Special Edition There is also a Special Edition of this book available for US$49.95 which streams all video content from a secure Cloud Drive; therefore, video content cannot be removed by third party video platform providers such as YouTube, DailyMotion, Vimeo….. This Standard Edition streams from these. The Cloud Drive Server also allows you conveniently download to your local drive, as much video content as you choose, to watch, offline, at a time that best suits you. To view or purchase, paste the books ASIN: B00LEWY5WW into the Kindle Store search box. If you've any queries, feel welcome to contact bangtoeternityandbetwixt@gmail.com

Have you ever wondered how it is that we find ourselves on this tiny blue planet called Earth? Is Earth the only lucky planet in our universe to harbor intelligent life? How did that first speck of life materialize? If you cant swallow the argument that it was just dumb luck, then you may enjoy reading this pithy little book. You will be amazed how the big bang theory, scientific chronology of the fossil record, and the adaptive radiation of lineages are in harmony with the Creation story in Genesis. The Ancient River of Eden also touches on questions such as If there is a loving, all-seeing, all-powerful Creator, why are there so many troubles in this world? and What does he care if de land aint free? O man river, Dat ol man river, He mus know sumpin, but dont say nuthin. The author shares some of his personal life experiences and gives a brief account of his coming to know the Lord, connecting with Holy Spirit. The book is sprinkled with references to the Old and New Testaments. Jewish leaders demanded the crucifixion of Jesus only after Jesus clearly stated that he was indeed God (John 18:36 and John 20:289). It is impossible for the human mind to technically grasp this supernatural occurrence called Immanuel, but God did create both the natural dimension and a supernatural dimension in our universe. After reading this book and exploring the ideas presented, it is the authors hope that you will no longer be a doubting Thomas.

Developments in Earthquake Engineering have focussed on the capacity and response of structures. They often overlook the importance of seismological knowledge to earthquake-proofing of design. It is not enough only to understand the anatomy of the structure, you must also appreciate the nature of the likely earthquake. Seismic design, as detailed in this book, is the bringing together of Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology. It focuses on the seismological aspects of design – analyzing various types of earthquake and how they affect structures differently. Understanding the distinction between these earthquake types and their different impacts on buildings can make the difference between whether a building stands or falls, or at least to how much it costs to repair. Covering the basis and basics of the major international codes, this is the essential guide for professionals working on structures in earthquake zones around the world.

The Geological Survey's 1907 Memoir 'The Geological Structure of the North-West Highlands of Scotland' outlined many of the principles of field-based structural and tectonic analysis that have subsequently guided generations of geologists working in other mountain belts, both ancient and modern. These 32 papers celebrate the centenary of the 1907 Memoir by placing the original findings in both historical and modern contexts, and juxtaposing them against present-day studies of deformation processes operating not only in the NW Highlands, but also in other mountain belts.

Her maps of the ocean floor have been called "one of the most remarkable achievements in modern cartography", yet no one knows her name. Soundings is the story of the enigmatic, unknown woman behind one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century. Before Marie Tharp, geologist and gifted draftsperson, the whole world, including most of the scientific community, thought the ocean floor was a vast expanse of nothingness. In 1948, at age 28, Marie walked into the newly formed geophysical lab at Columbia University and practically demanded a job. The scientists at the lab were all male; the women who worked there were relegated to secretary or assistant. Through sheer willpower and obstinacy, Marie was given the job of interpreting the soundings (records of sonar pings measuring the ocean's depths) brought back from the ocean-going expeditions of her male colleagues. The marriage of artistry and science behind her analysis of this dry data gave birth to a major work: the first comprehensive map of the ocean floor, which laid the groundwork for proving the then-controversial theory of continental drift. When combined, Marie's scientific knowledge, her eye for detail and her skill as an artist revealed not a vast empty plane, but an entire world of mountains and volcanoes, ridges and rifts, and a gateway to the past that allowed scientists the means to imagine how the continents and the oceans had been created over time. Just as Marie dedicated more than twenty years of her professional life to what became the Lamont Geological Observatory, engaged in the task of mapping every ocean on Earth, she dedicated her personal life to her great friendship with her co-worker, Bruce Heezen. Partners in work and in many ways, partners in life, Marie and Bruce were devoted to one another as they rose to greater and greater prominence in the scientific community, only to be envied and finally dismissed by their beloved institute. They went on together, refining and perfecting their work and contributing not only to humanity's vision of the ocean floor, but to the way subsequent generations would view the Earth as a whole. With an imagination as intuitive as Marie's, brilliant young writer Hali Felt brings to vivid life the story of the pioneering scientist whose work became the basis for the work of others scientists for generations to come.

An invaluable, step-by-step guide to data management in R for social science researchers. This book will show you how to recode data, combine data from different sources, document data, and import data from statistical packages other than R. It explores both qualitative and quantitative data and is packed with a range of supportive learning features such as code examples, overview boxes, images, tables, and diagrams.