Geological evolution of middle to late Paleozoic rocks in the Avalon terrane of northern mainland Nova Scotia, Canadian Appalachians: a record of tectonothermal activity along the northern margin of the Rheic Ocean in the Appalachian-Caledonide orogen.

This volume is a tribute to the career of J. Brendan Murphy and features papers by over 100 authors from countries all over the world: a testament to the high-profile and far-reaching influence of Brendan’s work. The topics covered fall into three broad categories that encompass Brendan’s main fields of influence: (1) supercontinents and the supercontinent cycle, including reconstructions and modelling; (2) orogenesis and terranes, with a focus on the Appalachian–Variscan and Central Asian orogenic belts and the oceans with which they are associated; and (2) magmatism and magmatic processes, centring on the geochemistry and isotopic compositions of magmas in arc and rift setting. Like Brendan’s own research, the scope of the papers spans the globe and ranges from strongly field-based studies to conceptual analyses. All of the articles, however, are focused on unravelling some critical aspect of geology or aimed at clarifying some crucial geological process. Hence, they also share a theme common to Brendan’s many contributions in emphasizing the importance of process-oriented research.

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.

Volume 1 focuses on the evolution of Central Europe from the Precambrian to the Permian, a dynamic period which traces the formation of Central Europe from a series of microcontinents that separated from Gondwana through to the creation of Pangaea. Separate summary chapters on the Cadomian, Caledonian and Variscan orogenic events as well as on Palaeozoic magmatism provide an overview of the tectonic and magmatic evolution of the region. These descriptions sometimes extend beyond the borders of Central Europe to take in the Scottish and Irish Caledonides as well as the Palaeozoic successions in the Baltic region.

This book provides an up-to-date synthesis of the Pre-Mesozoic Geology in France (Armorican and Central Massifs) and Related Areas (Aquitaine Basin, Vosges, Provence, Pyrenees, Western Alps, Corsica and Sardinia). The geological record is systematically presented, covering seismic reflection, gravity and magnetic data, stratigraphy, paleontology, structure, metamorphism, igneous activity and metallogeny. It is the most up-to-date English summary by French scientists, providing access to the vast literature on the topic mainly written in French. As such, it should be of great interest to an international audience.

Landscape Evolution in the United States is an accessible text that balances interdisciplinary theory and application within the physical geography, geology, geomorphology, and climatology of the United States. Landscape evolution refers to the changing terrain of any given area of the Earth's crust over time. Common causes of evolution (or geomorphology—land morphing into a different size or shape over time) are glacial erosion and deposition, volcanism, earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, sediment transport into rivers, landslides, climate change, and other surface processes. The book is divided into three main parts covering landscape components and how they are affected by climactic, tectonic and ocean systems; varying structural provinces including the Cascadia Volcanic Arc and California Transpressional System; and the formation and collapse of mountain systems. The vast diversity of terrain and landscapes across the United States makes this an ideal tool for geoscientists worldwide who are researching the country's geological evolution over the past several billion years. - Presents the complexities of physical geography, geology, geomorphology, and climatology of the United States through an interdisciplinary, highly accessible approach - Offers more than 250 full-color figures, maps and photographs that capture the systematic interaction of land, rock, rivers, glaciers, global wind patterns and climate - Provides a thorough assessment of the logic, rationale, and tools required to understand how to interpret landscape and the geological history of the Earth - Features exercises that conclude each chapter, aiding in the retention of key concepts

Stratigraphy, a branch of geology, is the science of describing the vertical and lateral relationships of different rock formations formed through time to understand the earth history. These relationships may be based on lithologic properties (named lithostratigraphy), fossil content (labeled biostratigraphy), magnetic properties (called magnetostratigraphy), chemical features (named chemostratigraphy), reflection seismology (named seismic stratigraphy), age relations (called chronostratigraphy). Also, it refers to archaeological deposits called archaeological stratigraphy. Stratigraphy is built on the concept "the present is the key to the past" which was first outlined by James Hutton in the late 1700s and developed by Charles Lyell in the early 1800s. This book focuses particularly on application of geophysical methods in stratigraphic investigations and stratigraphic analysis of layered basin deposits from different geologic settings and present continental areas extending from Mexico region (north America) through Alpine belt including Italy, Greece, Iraq to Russia (northern Asia).

The geological and palaeontological records of climate change and evolutionary events reflect Earth’s widely fluctuating climate systems. Past climates hold the clues to understanding future developments. In this context, research on linked climate, biodiversity and sea-level fluctuations of the Devonian contributes to the general knowledge of deep-time climate dynamics. A fruitful co-operation between the International Geoscience Programme IGCP 596 and the International Subcommission on Devonian Stratigraphy (SDS) addressed the complex succession of climate-linked Devonian global events of varying magnitude. The primary goal of IGCP 596 was to assess mid-Palaeozoic climate changes and their impact on marine and terrestrial biodiversity using an interdisciplinary approach. The focus of SDS includes a revision of the eustatic sea-level curve and the integration of refined chrono- and biostratigraphy with modern chemo-, magneto-, cyclo-, event- and sequence stratigraphy. This enabled the much improved dating and correlation of abiotic perturbations, evolutionary changes, organism and ecosystem ranges. Results by 37 authors are presented in 14 chapters, which cover the entire Devonian.