Introduction

Geology offers a unique perspective on the Earth—past, present, and future. It is the language through which the Earth speaks, by means of rocks, geologic processes, the geologic record, and the biography of the Earth. This book explains how geologists arrived at understanding the story of the planet and discusses the three major tenets of geology: geologic time, plate tectonics, and evolution. The development of theories about how the Earth functions is detailed, along with their relevance. Within geology are the keys to understanding the history of the Earth, how that past informs the present, and ways of going forward. The Earth has interacted with life as long as that life has been extant. Life has shaped the Earth and vice versa with times of flowering and the radiation of life forms and other times of extinctions through profound changes in the climate and positions of the continents. These dynamics can shed light on the current changes in and consequences of perturbing the global climate.

The Vendian–Cambrian Cyclometric Stratigraphic Scale for the Southern and Central Siberian Platform

—The general Vendian stratigraphic scale of Siberia, with the uncertain age of the Vendian base ranging from 600 to 630– 640 Ma in most of recent publications, remains worse constrained than the Cambrian scale, in which the boundaries of epochs and stages have been well defined. However, the imperfect classical stratigraphic division has been compensated by data on the cyclicity of the Vendian–Cambrian sedimentary section. The Vendian stratigraphy of the Siberian Platform and the related deposition history with cycles of sedimentation and gaps, as well as the hierarchy of sedimentation processes, can be inferred from the succession of alternating clastic, carbonate, and salt units. The cyclicity of geologic processes and their recurrence are attributed to periodic oscillatory motions of the crust. The ranks of these motions correlate with the cyclicity of sedimentary strata, including regocyclites, nexocyclites, and halcyclites separated by gaps. Each Vendian long-period oscillatory motion begins with a regocyclite and ends with a regional-scale gap. The Cambrian section includes one pre-Mayan regional gap at the end of the early Cambrian long-period cycle. Cambrian regocyclites are composed of carbonate subformations and formations in the lower part and alternating salt and carbonate beds in the upper part.

Steno and the rock cycle

Geologists categorize the basic types of rock according to their origin – igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic -- rather than by their physical properties. This is expressed dynamically by the fundamental concept of the rock cycle, which describes how the basic rock types are derived from one another within the Earth system as a result of ongoing cyclic geologic processes. In Nicolaus Steno’s published geological work, particularly De Solido, he takes a similar approach, outlining how a substance can be examined “to disclose the place and manner of its production”. Steno also recognizes the roles of erosion, transport, and deposition in the production of sedimentary strata from pre-existing earth materials. His description and diagrams of the geological evolution of Tuscany also show a clear cyclicity of process. While the modern concept of the rock cycle did not emerge until the 19th century, Steno’s work contains key elements of this important concept.

First Results and Prospects of a New Approach to the Study of Active Geologic Processes by Space and Ground Instrumental Measurements (by the Example of Kamchatka and the Central Asian Orogenic Belt)

––The use of satellite-geological information permits generalization of studies of various active geologic processes in a new way. As reference examples, we consider geologic regions extensively covered by research with our contribution. The joint use of satellite images, maps of gravity anomalies, and seismic-tomography data for Kamchatka made it possible to construct 3D models of surficial and deep-seated (depths from 10–50 to 650 km) volcanic structures. For young volcanosedimentary structures of Kamchatka, it is possible to trace the interaction of various processes, from crystallization of magmas in magma chambers to ore and oil formation in calderas. Ancient tectonic structures and superposed Cenozoic deformations in the Tien Shan, Altai, and Baikal regions are clearly displayed in satellite images and on maps of gravity anomalies. The long-range impact of the Indo-Eurasian collision on the Tien Shan, Altai, and Baikal regions was expressed as shearing, which resulted in the most contrasting structures in the zones of junction of regional faults and along the framing of cratonal structures. The active structures of Gorny Altai contain numerous travertines, whose abundance is correlated with seismic activity. The mass formation of methane and gas hydrates in Lake Baikal might be related to mantle plume fluids.

Tin Enrichment in Magmatic-Hydrothermal Environments Associated with Cassiterite Mineralization at Ardlethan, Eastern Australia: Insights from Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd Isotope Compositions in Tourmaline

Primary cassiterite mineralization is often associated with highly evolved granites, but the magmatic and hydrothermal processes that produce these deposits are often difficult to decipher. In this study, we employed the chemical and Sr-Nd isotope compositions of tourmaline to monitor processes of Sn enrichment in the magmatic and hydrothermal stages of the Ardlethan granite (Australia) and its associated Sn deposits. Initial 87Sr/86Sr (0.710–0.717) and ɛNd (–5.0 to –1.0) values of late magmatic tourmalines indicate derivation of the Ardlethan granite via an assimilation-fractional crystallization (AFC) process in which incorporation of Ordovician sediment into an I-type granitic parental magma produced an enrichment of Sn at least 30 times over that of the assumed mafic-dominated igneous source of the granite. The rare earth element and Sn concentrations of tourmaline in the greisen deposits together with δ18O of coprecipitated quartz indicate that exsolution of a late-stage, Cl-rich fluid from the Ardlethan granite led to cassiterite mineralization in these deposits. In contrast the Fe/(Fe + Mg) and initial εNd (–9.2 to –12.9) compositions of tourmaline that coprecipitated with cassiterite in the large breccia pipes adjacent to the Ardlethan granite suggest that granite-derived fluids scavenged Sn by chemical leaching of an older S-type granite that hosts the pipes. This study shows that tourmaline can act as a robust monitor of key geologic processes in complex and dynamic magmatic-hydrothermal Sn systems and that its 87Sr/86Sr and ɛNd isotope compositions are especially useful for constraining the nature of magmatic and hydrothermal sources that contributed to these deposits.

Bright carbonate veins on asteroid (101955) Bennu: Implications for aqueous alteration history

The composition of asteroids and their connection to meteorites provide insight into geologic processes that occurred in the early Solar System. We present spectra of the Nightingale crater region on near-Earth asteroid Bennu with a distinct infrared absorption around 3.4 micrometers. Corresponding images of boulders show centimeters-thick, roughly meter-long bright veins. We interpret the veins as being composed of carbonates, similar to those found in aqueously altered carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. If the veins on Bennu are carbonates, fluid flow and hydrothermal deposition on Bennu’s parent body would have occurred on kilometer scales for thousands to millions of years. This suggests large-scale, open-system hydrothermal alteration of carbonaceous asteroids in the early Solar System.

High-Temperature Processes: Is it Time for Lithium Isotopes?

The field of high-temperature Li isotope geochemistry has been rattled by major paradigm changes. The idea that Li isotopes could be used to trace the sources of fluids, rocks, and magmas had to be largely abandoned, because Li diffusion causes its isotopes to fractionate at metamorphic and magmatic temperatures. However, diffusive fractionation of Li isotopes can be used to determine timescales of geologic processes using arrested diffusion profiles. High diffusivity and strong kinetic isotope fractionation favors Li isotopes as a tool to constrain the durations of fast processes in the crust and mantle, where other geochronometers fall short. Time may be the parameter that high-temperature Li isotope studies will be able to shed much light on.

IoT Based Post Disaster Recovery System using Smartphone

In recent decade’s severe natural or artificial disaster and further geologic processes have occurred with catastrophic consequences. Timely it should be detected and make it recovery. So, in this paper, we had proposed a multiterrain robot and other software systems to ease the detection. As the demand for multi-terrain robot applications are increasing significantly. This robot can be deployed for the use of assured future surveillance and extricate purposes in the isolated areas. In isolated areas robot stability will be challenging task due to varied terrain. A new design is propounded for the mobile robot which aims to execute monitoring performances while travelling on terrain types in balanced way. A chain-wheeled multi-terrain robot has been evolved which has ability to run in rough and unmanned surfaces.

On uncertainty in geoscience decision making

<p>Uncertainty is a feature of all science, but geoscientists tend to operate under a higher degree of uncertainty at every level of scientific decision making (Bárdossy and Fodor, 2001). Geoscientists work in fundamentally less predictable environments, where direct observation and experimental control are difficult or impossible due to the large time spans of geologic processes. We are cognitive psychologists who collaborate with geoscientists to better understand the influence of uncertainty on geologic decision making, and to identify the ways expert scientists constrain decision making using heuristics (i.e., rules of thumb).</p><p>This presentation will review our work on geologic decision making under uncertainty, focusing on how scientists use heuristics when making spatiotemporal data collection decisions. Our research demonstrates that, when the gradient of data value in the environment is uncertain, scientists use heuristics to decide where to go (in space) to collect data. Heuristics are efficient and effective in many circumstances, but can leave experts vulnerable to decision bias. In ongoing research, we explore whether new field workflows (uncertainty mapping) or mobile robotic platforms (terrestrial, aerial) can debias decision making. Our research agenda is translational, with the goal of improving scientists’ interpretation of geologic phenomena in the field.</p>