Arc-continent collision has been one of the important tectonic processes in the formation of mountain belts throughout geological time, and it continues to be so today along tectonically active plate boundaries such as those in the SW Pacific or the Caribbean. Arc-continent collision is thought to have been one of the most important process involved in the growth of the continental crust over geological time, and may also play an important role in its recycling back into the mantle via subduction. Understanding the geological processes that take place during arc-continent collision is therefore of importance for our understanding of how collisional orogens evolve and how the continental crust grows or is destroyed. Furthermore, zones of arc-continent collision are producers of much of the worlds primary economic wealth in the form of minerals, so understanding the processes that take place during these tectonic events is of importance in modeling how this mineral wealth is formed and preserved. This book brings together seventeen papers that are dedicated to the investigation of the tectonic processes that take place during arc-continent collision. It is divided into four sections that deal firstly with the main players involved in any arc-continent collision; the continental margin, the subduction zone, and finally the volcanic arc and its mineral deposits. The second section presents eight examples of arc-continent collisions that range from being currently active through to Palaeoproterozoic in age. The third section contains two papers, one that deals with the obduction of large-slab ophiolites and a second that presents a wide range of physical models of arc-continent collision. The fourth section brings everything that comes before together into a discussion of the processes of arc-continent collision.

Recycling of oceanic plate back into the Earth's interior at subduction zones is one of the key processes in Earth evolution. Volcanic arcs, which form above subduction zones, are the most visible manifestations of plate tectonics, the convection mechanism by which the Earth loses excess heat. They are probably also the main location where new continental crust is formed, the so-called 'subduction factory' About 400f modern subduction zones on Earth are intra-oceanic. These subduction systems are generally simpler than those at continental margins as they commonly have a shorter history of subduction and their magmas are not contaminated by ancient sialic crust. They are therefore the optimum locations for studies of mantle processes and magmatic addition to the crust in subduction zones.

Onshore fold-thrust belts are commonly perceived as 'difficult' places to explore for hydrocarbons and are therefore often avoided. However, these belts host large oil and gas fields and so these barriers to effective exploration mean that substantial unexploited resources may remain. Over time, evaluation techniques have improved. It is possible in certain circumstances to achieve good 3D seismic data. Structural restoration techniques have moved into the 3D domain and increasingly sophisticated palaeo-thermal indicators allow better modelling of burial and uplift evolution of source and reservoirs. Awareness of the influence of pre-thrust structure and stratigraphy and of hybrid thick and thin-skinned deformation styles is augmenting the simplistic geometric models employed in earlier exploration. But progress is a slow, expensive and iterative process. Industry and academia need to collaborate.

Earthquakes are some of the most dynamic features of the Earth. This multidisciplinary volume presents an overview of earthquake processes and properties including the physics of dynamic faulting, fault fabric and mechanics, physical and chemical properties of fault zones, dynamic rupture processes, and numerical modeling of fault zones during seismic rupture. This volume examines questions such as: • What are the dynamic processes recorded in fault gouge? • What can we learn about rupture dynamics from laboratory experiments? • How do on-fault and off-fault properties affect seismic ruptures? • How do fault zones evolve over time? Fault Zone Dynamic Processes: Evolution of Fault Properties During Seismic Rupture is a valuable resource for scientists, researchers and students from across the geosciences interested in the earthquakes processes.

Professor Richard (Rick) Sibson revolutionized structural geology by illustrating that fault rocks contain an integrated record of earthquakes. Fault-rock textures develop in response to geological and physical variables such as composition, environmental conditions (e.g. temperature and pressure), fluid presence and strain rate. These parameters also determine the rate- and state-variable frictional stability of a fault, the dominant mineral deformation mechanism and shear strength, and ultimately control the partitioning between seismic and aseismic deformation. This volume contains a collection of papers that address the geological record of earthquake faulting from field-based or theoretical perspectives.

This book is devoted to different aspects of tectonic research. Syntheses of recent and earlier works, combined with new results and interpretations, are presented in this book for diverse tectonic settings. Most of the chapters include up-to-date material of detailed geological investigations, often combined with geophysical data, which can help understand more clearly the essence of mechanisms of different tectonic processes. Some chapters are dedicated to general problems of tectonics. Another block of chapters is devoted to sedimentary basins and special attention in this book is given to tectonic processes on active plate margins.

Geology of the China Seas represents the first English-language synthesis of the available research into the geology of the South and East China Seas. Among the marginal basins worldwide, these areas have been the focus of extensive research activities in the last three decades, and are now among the global hot spots in hydrocarbon explorations and scientific investigations. The region is experiencing rapid economic development with the offshore petroleum industry providing approximately one third of the domestic hydrocarbon production for mainland China. Gas hydrates have been successfully recovered from the China Seas for the first time. Over the years, many volumes on the geology of the China Seas have been published in Chinese. Although an increasing number of papers in English have appeared recently, the majority deal with local or regional paleo-environment and sedimentology, and are scattered in different journals. This book brings together this rich data in one resource, particularly that generated by Chinese marine geologists and petroleum geologists, and provides the very first synthesis of the geology off China. - The first systematic summary of the geology of the China Seas - Includes comprehensive coverage of the South China Sea and the East China Sea, including the Yellow Sea and Bohai Gulf - Reviews hundreds of Chinese publications on marine and petroleum geology not currently accessible to the international community

In the last one hundred years, a number of catastrophic events associated with rockslide dam formation and failure have occurred in the mountain regions of the world. This book presents a global view of the formation, characteristics and behaviour of natural and artificial rockslide dams. Chapters include a comprehensive state-of-the-art review of our global understanding natural and artificial rockslide dams, overviews of approaches to rockslide dam risk mitigation, regional studies of rockslide dams in India, Nepal, China, Pakistan, New Zealand, and Argentina. Rockslide dams associated with large-scale instability of volcanoes are also examined. Detailed case histories of well-known historic and prehistoric rockslide dams provide examples of investigations of rockslide dam behaviour, stability, and characteristics. The formation and behaviour of rockslide-dammed lakes ("Quake Lakes") formed during the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake, China are also comprehensively summarised. The formation, sedimentology and stability of rockslide dams is examined in several analytical papers. An analysis of break-out floods from volcanogenic lakes and hydrological methods of estimating break-out flood magnitude and behavior are reviewed. The use of remote sensing data in rockslide-dammed lake characterisation is explored and a new approach to the classification of rockslide dams is introduced. Finally, a unique section of the book summarises Russian and Kyrgyz experience with blast-fill dam construction in two papers by leading authorities on the technology. The volume contains 24 papers by 50 authors from 16 countries including most of the recognised world authorities on the subject.