In recent years, interest in Neoproterozoic glaciations has grown as their pivotal role in Earth system evolution has become increasingly clear. One of the main goals of the IGCP Project number 512 was to produce a synthesis of newly available information on Neoproterozoic successions worldwide. This Memoir consists of a series of overview chapters followed by site-specific chapters. The overviews cover key topics including the history of research on Neoproterozoic glaciations, identification of glacial deposits, chemostratigraphic techniques and datasets, palaeomagnetism, biostratigraphy, geochronology and climate modelling. The site specific chapters include reviews of the history of research on these rocks and up-to-date syntheses of the structural framework, tectonic setting, palaeomagnetic & geochronological constraints, physical, biological, and chemical stratigraphy, and descriptions of the glaciogenic and associated strata, including economic deposits.

"The Appalachians constitute one of Earth's major tectonic features and have served as a springboard for innovative geologic thought for more than 170 years. This volume contains 36 original papers reporting the results of research performed throughout nearly the entire length and breadth of the Appalachian region, including all major provinces and geographical areas. Memoir 206 was designed to commemorate the (near-)fortieth anniversary of the publication of the classic Studies of Appalachian Geology volumes that appeared just prior to the application of plate tectonic concepts to the region. Contributions concerning structural evolution, sedimentation, stratigraphy, magmatic processes, metamorphism, tectonics, and terrane accretion illustrate the wide range of ongoing research in the area and collectively serve to mark the considerable progress in scientific thought that has occurred during the past four decades."--pub. desc.

"This volume provides a comprehensive overview of our understanding of the evolution of the Appalachian-Caledonian-Variscan orogen. It takes the reader along a clockwise path around the North Atlantic Ocean from the U.S. and Canadian Appalachians; to the Caledonides of Spitsbergen, Scandinavia, Scotland and Ireland; and thence south to the Variscides of Morocco"--

Fifty years ago, Tuzo Wilson published his paper asking `Did the Atlantic close and then re-open?’. This led to the `Wilson Cycle’ concept in which the repeated opening and closing of ocean basins along old orogenic belts is a key process in the assembly and breakup of supercontinents. The Wilson Cycle underlies much of what we know about the geological evolution of the Earth and its lithosphere, and will no doubt continue to be developed as we gain more understanding of the physical processes that control mantle convection, plate tectonics, and as more data become available from currently less accessible regions. This volume includes both thematic and review papers covering various aspects of the Wilson Cycle concept. Thematic sections include: (1) the Classic Wilson v. Supercontinent Cycles, (2) Mantle Dynamics in the Wilson Cycle, (3) Tectonic Inheritance in the Lithosphere, (4) Revisiting Tuzo’s question on the Atlantic, (5) Opening and Closing of Oceans, and (6) Cratonic Basins and their place in the Wilson Cycle.