NATO Advanced Research Institutes are designed to explore unre solved problems. By focusing complementary expertise from various disciplines onto one unifying theme, they approach old problems in new ways. In line with this goal of the NATO Science Committee, and with substantial support from the u.s. Office of Naval Research and the Seabed Assessment Program of the U. S. National Science Founda tion, such a Research Institute on the theme of Coastal Upwelling and Its Sediment Record was held september 1-4, 1981, in Vilamoura, Portugal. The theme implies a modification of uniformitarian thinking in earth science. Expectations were directed not so much towards find ing the key to the past as towards exploring the limits of interpret ing the past based on present upwelling oceanography. Coastal up welling and its imprint on sediments are particularly well-suited for such a scientific inquiry. The oceanic processes and conditions characteristic of upwelling are well understood and are a well packaged representation of ocean science that are familiar to geolo gists, just as the magnitude of bioproduction and sedimentation in upwelling regimes --among other biological and geological processes- have made oceanographers realize that the bottom has a feedback role for their models.

NATO Advanced Research Institutes are designed to explore unre solved problems. By focusing complementary expertise from various disciplines onto one unifying theme, they approach old problems in new ways. In line with this goal of the NATO Science Committee, and with substantial support from the u.s. Office of Naval Research and the Seabed Assessment Program of the U. S. National Science Founda tion, such a Research Institute on the theme of Coastal Upwelling and Its Sediment Record was held september 1-4, 1981, in Vilamoura, Portugal. The theme implies a modification of uniformitarian thinking in earth science. Expectations were directed not so much towards find ing the key to the past as towards exploring the limits of interpret ing the past based on present upwelling oceanography. Coastal up welling and its imprint on sediments are particularly well-suited for such a scientific inquiry. The oceanic processes and conditions characteristic of upwelling are well understood and are a well packaged representation of ocean science that are familiar to geolo gists, just as the magnitude of bioproduction and sedimentation in upwelling regimes --among other biological and geological processes- have made oceanographers realize that the bottom has a feedback role for their models.

This volume presents the most significant papers given during the 13th International Meeting in Organic Geochemistry. The intention of the publication is to provide the scholars of this science with its state-of-the-art and recent papers not only in academic research but above all in practical applications. Several papers attest to an increased use of organic geochemistry not only in the oil industry, during all phases of petroleum exploration, but also in the other research areas of coal origin and structure, metallogeny, sedimentology, molecular palaeontology, biochemistry and pollution.

Estuaries and their surrounding wetland regions are among the most productive ecosystems in the world, with more than half of humanity inhabiting their shores. Anthropogenic factors make estuaries highly susceptible to ecosystem degradation. Coastal waters are closely connected with human activity, and their dynamic processes may greatly affect coastal environments. This book provides a compendium of studies on estuarine dynamics, river plumes, and coastal water dynamics, studies that have investigated the changes in estuarine and coastal zones in response to sea-level rise and other environmental factors, and policy and management strategies to ensure the health and economy of coastal zones. This book aims to display novel frontiers in these fields and may help to inspire in-depth studies in the future.

A comprehensive progress report on the multi-disciplinary field of ocean and climate change research is given. It compiles introductory background papers and leading scientific results on the ocean-atmosphere carbon cycle with emphasis on the ocean's carbon inventory and the various components involved. The relationship between plankton productivity, carbon fixation, oceanic PCO2 and climate change is investigated from the viewpoint of long-term climatic change during the late Quaternary cycles of ice ages and warm ages. The various approaches range from micropaleontology over organic and trace element geochemistry to molecular isotope geochemistry.

Knowledge of basic clay microstructure is fundamental to an understanding of the physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of fine-grained sediments and rocks. This compilation of fifty-nine peer-reviewed papers examines clay microstructure in detail with comprehensive sections focusing on microstructure signatures, environmental processes, modeling, measurement techniques, and future research recommendations. Many of these topics are discussed in light of geological and engineering applications, such as hazardous waste disposal, construction techniques, and drilling programs. The field of clay microstructure is developing rapidly. The concepts, observations, and principles presented in this book will help stimulate new thought and be a "spring board" for exciting new research.

A summary of the latest research in this field. The topics comprise the sedimentological examination and physical properties of the sedimentary solid phase, pore water and pore water constituents, organic matter as the driving force of most microbiological processes, biotic and abiotic redox reactions, carbonates and stable isotopes as proxies for paleoclimate reconstruction, metal enrichments in ferromanganese nodules and crusts as well as in hot vents and cold seeps on the seafloor. The current model conceptions lead to the development of different types of computer models, allowing the global mass exchanges between oceans and sediments to be balanced.

This textbook deals with the most important items in Marine Geology, including some pioneer work. The list of topics has grown greatly in the last few decades beyond the items identified by Eugen Seibold as central and now includes prominently such things as methane and climate change; that is, the carbon cycle and the Earth system as a whole. Relevant geophysical, geochemical, sedimentological and paleontological methods are shortly described. They should allow the reader to comment on new results about plate tectonics, marine sedimentation from the coasts to the deep sea, climatological aspects, paleoceanology and the use of the sea floor. The text tries to transmit to the reader excitement of marine geological research both aboard and in modern laboratories. Basic mineralogical, geochemical, biological and other relevant data and a detailed list of books and symposia are given in an Appendix. This Introduction builds on the third edition of “The Sea Floor” by E. Seibold and W.H. Berger. While much of the original text was written by Seibold, a considerable portion of the material presented in this edition is new, taking into account the recent great shift in marine geological research, some of it with great relevance to human concerns arising in a rapidly changing world.