This Special Publication is dedicated to heritage stone: those natural stones that have special significance in human culture. Some stones that have had important uses in the past are now neglected because they are no longer extracted. Others are still commercially important, but their heritage uses have not been well documented in widely available sources. The Heritage Stone Task Group of the International Union of Geological Sciences is working to establish a new formal designation of ‘Global Heritage Stone Resource’ to recognize those stones that have had internationally significant architectural and ornamental uses. The aim is to spread awareness of the cultural heritage aspects of these stones, to help to encourage continued supply for maintenance and repair of important monuments and to preserve historically important quarries. The aim is neither to promote nor to limit these stones for new construction: in some cases continuing commercial use might help to ensure future supplies for building conservation purposes.

This book presents the latest advances in karstology by researchers at the ZRC SAZU Karst Research Institute, Slovenia – home of Classical Karst. It features interdisciplinary investigations carried out on the karst surface, subsurface, caves, and associated waters. It covers various topics, such as analysis of karst processes, including the mineralogical and lithological characteristics of sediments and carbonate rocks; structural geological mapping; detecting the old traces of paleokarst; the formation of karst surfaces in a variety of types of rock and conditions; and the evolution of karst, which can aid in dating sediments, and in tracing aquifers using artificial and natural tracers. In addition, the book provides detailed information on the use and development of various research methods, ranging from comprehensive field research, long-term measurements, and laboratory analyses to computer and laboratory modeling. Integrating karst geology, geomorphology, hydrology, ecology, speleobiology, and microbiology research, these methods provide readers with a far deeper understanding of karst terrains.

The Alps, with their outstanding outcrop conditions, represent a superb natural laboratory for many geological processes, and have played a crucial role in the history of geology. This book gives an up-to-date and holistic overview of the key aspects of Alpine geology. After a brief presentation of the plate tectonic framework, the rock suites are discussed, starting with the pre-Triassic crystalline basement, followed by Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary sequences. The lithological description of the rock types is supplemented by a discussion of their paleogeographic and plate tectonic contexts. The book goes on to describe the structure of the Alps (including the Jura Mountains and the Alpine foreland to the north and south) illustrated by numerous cross-sections. The evolution of the Alps as a mountain chain incorporates a discussion of the Alpine metamorphic history and a compilation of orogenic timetables. The final sections cover the evolution of Alpine drainage patterns and the region’s glacial history. Readership: The book is essential reading for students and lecturers on Alpine courses and excursions, and all earth-scientists interested in the geology of the region.

An examination of ancient and contemporary submarine landslides and their impact Landslides are common in every subaqueous geodynamic context, from passive and active continental margins to oceanic and continental intraplate settings. They pose significant threats to both offshore and coastal areas due to their frequency, dimensions, and terminal velocity, capacity to travel great distances, and ability to generate potentially destructive tsunamis. Submarine Landslides: Subaqueous Mass Transport Deposits from Outcrops to Seismic Profiles examines the mechanisms, characteristics, and impacts of submarine landslides. Volume highlights include: Use of different methodological approaches, from geophysics to field-based geology Data on submarine landslide deposits at various scales Worldwide collection of case studies from on- and off-shore Potential risks to human society and infrastructure Impacts on the hydrosphere, atmosphere, and lithosphere

Modern seismic data have become an essential toolkit for studying carbonate platforms and reservoirs in impressive detail. Whilst driven primarily by oil and gas exploration and development, data sharing and collaboration are delivering fundamental geological knowledge on carbonate systems, revealing platform geomorphologies and how their evolution on millennial time scales, as well as kilometric length scales, was forced by long-term eustatic, oceanographic or tectonic factors. Quantitative interrogation of modern seismic attributes in carbonate reservoirs permits flow units and barriers arising from depositional and diagenetic processes to be imaged and extrapolated between wells. This volume reviews the variety of carbonate platform and reservoir characteristics that can be interpreted from modern seismic data, illustrating the benefits of creative interaction between geophysical and carbonate geological experts at all stages of a seismic campaign. Papers cover carbonate exploration, including the uniquely challenging South Atlantic pre-salt reservoirs, seismic modelling of carbonates, and seismic indicators of fluid flow and diagenesis.