The geological history of the Isle of Wight: an overview of the ‘diamond in Britain's geological crown’

The geology of the Isle of Wight has attracted both the amateur and professional geologist alike for well over two centuries. It presents a cornucopia of things geological and offers a window into the fascinating story of the geological history and landscape development of southern England, as well as an important teaching resource for all levels of study from primary education through to academic research.This paper provides a geological framework and a summary of the history of research as context for the papers in this issue can be placed. Inevitably, it can only offer a précis of the huge amount of information available, but it is hoped will also give added impetus to further investigation of the literature or, indeed, new research.The island offers a field workshop for topics such as lithostratigraphy, sequence stratigraphy, tectonics and climate change; studies that are becoming ever more international in their influence. There are 15 Sites of Special Scientific Interest designated because of their geological importance and a number of these are internationally significant.After a brief discussion on the concealed geology, this paper concentrates on an outline of the near-surface geology on the coast and inland, and introduces a different view on the structure of the Cretaceous and Palaeogene strata. The enigmatic Quaternary deposits are discussed particularly with reference to the development of the Solent River, human occupation and climate change.     

At home and abroad with cine enthusiasts: Regional amateur filmmaking and visualizing the Mediterranean, ca. 1928–1962.

After the appearance of a portable Kodak cine camera in 1923, home moving making grew steadily in popularity in the years leading up to and following World War II. Cine enthusiasts, particularly in the pre-war period, tended to be male, white and middle class, although exceptions exist, and they tended to travel with their cameras much as earlier generations had documented their experiences in written and artistic form. Despite their amateur status, they were often very professional in their approach to cinematography and they produced material for a range of domestic and public audiences on varied topics and in different genres. Specialist publications and the rapid growth of local amateur film societies fostered the rise of an active non-professional film movement; the result is a highly distinctive although neglected component of film history. With reference to materials held at the North West Film Archives in Manchester, England, this discussion considers the rise of non-professional filmmaking at the regional level during the decades before and after the second world war. Making and showing home movies is placed within various socio-cultural contexts. The imagery discloses much about visual practice, including filmmakers' perceptions and their relationships with different kinds of subject matter. The making of holiday footage, in Mediterranean settings, and its subsequent screening in domestic or public places, connects with broader issues of visualization, social practice and leisure-related consumption. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

国外海相油气田勘探实例之三美国得克萨斯州法尔韦油田

美国法尔韦油田位于东得克萨斯盆地中心附近。油田发现于1960年,同年投入生产。原始地质储量为4亿桶,至2003年累计产油2.17亿桶。原油具挥发性,接近饱和。主要储层为下白垩统James组礁石灰岩,主要为骨架粒状灰岩/泥粒灰岩和富含双壳类粒泥状灰岩,各岩相的平均孔隙度一般在7%～11%,但平均渗透率在各岩相中不均,最高达(37～44)×10-3"m2。介绍了该油田的勘探史,描述了盆地构造演化史、含油气系统、地层沉积相和储层特征。     

谢家荣：现代中国地质科学的拓荒人——纪念中国地质学会成立100周年

谢家荣是中国地质学家群体中极其重要和突出的一位，他在地质科学领域里涉猎面之广，在我国地质界独一无二，是一位“全方位的地质学家”，是现代中国地质学领域当之无愧的拓荒者。本文略述其简历和他在中国煤岩学和煤地质学、土壤学、石油地质学、铀钍矿产地质与勘查、北京西山地质研究、中国大地构造学、矿床学、经济地质学和地质教育领域的贡献与成就。谢家荣对中国地质事业和中国地质学会的建立与成长都作出了不可磨灭的贡献，是我们永远都不应该忘记、都值得纪念的一位伟大的地质学家。     

岩层离距图法研究沉积岩断裂发育史——以松辽盆地敖古拉断裂为例

利用断裂活动过程中留下的各种地质标记研究断裂发育史是比较困难的 ,已有的研究方法主要可归纳出七种 ,都存在局限性。岩层离距图法是以地震剖面为基础 ,将穿过断裂的各剖面上的标志层投影到沿断裂走向的铅垂面上 ,得到多组标志层的垂向断距数据 ,然后用下部各标志层的断距减去最上部标志层的断距 ,并作多轮次计算 ,直到最后的断距差近似为零或仅剩一个非零标志层。每一轮次计算代表一个活动期次 ,如果出现负值 ,则表示有构造反转。对松辽盆地敖古拉断裂作了实例计算 ,结果为该断裂发育经历了三个正断活动期和一个逆断活动期 ,与盆地区域性活动有些差别。岩层离距图法比起其他已有方法 ,可靠程度大大提高     

Thinking like a geologist: The culture of geology Mawson lecture 1996∗

Geology plays a crucial role in both the scientific and the popular culture; it has transformed the way ordinary people look at the world over the last two centuries. Much of this transformation is understood in terms of information about the age of the earth, the disposition of the continents, and the evolution of living things. The two main concerns of this paper are with geology as education, and geology as a system of thought, a way of thinking about the world. My central question is how does a grounding in geology affect the cast of mind, the way one thinks, perceives and behaves? What is the culture of geology? Conclusions are of two kinds. Some of the propositions advanced about the nature of geology in relation to the other sciences and our general culture are: (i) there is no hierarchy of the sciences; (ii) geology is a Romantic science rather than a Classical one; (iii) there is no such thing as the scientific method; (iv) geologists often attempt to reconcile competing hypotheses; (v) geological phenomena are often of an almost irreducible complexity and their investigation is beset by problems of scale, both spatial and temporal; and (vi) the concept of ‘universality’ has a distinctive application in geology. Among the non‐professional uses of geology are: (i) human history is incomplete without environmental history; (ii) geology has application in environmental planning and management, but this requires judgement and experience as knowledge of the geology is not enough, it is equally important to know when it can safely be overridden, when it is useful background, and when it is critically important to decision‐making; and (iii) an awareness of the geology of a region enhances the sense of place—our sense of our individual and communal identities owes much to an awareness of place.     

Geology as a control on landslides on the Isle of Wight: an overview

The Cretaceous and Palaeogene sedimentary rocks that crop out on the Isle of Wight are highly prone to landsliding and the island offers an important field laboratory wherein to investigate a number of the different types of failure. Many of these landslides represent a significant engineering hazard, with several urban areas requiring remedial work and planning constraints (e.g. The Undercliff and Seagrove Bay) to aid development. Previous studies have thoroughly investigated the major landslides in the Undercliff area around Ventnor and presented a mechanism for that massive failure. This overview of the landslides throughout the Isle of Wight by the British Geological Survey was completed as part of the multidisciplinary survey of the surface geology, structure, geophysical response and offshore interpretations of the island between 2007 and 2010. The survey has collected new observational data on the extensive coastal landslides, as well as the distribution, nature and mechanism of failure of the lesser-studied inland examples.     

Talaya batraba gen.et sp.nov.- the First Nymph of a Protopsyllidiid(Hemiptera:Sternorrhyncha:Psyllomorpha) from the Lower Cretaceous Amber of Lebanon

A hemipteran nymph of the sternorrhynchan lineage,placed in the family Protopsyllidiidae is the first found in the fossil record,based on an inclusion in amber from the Lower Cretaceous of Hammana / Mdeyrij,Abeih Formation,Central Lebanon.Based on distinctive features such as a median dorsal elevation and the presence of a large,conical,exposed,setiferous anal tube,the fossil is placed in Talaya batraba gen.et sp.nov.and the newly erected taxon is compared to known nymphs of extinct Protopsyllidiidae.The evolutionary traits of the family and its relatives are considered.     

黑龙江鸡西早白垩世侧羽叶一新种-城子河侧羽叶 (Pterophyllum chengzihense sp.nov.)

根据产于黑龙江鸡西早白垩世城子河组一种侧羽叶属(Pterophyllum)植物化石的外形特征及表皮构造研究,确认该种属于本内苏铁类(Bennettitales)植物,并有别于其他植物类群。据此,新建一新种—城子河侧羽叶(新种)Pterophyllumchengzihensesp.nov.,并讨论了该新种在研究中国东北地区早白垩世植物化石中的意义。     

Gondwanasuchus scabrosus gen. et sp. nov., a new terrestrial predatory crocodyliform (Mesoeucrocodylia: Baurusuchidae) from the Late Cretaceous Bauru Basin of Brazil

Baurusuchids are among the most common and diverse crocodyliform fossils from the Late Cretaceous Bauru Basin of Brazil. This inland continental basin was the habitat of a rich crocodyliform fauna containing five mesoeucrocodylian families, of which the Baurusuchidae represents highly specialized predatory crocodyliforms of terrestrial habits as indicated by their dental, cranial, and postcranial features. The large size they achieved, together with likely predatory adaptations, would suggest they competed and occupied theropod ecological niches in the Bauru Basin. Here we describe Gondwanasuchus scabrosus gen. et sp. nov., a medium-sized baurusuchid with a strongly laterally compressed skull, bearing unique dentition with deep apicobasal sulci and probably well-developed binocular vision. The cranial and dental features in Gondwanasuchus suggest that this active predator would have fed on small vertebrates and took the role of small theropods in terrestrial guild. Gondwanasuchus is the most distinctive baurusuchid known to date and enriches the knowledge on these important Gondwanan terrestrial predatory crocodyliforms.     

Field report:Research along the Yarlung Suture Zone in Southern Tibet,a persistent geological frontier

The Yarlung Suture Zone in Southern Tibet marks the boundary between India and Asia-formerly separated by an ocean basin-and is a critical record of the tectonic processes that created the Tibetan Plateau. The Yarlung Suture Zone is also a frontier research area, as difficulty of access has limited research activity, providing ample opportunities for new discoveries. This paper documents field research conducted by the authors along the Yarlung suture zone in eastern Xigaze(Shigatse, Rikaze)County, ~250 km west of the city of Lhasa, in July 2017. The goal of this research was to map the Suture Zone structure in detail, and more specifically to understand the branching relationships between two major fault systems-the Great Counter Thrust and Gangdese Thrust. A summary of early geological exploration is included to provide context for this research.     

Establishment of Mathematical Geology in Russia: Some Brush Strokes in the Portrait of the Founder of Mathematical Geology, Prof. A. B. Vistelius

This paper presents a concise historic overview of the establishment and pathways of development of mathematical geology. Its very existence is largely due to the activity of Russian geologist Prof. Vistelius (1915–1995) who was the first president of the International Association of Mathematical Geology. Presented are important facts of biography of A. B. Vistelius, as well as the history of his scientific investigations. It is elucidated that in the USSR, mathematical geology, like genetics or cybernetics, was hardly accepted by the ideology that dominated at that time from its very appearance in the 40s. Both mathematical geology and its creator could not be squeezed into the tight limits of the Soviet ideology. But the difficulties only benefited his bright individuality and hardened his style of scientific reasoning, leadership, and fight for purity of science. Vistelius believed that mathematical geology would be the paradigm for geoscience in the 21st century. It is ascertained that the scientific ideology of conceptual modeling of geologic processes and objects suggested by Vistelius has totally proved itself. However, its further propagation is impeded by those geologists whose thinking is traditional and whose paradigm is old. This situation must be changed to enter the coming century equipped with economically reliable concepts ensuring sustainable development. It could be unprofitable and even dangerous to ignore the concepts developed by Prof. Vistelius. This paper focuses on the principal ideas of Prof. Vistelius and detailed large-scale program of development of mathematical geology in the foreseeable future. This program is fulfilled in the Institute of Mathematical Geology (IMAG) of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, founded by Prof. Vistelius.     

Do faults preserve a record of seismic slip: A second opinion

Exhumed fault zones offer insights into deformation processes associated with earthquakes in unparalleled spatial resolution; however it can be difficult to differentiate seismic slip from slow or aseismic slip based on evidence in the rock record. Fifteen years ago, Cowan (1999) defined the attributes of earthquake slip that might be preserved in the rock record, and he identified pseudotachylyte as the only reliable indicator of past earthquakes found in ancient faults. This assertion was based on models of frictional heat production (Sibson, 1975, 1986) providing evidence for fast slip. Significant progress in fault rock studies has revealed a range of reaction products which can be used to detect frictional heating at peak temperatures less than the melt temperature of the rock. In addition, features formed under extreme transient stress conditions associated with the propagating tip of an earthquake rupture can now be recognized in the rock record, and are also uniquely seismic. Thus, pseudotachylyte is no longer the only indicator of fossilized earthquake ruptures.We review the criteria for seismic slip defined by Cowan (1999), and we determine that they are too narrow. Fault slip at rates in the range 10⁻⁴−10¹ m/s is almost certainly dynamic. This implies that features reproduced in experiments at rates as low as 10⁻⁴ m/s may be indicators of seismic slip. We conclude with a summary of the rock record of seismic slip, and lay out the current challenges in the field of earthquake geology.