Combined dendrochronological and radiocarbon dating of six Russian icons from the 15th–17th centuries

The results of dendrochronological and radiocarbon dating by means of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) of six medieval icons, originating from northern European Russia and painted on wooden panels made from Scots pine, dated to the 15th to 17th centuries are presented. The panels of each icon were studied using dendrochronology. Five to six AMS dates were obtained for four icons. Although five icons were dendro-dated successfully, one failed to be reliably cross-dated with the existing master tree-ring chronologies and it was dated by radiocarbon wiggle-matching. Dendrochronological dating and wiggle-matching of radiocarbon dates allowed us to determine the narrow chronological intervals of icon creation.

     

Jurassic--climate and biodiversity： The 6th International IGCP 506 Symposium

August was an intense and busy month for many geologists as the large 33rd IGC meeting was held in Oslo, Norway, from 6 to 14 August. Over 6,000 scientists from 113 countries contributed talks, posters and discussions at the IGC on a broad range of geo- logical topics. The congress was preceded and followed by as many as 30 fieldtrips coveting Scandinavian geology.     

Science and Honour： The 11th International Geological Congress in Stockholm 1910

In the late 19th and the early 20th century, with expanding industrialism and urbanisation, the idea of the nation state grew strong in Sweden. In this nationalistic environment, nature and the natural sciences assumed an important unifying role. The search for natural resources and sources of energy inspired political support and research. The exploitation of nature was looked upon as a prerequisite for the modernization of the country, and indeed was to become the basis for Sweden‘s welfare. It was under these circumstances that, in 1906, the 11th IGC was invited to Stockholm in 1910. A request for a Government grant focused on the international development of science but also stressed the national importance. Sweden had, it was said, its ranking position among nations to defend, to uphold its position among civilized nations, and to maintain its distinguished tradition in the spheres of natural sciences and mining operations. The main topics of the Congress were iron ore resources, post-glacial climate change, glacial erosion, the Cambrian fauna, geology of the Precambrian, and geology of the polar regions. Three exhibitions and 24 excursions were arranged, and 41 guidebooks printed. The number of members present was 625, from 37 countries and six continents. The final cost for arranging the 11th IGC was SEK 125,000 (approximately ∈540,000 today). A novel experience in the tradition of the IGCs was the world-wide inquiries about the resources of iron ore and about climate change. Such thematic, worldwide investigations subsequently came to attract the attention of many IGCs. A proposition to establish a commission for the publication of an international stratigraphic dictionary was approved by the Congress, and a subcommission was set up with commissioners from ten countries, but it was not until 1956 that the first volumes of Lexique Stratigraphique International appeared. From a Swedish point of view, the Congress compelled Swedish geologists to carry out an inventory of the results of Swedish geological research of about half a century. The Congress was, in other words, an incentive to finish ongoing projects and bring together summaries of the major research areas. In the history of Swedish geosciences there is thus reason to speak about a pre- and a post-1910.     

Advances in Structural Geology and Tectonics in the Late 20th Century： A Review

Based on analyses of the share of documents of structural geology and tectonics in the GeoRef system over 100 years in the last century, and the historical change of international （31 years） and domestic （16 years） document counts of various topics in structural geology and tectonics, the position of structural geology and tectonics in the geosciences is evaluated and the major advaces in fields of plate tectonics, continental dynamics and global dynamics are reviewed. Our attention mainly focuses on the advances in studies of structural analysis, deformation mechanisms and rheology of rocks, contractional tectonics and late- and post-orogenic extensional collapse in orogens, large-scale strikeslip faults and indentation-extrusion tectonics, active tectonics and natural hazards. The relationships of structural geology and tectonics with petrology and geochronology are also discussed in terms of intersection of scientific disciplines. Finally, some suggestions are proposed for the further development of structural geology and tectonics in China.     

Recent Advances on Non-Marine Late Paleozoic Strata and Floras： Outcome of the 16th International Congress on the Carboniferous and Permian

The 16th International Congress on the Carboniferous and Permian （ICCP XVI） orga- nized by the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology under the Chinese Acad- emy of Sciences, the Institute of Geology under the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, the China University of Geo- sciences and the Nanjing University took place in Nanjing, June 21-24, 2007. More than 150 colleagues from over 20 countries attended the quadrennial conference.     

Mega-Tsunami of 26th December, 2004： Indian initiative for early warning system and mitigation of oceanogenic hazards

The 26th December 2004 earthquake of Mw 9.3 is the second largest earthquake ever to have been recorded.This generated a tsunami which affected several Asian countries. In India, the Andaman & Nicobar group of islands, and coastal states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala were severely affected. Here, we briefly provide an outline of the approach taken by India for an early warning system for mitigation of oceanogenic disasters.