Les auditeurs polonais des cours de minéralogie de René Just Haüy au Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle,Paris

The paper analyses a list of thirty-four Poles, listeners to the mineralogy lectures given by R.-J. Haüy at MNHN in Paris. These students played an important role in the history of Polish Earth Sciences (S. Staszic and F. Drzewiński), but also in other scientific fields (J. Markowski, I. Ab?amowicz, F. Drzewiński, M.A. Paw?owicz, J.K. Skrodzki, E.K. Nowicki), and even in political and cultural life of Poland (A. Downarowicz, J. Weyssenhoff, S. Plater, J. Bieliński, F. Potocki). This paper presents later relations between R.-J. Haüy and his Polish students. A possibility of the Poles' attendance to mineralogy lectures given at other Parisian scientific institutions, like the ‘École des mines’ and the ‘College de France’, is also discussed. To cite this article: R. Tarkowski, P. Daszkiewicz, C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

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.     

Aerosol transmission of human pathogens: From miasmata to modern viral pandemics and their preservation potential in the Anthropocene record

Ongoing uncertainty over the relative importance of aerosol transmission of COVID-19 is in part rooted in the history of medical science and our understanding of how epidemic diseases can spread through human populations. Ancient Greek medical theory held that such illnesses are transmitted by airborne pathogenic emanations containing particulate matter (“miasmata”). Notable Roman and medieval scholars such as Varro, Ibn al-Khatib and Fracastoro developed these ideas, combining them with early germ theory and the concept of contagion. A widely held but vaguely defined belief in toxic miasmatic mists as a dominant causative agent in disease propagation was overtaken by the science of 19th century microbiology and epidemiology, especially in the study of cholera, which was proven to be mainly transmitted by contaminated water. Airborne disease transmission came to be viewed as burdened by a dubious historical reputation and difficult to demonstrate convincingly. A breakthrough came with the classic mid-20th century work of Wells, Riley and Mills who proved how expiratory aerosols (their “droplet nuclei”) could transport still-infectious tuberculosis bacteria through ventilation systems. The topic of aerosol transmission of pathogenic respiratory diseases assumed a new dimension with the mid-late 20th century “Great Acceleration” of an increasingly hypermobile human population repeatedly infected by different strains of zoonotic viruses, and has taken centre stage this century in response to outbreaks of new respiratory infections that include coronaviruses. From a geoscience perspective, the consequences of pandemic-status diseases such as COVID-19, produced by viral pathogens utilising aerosols to infect a human population currently approaching 8 billion, are far-reaching and unprecedented. The obvious and sudden impacts on for example waste plastic production, water and air quality and atmospheric chemistry are accelerating human awareness of current environmental challenges. As such, the “anthropause” lockdown enforced by COVID-19 may come to be seen as a harbinger of change great enough to be preserved in the Anthropocene stratal record.     

The youngest record of metriorhynchid crocodylomorphs,with implications for the extinction of Thalattosuchia

Here we describe an isolated tooth of a metriorhynchid crocodylomorph from the Hybla Formation (Aptian, Lower Cretaceous) of Rocca Chi Parra quarry (Montagna Grande, Calatafimi, Trapani Province), Sicily, Italy. The specimen shares with the Upper Jurassic taxon Plesiosuchus manselii a mediolaterally compressed conical tooth crown, noticeable lingual curvature, mesial and distal carinae with microscopic, rectangular contiguous denticles, strong distal curvature of the mesial margin, and the presence of weak 'carinal flanges' on the labial and lingual surfaces (which are preeminent at the mid-crown). This suite of morphologies is also present in an unnamed Valanginian (Lower Cretaceous) plesiosuchinan from France. However, the Sicilian tooth differs from these taxa in having more pronounced carinae, and faint apicobasally aligned enamel ridges. It also differs from P. manselii in having more extensive 'carinal flanges' on the labial surface. The specimen extends the known geological range of Metriorhynchidae and Thalattosuchia by approximately 7–8 million years. This overturns previous hypotheses of Metriorhynchidae becoming extinct early in the Early Cretaceous.     

燕山-渤海地震带中强地震的分析研究

分析了燕山-渤海地震带历史与现代地震活动特征,讨论了地震活动在时间、空间以及应变能积累等方面的演变过程.认为燕山-渤海带第四活动期持续时间不足,现处于后期能量剩余释放阶段中,发生7级以上地震的可能性不大,但不排除未来发生6级以上地震的可能,今后的中强地震可能仍在西段和中段的东部活动,下一次地震迁至中段东部的可能性较大.     

山西历史时期地质灾害研究

山西是华夏文明的发祥地,光辉灿烂的历史为我们留下了包括地质灾害在内的极为丰富和宝贵的文化遗产。研究总结山西的历史地质灾害,对于我们进一步了解认识山西现代地质灾害有着十分重要的意义。大量的历史文献中记载了山西许多地质灾害事件,作者对其进行了认真的研究与考证,从文字记载、称谓的历史演变、总体数量、地域分布、成因类型等5个方面归纳了其发生发展的基本规律及时空特征,对历史时期地质灾害研究进行了有益的探索,拓宽了地质灾害研究领域,填补了该方面的空白。并且作者根据自身实践进而提出了历史地质灾害研究的基本方法。     

Fishing in the past: Historical data on sea fisheries landings in Belgium

In Belgium, centralized reporting on landings of sea fisheries at the species level started in 1929. This paper summarizes the process and the results of integrating time-series, based on fragmented and disperse data sources for the period 1929–1999. The resulting database contains data by species (41), by port of landing in Belgium (4) and in ‘foreign ports,’ and by fishing area of origin (31). After quality control, total reported landings over the period 1929–2008 amounted to 3,320,518 tonnes, of which 90% was landed in the Belgian ports. After a maximum of 75,370 tonnes in 1947, annual landings declined steadily to only 26% of this peak by 2008. Currently, landings are below those achieved in 1929. The most important species in terms of landings (1929–1999) were cod (17% of all landings) and herring (16%). In terms of economic value, sole (31%) and cod (15%) were the most valuable. Close to 73% of all landings originated from 5 of the 31 fishing areas. Twenty percent of all landings (1929–1999) originated from the ‘coastal waters’, while these waters contributed nearly 60% of all landed pelagic species and 55% of all landed ‘molluscs and crustaceans’. Compared to the currently available ICES data, this local database offers advantages in temporal coverage (data from 1929 onwards), temporal scale (monthly values), and at the taxonomic level. It also provides more detailed information at the spatial scale of the southern and central North Sea, and it is the only source of historical information on landings originating from the coastal waters. Given the importance of the shallow and productive ‘Flemish banks’ as a local source of food in historical and recent times, this data is valuable for further research on the productivity of the coastal ecosystem and the local impact of fisheries. The database broadens the historical view on fisheries, underlines the decline in landings since reporting started, and serves as a basis for further (fisheries) research and policy-making in Belgium.     

Geography and the pragmatic tradition: The threefold engagement

Geography has had only limited interchange with the American philosophical tradition of pragmatism. This paper claims that a closer engagement with pragmatism has much to offer to geography, not least in providing an arena within which very different types of geographical inquiry - qualitative and quantitative, human and physical - may find some common ground for useful conversation and debate. However, this will only be fully achieved if geography embarks on a threefold engagement with pragmatism: (1) studies that develop and deploy specific pragmatist ideas and concepts within particular geographical research; (2) studies that attempt to relate geographical research to the wider arena of the pragmatic tradition; (3) historical examination of early links between pragmatism, social science and geography. The history and contemporary revival of pragmatism is described, together with its impacts on social theory and social science. The existing literature on geographical engagement with pragmatism is then examined, and it is argued that there is a much broader relevance within both human and physical geography, not linked to particular styles of research. The question of the history of earlier influences of pragmatism on American geography is then raised, and some linkages charted. The philosopher Hilary Putnam has used the term ‘pragmatist enlightenment’ to describe what he sees as the promise of pragmatism, and the paper concludes by suggesting that this also promises an exciting and fruitful engagement for geography.     

Trajectory and contribution of geoscientists (1906–1961) to dinosaur research in the Bauru Group (Cretaceous) in the Triângulo Mineiro region of Brazil

The present study discusses geological and paleontological research conducted by geoscientists in the Late Cretaceous Bauru Group, of the Triângulo Mineiro region, Brazil. This analysis based largely on historical documentary sources focuses on the pioneering work of geoscientists, who made numerous discoveries of dinosaur fossils. This work contributes to a chronological survey that has been compiled on the geological studies in the Bauru Group, and describes the importance of the paleontological discoveries made during the twentieth century.     

Late Holocene Fluvial Change in a Tufa-depositing Stream: Davys Creek,New South Wales,Australia

Tufas are constructional landforms composed of calcium carbonate. They are common in karst terrains, and are known worldwide as useful archives of palaeoenvironmental information. In the case of fluvial tufas, these carbonate deposits experience net aggradation when environmental conditions are stable, whilst incision through the deposits occurs when conditions become wetter. In this study, the first of its type in temperate Australia, we used geomorphological and sedimentological evidence preserved in fossil tufas and alluvial terraces to investigate the fluvial history of Davys Creek (NSW, Australia). The nature and timing of fluvial changes along two quasi-independent reaches of the creek were synchronous, suggesting the operation of externally driven processes rather than local internal fluvial adjustments. Following a period of sustained aggradation, rapid incision occurred along the creek between 1500 and 1600 years before present ( bp ) in response to a shift to a moister climate. This was succeeded by a second major aggradation event (1500 years bp to 150 years bp ), then subsequent incision following the arrival of Europeans at 150 years bp.