Two centuries after Hutton's ‘Theory of the Earth’: the status of granite science

Author(s):  
D. Barrie Clarke

ABSTRACT:Granite is the final product of the high-temperature, magmatic, predominantly endogenic, chemical differentiation of the earth. Our understanding of the origin and evolution of granitoid rocks comes from a combination of direct observation, analogue experimentation and numerical modelling. A brief historical overview shows an exceptional level of such research activity over the last 50 years. The number and complexity of questions have resulted in both an absolute and a relative growth of the science since the plate tectonic revolution, largely consisting of refining the current magmatic paradigm within its overarching context. Current research activity involves large components of mineralogical–petrological–geochemical and structural–tectonic work, with much lower levels of experimental, geophysical and geochronological investigations. Many important questions concerning the thermal, physical and chemical aspects of the origin and evolution of granites remain. In keeping with the general progress of science, the complexity of the questions, the declining financial support and the revolution in information technology, directions of granite research in the foreseeable future will change from concrete and qualitative to abstract and quantitative, from expensive and active to cheap and armchair, from reductionist to holistic, and from periodic communication to continuous communication.

2021 ◽  
pp. M55-2018-56
Author(s):  
A. Geyer ◽  
D. Pedrazzi ◽  
J. Almendros ◽  
M. Berrocoso ◽  
J. López-Martínez ◽  
...  

AbstractDeception Island (South Shetland Islands) is one of the most active volcanoes in Antarctica, with more than 15 explosive eruptive events registered over the past two centuries. Recent eruptions (1967, 1969 and 1970) and volcanic unrest episodes in 1992, 1999 and 2014–15 demonstrate that the occurrence of future volcanic activity is a valid and pressing concern for scientists, logistic personnel and tourists that are visiting or are working on or near the island. Over the last few decades, intense research activity has been carried out on Deception Island to decipher the origin and evolution of this very complex volcano. To that end, a solid integration of related scientific disciplines, such as tectonics, petrology, geochemistry, geophysics, geomorphology, remote sensing, glaciology, is required. A proper understanding of the island's evolution in the past, and its present state, is essential for improving the efficiency in interpreting monitoring data recorded during volcanic unrest periods and, hence, for future eruption forecasting. In this chapter, we briefly present Deception Island's most relevant tectonic, geomorphological, volcanological and magmatic features, as well as the results obtained from decades of monitoring the island's seismic activity and ground deformation.


1986 ◽  
Vol 39 (11) ◽  
pp. 1687-1696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Claude Roegiers

The petroleum industry offers a broad spectrum of problems that falls within the domain of expertise of mechanical engineers. These problems range from the design of well production equipment to the evaluation of formation responses to production and stimulation. This paper briefly describes various aspects and related difficulties with which the oil industry has to deal, from the time the well is spudded until the field is abandoned. It attempts to delineate the problems, to outline the approaches presently used, and to discuss areas where additional research is needed. Areas of current research activity also are described; whenever appropriate, typical or pertinent case histories are used to illustrate a point.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamalasan Prathap- Mathan ◽  
Joseph Babila- Jasmine ◽  
Muthukumar Thilagavathi

Water is the most abundant and non-renewable resource in the earth, which play an important role in all living organisms. A study on physiochemical parameters of Manur, Vallanadu and Sundarapandiapatinam ponds from Tirunelveli, Thootukudi and Ramanathapuram districts of Tamil Nadu, India, has addressed the seasonal changes. During the month of January to April samples from Manur was chemically portable, Vallanadu sample was physically portable, Sundarapandiapatinam samples were physically and chemically not portable. During the month of May to August Vallanadu and Manur samples were portable by its physical and chemical examination, Sundarapandiapatinam samples were non portable by its physiochemical property. September to December the samples from all the three ponds were non portable because of exceeding the permissible limit. All the samples were bacteriologically unsafe in nature because of its microbial contamination. This implies the water bodies are not fit for domestic and drinking purpose, thus proper management has to be done by the society and implement government guidelines to save the natural resources from manmade activities.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter M. Shane

This paper examines the status of debates concerning the constitutionality of private suits to enforce civil fines in light of the Supreme Court's decisions in Vermont Agency of Natural Resources v. United States ex rel. Stevens and Friends of the Earth v. Laidlaw Environmental Services, as well as a pending Fifth Circuit decision in United States ex rel. Riley v. St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital. The two Supreme Court opinions have upheld qui tam and citizen suits against standing challenges, but have reserved the question of their constitutionality under Article II. The Riley panel opinion held qui tam actions to be unconstitutional under Article II, but the Fifth Circuit took the matter en banc on its own motion on the very day the opinion was published. (Subsequent to the publication of this article, the Fifth Circuit overturned the panel opinion and upheld the constitutionality of qui tam actions, Riley v. St. Luke's Episcopal Hosp., 252 F.3d 749 (5th Cir. 2001).) In the author's judgment, all such private suits to enforce civil fines are plainly constitutional under both Article II and Article III. That such suits appear to raise constitutional doubts is the consequence of missteps in the Supreme Court's implementation of separation of powers principles. The Court, led chiefly in this respect by Justice Scalia, has written often as if constitutionally vested executive authority guarantees the President plenary policy control over all federal civil administration, and as if the purpose of standing doctrine were largely to protect such executive authority from judicial interference. The author believes that the vesting of executive power is better understood as an effort to remove Congress from the business of administration. Standing rules, for their part, ought chiefly to be understood as protecting the judiciary from the dilution of judicial power that would come from the resolution of abstract or collusive litigation. The author explains why the Court should go back to requiring no more as a matter of standing doctrine than that a case be presented in an adversary context and in a manner historically viewed as capable of judicial resolution. The Court's injury, causality, and redressability inquiries should be abandoned in favor of a more straightforward questioning whether plaintiffs in federal lawsuits have constitutional or statutory causes of action to support their complaints. In Article II cases, the Court should adhere to the analytic framework of Morrison v. Olson, and abandon the more wooden and categorical approach to interpreting executive power that informs Justice Scalia's Morrison dissent and his alternative holding in Printz v. United States.


Adam alemi ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 90 (4) ◽  
pp. 123-132
Author(s):  
R. Akhmaganbetov ◽  

The land conflict has long been a type of actual conflict. There are land conflicts of various levels in Kazakhstan. There are different points of view related to the land conflict. There are many prerequisites for the emergence of these views. The study examined the views of representatives of various political and philosophical trends related to the status of the earth. Representatives of the liberal trend consider land as capital. The analysis of the works of representatives of the liberal movement considering land as capital is carried out. Representatives of the socialist trend consider land as state property. Lenin's works deal with issues related to the resolution of the land conflict. Representatives of postcolonialism explain the emergence of the earthly conflict by the influence of colonial empires. In connection with the land conflict, the positions of the Alash intelligentsia are considered. Meanwhile, the analysis of differences in the views of socialists and the Alash intelligentsia in resolving the land conflict was carried out. In traditional Kazakh society, land is considered as a value. This is not consistent with the concepts of capital or property. The earth is considered as a sacred concept. A comparative analysis of such different points of view is carried out. The historical prerequisites for the emergence of a land conflict at the present time are considered.


Author(s):  
Bimesh Dahal

There are many management methods for nutrient which can be specifically applied in farming systems. Integrated nutrient management (INM) generally denotes the combined use of organic and chemical fertilizers for producing crops in a sustainable manner and to maintain soil fertility as well as to supply nutrient in appropriate amount which consider social, ecological and economic impacts. This paper shows the importance and need of INM in agriculture production. Also, the relation of INM and yield attributes are analyzed and evaluated including growth and physical attributes of cowpea. The status of nutrient uptake by plant is also described along with other physical and chemical properties of soil. Finally, this paper also describes about the biofertilizer and its relation, impact and effect on crop production which can be used as a improved technology with the combination of other nutrient management practices.


Antioxidants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1700
Author(s):  
Ana L. Becerril-Sánchez ◽  
Baciliza Quintero-Salazar ◽  
Octavio Dublán-García ◽  
Héctor B. Escalona-Buendía

Honey has been employed since antiquity due to its sensory, nutritional, and therapeutic properties. These characteristics are related to its physical and chemical composition. For example, phenolic compounds are substances that can determine antioxidant activity, as well as sensory characteristics, and can be employed as biomarkers of floral and geographical origin. This has generated a growing interest in the study of phenolic compounds and their influence in the intrinsic properties of this beekeeping product. This review aims to summarize, analyze, and update the status of the research that demonstrates the role of phenolic compounds in antioxidant activity, botanical-geographical origin, and the sensory characteristics of honey. These phenolic compounds, according to various results reported, have great relevance in honey’s biological and functional activity. This leads to research that will link phenolic compounds to their floral, geographical, productive, and territorial origin, as well as some sensory and functional characteristics.


Author(s):  
Jan Zalasiewicz ◽  
Mark Williams ◽  
Richard Fortey ◽  
Alan Smith ◽  
Tiffany L. Barry ◽  
...  

The Anthropocene, an informal term used to signal the impact of collective human activity on biological, physical and chemical processes on the Earth system, is assessed using stratigraphic criteria. It is complex in time, space and process, and may be considered in terms of the scale, relative timing, duration and novelty of its various phenomena. The lithostratigraphic signal includes both direct components, such as urban constructions and man-made deposits, and indirect ones, such as sediment flux changes. Already widespread, these are producing a significant ‘event layer’, locally with considerable long-term preservation potential. Chemostratigraphic signals include new organic compounds, but are likely to be dominated by the effects of CO 2 release, particularly via acidification in the marine realm, and man-made radionuclides. The sequence stratigraphic signal is negligible to date, but may become geologically significant over centennial/millennial time scales. The rapidly growing biostratigraphic signal includes geologically novel aspects (the scale of globally transferred species) and geologically will have permanent effects.


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