scholarly journals IACS: past, present, and future of the International Association of Cryospheric Sciences

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-107
Author(s):  
Ian Allison ◽  
Charles Fierz ◽  
Regine Hock ◽  
Andrew Mackintosh ◽  
Georg Kaser ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
International Association ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Earth System ◽  
10Th Anniversary ◽  
The Earth ◽  
History Of ◽  
New Association ◽  
International Geological ◽  
International Geological Congress ◽  
Key Events

Abstract. The International Association of Cryospheric Sciences (IACS) became the eighth and most recent association of IUGG at the general assembly in Perugia, Italy, in July 2007. IACS was launched in recognition of the importance of the cryosphere within the Earth system, particularly at a time of significant global change. It was the first new association of the union to be formed in over 80 years and IACS celebrated its 10th anniversary only a year before the IUGG centennial. The forbearers of IACS, however, stretch back even further than IUGG, starting with the formation of the Commission Internationale des Glaciers (CIG) by the International Geological Congress in 1894. Here we record the history of the transition from CIG to IACS, the scientific objectives that drove activities and changes, and some of the key events and individuals involved.

Notes from the Editors, October 2016

2016 ◽  
Vol 68 (5) ◽  
pp. 2
Author(s):  
The Editors
Keyword(s):  
World Economy ◽  
Earth System ◽  
Atomic Weapons ◽  
Fallout Radionuclides ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Global Signal ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
International Geological ◽  
International Geological Congress

buy this issueOn August 29, in a historic moment in the history of the planet, the 35-member Anthropocene Working Group (AWG) reported to the International Geological Congress that the Anthropocene epoch in geological history is "stratigraphically real" and should be dated as arising around 1950, displacing the Holocene epoch of the last 12,000 years. The AWG has yet to arrive at a formal decision that would adopt a definite global "signal" (though ten of the thirty-five members currently support using fallout radionuclides from atomic weapons testing as the signal), which would be followed by the designation of a "golden spike" or actual location in the rock, sediment, or ice strata. Yet the general parameters of the onset of the new epoch are clear.… As Colin Waters, secretary of the AWG, explained: "Being able to pinpoint an interval of time is saying something about how we have had an incredible impact on the environment of our planet. The concept of the Anthropocene manages to pull all these ideas of environmental change together." Most importantly, it tells us that the world economy has generated an anthropogenic rift in the Earth system threatening millions of species, including our own, requiring fundamental changes in the way in which society relates to the earth through production.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.

scholarly journals Pioneers in Mathematical Geology

2004 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 314-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Merriam ◽  
Richard Howarth
Keyword(s):  
Earth Sciences ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Electronic Computer ◽  
International Association ◽  
Mathematical Geology ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The People ◽  
International Geological ◽  
Mathematical Techniques ◽  
International Geological Congress

Statistical and mathematical techniques have been used in the earth sciences for about one-hundred years, but only after the introduction of the electronic computer in the mid-Twentieth Century did a revolution in the science take place. The story of the quantification of geology is best told through the works of those who fostered the dramatic change. Here is chronicled the contributions of six pioneers in numerical geology in short exposés by authors close to, and knowledgeable of, the people and their work. The pioneers include F. Chayes (American), J. C. Griffiths (American/Welsh), W. C. Krumbein (American/German), G. Matheron (French), R. A. Reyment (Australian/Swede), and A. B. Vistelius (Russian). These magnificent six also played a major role in forming the International Association for Mathematical Geology in 1968 at the International Geological Congress in Prague, Czechoslovakia.

Computers in Geology - 25 Years of Progress

1994 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Computer Modeling ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
International Association ◽  
Mathematical Geology ◽  
25Th Anniversary ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
History Of ◽  
Mapping Techniques

This volume vividly demonstrates the importance and increasing breadth of quantitative methods in the earth sciences. With contributions from an international cast of leading practitioners, chapters cover a wide range of state-of-the-art methods and applications, including computer modeling and mapping techniques. Many chapters also contain reviews and extensive bibliographies which serve to make this an invaluable introduction to the entire field. In addition to its detailed presentations, the book includes chapters on the history of geomathematics and on R.G.V. Eigen, the "father" of mathematical geology. Written to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the International Association for Mathematical Geology, the book will be sought after by both practitioners and researchers in all branches of geology.

scholarly journals The evolution of complex life and the stabilization of the Earth system

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 20190106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan L. Payne ◽  
Aviv Bachan ◽  
Noel A. Heim ◽  
Pincelli M. Hull ◽  
Matthew L. Knope
Keyword(s):  
Flood Basalt ◽  
Biogeochemical Cycles ◽  
Climate System ◽  
Earth System ◽  
Comparative Physiology ◽  
Animal Evolution ◽  
Fundamental Properties ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Water Columns ◽  
History Of

The half-billion-year history of animal evolution is characterized by decreasing rates of background extinction. Earth's increasing habitability for animals could result from several processes: (i) a decrease in the intensity of interactions among species that lead to extinctions; (ii) a decrease in the prevalence or intensity of geological triggers such as flood basalt eruptions and bolide impacts; (iii) a decrease in the sensitivity of animals to environmental disturbance; or (iv) an increase in the strength of stabilizing feedbacks within the climate system and biogeochemical cycles. There is no evidence that the prevalence or intensity of interactions among species or geological extinction triggers have decreased over time. There is, however, evidence from palaeontology, geochemistry and comparative physiology that animals have become more resilient to an environmental change and that the evolution of complex life has, on the whole, strengthened stabilizing feedbacks in the climate system. The differential success of certain phyla and classes appears to result, at least in part, from the anatomical solutions to the evolution of macroscopic size that were arrived at largely during Ediacaran and Cambrian time. Larger-bodied animals, enabled by increased anatomical complexity, were increasingly able to mix the marine sediment and water columns, thus promoting stability in biogeochemical cycles. In addition, body plans that also facilitated ecological differentiation have tended to be associated with lower rates of extinction. In this sense, Cambrian solutions to Cambrian problems have had a lasting impact on the trajectory of complex life and, in turn, fundamental properties of the Earth system.

5. Anthropocene

2016 ◽  
pp. 74-90
Author(s):  
Tim Lenton
Keyword(s):  
Human Evolution ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Earth System ◽  
Revolutionary Change ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Key Events

Could the Earth system be on the brink of another revolutionary change, thanks to human activities? We humans are very recent products of evolution, yet already we are transforming the planet at a global scale. The recognition that humans are now a key component of the Earth system was encapsulated in the Bretherton diagram. More recently, the term ‘Anthropocene’ has been coined to describe a new geological epoch in which human activities are transforming the Earth system at a global scale. ‘Anthropocene’ introduces how human evolution was shaped by changes in the Earth system and how we have gone on to transform the Earth system—tracing the key events on a timeline.

scholarly journals Scientific drilling and the evolution of the earth system: climate, biota, biogeochemistry and extreme systems

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 63-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. S. Soreghan ◽  
A. S. Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Range ◽  
Earth System ◽  
Scientific Drilling ◽  
University Of Oklahoma ◽  
Societal Relevance ◽  
The Earth ◽  
History Of ◽  
Biotic Change ◽  
Geologic Record ◽  
The University

Abstract. A US National Science Foundation-funded workshop occurred 17–19 May 2013 at the University of Oklahoma to stimulate research using continental scientific drilling to explore earth's sedimentary, paleobiological and biogeochemical record. Participants submitted 3-page "pre-proposals" to highlight projects that envisioned using drill-core studies to address scientific issues in paleobiology, paleoclimatology, stratigraphy and biogeochemistry, and to identify locations where key questions can best be addressed. The workshop was also intended to encourage US scientists to take advantage of the exceptional capacity of unweathered, continuous core records to answer important questions in the history of earth's sedimentary, biogeochemical and paleobiologic systems. Introductory talks on drilling and coring methods, plus best practices in core handling and curation, opened the workshop to enable all to understand the opportunities and challenges presented by scientific drilling. Participants worked in thematic breakout sessions to consider questions to be addressed using drill cores related to glacial–interglacial and icehouse–greenhouse transitions, records of evolutionary events and extinctions, records of major biogeochemical events in the oceans, reorganization of earth's atmosphere, Lagerstätte and exceptional fossil biota, records of vegetation–landscape change, and special sampling requirements, contamination, and coring tool concerns for paleobiology, geochemistry, geochronology, and stratigraphy–sedimentology studies. Closing discussions at the workshop focused on the role drilling can play in studying overarching science questions about the evolution of the earth system. The key theme, holding the most impact in terms of societal relevance, is understanding how climate transitions have driven biotic change, and the role of pristine, stratigraphically continuous cores in advancing our understanding of this linkage. Scientific drilling, and particularly drilling applied to continental targets, provides unique opportunities to obtain continuous and unaltered material for increasingly sophisticated analyses, tapping the entire geologic record (extending through the Archean), and probing the full dynamic range of climate change and its impact on biotic history.

The Ordovician Rocks of the Builth District A Preliminary Account

1941 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 185-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. T. Jones ◽  
W. J. Pugh
Keyword(s):  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Geological Survey ◽  
Preliminary Account ◽  
History Of ◽  
International Geological ◽  
International Geological Congress ◽  
Insight Into

The Builth district was visited by one of us (O. T. J.) in the spring of 1939 with a view to arranging an excursion for the International Geological Congress which was to have been held in London in 1940. Amongst other places the magnificent range of quarries in the Ordovician volcanic rocks of Llanelwedd, near Builth, was examined. Beyond the western end of the quarries a striking boulder bed was observed which promised to give an insight into a remarkable episode in the history of the district. This bed is shown on the I in. Geological Survey Map, Old Series, Sheet 56, S.W.

scholarly journals The Morphology of Prometheus, Literary Geography and the Geoethical Project

Geosciences ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 340
Author(s):  
Charles Travis
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Atomic Bomb ◽  
Ethical Problem ◽  
Earth System ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Michael Mann ◽  
Literary Geography ◽  
Cultural Contingencies ◽  
History Of

This paper explores mappings, musings and ‘thought experiments’ in literary geography to consider how they may contribute to geoethical pedagogy and research. Representations of Prometheus from the fourteenth century onwards have traveled along three broad symbological roads: first, as the creator, and bringer of fire; second as a bound figure in chains, and thirdly, unbound. However, it was the harnessing of fire by our species a millennium prior that gave rise to the myth of Prometheus and set into motion the geophysical process of combustion which “facilitated the transformation of much of the terrestrial surface […] and in the process pushed the parameters of the earth system into a new geological epoch.” As the geophysicist Professor Michael Mann observes, global warming and loss of biodiversity constitutes an ethical problem. The remediation of the Prometheus myth in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or the modern Prometheus (1818), Jonathan Fetter-Vorm’s Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb (2012) and William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies (1954) provides the means to explore the geographical, historical and cultural contingencies of geoethical dilemmas contributing to the framing of the Anthropocene and Gaia heuristics. This paper argues for the necessity of scholars in the arts, humanities and geosciences to share and exchange idiographic and nomothetic perspectives in order to forge a geoethical dialectic that fuses poetic and positivistic methods into transcendent ontologies and epistemologies to address the existential questions of global warming and loss of biodiversity as we enter the age of the Anthropocene.

Political Geology

Geography ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Bobbette
Keyword(s):  
Science And Technology Studies ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
Resource Extraction ◽  
Earth System ◽  
Geological Material ◽  
Geological Process ◽  
The Earth ◽  
History Of ◽  
Geological Sciences ◽  
The Relationship

Political geology is concerned with the relationship between geological process, matter, and politics. It is a relatively recent neologism adopted by geographers and includes scholarship from a number of disciplines adjacent to geography, including anthropology, history of science, science and technology studies, and religious studies. The emergence of the Anthropocene no doubt played a role in raising geographers’ interest in the politicization of geology and geological knowledge. Much work in the field has begun to depart from the lens of Anthropocene studies and venture into new intellectual territory. Political geology seeks to understand geological knowledge as a tradition with histories and geographies. It studies the history of the geological sciences across world cultures and has an expanded conception of geological knowledge (and the sciences) beyond a focus on Euro-America. It is building a cosmopolitan understanding of the geological sciences. Geological knowledge is not taken for granted to speak for the earth system but is placed in its cultural, technological, and political context. At the same time, political geologists are concerned with the vibrant, lively materiality of geology. They are interested in Earth’s capacity to act upon politics and create political cultures. A renewed attention to the agency of geology has resulted in a number of papers that stress the ‘geo’ in geopolitics—the grounded, material dimension that situates all and any politics. There has therefore been an uptick in scholarship on verticality, depth, and resource extraction that foregrounds the material agency of geological process. This has been further brought together with consideration of the multiple knowledge traditions that claim to know and represent geological material. The conventional distinctions between geology and spirituality, geological sciences and religion, organic and inorganic, have been questioned. Alternative modes of writing about geology and the sciences are being explored through performance, fiction, sculpture, and poetry. Political geological scholarship thus brings together a number of discussions about the intersections among knowledge, Earth, power and governance. What follows is a broad introduction and survey of the key formative works of political geology, histories of geological knowledge, theoretical preoccupations, and sites of interest to political geologists. The theory and sites sections are ordered alphabetically.

Assessing recently improved precession-nutation models 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
José M. Ferrándiz ◽  
Miguel A. Juárez ◽  
Santiago Belda ◽  
Tomás Baenas ◽  
Sadegh Modiri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Group ◽  
International Association ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Fall Meeting ◽  
Individual Analysis ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Joint Working Group ◽  
Semi Empirical

<p>In 2020 new estimations of nutation amplitudes or precession parameters have been published or presented at main meetings. The derivation of corrections to improve the current precession-nutation models was encouraged by Resolution 5 of the 2019 General Assembly of the International Association of Geodesy (IAG). Besides, the GGOS/IERS Unified Analysis Workshop held in October 2019 recommended that effort to be prioritized among the tasks of the current IAU/IAG Joint Working Group on Improving Theories and Models of the Earth’s rotation (JWG ITMER).</p><p>This presentation is intended to present comparisons of some of those new semi-empirical and semi-theorical precession-nutation models developed by different authors from either VLBI solutions of individual analysis centers or combinations of them. The models recently introduced by the authors that were reported at the AGU 2020 Fall Meeting are included in this assessment.</p>

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