Developments in Marine Geology Series

The present volume is the first in a series of two books dedicated to the paleoceanography of the Late Cenozoic ocean. The need for an updated synthesis on paleoceanographic science is urgent, owing to the huge and very diversified progress made in this domain during the last decade. In addition, no comprehensive monography still exists in this domain. This is quite incomprehensible in view of the contribution of paleoceanographic research to our present understanding of the dynamics of the climate-ocean system. The focus on the Late Cenozoic ocean responds to two constraints. Firstly, most quantitative methods, notably those based on micropaleontological approaches, cannot be used back in time beyond a few million years at most. Secondly, the last few million years, with their strong climate oscillations, show specific high frequency changes of the ocean with a relatively reduced influcence of tectonics. The first volume addresses quantitative methodologies to reconstruct the dynamics of the ocean andthe second, major aspects of the ocean system (thermohaline circulation, carbon cycle, productivity, sea level etc.) and will also present regional synthesis about the paleoceanography of major the oceanic basins. In both cases, the focus is the “open ocean leaving aside nearshore processes that depend too much onlocal conditions. In this first volume, we have gathered up-to-date methodologies for the measurement and quantitative interpretation of tracers and proxies in deep sea sediments that allow reconstruction of a few key past-properties of the ocean( temperature, salinity, sea-ice cover, seasonal gradients, pH, ventilation, oceanic currents, thermohaline circulation, and paleoproductivity). Chapters encompass physical methods (conventional grain-size studies, tomodensitometry, magnetic and mineralogical properties), most current biological proxies (planktic and benthic foraminifers, deep sea corals, diatoms, coccoliths, dinocysts and biomarkers) and key geochemical tracers (trace elements, stable isotopes, radiogenic isotopes, and U-series). Contributors to the book and members of the review panel are among the best scientists in their specialty. They represent major European and North American laboratories and thus provide a priori guarantees to the quality and updat of the entire book. Scientists and graduate students in paleoclimatology, paleoceanography, climate modeling, and undergraduate and graduate students in marine geology represent the target audience. This volume should be of interest for scientists involved in several international programs, such as those linked to the IPCC (IODP – Integrated Ocean Drilling Program; PAGES – Past Global Changes; IMAGES – Marine Global Changes; PMIP: Paleoclimate Intercomparison Project; several IGCP projects etc.), That is, all programs that require access to time series illustrating changes in the climate-ocean system. Presents updated techniques and methods in paleoceanography Reviews the state-of-the-art interpretation of proxies used for quantitative reconstruction of the climate-ocean system Acts as a supplement for undergraduate and graduate courses in paleoceanography and marine geology

Although it is generally accepted that the Arctic Ocean is a very sensitive and important region for changes in the global climate, this region is the last major physiographic province of the earth whose short-and long-term geological history is much less known in comparison to other ocean regions. This lack of knowledge is mainly caused by the major technological/logistic problems in reaching this harsh, ice-covered region with normal research vessels and in retrieving long and undisturbed sediment cores. During the the last about 20 years, however, several international and multidisciplinary ship expeditions, including the first scientific drilling on Lomonosov Ridge in 2004, a break-through in Arctic research, were carried out into the central Artic and its surrounding shelf seas. Results from these expeditions have greatly advanced our knowledge on Arctic Ocean paleoenvironments. Published syntheses about the knowledge on Arctic Ocean geology, on the other hand, are based on data available prior to 1990. A comprehensive compilation of data on Arctic Ocean paleoenvironment and its short-and long-term variability based on the huge amount of new data including the ACEX drilling data, has not been available yet. With this book, presenting (1) detailed information on glacio-marine sedimentary processes and geological proxies used for paleoenvironmental reconstructions, and (2) detailed geological data on modern environments, Quaternary variability on different time scales as well as the long-term climate history during Mesozoic-Tertiary times, this gap in knowledge will be filled. *Aimed at specialists and graduates *Presents background research, recent developments, and future trends *Written by a leading scholar and industry expert

A great deal of information has been gained during the past 20 years about the deep ocean. This book synthesizes new information in marine sedimentology, applying concepts to case studies, and integrating the information in a context of plate tectonics, global circulation, and sedimentary processes. The potential of sediment series as archives of past environments is highlighted. * complete update of synthetic information in marine sedimentology. * association of information on the origin and transport of sediment particles, the evolution of sediment series and their role as archives of past environments.

The last five years have been marked by rapid technological and analytical developments in the study of shore processes and in the comprehension of shore deposits and forms, and shoreline change over time. These developments have generated a considerable body of literature in a wide range of professional journals, thus illustrating the cross-disciplinary nature of shore processes and the palaeo-environmental dimension of shore change. The justification of the book lies in bringing together these developments using an objective approach that synthesises current advances, technical progress in the analysis of shores and shore processes, contradictory interpretations, and potential advances using future-generation developments in techniques. The book provides a comprehensive state-of-the-art presentation of shore processes and deposits across ranges of wave energy and tide-range environments, sediment supply and textural conditions, sea-level change, exceptional events and longer-term climate change, based on the most recently published literature in the marine sciences. The book insists on the nested time and spatial scales through which are inter-linked shore processes and deposits, thus providing a better understanding of the way shores change over time. The approach is thus cross-disciplinary, and gap-bridging between processes and deposits, between analytical techniques, and between timescales. The audience is from graduate level upwards, and the book is intended as a comprehensive reference source for professionals in a wide range of coastal science fields (geologists, sedimentologists, geomorphologists, oceanographers, engineers, managers, archaeologists…). * Aimed at graduates and specialists interested in coastal science * Presents background research, recent developments and future trends * Written by a leading scholar and industry expert

This book presents both state-of-the art knowledge from Recent coral reefs (1.8 million to a few centuries old) gained since the eighties, and introduces geologists, oceanographers and environmentalists to sedimentological and paleoecological studies of an ecosystem encompassing some of the world's richest biodiversity. Scleractinian reefs first appeared about 300 million years ago. Today coral reef systems provide some of the most sensitive gauges of environmental change, expressing the complex interplay of chemical, physical, geological and biological factors. The topics covered will include the evolutionary history of reef systems and some of the main reef builders since the Cenozoic, the effects of biological and environmental forces on the zonation of reef systems and the distribution of reef organisms and on reef community dynamics through time, changes in the geometry, anatomy and stratigraphy of reef bodies and systems in relation to changes in sea level and tectonics, the distribution patterns of sedimentary (framework or detrital) facies in relation to those of biological communities, the modes and rates of reef accretion (progradation, aggradation versus backstepping; coral growth versus reef growth), the hydrodynamic forces controlling water circulation through reef structures and their relationship to early diagenetic processes, the major diagenetic processes affecting reef bodies through time (replacement and diddolution, dolomitization, phosphatogenesis), and the record of climate change by both individual coral colonies and reef systems over the Quaternary. * state-of-the-art knowledge from Recent corals reefs * introduction to sedimentological and paleoecological studies of an ecosystems encompassing some of the world's richest biodiversity. * authors are internationally regarded authorities on the subject * trustworthy information

Geology of the China Seas represents the first English-language synthesis of the available research into the geology of the South and East China Seas. Among the marginal basins worldwide, these areas have been the focus of extensive research activities in the last three decades, and are now among the global hot spots in hydrocarbon explorations and scientific investigations. The region is experiencing rapid economic development with the offshore petroleum industry providing approximately one third of the domestic hydrocarbon production for mainland China. Gas hydrates have been successfully recovered from the China Seas for the first time. Over the years, many volumes on the geology of the China Seas have been published in Chinese. Although an increasing number of papers in English have appeared recently, the majority deal with local or regional paleo-environment and sedimentology, and are scattered in different journals. This book brings together this rich data in one resource, particularly that generated by Chinese marine geologists and petroleum geologists, and provides the very first synthesis of the geology off China. The first systematic summary of the geology of the China Seas Includes comprehensive coverage of the South China Sea and the East China Sea, including the Yellow Sea and Bohai Gulf Reviews hundreds of Chinese publications on marine and petroleum geology not currently accessible to the international community

The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP: 2000-2013) has provided crucial records of past and present processes and interactions within and between the biosphere, cryosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and geosphere. Research in IODP encompasses a wide range of fundamental and applied issues that affect society, such as global climate change, biodiversity, the origin of life, natural hazards involving the study of earthquakes processes, and the internal structure and dynamics of our planet. This compilation of major findings from the 2003-2013/14 phase of IODP, focusing on scientific results rather than description of data acquisition and early inferences, provides invaluable information. Anyone wondering what scientific drilling can achieve will gain quick understanding of the range of questions that are uniquely addressed with this methodology and the ways these data dovetail with other regional information. The excitement of breakthrough findings that occasionally accompanies a drilling project will be evident. IODP obtained unique records from the global ocean basins during the 2003-2013 program phase. This book highlights findings in three theme areas: Subseafloor life and the marine biosphere; Earth's changing environments; and Dynamics of the solid Earth. Each core or borehole log provides a window revealing insights that no other data achieve. Presents syntheses of key results from the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Encompasses a wide range of issues that affect society Describes the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program and its expeditions