More than a century has passed since Lord Rayleigh (1885) first investigated “the behaviour of waves upon the plane free surface of an infinite homogeneous isotropic elastic solid, their character being such that the disturbance is confined to a superficial region, of thickness comparable to the wave-length.” Rayleigh immediately recognized their importance stating that “it is not improbable that the surface waves here investigated play an important part in earthquakes, and in the collision of elastic bodies.” Since then, surface waves have come to play an important part in many other disciplines as well, including material science, geophysics, nondestructive testing, and engineering site characterization. When used for near-surface site characterization, the objective is usually to determine the shear wave velocity and/or shear damping ratio one-dimensional (1D) profiles for a variety of applications, including earthquake site response, dynamic soil–structure interaction, nondestructive pavement testing, evaluation of ground modification, and so on. <...>

The use of mineral resources has been fundamental to human activity: from housing to household goods, from industrial equipment to energy, and from high technology to space exploration, mining has provided the basics of life to the human race. The mining industry produces energy, metals, and minerals that are essential to economic prosperity and a better quality of life. As important as these benefits are, mining activity produces social and environmental impacts on communities, and requires a more responsible mining practice—it requires sustainable mine management.

Crystal-structure analysis has become one of the most essential tools in chemistry and related disciplines. Several hundreds of thousands of crystal structures have been determined in the course of the years. The results obtained from 1931 to 1990 were published year by year in Strukturbericht [1], later Structure Reports [2]. Nowadays, crystal structures are deposited in several large databases [3–8]. However, the mere accumulation of data is only of restricted value if it lacks a systematic order and if the scientific interpretation of the data leaves much to be desired. <...>

The abitibi orogenic belt
Archean volcanism and sedimentation in the slave structural province
The filling of the circum-ungava geosyncline he huronian supergroup north of lake huron
The hurwitz group, a prototype for deposition on metastable cratons
The wollaston lake belt, saskatchewan, manitoba, northwest territories
The coronation geosyncline of aphebian age, district of mackenzie
Helikian basins and geosynclines of the northwestern canadian shield
The canadian shield, a status report 1970