FOREGS (Forum of European Geological Surveys) Geochemical Baseline Programme has been initiated to provide high quality environmental geochemical baseline data for Europe. The data will be based on samples of stream water, stream sediment, floodplain sediment, soil, and humus collected all over Europe. High quality and consistency of the obtained data are ensured by using standardised sampling methods and by treating and analysing all samples in the same laboratories.
This programme represents the European contribution to the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS)/ International Association of Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry (IAGC) Working Group on Global Geochemical Baselines. The sampling instructions are based on the recommendations of the IGCP 259 and IGCP 360 programmes.
The present report contains comprehensive instructions for sample site selection and sample collection. In addition, a summary of methods intended for sample preparation and analysis is included.

The New Manual of Seismological Observatory Practice (NMSOP or "the Manual") is an initiative of the former Commission on Practice (CoP) of the International Association ofSeismology and Physics of the Earth Interior (IASPEI). At its meeting in conjunction with the IASPEI General Assembly in Wellington, New Zealand, January 1994, the CoP established a Working Group on the Manual of Seismological Observatory Practice. Peter Bormann agreed to chair the group. A first concept for the NMSOP was put forward at the General Assembly of IASPEIís European Seismological Commission (ESC) in Athens, Greece, September 1994 (Bormann, 1994).

Well control problems are always interesting. The raw power that is released by nature in the form of an oil or gas well blowing out of control is awesome. Well control is one thing and WILD well control is something else.

An exposition and catalog of the fluorescent and phosporescent gems and minerals, including the uses of ultraviolet light in the Earth sciences

My first experience in applying borehole geophysics to the environmental field was in 1960 at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL); however, I started working with geophysical logs in 1953. In Idaho we were able to map a complex aquifer system and the distribution of plumes of waste from injection wells and ponds. One of the earliest applications of neutron moisture logs to locate waste migrating above the water table and of gamma-spectral logs to identify migrating radioisotopes was at the INEL. While at the INEL I was involved in the recovery operations and investigations at the SL-1 reactor.

The mining industry is in a state of flux, and while some may say this has been the norm for many centuries, even the most cursory examination will reveal that the storm waves are real and the need for change within some areas is long overdue. Indeed, the industry is currently facing some serious challenges, including regulatory interference, social isolation, and/or untenable commercial purgatory. However, it warrants recognition that the current waves of opposition ultimately may be only temporary. The industry—and indeed humanity in general—has always adapted to and overcome the challenges of a particular moment, whether measured in the evolution from pig iron to mini-mills or handcarts to electrically driven autonomous haulage.

Amazingly, 18 years after the commercialization of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), less than 4000 systems have been installed worldwide. If you compare this number with another rapid multielement technique, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), first commercialized in 1974, the difference is quite significant. In 1992, 18 years after ICP-OES was introduced, more than 9000 units had been sold, and if you compare it with the same time period that ICP-MS has been available, the difference is even more dramatic.

This book represents three years of intensive research and experimentation. Information from hundreds of sources has been collected, distilled, and illustrated. It is intended to be both a text and tool, a blend of instruction and reference. Like any tool, its value increases as you bring to it your own perceptions and skills. It is designed to make the information easily accessible, and built to stand up to years of bench-side use.