The platinum-group minerals (PGM) are a diverse group of minerals that concentrate the platinum-group elements (PGE; Os, Ir, Ru, Rh, Pt, and Pd). At the time of writing, the International Mineralogical Association database includes 135 named discrete PGM phases. Much of our knowledge of the variety and the distribution of these minerals in natural systems comes from ore deposits associated with mafic and ultramafic rocks and their derivatives (see also Barnes and Ripley 2016, this volume).

In July 1975, we began a lifetime of interest in the Kenya Rift lakes when we began as graduate students supervised by the late Professor WW (Bill) Bishop at Queen Mary College, University of London.

The Dinaric Karst of Croatia was formed in a tectonically active area, where several geotectonic plates of variable size are in direct contact. The African tectonic plate, with its smaller Adriatic plate, extends northwards towards the Alps. The Adriatic plate subducts under the Dinaric plate, which is the base part of the Dinaric Mountains. Therefore, this is a seismically palaeo and neotectonically active area with many earthquakes. Since these area is composed mainly of soluble carbonate rocks (mostly Mesozoic and Cenozoic ages) that are up to 8 km thick in this area, with favourable hydrogeological conditions, the karstification processes are very prominent. A brief overview of the geology of Croatia also indicates the complexity of hydrogeological processes in this area. <...>

There have been two dominant models used in describing the chemical and electronic behavior of a surface. One is the atomistic model, or the “surface molecule” model; the other is the band model, often called for emphasis the “rigid band” model. The atomistic model has been preferred in general in discussions of the chemical processes at a solid surface; the rigid band model is often preferred in discussions of electron exchange between the solid (especially a semiconductor) and a surface group, where, for example, the conductivity of the solid is changed.

About 2,200 years ago a scholarly librarian in charge of the prestigious collections of the museum at Alexandria conducted an elegant exercise in logic and experimentation. Using seemingly unrelated bits of information such as the observation of the penetration of sunlight into a well in the city of Syene, the speed of a camel caravan, and the shadow cast by an obelisk in Alexandria, Eratosthenes calculated a remarkably accurate estimate of the circumference of the earth (Wilford 1981).

This book grew out of class notes for a course that served two purposes:
1.    To familiarize graduate students in hydrogeology and environmental engineering with some practical methods for solving interpolation and related estimation problems. The course emphasized geostatistical methods.
2.    To illustrate how one may use data to develop empirical models, that is, to provide an introduction to applied statistical modeling.

Chapter 1 Complexity Concepts and Non-Integer Dimensions in Climate and Paleoclimate Research
Reik V. Donner
Chapter 2 Analysis of Fractal Dimension of the Wind Speed and Its Relationships with Turbulent and Stability Parameters 

Manuel Tijera, Gregorio Maqueda, Carlos Yagüe and José L. Cano
Chapter 3 Evolution of Cosmic System
Noboru Tanizuka

Regolith – the mantle of in situ and transported weathered material that covers landscapes across the world – presents a major challenge to mineral explorers and natural resource managers.

The integration of geology with data science disciplines, such as spatial statistics, remote sensing, and geographic information systems (GIS), has given rise to a shift in many natural sciences schools, pushing the boundaries of knowledge and enabling new discoveries in geological processes and earth systems.