Geologists are mainly concerned with the study of the lithosphere. The sedimentary and metasedimentary rocks, although they constitute only 5 % of the lithosphere by volume, they occupy 75% of the exposed land area (PETTIJOHN, 1957). Thus, the study of sedimentary rocks is the major problem of geology. An obvious question arises in the study of sedimentary rocks: Under what conditions and by which processes were the sedimentary rocks in question deposited.

Palynological methods are extensively used in Quaternary biostratigraphical investigations. The application of palynology in Pleistocene stratigraphy, including glacial deposits, is connected with some special problems. Intensive geological processes affecting the formation of autochthonous pollen spectra and the break up, rebedding and transport of pollen-bearing sediments complicates the interpretation of the stratigraphy considerably. Therefore attention has been focused on methodical problems.

In a country like India various types of earth science data have been generated for about 170 years by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and subsequently by its much younger sister organizations like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Indian Bureau of Mines, Atomic Minerals Division, Central Ground Water Board etc. and a number of public sector undertakings like Hindustan Copper Limited, Hindustan Zinc Limited etc. In addition to these various earth science related organizations, State Departments of Mines and Geology and a number of academic institutions and Geology Departments under the various universities and Indian Institute of Technologies have come up after the independence of India.

The book lays emphasis on ore deposit set ups, structural permeability and proximity indicator minerals that have relevance in assessing mineral potential of prospective terrains. It also covers aspects of geophysical framework, data acquisition and challenges posed by the declining rate of new mineral discoveries of economic significance.

In 1992, the first conference on Braided Rivers was held at the Geological Society of London (Best & Bristow, 1993). It sought to bring together a wide range of practitioners, primarily sedimentologists, geomorphologists and engineers, to review the state-of-the-art in research, and discuss common problems and future research directions.

Uranium is a trace element in the earth’s crust. Because of its low content and uneven distribution, the abundance of uranium in the earth’s crust varies greatly. The general value is on the order of parts per million (10−6), while the highest value can reach 10−4. Although it may seem that the content of uranium is minor, In fact, it is higher than that of tungsten, mercury, silver, and other familiar metals, being even thousands of times higher than that of gold!

Every day we walk across its surface, admiring its variety of plants, animals, and landscapes. Earth has taken billions of years to evolve into the planet we now inhabit. This volume examines this long history, from Earth’s origins in a cloud of gas and dust to its place as a planet teeming with life. It addresses questions that scientists have long debated: