В книге рассматривается группа новых статистических методов, позволяющих проводить разграничение геологических объектов по комплексу признаков. Особое внимание уделено проверке гипотез об однородности объекта применительно к различным геологическим ситуациям, поиску положения границ, если объект неоднороден, сравнению границ по их роли в разделении объекта и выбору комплекса признаков за счет которых геологические объекты отличаются один от другого. Критерии для проверки гипотез об однородности, процедуры поиска границ и выбора поисковых признаков, основаны на построении функций правдоподобия в условиях соответствующих предположений.

В сборнике представлены статьи многих ведущих геохимиков страны, освещены как теоретические вопросы применения различных поисковых геохимических методов, так и результаты геохимических исследований последних лет, проведенных в разных регионах.
Рассмотрены новые возможности использования геохимических методов при поисках и разведке месторождений рудных полезных ископаемых в различных природных обстановках.
Книга предназначена для научных работников геолого-геохимического профиля, геохимиков, геологов-поисковиков, преподавателей и студентов геологических вузов.

This book looks at developments in oil shale which is the largest untapped domestic resource with the greatest potential to decrease our dependence on foreign oil. Over 70% of the world‘s oil shale resources occur in the United States. These deposits contain over 1.5 trillion barrels of shale oil. If only 800 billion of this can be recovered, that alone would supply all of our current domestic petroleum needs for the next 100 years or more. The 2005 Energy Security Act demonstrated that the US government might finally encourage the development of these valuable oil shale resources. The nation‘s production of crude oil has been declining since the 1970s while its demand has continued to increase, making the country increasingly dependent on imported oil. However, there are lingering questions about our ability to produce shale oil in this country. Most of these questions discussed in this book, center on key issues such as: (1) is the technology available and will it work on a large scale?; (2) can shale oil be produced profitably?; (3) can shale oil be produced in an environmentally responsible manner?; and (4) what are the socio-economic impacts going to be on the local regions where these developments occur? Oil shale requires an expensive, high-risk, long-lead-time development program and the federal government controls most of the resource. They will therefore ultimately determine whether or not shale oil is ever produced at a level sufficient to improve our economic and national security. <...>

Geology can be defined as the scientific study of the Earth and especially the rocks and soils that make up the Earth: their origins, nature and distribution, and the processes involved in their formation. Engineering geology then may be defined as the scientific study of geology as it relates to civil engineering projects such as the design of a bridge, construction of a dam or preventing a landslide. Engineering geologists need to identify the local rock and soil conditions at a site and anticipate natural hazards such as earthquakes so that structures can be designed, constructed and operated safely and economically. He (or she, throughout) needs to work with civil engineers and understand what they are trying to do and the constraints under which they work. His remit and responsibilities can be extensive, covering all of the Earth Sciences, including geophysics, geochemistry and geomorphology. <...>

The most striking features of crystals are their symmetric, polyhedral forms. Federov said that crystals “flash-forth their symmetry” (Shubnikov and Kopstik, 1974), a strong allusion to the sharp, highly reflecting surfaces of well-formed crystals prized by enthusiasts. We learned from Häuy that the shapes of crystals reflect the arrangements of the particles from which they are constructed. Today, these arrangements are routinely deduced from x-ray diffraction patterns. In the 19th Century, prior to the discovery of x-rays, the perturbations to the state of visible light traversing a crystal were used to assay symmetry.

Ideally, the symmetry of a crystal that an investigator would deduce from shape, from the transmission of visible light, from the scattering of x-rays, or from any other method, should be the same. However, as early as 1818, David Brewster in Edinburgh first noticed that some crystals appeared to have lower optical symmetries than morphological symmetries (Brewster, 1818b). <...>

The term "soil" has many definitions, depending upon who is using the term. For example, to engineers "soil" is unconsolidated surficial material, whereas to many soil scientists it is mainly the medium for plant growth. A definition of soil that serves our purpose well is a slight modification of that given by Joffe'": a soil is described as a natural body consisting of layers or horizons of mineral and/or organic constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent material in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties and their biological characteristics; at least some of these properties are pedogenic (Fig. 1-1). Soil horizons generally are unconsolidated, but some contain sufficient amounts of silica, carbonates, or iron oxides to be cemented <...>

This introduction highlights the practical application of geomorphology and geomorpho-logical hydrology to environmental management through four major themes: ground instability and land management, the effect of land use on the hydrological response of geomorphological systems, geomorphological aspects of environmental impact and risk, and aspects of the modelling and management of geomorphological systems undergoing environmental change. The chapter sets the volume of contributions in the context of changing environments and human impact, and brings attention to the scale problem in geomorphological research. It outlines issues and strategies of land management, and comments briefly on the prospects for “environmental geomorphology”. <...>

Книга посвящена крупному советскому ученому-гео-химику, члену-корреспонденту АН СССР, лауреату Ленинской премии Александру Александровичу Сау-кову, деятельность которого неразрывно связана с развитием геохимии в нашей стране.
Автор, профессор А. И. Перельман, около двадцати лет был ближайшим сотрудником А. А. Саукова. По личным впечатлениям он воссоздал обаятельный образ ученого, дал обстоятельный анализ его трудов и осветил его обширную педагогическую деятельность.

Воспоминания о выдающихся исследователях рудных месторождений М. Б. Бородаевской и Н. И. Бородаевском, написанные их коллегами – представителями славной плеяды советских геологов. В книге нашла отражение тема противоборства научных идей и честности исследователя, без которых немыслимо развитие науки.