For the past 37 years the Mineralogical Society of America, and in conjunction with the Geochemical Society (since 2000), have sponsored and published 72 review volumes that communicate the results of significant advances in research in the Earth sciences. Several of these have either directly or indirectly addressed the fundamental importance, role, and behavior of volatile components on processes influencing magma rheology, crystallization, evolution, eruption, and related metasomatism and mineralization.

В последнее время термин денудация, введенный еще П. Скро-пом '), получил различные толкования. Одни2), придерживаясь буквального значения слова (denudo = обнажаю), разумеют под именем денуда-' ции только те процессы обнажения, которые происходят вследствие удаления рыхлых продуктов выветривания. Другие 3), напротив, выветривание совершенно выделяют из процессов денудации и причисляют к ним только те обнажения, которые происходят от действия ветра, текучей воды, льда и моря; при этом собственно денудацию (Denudation) противопоставляют отложению (Auflagerung). Третьи4) придают ему более широкое значение, но с различными ограничениями.

Пятилетняя работа в области почвенно-дорожных исследований, составляя одну из крупных заслуг почвоведения, была полна трудностями. Между идеей и ея осуществлением лежит огромный творческий путь, во время которого формируется прикладное и практическое применение научной дисциплины.

Plate tectonics is the unifying theory of the solid Earth that describes the surface of our planet as being fragmented into rigid plates that move in relation to each other. Many fundamental geological processes, such as earthquakes, volcanism, and the formation of mountains, occur at the plates’ boundaries. In its initial formulation, plate tectonics was a kinematic theory that described and quantified these movements and associated deformation. Plate tectonics evolved into a dynamic theory, describing the forces driving the surface deformation and the internal dynamics of our planet. We also came to realize that plate tectonics is only one of the possible tectono-magmatic styles in which a planet can operate and that these can change over time. In the past years, the geosciences community has started to develop a theory that integrates plate tectonics and mantle convection as part of a single system. This was possible because of the ever-increasing high-quality imaging of Earth’s interior and our computational capabilities. But while the progress has been enormous, there are still many uncertainties and challenges ahead. <...>

Part I: State of the Mantle: Properties and Dynamic Evolution
1 Long-Wavelength Mantle Structure: Geophysical Constraints and Dynamical Models Maxwell L. Rudolph, Diogo L. Lourenço, Pritwiraj Moulik, and Vedran Lekić
2 Experimental Deformation of Lower Mantle Rocks and Minerals Lowell Miyagi
3 Seismic Wave Velocities in Earth’s Mantle from Mineral Elasticity Johannes Buchen
4 From Mantle Convection to Seismic Observations: Quantifying the Uncertainties Related to Anelasticity Bernhard S. A. Schuberth and Tobias Bigalke

Development and use of polymeric materials in the form of geosynthetics and fibres as a new class of construction materials have revolutionized the infrastructure and the environmental protection works in the construction industry during the past three to four decades. Geosynthetics are available in a wide range of compositions appropriate to different applications and environments.