This text is aimed at recognition, fi eld procedures and interpretation of gossanleached outcrops as they appear on the surface; however it is obviously useful for the observer to have a working concept of the factors controlling development. The origin and nature of gossans / leached cappings have long been of interest to both the practical and scientifi c communities, and it is now well known that diff erent sets of circumstances will results in diff erent end products.
Th e gossan / leached capping formation process commences when ore assemblages and their associated wall rocks encounter the interface between the water table and the overlying surfi cial zone. Th is is in essence the transition from a reducing to an oxidising environment.
As the ore assemblages transition from the water table to surface via weathering, there are numerous factors which contribute to the fi nal surface exposure. <...>

Geological hazard and the lack of appropriate survey, design and construction instruments for tackling those terrains we call “difficult”, with good prospects of success, have always made the design and construction of underground works a risky affair, which could not therefore be faced with the same degree of accuracy as other civil engineering works. As a consequence they have always occupied a subordinate position with respect to similar surface constructions and in the past they were only resorted to when the latter seemed impractical or of little use.

Challenges and Methods of Groundwater Remediation in Karst    
Neven Kresic
Impact of Soil Coverings and Land Cover Types on Groundwater Recharge in Karst Aquifers of Southern Italy    
D. Cusano, D. Lepore, V. Allocca, and P. De Vita
Using Screening Numerical Models to Analyze Groundwater Systems:
The Case Study of a Major Karst Spring Supporting
a NATURA2000 Site    
Cristina Di Salvo, Claudio Alimonti, Daniel T. Feinstein,
Randall J. Hunt, Pamela Teoli, and Elisabetta Preziosi
Updating of Traditional Groundwater Budget and Recharge Assessment by Using the APLIS Method for the Karst Scirca Spring (Central Italy)    

Since Georges MiHot's initial contribution to clays and his thesis on the relationship between composition and development of sedimentary clayey rocks defended in 1949, half a century has passed by. So much has been discovered on clays during that period that it would almost be impossible either to list the work undertaken or to give a comprehensive account of the present situation in a concise presentation.

The “Landslides and Reservoirs” session of the Second World Landslide Forum was aimed to discuss various aspects of reservoirs banks stability assessment and to specify information required by geotechnical and hydraulic engineers to stabilize hazardous slopes and to minimize risk of hydraulic projects related to slopes instability. 13 oral presentations and 15 posters were presented by researchers from 15 countries – Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Italy, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Romania, Russia, Sri Lanka, and Tajikistan. <...>

Landscapes and Landforms of Portugal volume presents, for the first time, a series of synthesis chapters on landscape highlights of mainland Portugal, covering a wide diversity of geomorphological settings. These are presented with language and graphic styles that try to bridge-the-gap from professional scientists to undergraduate students, while being also accessible to all those interested in the earth sciences, to help for a better understanding of landscape evolution and specific features of the Portuguese landforms.

The Geology of Greece was my major teaching responsibility and research focus for about 40 years in the Department of Geology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. My first book regarding the Geology of Greece published in 1986 (Eptalofos Publ. Co., Athens, 240 p., in greek) was focused in assisting the students of Geology to refine the basic aspects about the geology of Greece, incorporating the «theoretical» part together with the description of the geological formations and the overall geodynamic and paleogeographic evolution. It should be noted that the Geology of Greece is a complex and rather challenging task, incorporating a Late Paleozoic—Early Cenozoic orogenic history of a Tethyan segment and an active subduction and orogenic arc in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The World Atlas of Submarine Gas Hydrates in Continental Margins is a comprehensive global compilation of geophysical evidence for the presence of natural gas hydrates in the seafloor. Gas hydrates represent a major carbon reservoir in the Earth system that traps vast amounts of methane below the seafloor. Hydrates form through the capture of gas molecules in water molecule cages when there is sufficient water and free gas and if temperature and pressure conditions are met. Favorable conditions for gas hydrate formation can usually be found beyond the shelf edge and within the top few hundred meters below the seafloor.

This book comprises 20 chapters that cover the entire set of materials commonly used in construction activities today, in buildings and infrastructure, all over the world. Moreover, an insight into the traditional use of construction materials, for example, stone, lime, ceramics, and wood, is provided in view of their relevance in historical heritage. Emphasis is give to the innovation of modern materials that took place in the past century, which resulted in the construction framework that characterizes our urban and logistics landscape at present.

More than half of the surface area of the continents is covered with hard rocks of low permeability. These rocks may acquire moderate to good permeability on account of fracturing and hence are broadly grouped under the term fractured rocks, in the context of hydrogeology. The importance of systematic hydrogeological studies in fractured rocks was realised by the international community about 50years back when an international symposium was held at Dubrovink in the erstwhile Yugoslavia (UNESCO-IAHS 1967).