bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Shepherds' crowns, fairy loaves and thunderstones: the mythology of fossil echinoids in England
Authors: McNamara Kenneth J. 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
The presence of fossil echinoids in archaeological sites in southern England that range from the Palaeolithic through the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages, Romano-British to Anglo-Saxon indicates that humans have long had a propensity for collecting these fossils. The palaeo-ethnological significance of fossil echinoids can be determined from a number of criteria. The fossils may occur with the dead, either in burials or cremations, or be associated with past activities of the living. These include presence on a flint worked as a tool; artificial alteration of the fossil; association with human habitation; or occurrence outside the area of natural geological occurrence. Their archaeological association provides an indication that these fossils have been collected by people for hundreds of thousands of years and, at times, attained a high degree of spiritual significance. Moreover, recent folklore associated with them, particularly their folk names, such as shepherd's crowns, fairy loaves and thunderstones, provides a further insight into the myths that were associated with them. These indicate the use of fossil echinoids in both ‘Celtic’ and Norse mythologies where they played a role in resurrection myths. The occurrence of fossil echinoids in a medieval church is indicative of retention of ‘pagan’ belief systems in a Christian context.
Obsidian: sacred glass from the California sky
Authors: Fox Hodgson Susan 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
For at least 13 000 years, California Indians mined and worked obsidian, trading the precious volcanic glass near and far, including obsidian and its uses in their everyday lives and beliefs. The cultural importance of obsidian is emphasized by the fact that a number of tribal groups created myths specifically about obsidian. Not only do the myths illustrate tribal religious beliefs, they help to trace geological and archaeological histories, as well. That obsidian still plays economic, artistic, and religious roles in the lives of today's Californians offers testimony to its qualities the Indians discovered long ago.
Erratic blocks: from protector beings to geosites to be protected
Authors: Motta Luigi , Motta Michele 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
Erratic blocks are the main geosites in Turin's suburban area. Today, they are a symbol of the ‘landscape to be saved’ even for those who are barely aware of their geological importance. This is because the blocks are the subject of myths (based on their geomorphological characters), such as: interpretation of weathering as altars or runic writing: attribution of strange shapes, noises, lairs, to petrified supernatural beings: interpretation of isolated blocks as dwellings of protector beings; use of the blocks for boulders: supposed reports of UFOs and ‘disappeared civilizations’. In ancient times, erratic blocks were at the centre of religious practices. However, most myths are in fact recent. The Barbarian invasions and the fight against Paganism destroyed the ancient myths. The creation of new myths proves that erratic blocks are able to attract mankind's attention in every epoch. When the geologist proposes blocks as protected geosites, he must show the connection between geomorphology and myths, maintaining the suggestive impact of the myths. Myths, including recent and altered ones, can work together with scientific explanation to make it easier for the public to understand the true importance of erratic blocks. By exploiting the power and appeal of myth, the community will more easily accept the need to preserve scientifically valuable geosites.
The contribution of the ‘Sibilla Appenninica’ legend to karst knowledge in the Sibillini Mountains (Central Apennines, Italy)
Authors: Aringoli D. , Gentili B. , Pambianchi G. , Piscitelli A. M. 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
Geological studies of the Sibillini Mountains carried out mainly during the last century, provided evidence of a hypogeal karst characterized by a small number of caves of limited extent. The only one mentioned by numerous ancient authors is the ‘Grotta della Sibilla’, on account of its legendary references. This cave is the keeper of one of the most fascinating secrets of the Apennines, having been both a place of mountain cult as far back as pre-historical times and the home of the fortune-telling prophetess ‘Sibilla’. Historical sources tell of the presence of someone mysterious at the site from the time of the Romans but amongst the historical descriptions, the testimony of Antoine de la Sale is most notable: he visited the cave in 1420 and described it as a good-sized cavity within the bowels of the mountain. Nothing about this setting is mentioned in the geological literature or in topographic descriptions, made for the first time at the beginning of the 1940s, when a regular but small cave was revealed. Today rockfall deposits completely obstruct the entrance.
On the basis of the above-mentioned legendary references, geomorphological and geophysical studies started helping to define the real extent of the cave. The planimetric trend of the electromagnetic anomalies surveyed allow us to make hypotheses about the presence of a vast hypogeal system.
Measuring suspended sand concentration using acoustic backscatter: a critical look at the errors and uncertainties
Authors: Vincent Chris E. 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
Suspended sand concentrations in the near-bed layer of the sea can be estimated using acoustic backscatter systems (ABS) and hence, when combined with velocity, sand transport. ABS measurements are now relatively routine and widely regarded as one of the best tools to help to measure sand transport in coastal seas and estuaries. Potentially the ABS can be used to give estimates of both concentration and sediment size with a vertical resolution of 5–10 mm and a temporal resolution of fractions of a second, but in practice there are many practical limitations to what can be achieved in the field. Often these uncertainties are overlooked or ignored because of the difficulty in estimating their magnitude or of making measurements that are any better. The major limitations and sources of errors in the ABS are discussed, including the influence of sediment size and shape. In moderately to well-sorted sandy environments with appropriate calibration, acoustic estimates of mass concentration should be within ± 30% of the true value.
Field measurement and quantification of longshore sediment transport: an unattainable goal?
Authors: Cooper J. A. G. , Pilkey O. H. 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
Longshore sediment transport (LST) is an important component of many coastal systems. This common term is frequently expressed as an annual volume, either net or gross, passing a particular point. In spite of its importance as a factor in coastal morphodynamics it has received relatively little attention as a process. We review the mechanisms of longshore sediment transport and current approaches to its assessment using field measurement and geoindicators. We conclude that approaches to date have never succeeded in quantifying longshore sediment drift rates in an adequate way. This shortcoming is attributed to the spatial and temporal variability of contributing processes coupled with a technical inability to quantify simultaneously longshore sediment transport in all its modes. We also conclude that research involving the measurement of longshore transport can enhance our understanding of the processes of transport and rates of transport under certain conditions. However, the accurate quantification of drift rates as annual volumes is an unattainable goal. We propose that such quantifications be replaced by qualitative values (small, medium, large) or measures of the relative importance of longshore transport in effecting morphological change (e.g. drift-dominated, cross-shore dominated, mixed processes).
Simple analytical results for bedload transport due to tides
Authors: Aldridge John N. 
Published: December 2007

Abstract

Patterns of sediment erosion and deposition arising from tide induced bedload transport are explored using standard bedload formulae and a simple analytic approach. Decomposing the current into a principal
M
2
tidal constituent, an
M
4
first harmonic and a tidal residual, it is straightforward to derive an expression for the contribution each makes to the integrated tidal flux. The resulting expressions are applied to calculate the net change in bed level induced by bedload transport due to a superposition of a Kelvin tidal wave, a harmonic overtide and a residual tide.
Shoreface morphodynamics along the Holland Coast
Authors: Hinton C. L. , Nicholls R. J. 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
The morphodynamic behaviour of the shoreface of the Holland coast has been investigated over the medium- and large-scales (years to decades). This is a wave-dominated, uniform coastline backed by dunes and uninterrupted by tidal inlets. The work takes a data-orientated approach using the ‘long’ profiles in a data set extending over 32 years and covering 81 km of coast. These profiles are spaced every 1 km alongshore and extend to a maximum offshore distance of 3 km (approximately 16 m water depth).
Previous work based upon cross-shore profiles suggests that there is a seaward limit to significant depth change, or activity, on the upper shoreface over the small- and medium-scales (termed ‘depth of closure’). Examination of the data set shows that the middle and lower shoreface is also morphologically active in many instances, with the activity increasing with timescale. Many profiles exhibit closure on the upper shoreface, and then reopen on the middle/lower shoreface, exhibiting morphological activity. This deeper shoreface morphodynamics appears to be related to onshore supply of sand to the active zone. Hence, the analysis shows that the upper, middle and lower shoreface are coupled, as widely assumed, and has widespread significance for understanding long-term coastal evolution.
Seabed sediment transport pathway investigations: review of scientific approach and methodologies
Authors: Velegrakis A. F. , Collins M. B. , Bastos A. C. , Paphitis D. , Brampton A. 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
An understanding of the geomorphological evolution of the coastal and inner continental shelf environments, in response to natural and/or anthropogenic forcings, depends upon a comprehensive knowledge of the prevailing sediment dynamics. In this contribution, selected methods/tools that can be used to study seabed mobility/transport patterns, are described and these all reviewed in relation to their inherent limitations.
The geological, morphological, hydrodynamic and sedimentary information (the environmental framework) necessary to develop a general understanding of the areas investigated are identified. This preliminary information prescribes the investigative tools to be utilized subsequently, i.e. the collection/analysis of data; these can define geomorphological and sedimentological indicators of sediment transport, hydrodynamic/sediment transport field observations and numerical simulations.
The results derived from the various methods can be used then independently or, preferably in combination, to establish conceptual models of seabed sediment dynamics over the investigated area. The coherence between the outputs of the different methods/tools controls the confidence level (high, medium or low) of the models. This approach is illustrated in relation to case studies from the southern UK inner continental shelf.
Fabric transitions from shell accumulations to reefs: an introduction with Palaeozoic examples
Authors: Álvaro J. Javier , Aretz Markus , Boulvain Frédéric , Munnecke Axel , Vachard Daniel , Vennin Emmanuelle 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
One unresolved conceptual problem in some Palaeozoic sedimentary strata is the boundary between the concepts of ‘shell concentration’ and ‘reef’. In fact, numerous bioclastic strata are transitional coquina-reef deposits, because either distinct frame-building skeletons are not commonly preserved in growth position, or skeletal remains are episodically encrusted by ‘stabilizer’ (reef-like) organisms, such as calcareous and problematic algae, encrusting microbes, bryozoans, foraminifers and sponges. The term ‘parabiostrome’, coined by Kershaw, can be used to describe some stratiform bioclastic deposits formed through the growth and destruction, by fair-weather wave and storm wave action, of meadows and carpets bearing frame-building (archaeocyaths, bryozoans, corals, stromatoporoids, etc.) and/or epibenthic, non-frame-building (e.g. pelmatozoan echinoderms, spiculate sponges and many brachiopods) organisms.
This paper documents six Palaeozoic examples of stabilized coquinas leading to (pseudo)reef frameworks. Some of them formed by storm processes (generating reef soles, aborted reefs or being part of mounds) on ramps and shelves and were consolidated by either encrusting organisms or early diagenesic processes, whereas others, bioclastic-dominated shoals in barrier shelves, were episodically stabilized by encrusting organisms, indicating distinct episodes in which shoals ceased their lateral migration.
Lower Cambrian shelled phosphorites from the northern Montagne Noire, France
Authors: Clausen Sébastien , Álvaro J. Javier 
Published: December 2007

Abstract

Shelled phosphorites of Early Cambrian age are common in the Avène-Mendic autochthonous unit (Marcory Formation) and the Melagues nappe (‘
Heraultia
beds’ of the Lastours Formation), northern Montagne Noire (France). Palaeogeographically, the concentration of phosphate took place along the shelf edge between a stable inner platform (southern Montagne Noire) and an unstable slope-to-basin sea floor preserved in the northern Montagne Noire. Petrography, back-scattered SEM (scanning election microscopy) and elemental mapping by EDS (energy dispersive system) show that the phosphorites were generated by repeated alternations of low sedimentation rates and condensation forming hardgrounds,
in situ
early diagenetic phosphogenesis, winnowing and polyphase reworking of previously phosphatized skeletons and hardground-derived clasts. The succession of repeated cycles of sedimentation, phosphate concentration and reworking led to multi event phosphate deposits rich in allochthonous particles. Associated accumulations of exhumed and reworked pyrite clasts reflect final deposition in a mainly dysaerobic substrate.
Anatomy of the Early Cambrian ‘La Sentinella’ reef complex, Serra Scoris, SW Sardinia, Italy
Authors: Gandin Anna , Debrenne FranÇoise , Debrenne Max 
Published: December 2007

Abstract

All bioherms from the Early Cambrian (Botoman) Matoppa Formation of the Nebida Group in SW Sardinia were previously thought to be dominated by
Epiphyton
. However, at ‘La Sentinella’ (Serra Scoris Hill), they are composed of
Girvanella, Razumovskia, Botomaella
and
Renalcis
, with
Epiphyton
and archaeocyaths as accessory components. This association forms two unusual types of crust boundstone, consisting of stacked flat or curved crusts and saucer-like archaeocyaths delimiting shelter cavities. Dendrolitic
Renalcis
archaeocyath-cement boundstone caps the bioherm. Analysis of the La Sentinella reef complex and comparison with similar constructions from Mongolia (Zuune Arts, Salaany Gol), Nevada (Stewart's Mill, Battle Mountain), Mexico (Sonora) and China (Tianheban Formation) suggest that episodic deposition of fine-grained siliciclastic or carbonate sediment followed by periods of non-deposition enabled the calcimicrobial rafts and crusts to colonize the substrate and then provide synoptic relief for the development of a dendrolitic
Renalcis
-cement framework. ‘La Sentinella’ is one of the rare examples of Cambrian reef complex displaying community replacement, from an initial stage of thrombolitic and/or flat-stacked microbial crusts on a muddy substrate to an arched microbial crust system, to a more resistant
Renalcis
-cement boundstone. Such bioherms reflect an open-shelf, shallow-marine environment of increasing energy.
Botoman (Lower Cambrian) turbid- and clear-water reefs and associated environments from the High Atlas, Morocco
Authors: Álvaro J. Javier , Clausen Sébastien 
Published: December 2007

Abstract

Exposures of the Botoman (Lower Cambrian), Lemdad and Issafen formations on the Lemdad syndine, southern High Atlas, provide an excellent example of the interactions between tectonic events, magmatic activity and carbonate productivity. The major factors that controlled the nucleation of carbonate factories on the Botoman High Atlas platform were: (i) synsedimentary tectonism, as normal faulting resulted in tilting of fault blocks causing irregular topographies and subsequent sharp erosion; (ii) volcanism, because pyroclastic influx smothered carbonate factories except in distal areas of the platform or during quiescent episodes of volcanic activity; and (iii) the influence of successive shoaling parasequences. The Botoman reefs exhibit a wide range of external morphologies, including tabular (biostromes) and domal (bioherms and patches) boundstones, which do not exceed 3.5 m of thickness. Although archaeocyathan-microbial reefs only developed under clearwater conditions, microbial reefs grew also under turbid-water conditions. Domal and digitate stromatoids,
Girvanella
crusts,
Epiphyton
bushes and thromboid-stromatoid intergrowths document the ability of some microbial communities to develop heterotrophic strategies when submitted to a moderate terrigenous input. Turbidity was a major ecological factor that constrained development of filter/suspension-feeder and phototrophic organisms, but not necessarily of benthic non-phototrophic microbial communities.
Late Frasnian phillipsastreid biostromes in Belgium
Authors: Poty Edouard , Chevalier Emmanuel 
Published: December 2007

Abstract

In the Belgian Namur-Dinant Basin the boundary between the Lustin Formation and the Aisemont Formation (in the Lower
rhenana
conodont Biozone) corresponds to a fall followed by a rise in sea level, leading to the first recorded late Frasnian coral crisis. The Aisemont Formation records a transgressive-regressive cycle. Prior to the crisis most of the colonial rugose corals were members of the Family Disphyllidae, but these were largely replaced by corals belonging to the Phillipsastraeidae. Among these
Frechastraea
colonized all environments of the basin and was the main constructor of a biostromal reef in its northern-most proximal area, in the fair-weather wave zone. Corals did not encrust each other and therefore were not firmly attached, but they hug tightly the substrate (a dead coral colony) and rest closely on it to resist to the turbulence of waves. During the Silurian and Devonian, up until the late Frasnian crisis, shallow-water reefs in turbulent water were usually built by encrusting stromatoporoids, whereas rugose corals were restricted to waters of lower energy. Indeed, they were unable to encrust substrates, unlike stromatoporoids and post-Palaeozoic scleractinians, and to live in turbulent habitats. In Belgium argillaceous sedimentation prevented the development of stromatoporoids and provided an opportunity for the corals to colonize empty niches and to construct biostromes in relatively high-energy environments. At the same time
Alveolites
and stromatoporoids were dominant in a mid-proximal environment below the fair-weather wave base, but within the storm wave zone, where they also constructed biostromes.
Estimation of palaeoenvironmental changes: can analysis of distribution of tabulae in tabulates be a tool?
Authors: Zapalski Mikołaj K. , Hubert Benoît , Mistiaen Bruno 
Published: December 2007

Abstract

Growth periodicity (cyclomorphic variation) in corals is expressed by various features, among them changes in the distribution of tabulae. A method potentially useful in analysis of periodical environmental changes is proposed herein. Measurement of spaces between tabulae in tabulate corals and preparation of a histogram converted into a trend curve may show relative periodical fluctuations of the environment. Such an analysis, exemplified here on Givetian
Pachyfavosites
sp. from the Avesnois (northern France), shows that this method may be used as a tool for estimation of environmental changes.
The economic importance of contourites
Authors: Viana A. R. , Almeida W. , Nunes M. C. V. , Bulhões E. M. 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
The importance of contour currents in shaping and building continental margins has long been accepted. Their economic implications and the stratigraphic framework in which they are developed remain largely unknown. Data retrieved from sidescan sonar images, seismic profiles and their attribute maps, as well as sea-floor coring, boreholes and the few known outcrops around the world, suggest that bottom currents can locally develop large deposits of relatively coarse-grained sediments. Accumulation of coarse-grained deposits under the influence of bottom currents requires sediment availability, a geologically persistent strong circulation regime and a favourable physiographic setting both for enhancing the currents and for hosting the sediments. The hydrocarbon exploration of oceanic depositional systems demands a better understanding of the role of bottom currents and their implications for petroleum systems such as reservoir and sealing rocks. Such understanding implies additional alternatives for the definition of exploration targets and prospect risk reduction. Correlating seismic anomalies from 3D mapping with core and well logging data reveals the depositional geometry and sedimentological characteristics of coarse-grained contourites. Fine-grained drifts can locally and regionally develop large and thick accumulations, which have an important seal potential for trapping hydrocarbon.
Interaction of processes and importance of contourites: insights from the detailed morphology of sediment Drift 7, Antarctica
Authors: Rebesco M. , Camerlenghi A. , Volpi V. , Neagu C. , Accettella D. , Lindberg B. , Cova A. , Zgur F. ,   Magico Party
Published: December 2007

Abstract
As the definition of contourites has widened to embrace a large spectrum of sediments in so-called mixed systems, the distinction between contourites and turbidites has become at times vague. The case history of sediment Drift 7 off the Antarctic Peninsula is analysed in this paper in the light of newly acquired swath bathymetry data. The co-existence of various sedimentary processes is reflected in a complex morphology: erosional gullies produced by debris flows on the upper part of the continental slope; deeply incised channels at the slope base; main trunk-type inter-drift turbidity channels separating the drifts; slide scars; undulating depositional bedforms interpreted as bottom-current sediment waves; fluid escape structures perhaps associated with deep-water coral bioherms. The data suggest that Drift 7 is a genuine sediment drift in which bottom currents pirate the sediment of the turbidity currents. Finally, we propose that the control on location and elongation of the drift is inherited from an older margin structure. The relationships between bottom current and deposition are investigated through a comparison with the SE Greenland continental margin, an analogous counterpart in the northern hemisphere.