International Union of Geological Sciences

The IUPAC–IUGS joint Task Group “Isotopes in Geosciences” (TGIG) has evaluated the published literature on the half-lives of six long-lived, geologically relevant radioactive nuclides. Where conflicting literature estimates are present, it is necessary to first identify any systematic bias in accordance with metrological traceability and to exclude the biased estimates from further consideration. The TGIG recommends three robust half-life estimates: 49.61 ± 0.16 Ga for 87Rb, corresponding to a decay constant λ(87Rb) = (1.3972 ± 0.0045) × 10−11 a−1; 106.25 ± 0.38 Ga for 147Sm, and a corresponding decay constant λ(147Sm) = (6.524 ± 0.024) × 10−12 a−1; 4.4683 ± 0.0096 Ga for 238U, i.e. a decay constant λ(238U) = (1.55125 ± 0.00333) × 10−10 a−1. All cited uncertainties have a coverage factor k = 2. For other radionuclides of Sm and U, no unambiguous consensus value can be endorsed at present by TGIG, which limits its evaluation to a status report highlighting unaccounted-for potential sources of bias. The improved repeatability of mass spectrometric measurements has revealed systematic bias effects that had been dismissed as subordinate in the past. These issues can only be resolved by future dedicated investigations.

Besides philosopher and epistemologist, Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) carried out an interesting contribution to 18th Century scientific knowledge through two of his works, Allgemeine Naturgeschichte und Theorie des Himmels (1755) and Physische Geographie (1775/1802). In the latter, he developed a Theory of the Earth characteristic of that time, wherein assumed the actualistics-uniformitarianists ideas, with gradual changes, the cycles of matter, an Earth in steady state, and a time with no beginning nor an end, that to a certain extent could have a considerable influence on the James Hutton’s theory and also on Charles Lyell. The Actualism, however, in its essential assumptions such as the inference to the past from the present by means of the causes now in operation, is actually inherent in the human rationality, and it is possible to find it in the works of a number of naturalists in earlier decades.

La Biblioteca Virtual de Polígrafos es el principal proyecto de la Fundación Ignacio Larramendi. Su objetivo es hacer accesible el pensamiento de los autores españoles, portugueses, brasileños y latinoamericanos de todos los tiempos.

An unabridged translation of a work of Nicolas Lemery (1645–1715) is presented for the first time in Spanish, wherein this French chemist and apothecary attempts an explanation on physical and chemical basis of several significant phenomena in Earth Sciences, such as earthquakes, subterranean fires, hurricanes, lightning and thunder. This explanation had a common cause for all the aforementioned phenomena: the processes of mineral fermentation, in this case of sulfur and iron, as a heat source, within the corpuscular theory of matter and mechanistic philosophy, and likewise it represents an interesting contribution of the influence of chemistry on the incipient development of experimental geology at the dawn of the 18th Century.

A Global Geopark is a unified area with geological heritage of international significancewith a strong management structure and sustainable economic development strategy already in place. Global Geoparks use the local and regional geological heritage with its strong relation to the technical and cultural heritage in the area to promote awareness of key issues facing society; to educate visitors and local communities; and to link these local and regionalpeculiarities to the broader aspects of the area’s natural and cultural environment in the context of the dynamic planet we all live on. Global Geoparks promote awareness of geological hazards, help prepare disaster mitigation strategies among local communities, educate on current climate change, promote best practise approach to utilising renewable energy and employing the best standards of “green tourism”, inform about the sustainable use and need for natural resources, whether they are mined, quarried or harnessed from the surrounding environment, promote respect for the environment and the integrity of the landscape. The Global Geoparks Network (GGN), supported by UNESCO, provides a global platform of active cooperation between experts and practitioners in geological heritage. Under the auspicesof UNESCO and through regional network partners, significant national geological sites gain worldwide recognition and visibility through tourism as well as best practices within the scientific and education community.Within a designated Global Geopark area, models of best practice are developed, setting high quality standards in all aspects of their operation.The GGN continues to expand each year, in May 2015 comprising 111 Global Geoparks in 34 countries from five continents. The International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) is a partner with UNESCO and the GGN and assists in finding geoscientists – volunteerexperts in the fieldsrelevant to the aspiring Global Geopark applications – who are willing to evaluate the geological sections of each new Global Geopark application for their international significance. Given the fact that unique geological settings and their globally recognised importance are the foundation on which a Global Geopark is first established the evaluation of the geological section of a Global Geopark application follows high quality standards of and is of quintessential importance,a critical part of the Global Geopark evaluation process, and helps maintain the high global standards of the Global Geoparks Network. In 2014, 17 new applications were submitted to UNESCO and these were evaluated in the first half of 2015. The 2015 aspiring Geoparks were (in alphabetic order): Beaujolais (France), Belogradchik (Bolgaria), Celestienne, Lesse and Lomme(Belgium), Dunhuang (PR China), Golden Geopark of Lapland (Finland), Grevena Tethys (Greece), Imbabura (Ecuador), Izu Peninsula (Japan), Lochaber (Scotland), Mons (Belgium), Mount Apoi (Japan), Pollino (Italy), Shouf Jezzine (Lebanon), Sitia (Greece), Toba (Indonesia), Troodos (Cyprus), Zhijindong (PR China). The evaluators for these 17 aspiring Geoparks were (in alphabetic order): Michel BAKALOWICZ, S.K. BHUSHAN, Attilio BORIANI, Robert BUTLER, Jose-Pedro CALVO, Pedro CASTINERAS GARCIA, Patrick DE WEVER, Yildirim DILEK, Steve DRURY, Franz Wolfgang EDER, John HUGHES, Mike KATZ, Christian KOEBERL, Frederic LACOMBAT, Richard LANGFORD, Randy MILLER, Greg MOORE, Damian NANCE, Adriana NIZ, Yujiro OGAWA, Nazire OZGEN ERDEM, Annie RASSIOS, Corina RISSO, Matti SAARNISTO, Veli-Pekka SALONEN, Harold STOWELL, Michiel VAN DER MEULEN, Benjamin VAN WYK DE VRIES, Guido VENTURA, Pierre VERPAELST, Nadja ZUPAN HAJNA and those other geoscientists that helped in the process, but choose to remain anonymous.

This program would not have been possible without the excellent