Geosphere Themed Issue: Marine Geology in 2010: The State of the Art and New Directions

Guest Editors:
Andrea Fildani, Chevron Energy Technology Co., andreafildani{at}chevron.com
David J.W. Piper, Geological Survey of Canada (Atlantic), dpiper{at}nrcan.gc.ca
Dave Scholl, U.S. Geological Survey and the Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Alaska Fairbanks, dscholl{at}usgs.gov

The themed issue will honor the life and work of Bill Normark, one of the most innovative and influential marine geoscience explorers of the late 20th century. It will contain a set of papers that either present an exciting piece of new marine geoscience or present an authoritative and innovative review of a current issue in marine geoscience. These papers will ideally cover the full range of sedimentary marine science to which Bill Normark contributed: submarine fans, canyons, and turbidites, as well as submarine landslides, black smokers, geohazards, and continental margin dynamic building and shaping. The model for this collection of papers is the 1991 volume published by SEPM to honour F.P. Shepard, but the format in Geosphere will be appropriate for the 21st century. The principal focus of the invited papers is on the sediments that reach our ocean basins and their distribution from shelf to deep-sea, their delivery processes, and the fate and role played by subducted turbidite sediments when they eventually reach the trench and accretionary prism. Many of the papers for this volume have been invited, but we welcome unsolicited manuscripts to this Themed Issue. Such manuscripts should meet the exacting high standard that marked Bill Normark's own contributions. Potential authors should contact one of the guest editors for further guidelines.

Submissions should meet the Geosphere guidelines for Research Papers as outlined at: http://geosphere.gsapubs.org under the Author Information tab. We expect papers to contain new and original material (in the case of a review, leading to a new synthesis), but the material should be placed in a context of past and future work to a greater degree than is customary in a typical stand-alone research paper. We thus expect the entire Themed Issue to provide an overview of "the state of the art" in 2010 as well as containing exciting new science. Papers should be concise and of a length comparable to a normal research paper. Geosphere encourages innovative use of digital content either in the main paper or as supplemental material.

In order that we meet the goal of the State of the Art and New Directions in 2010, authors should submit their manuscripts by March 31, 2010. Authors who have difficulty with this deadline should discuss this with one of the guest editors at the earliest opportunity. Authors should submit their contribution through the Geosphere online submission and review system at www.editorialmanager.com/geosphere/

Geosphere Themed Issue: Advances in 3D Imaging and Analysis of Geomaterials

Guest Editors:
Guilherme A.R. Gualda, g.gualda{at}vanderbilt.edu
Don R. Baker, don.baker{at}mcgill.ca
Margherita Polacci, polacci{at}pi.ingv.it

For more than a century, the analysis of rocks and other Earth materials has been based on observations and measurements in two dimensions using the petrographic microscope and more recently the electron microscope. Observing 3D objects using 2D sections inherently limits our ability to understand these materials. In recent years, several techniques have emerged that allow for imaging Earth materials in three dimensions, including X-ray, neutron, and electron tomography; confocal microscopy; and serial sectioning. We invite contributions addressing advances in imaging and analysis of Earth materials in three dimensions, including applications that make use of these techniques to unravel relevant geological processes. We request submissions by 31 October 2009.

To submit a paper for this issue, please go to www.editorialmanager.com/geosphere/ and be sure to note in your cover letter that this submission is for the "Advances in 3D Imaging and Analysis of Geomaterials" themed issue.

Geosphere Themed Issue: Making the Southern Margin of Laurentia

Guest Editors:
W.R. Dickinson, wrdickin{at}dakotacom.net
T. Lawton, tlawton{at}nmsu.edu
R.J. Stern, rjstern{at}utdallas.edu

The southern margin of Laurentia formed over the past 1.6 Ga by a wide range of processes, including two episodes of continental collision (1.1 Ga and 300 Ma) and two episodes of rifting to form new ocean basins (530 Ma and 165 Ma). A wide range of igneous, tectonic, sedimentary, and metamorphic processes accompanied these signal events. The lithospheric fabric developed as a result of collision and continental breakup controlled basin evolution and magmatism during interludes. Launched on the eve of the migration of Earthscope’s Transportable Array of seismometers across the region, which will provide an unparalleled look into the lithospheric structure of the region, this themed issue in Geosphere is intended to attract a wide range of contributions pertaining to this region. Contributions from the complete spectrum of geoscientific disciplines are encouraged, particularly those concerned with largest scales of geologic history of the region and/or lithospheric evolution.

To submit a paper for this issue, please go to www.editorialmanager.com/geosphere/ and be sure to note in your cover letter that this submission is for the “Making the Southern Margin of Laurentia” themed issue.