Swiss Journal of Geosciences Supplement – serie

This full-colour book assembles the proceedings papers of the “5th International Symposium on Lithographic Limestone and Plattenkalk”, which was held 2009 at the Natural History Museum in Basel (Switzerland). The contributions are highlights from the Symposium and they are from active researchers and research groups. They cover a wide range of topics with the main focus on vertebrate palaeontology (Mesozoic fishes, sauropterygians, pterosaurs, artiodactyls) and invertebrate palaeontology (developmental biology of crustaceans, limulid locomotion, functional morphology of Saccocoma, trace fossils). In addition to this, other papers focus on palaeoenvironments and carbonate sedimentology (terminology & classification, role of microbial mats), as well as descriptions of new occurrences of Lithographic Limestone and Plattenkalk (Cambrian of China, Eocene of Croatia). The studied material includes exceptionally well-preserved fossils, classical palaeontological approaches (history of palaeontology, taxonomy with description of several new taxa, faunal reviews, tooth histology, Relative Warp Analysis, ichnology) and new methods such as composite-fluorescence imaging microscopy. The high diversity of these up-to-date papers highlights the importance of interdisciplinary scientific congresses and studies. Furthermore, it confirms that Lithographic Limestone and Plattenkalk deposits are amongst the most important Fossil Lagerstätten in the world and remain a major source for palaeobiological data. Therefore, the present book is a must for palaeontologists, palaeobiologists, and sedimentologists alike that are involved in studies of Lithographic Limestone and Plattenkalk Fossil Lagerstätten.

The international Mont Terri rock laboratory in Switzerland plays a central role in the safety and construction of deep geological nuclear repositories in clay formations. The laboratory has developed and refined a range of new measurement and evaluation methods: it has e.g. advanced the determination of rock parameters using innovative borehole geophysics, improved the methodology for characterizing pore-water and microbial activity in claystones, and greatly improved our understanding of diffusion and retention processes of radionuclides in and through claystones. The methods and insights described in this compendium can also be applied to low-permeability rocks at various sites around the globe, and in other fields of application.

The international Mont Terri rock laboratory in Switzerland plays a central role in the safety and construction of deep geological nuclear repositories in clay formations. The laboratory has developed and refined a range of new measurement and evaluation methods: it has e.g. advanced the determination of rock parameters using innovative borehole geophysics, improved the methodology for characterizing pore-water and microbial activity in claystones, and greatly improved our understanding of diffusion and retention processes of radionuclides in and through claystones. The methods and insights described in this compendium can also be applied to low-permeability rocks at various sites around the globe, and in other fields of application.

During the 20th century, lake research has become an internationally recognised field of scientific activity, improving our understanding on physical, chemical and biological processes, on fresh water ecology, and water resources among others. The interdisciplinary approaches mainly developed in historical research, as performed by archaeologists and earth scientists, to reconstruct the environmental and climate history of the continents, of human settlements and culture, and to evaluate human impact on the local and global environments. The Geological Society of Switzerland publishes in this volume a selected number of contributions presented during a scientific conference on "Lake Systems from Ice Age to Industrial Time" at Yverdon from 17 to 20 October 2001.

Radiolaria are a very diverse marine siliceous microplankton group that have existed at least snice the Cambrian to the recent. This volume gives a representative view of research topics discussed at the 10th International Meeting of Radiolarian Palaeontologists. The articles of this volume cover mainly radiolarian biochronology and radiolarian fauna changes.