Abstract To maximize the use of geoscience information across institutions and international borders, data must be collected and stored in a uniform manner so that they are readily accessible and understandable. There is seldom consistency in the representation of these data delivered to users between countries (and, sometimes, even within institutions in the same country). The Multinational Andean Project: Geosciences for Andean Communities (MAP:GAC (2002–2008)), identified the need to research, design and develop a common terminology, techniques, classification system, cartographic symbols and databases for landslide studies. MAP:GAC produced regional guides for landslide studies and mapping, through the first regional group for landslide studies (GEMMA). It is expected that these guides will facilitate the transfer and appropriation of information, and that the generation of products will be more easily understood and applied by land-use planners, emergency-management planners and other users. The standards have been adopted by the seven Andean countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela) and were published in the book Movimientos en Masa en la Región Andina: Una Guía para la Evaluación de Amenazas ( Landslide Hazards in the Andes ) in 2007.

Abstract Arid regions present formidable challenges to the conduct of contemporary military operations. Fundamental geographic factors such as radiation balance, wind and dust, and unique terrain have affected the outcome of desert campaigns and battles throughout history. While the scientific community understands desert geography, the fundamental effects of environmental factors on military operations are rarely well known or understood. Some level of understanding is necessary to provide context for researchers solving military problems. The purpose of this paper is to offer a military context for the work in this volume. This study provides a brief summary of the influences selected environmental factors may have on modern military forces operating in hot desert environments. In particular, this research examines the effects of unique desert terrain, aeolian processes and dust, and radiation balance with regard to troops, equipment, and tactics; historical and modern examples illustrate these effects.

Abstract Throughout the twentieth century, there has been an intense international friction between governments of major powers and national oil companies (NOCs) for the right to search for and control oil resources. Decolonization and the drive toward independence following World War II gave rise to NOCs, especially in the developing world. Most of the major producing countries (Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Iran, Iraq, etc.) formed NOCs in the 1970s following a wave of petroleum production nationalization by host countries. Many of these larger NOCs have had an exclusionary, and at times confrontational, relationship with Western countries. Following the oil price shocks of the 1970s, the consuming world has enjoyed low and relatively stable petroleum prices. Production in the U.S. has continued to decline, although production from the Alaskan North Slope has extended the decline curve. Rig rates in the U.S. and the world have remained stable. From 1973 to 1999, world reserves have more than doubled, although production from about this same time period has gone up about 50%. To meet future world oil and gas demand, assuming natural reservoir decline (10% annually) and oil demand increase (1.5% annually), it is estimated that the worldwide petroleum investment needed over the next decade could exceed $1 trillion. Most of the investment will be made by large multinational companies and this has been an important reason for the recent wave of oil company megamergers. Nationalizations of the 1970s are likely to be reversed in the not too distant future because of the necessary reintroduction of the largest multinationals into the sphere of operation of the largest NOCs. We believe that global gas demand will grow at a much faster rate than previously predicted and may comprise as much as 47% of the total worldwide energy demand. Future oil demand will most likely be met by production from major producing countries and the deep water. Assuming current reserves and reduced oil consumption, we estimate oil usage for at least three more centuries.

Abstract Hydrocarbon reservoirs at Titan come in many forms—as gases and condensates in the atmosphere; as surface accumulations of liquid in lakes, slushy soils, and solid sediments; and in the subsurface, perhaps caged within clathrate hydrates and/or as part of a global hydrocarbon aquifer. Because Titan is so far from the Sun and contains multiple atmospheric haze layers, information on its surface features and their composition is extremely difficult to obtain and is acquired via imaging instruments that operate at wavelengths less affected by the haze. Unfortunately, the data are commonly of low resolution, and divergent interpretations abound. However, with the multinational Cassini spacecraft currently orbiting Saturn on its extended Solstice mission, Titan’s surface composition is slowly coming into focus. This review will attempt to synthesize the current state of knowledge of hydrocarbon presence and distribution at Titan, emphasizing those observations that have direct compositional relevance to compounds in the atmosphere and on the surface.

Abstract The wide range of periglacial environments of the Antarctic, from the wet, mild oceanic sub-Antarctic through to the cold, dry continent, provides not only an extensive modern laboratory, but also one that offers insights into conditions in the Northern Hemisphere at the height of the last glacial, is an analogue for periglacial conditions on other planets, and can be used for monitoring climatic change. Almost the whole known suite of periglacial landforms is present. Recent research directions show strong linkages between the biotic components and the abiotic responses, offering new insights into periglacial synergies and hence landform development. Other new directions are those of using the Antarctic as an analogue for periglacial conditions on Mars, and multinational undertakings monitoring permafrost and active layer changes. During the past three decades there have been a number of reviews of periglacial landforms and processes for both the area as a whole as well as for specific locations or regions. Here information regarding material post-dating the most recent reviews is provided and an attempt is made to highlight new directions and findings. This broad-based review provides a foundation for more detailed accounts on some of the periglacial attributes provided in other papers within these volumes.

Abstract In the early 1990s, the new realities of a world without walls plunged economic earth scientists into a wonderful but complex and challenging environment of global exploration discovery and learning. As a result of this dynamic environment, there was an acceleration in the development of new technologies and advanced concepts of petroleum exploration to lower costs and increase efficiency. Now in the new millennium, we are confronted with hostile and remote geographic frontiers, new basins and play types, and rapidly fluctuating global business cycles. New and improved technological tools are being developed, and massive streams of information have never been more abundant. The new technologies are a tribute to the people in the industry from service companies to independents to large multinational corporations, and yet, to transform them into useful knowledge and creativity requires the intellect, passion, and genius of the individual human mind in concert with team efforts. The multidisciplined, complex, nonlinear learning systems and innovative new tools now being employed by the petroleum industry are giving it a sustainable advantage to grow and prosper in the complex and exciting world without walls.

Abstract Sustainable mineral resources development can be seen as the equitable conversion of transient mineral wealth into durable social and environmental capital. In the past, this conversion has not been efficient or equitable, with benefits accruing mainly to First World investors and consumers by externalization of social and environmental costs to local people and places. Modern industry, led by large multinational corporations, is in the process of changing its modus operandi to embrace ideas of corporate and social responsibility. The damage from past practices to the developing world is severe, however, and may require measures beyond voluntary or current legal instruments to reverse degenerative trends. Central among these requirements is Third World debt cancellation. However, the mining industry can also contribute by fully internalizing the costs of mineral production, and paying a fair price for the resources it extracts; these internalized costs should be reflected in higher commodity prices. This can be achieved through a combination of financial instruments and incentives, innovation, and best practice, with essential consumer buy-in through increased awareness.

Abstract The natural resources of developing countries, particularly in a post-conflict situation, are the key to creating wealth, getting people back to work, and to improving security. However, public sector institutions like geological surveys, and government departments such as mines, energy and water ministries often need help in their vision to promote and sustainably develop their natural capital, as well as to protect the lives and livelihoods of people affected by development. Some have few physical resources, and a poorly trained and motivated workforce; others may be housed in buildings that have borne the brunt of prolonged fighting and a long period of neglect. In many developing countries, such institutions have a rather inward-facing colonial-style civil service culture that lacks the ability to liaise and engage with modern multinational investors. Unfortunately, donor organizations that seek to build the capacities of institutions do not build sufficient ‘project ownership’ and fail to incorporate into their plans the culture of the organization, or fail to integrate parts of multidisciplinary projects. Development projects supported are often perceived to reflect donor agendas rather than the needs of the recipient institution. Using experience in a number of developing country and post-conflict contexts, a methodology to plan and integrate capacity building has been developed, to help employees and management, and donor organizations, deal with these difficulties. Through training tuned to business need, institutions will develop appropriate IT and communication skills, while at the same time developing corporate understanding of the private sector, which is needed to interact successfully with it. Stakeholder analysis gauges the organization’s strengths and weaknesses and ensures coordination of aid, which takes account of the local social, political and business context. The methodology will also establish a system allowing regular cyclical business/training review, so that the institutions can adapt to further change.

Abstract Over the last few years, the idea of ‘sustainable mining’ has, thanks to industry sponsorship, been working its way into the agenda of many international processes. There is now a push in many countries to invite in multinational mining companies with the idea that there is a ‘new, sustainable mining’ that is different from the old, bad practices of the past. Yet what has actually changed in the industry to match this shift in rhetoric? From the perspective of mine-affected communities, nothing seems to have changed. Their land is still being taken from them without giving their free, prior and informed consent, and they are suffering the same ill effects on their ways of life, health and environment. This paper will illustrate, using case studies from the Philippines and West Papua, how under this rhetoric, the mining industry ‘emperor’ has the same old naked ambitions. This paper intends to look at how ‘sustainable mining’ is perceived from the viewpoint of mines-affected communities and their supporters. Ideally a representative of such a community should be writing this, but as this was not possible, I am writing this as a member of the editorial board of Mines and Communities (MAC). (MAC is a network of organizations across the world seeking to empower mining-affected communities in their struggles against damaging proposals and projects. More information on Mines and Communities, including the members of its editorial board, can be viewed at http://www.minesandcommunities.org.) Many of the communities MAC works with are made up of indigenous (or first, aboriginal) peoples, who have been unfairly disadvantaged by mineral development on or near their land. The paper will therefore concentrate to some extent on the issues of indigenous communities.