Lebanese amber contains a diverse biota from the Lower Cretaceous, and more than 150 families of arthropods have been reported as inclusions. Amongst these, caddisflies (Trichoptera) are very scarce inclusions, consisting of a few indeterminate fragments and only two inclusions that permit clear descriptions of new species. We describe the first two Trichoptera species from Lebanese amber, belonging respectively to Dipseudopsidae (Phylocentropus succinolebanensis n. sp.) and Ecnomidae (Ecnomus cretacia n. sp.). Previously, the oldest fossil representatives of both families were known from the Upper Cretaceous amber of New Jersey for Dipseudopsidae and from the Eocene Baltic amber for Ecnomidae.

Geochemical and isotopic data obtained from three bimodal basalt-rhyolite fields in west-central Arizona point to significant variation in the sources of the siliceous products despite petrological similarities between them. The studied fields, which straddle the boundary between the Basin and Range and Colorado Plateau physiographic provinces, include Castaneda Hills (CH) in the Basin and Range, Kaiser Spring (KS) in the Transition Zone, and Mount Floyd (MF) in the Colorado Plateau. Two types of rhyolite (high-silica [HSR] and low-silica [LSR]) occur as lavas in the KS and MF fields, whereas all analysed CH samples are HSR. These lavas generally post-date low-angle extension of the Basin and Range crust and become generally younger towards the Colorado Plateau. Our isotopic data illustrate that the CH rhyolites require a source with comparatively radiogenic Sr, that most rhyolites require a source with comparatively unradiogenic 206Pb/204Pb, and that the MF-HSR require a source with comparatively radiogenic Nd and 206Pb/204Pb. The isotopic data clearly indicate that the western Arizona rhyolites contain a large crustal component. Importantly, the Pb isotopic compositions of the rhyolites illustrate the transition between two crustal provinces identified by other workers on the basis of Nd and Pb isotopic studies of Proterozoic granites. The Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopic compositions of our rhyolites can be modelled by mixing a basaltic component with three hypothetical crustal end-members which themselves may be formed by mixing two crustal components. One crustal component, which is characterised by unradiogenic Pb and Sr, may be similar to the mafic gneiss xenoliths of Tule Tank on the Colorado Plateau. The second crustal component, which has more radiogenic Sr and Pb, may be similar to the Proterozoic Fenner Gneiss of southeastern California. This conceptual model indicates an apparent increase in the contribution of the depleted Tule Tank source from the Basin and Range onto the Colorado Plateau and accommodates the notion that there is an underlying consistency to the petrogeneses of the western Arizona rhyolites as suggested by their chemistry and mineralogy. Although the CH and KS lavas require only one crustal end-member, the MF-HSR and LSR require two isotopically distinct sources. This difference may be attributed to the homogenisation of diverse crustal lithologies by ductile stretching during crustal extension.

It is well known to those who have paid attention to the progress of Fossil Ichthyology that, until the publication of M. Agassiz, the distinctive characters of the orders, genera, and species of Fossil Fishes were but imperfectly understood. Vague analogies were relied on to connect them with the types of living genera, and the looseness of the received specific characters rendered it difficult for the geologist to determine whether the specimens he collected were previously recognised, or still nondescript. It is obvious that useful characters of fossil species are chiefly to be obtained from those portions of their structure least subject to alteration from decay; and as the exterior scaly envelopes of the primeval fishes are usually the portions best preserved and most easily recognised in their rocky sepulchres, M. Agassiz was naturally led to study these with minute attention. This acute observer speedily discovered that, in the form and connections of the scales, he had a general character which would enable him to connect into very natural groups, species differing from each other in size and form. On this basis he has established his four Orders of Fossil Fishes—the Ganoidei, the Placoidei, the Ctenoidei, and the Cyclodei—divisions named from the appearance of the scales.

The Leaf-spot Disease of Red Clover, which, as the name implies, confines its attacks to the leaves, is caused by the fungus Pseudopeziza Trifolii (Biv-Bern.), Fckl., (1), (7). It is responsible for the appearance, in early stages of disease, of small purplish spots, which later become brownish-yellow or black in colour. These spots ultimately bear the fruiting discs or apothecia which are found abundantly on both living and dead leaves. The disease was very prevalent, and caused considerable damage to the hay crops at the Welsh Plant Breeding Station, Aberystwyth, in 1923 and 1925. Williams (11), in his extensive studies of the clover plants at this Station, observed that in these years certain varieties were much more susceptible to the disease than others. He states that in the majority of the early varieties, which were more seriously damaged than the later, most of the lower cauline leaves were completely killed off and were shed before the crops were cut. He adds that there does not appear to bo any marked difference between the various late varieties as regards their susceptibility to this disease. The writer, from his own observations of these crops in the field, was struck by the marked frequency with which the apothecial discs occurred in clusters of from three to five in number, and accompanied, though not so frequently, by a similar cluster on the opposite side of the leaf.

In the following paper I desire to place on record the results of certain experiments which have lately engaged my attention. The facts established are, so far as I am aware, novel and in themselves interesting.

Many of the physical properties of hydrogenised palladium or hydrogenium have been carefully studied by Graham, Dewar, and others; but no one seems to have called attention to its thermoelectric peculiarities, or to have made a special study of its electrical resistance. These two inquiries form the subject of this paper. Throughout I shall use, for brevity's sake, the name Hydrogenium, which was applied by Graham to the fully-saturated form.

Thirteen fragments of fossil elasmobranchs can be identified with certainty from East Kirkton. Those collected in situ range from Units 32 to 37. The remains appear to come from two different families of sharks: spines which show features typical of the Lower Carboniferous hybodont Tristychius arcuatus Agassiz; teeth from a xenacanth which fall within the size range of those found in the Lower Carboniferous xenacanth Diplodoselache woodi Dick. Both these genera are found in other Oil-Shale assemblages in the Lothians. These rare shark fossils reinforce the evidence that the East Kirkton Limestone was fresh water in origin.

Science, for James Croll, began and ended in metaphysics. Metaphysics, in turn, provided proof of a First and Final Cause of all things. This proof rested on two metaphysical principles: that every event must have a cause, and that the determination of a cause is distinct from its production. This argument emerged from his deeply held religious commitments. As a 17-year-old, he converted to a Calvinist and evangelical form of Christianity. After a period of questioning the Calvinist system, he embraced it again through reading the famous treatise on the will by the New England theologian, Jonathan Edwards. This determinedly metaphysical work, which engaged as much with Enlightenment thought as with Calvinism, defended the view that the will was not a self-determining cause of human action. This ‘hard case’ provided the basis for a larger claim that every act whatever has a cause, and that the production of an act was different from its determination. In part through reading Edwards, Croll remained a devout and convinced ‘moderate’ Calvinist for the rest of his life. He also developed a deep love of metaphysics and became convinced that without it, everything, including science, remained confused and in darkness. For Croll, even the most basic science could not be properly conducted without prior metaphysical principles. But this was more than just an argument about the philosophical foundations of scientific inquiry. It was also based on Croll's conviction that the cosmos, earth history and life (including his own) was fully determined by a supreme and perfect intellect. This conviction entered into the marrow of Croll's scientific theories and shaped his interpretation of the twists and turns of his own life. In short, to take seriously Croll's own self-understanding, we need to allow him to ‘do God’.

Some time since I received from Mr W. Smith of Ashburton, New Zealand, a single example of a worm belonging to the little known genus Phreoryctes, and published in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History for June 1888, a short account of the reproductive organs of this worm, for which I proposed the name of Phreoryctes Smithii.

More recently (November 1888) I have received, through the kindness of the same gentleman, a large number of specimens of the same species; the study of these enables me to offer to this Society a more complete account of the structure of Phreoryctes, which is at present very imperfectly known. It will be seen, however, that the present paper, though more extended, and dealing with organs to which little or no reference was made in my former paper, contains no important correction of facts stated in that paper. I have also appended (p. 638) a discussion of the systematic position and affinities of Phreoryctes.

Megafossils and macrofossils of terrestrial plants (trees, leaves, fruiting bodies, etc.) are found in sedimentary and pyroclastic units interbedded with lavas in many ancient lava fields worldwide, attesting to subaerial environments of eruption and the establishment of viable plant communities during periods of volcanic quiescence. Preservation within lava is relatively rare and generally confined to the more robust woody tissues of trees, which are then revealed in the form of charcoal, mineralised tissue or as trace fossil moulds (tree moulds) and casts of igneous rock (tree casts, s.s.).

In this contribution, we document several such fossil trees (s.l.), and the lavas with which they are associated, from the Palaeocene Mull Lava Field (MLF) on the Isle of Mull, NW Scotland. We present the first detailed geological account of a unique site within the Mull Plateau Lava Formation (MPLF) at Quinish in the north of the island and provide an appraisal of the famous upright fossil tree – MacCulloch's Tree – remotely located on the Ardmeanach Peninsula on the west coast of the island, and another large upright tree (the Carsaig Tree) near Malcolm's Point in the district of Brolass, SW Mull; both occurring within the earlier Staffa Lava Formation (SLF). The taphonomy of these megafossils, along with palynological and lithofacies assessments of associated strata, allows speculation of likely taxonomic affinity and the duration of hiatuses supporting the establishment of forest/woodland communities. The Ardmeanach and Carsaig specimens, because of their size and preservation as upright (? in situ) casts enveloped by spectacularly columnar-jointed basaltic lava, appear to be unique. The aspect of these trees, the thickness of the enveloping lavas and the arrangement of cooling joints adjacent to the trees, implies rapid emplacement, ponding and slow, static cooling of voluminous and highly fluid basaltic magma. The specimens from Quinish include two prostrate casts and several prostrate moulds that collectively have a preferred orientation, aligning approximately perpendicular to that of the regional Mull Dyke Swarm, the putative fissure source of the lavas, suggesting local palaeo-flow was directed towards the WSW. The Quinish Lava is an excellent example of a classic pāhoehoe (compound-braided) type, preserving some of the best examples of surface and internal features so far noted from the Hebridean Igneous Province (HIP) lava fields.

These Mull megafossils are some of the oldest recorded examples, remarkably well preserved, and form a significant feature of the island's geotourism industry.

Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences 87, 95–103, 1996

Surface sediments (n=85) from a 160-km river-estuarine transect of the Clyde, UK, were analysed for total mercury (Hg), saturated hydrocarbons and unresolved complex mixtures (UCMs) of hydrocarbons. Results show that sediment-Hg concentration ranges from 0.01 to 1.38mgkg–1 (mean 0.20mgkg–1) and a spatial trend in Hg-content low–high–low–high, from freshwater source, to Glasgow, to estuary, is evident. In summary, sediment-Hg content is low in the upper Clyde (mean of 0.05Hg mgkg–1), whereas sediments from the Clyde in urbanised Glasgow have higher Hg concentrations (0.04 to 1.26mgkg–1; mean 0.45mgkg–1), and the inner estuary sediments contain less Hg (mean 0.06mgkg–1). The highest mean sediment Hg (0.65mgkg–1) found in the outer estuary is attributed to historical anthropogenic activities. A significant positive Spearman correlation between Hg and total organic carbon is observed throughout the river estuary (0.86; P<0.001). Comparison with Marine Scotland guidelines suggests that no sites exceed the 1.5mgkg–1 criterion (Action Level 2); 22 fall between 0.25 and 1.5mgkg–1 dry wt. (Action Level 1) and 63 are of no immediate concern (<0.25mgkg–1 dry wt.). Saturated (n-alkane) hydrocarbons in the upper Clyde are of natural terrestrial origin. By contrast, the urbanised Glasgow reaches and outer estuary are characterised by pronounced and potentially toxic UCM concentrations in sediments (380–914mg/kg and 103–247mgkg–1, respectively), suggesting anthropogenic inputs such as biodegraded crude oil, sewage discharge and/or urban run-off.

This paper addresses the process towards the integration of subsurface knowledge into urban planning for three cities – Rotterdam, Glasgow and Oslo – participating in the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action TU1206 Sub-Urban. These cities each have unique challenges in managing conflicts and opportunities in the subsurface in the planning process. The COST Sub-Urban Action has enabled a unique interaction between subsurface specialists and urban planners across over 20 European cities, and has laid the foundations for a new understanding between experts who develop subsurface knowledge and those who can benefit most from it – urban planners and decision makers. Common challenges identified include: improving planning policies, enhancing the level of awareness of the subsurface in city development and the modification of legislation to include the subsurface. The paper provides a review of the current status of subsurface planning in the three cities, each of whom are aiming to adapt their urban planning practice and legislation in light of emerging subsurface knowledge, and the current major knowledge gaps. In our opinion, there are two main routes to raise awareness that lead to improved understanding and the use of subsurface information in urban planning processes: (1) the development of a subsurface policy and (2) providing subsurface information. These measures should enable subsurface knowledge to be widely disseminated in order to manage risks and opportunities, and maximise the economic, social and environmental benefits of the urban subsurface and its services on which cities depend.

The whole southern part of Arran forms a field by itself, and whatever may be the deeper connections of the agencies that have fashioned the north and the south of the island, the result is a trappean area to the south, as distinct as if it lay in another hemisphere from the north, with its granitic nucleus, and encompassing rings of stratified rock.

This district is little visited, and is almost, if not quite, undescribed; it presents, however, much beautiful scenery, and for the geologist, problems of extreme difficulty and interest, which deserve more attention than they have got.

It may be divided into two belts of tilled land and moorland, above which are the hill tops. This division corresponds roughly to three regions, the lowest chiefly of sandstone, the middle where felstone prevails over the sandstone, and the highest of greenstone.

No country perhaps affords a more interesting literary speculation at present than Germany. For researches in science and philosophy, for laborious investigations into the principles of public polity and law, she had long been conspicuous ; but, till very lately, she made scarce any pretension to fame in the other departments of literature, which usually precede those more abstract and laborious pursuits I have just mentioned.

Sir,

The following is an extract of a letter to me from Major Edward Williams, of the Royal Artillery, a learned man, and of great professional merit. Being at Quebec in some very cold winters, among various other ingenious experiments, it occurred to him to try the force of congelation in some of the iron bomb-shells, which are usually fired out of mortars in the practice of artillery; by filling the cavity of the shell with water, and then, having plugged up the fuze-hole, exposing it to the cold to freeze the water, in order to find whether the expansion of the ice would be capable of bursting the shell.

In the two papers previously communicated to this Society under the above title, Parts I. and II., I have given the results of my observations on the dust in the atmosphere for the years 1889 and 1890. In this paper will be given the results of similar observations I have been able to make during the years 1891, 1892 and 1893. The observations made during these last three years are similar to those made in the two previous ones; and were mostly made at the same places and at about the same dates as those already given. These five sets of observations are therefore comparable with each other, and give a fair statement of the number of dust particles in the atmosphere at the different places at the particular dates.

Makerstoun, Kelso, 15th March 1830.

My Dear Sir,

Accompanying I beg leave to transmit you Mr Dunlop's paper on the distribution of the magnetic intensity over this country, which I formerly mentioned when I had the pleasure of seeing you, and which I request you will lay before the Royal Society.

Mr Dunlop has so fully and clearly detailed his mode of proceeding with these observations, that it would be unnecessary for me to enlarge upon them further, than to state, that, in point of number, extent of country, combined with precaution, accuracy, and consistency, I consider they are unrivalled in this or any other country.

In Crelle's Journal, vol. x., Stern devotes fifteen pages (pp. 245-259) of his Theorie der Kettenbrüche to the examination and elucidation of the following problems:—

as continued fractions of the form

where a1, a2, a3, … are independent of x.