The soil properties of Batumi delta, an important area for agricultural production and biodiversity in the southwest of Georgia, have not been studied yet. In order to provide scientific data, soil samples were taken from different points of delta and their basic characteristics were determined. At the end of the study, the results indicated that the soil properties were affected by the formation time and land use, and the relations between the soil properties varied depending on these factors.

This study was conducted to estimate the rate of soil erosion and to evaluate the existing SWC strategies in the Koga watershed. A mixed approach of field investigation and an integrated RUSLE model modified for Ethiopian highlands is being adopted for soil erosion assessment. Most of the existing SWC structures fail to meet the standard due to deficient construction and management of SWC structures. The soil erosion rate is by far higher than the tolerable soil loss rate.

Scaly clay is a well-known rock fabric that can develop in tectonic systems and that can alter the physical rock properties of a formation. However, the internal microstructure and evolution of this fabric remain poorly understood. We examined the scaly microstructure of progressively faulted Opalinus Clay using optical as well as scanning electron microscopy. We show that as little as 1 vol.% in scaly clay aggregates is strained and present an evolutionary model for this.

The Kenya Rift is a zone along which the African continental plate is stretched as evidenced by strong earthquake and volcanic activity. We want to understand the controlling factors of past and future tectonic deformation; hence, we assess the structural and strength configuration of the rift system at the present-day. Data-driven 3-D numerical models show how the inherited composition of the crust and a thermal anomaly in the deep mantle interact to form localised zones of tectonic weakness.

Coronas are vital clues to the presence of arrested reaction in metamorphic rocks. We review formation mechanisms of coronas and approaches utilized to model their evolution in P–T–X space. Forward modelling employing calculated chemical potential gradients allows a far more nuanced understanding of the intricacies that govern metamorphic reaction. These models have critical implications for the limitations and opportunities coronas afford in interpreting the evolution of metamorphic terranes.

This is an interesting piece of work and makes a nice contribution to the knowledge on how aboveground vegetation can control belowground soil properties through functional traits and functional diversity. Functional traits are the center of recent attempts to unify key ecological theories on species coexistence and assembly in communities. The results presented are valuable for understanding the relationship between species traits, functional diversity, and soil properties.

Al toxicity to plants and soil infertility in acidic soils are the main limiting factors for crop growth. To establish which acid soils need to be ameliorated for plant growth, the parameters of critical soil pH and soil Al concentration must be determined. The critical soil pH and exchangeable aluminium of two Ultisols for wheat and canola production were determined in this study. The results obtained will provide useful references for the utilization and management of acid soils.

Speleoseismological investigations have been adopted to characterize a complex tectonically active area in the easternmost sector of the Central Apennines. Evidence of earthquake damages has been recognized in the analyzed cave. Radiocarbon dating and the correspondence with independent data collected outside the cave provide constraints for the individuation of a M~7 mid-Holocene earthquake and for the identification of the nearby Sulmona normal fault as the most likely causative structure.

The purpose of our research is to understand the mechanisms that determine the mobility of granular flows of rock fragments. Since rock avalanches and pyroclastic flows are too dangerous to be studied at close range, we use numerical simulations and laboratory experiments. We focus on the fundamentals upon which new numerical models will be built to predict the behaviors of natural flows. These fundamentals include the effects of grain size, flow volume and channel width.

Organic matter addition is an efficient way of reducing the effects of field traffic. The depth-dependent (0–10 and 10–20 cm) changes in some physical soil traits such as penetration resistance, bulk density, and porosity as a function of tractor passes and organic matter addition to clay soil. The enhancing effects of treatments on the investigated parameters were C>GM>FYM. The increase in tillage lines made the soil properties worse and corresponded with the type of organic matter.

We examine how deformation of the Earth’s crust varies with depth beneath the surface. By looking in detail at exhumed rocks from three case studies in the USA, we identify three main deformation zones: 1, a brittle deformation zone (low temperatures mean rocks break along faults and fractures); 2, a localized deformation zone (warmer rocks deform along discrete zones that shear but do not break); and 3, a distributed deformation zone (hot rocks flow ductilely and no discrete shearing occurs).

We use 3D mantle flow models to investigate the evolution of the Iceland plume in the North Atlantic. Results show that over the last ~ 100 Myr a remarkably stable pattern of flow in the lowermost mantle beneath the region resulted in the formation of a plume nucleation site. At the surface, a model plume compared to published observables indicates that its large plume head, ~ 2500 km in diameter, arriving beneath eastern Greenland in the Palaeocene, can account for the volcanic record and uplift.

Hot fluids and hydraulically conductive rock formations are essential for the accessibility of geothermal resources. We use numerical modeling techniques to investigate how seismic waves change their shape in presence of these factors. We demonstrate how to parameterize such models depending on the local geology and as a function of depth. Finally, we show how the attenuation, i.e. the energy loss of the wave, can be indicative for permeable rock fractures saturated with a fluid of specific type.