The decision of Springer-Verlag to publish this book in English came as a pleasant surprise. The fact is that I started writing the first version of the book back in 1978. I wished to attract attention to potentialities inherent in selected-area electron diffraction (SAED) which, for various reasons, were not being put to use. By that time, I had at my disposal certain structural data on natural and synthetic minerals obtained using SAED and high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM), and this stimulated my writing this book. There were several aspects concerning these data that I wished to emphasize. First, it was mostly new and understudied minerals that possess the peculiar structural features studied by SAED and HREM. This could interest mineralogists, crystallo chemists, and crystallographers. Second, the results obtained indi cated that, under certain conditions, SAED could be an effective, and sometimes the only possible, method for structure analysis of minerals. This inference was of primary importance, since fine dispersion and poor crystallinity of numerous natural and synthe tic minerals makes their structure study by conventional diffrac tion methods hardly possible. Third, it was demonstrated that in many cases X-ray powder diffraction analysis of dispersed miner als ought to be combined with SAED and local energy dispersion analysis. This was important, since researchers in structural min eralogy quite often ignored, and still ignore even the simplest in formation which is readily available from geometrical analysis of SAED patterns obtained from microcrystals.

The decision of Springer-Verlag to publish this book in English came as a pleasant surprise. The fact is that I started writing the first version of the book back in 1978. I wished to attract attention to potentialities inherent in selected-area electron diffraction (SAED) which, for various reasons, were not being put to use. By that time, I had at my disposal certain structural data on natural and synthetic minerals obtained using SAED and high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM), and this stimulated my writing this book. There were several aspects concerning these data that I wished to emphasize. First, it was mostly new and understudied minerals that possess the peculiar structural features studied by SAED and HREM. This could interest mineralogists, crystallo chemists, and crystallographers. Second, the results obtained indi cated that, under certain conditions, SAED could be an effective, and sometimes the only possible, method for structure analysis of minerals. This inference was of primary importance, since fine dispersion and poor crystallinity of numerous natural and synthe tic minerals makes their structure study by conventional diffrac tion methods hardly possible. Third, it was demonstrated that in many cases X-ray powder diffraction analysis of dispersed miner als ought to be combined with SAED and local energy dispersion analysis. This was important, since researchers in structural min eralogy quite often ignored, and still ignore even the simplest in formation which is readily available from geometrical analysis of SAED patterns obtained from microcrystals.

The Dead Sea transform is an active plate boundary connecting the Red Sea seafloor spreading system to the Arabian-Eurasian continental collision zone. Its geology and geophysics provide a natural laboratory for investigation of the surficial, crustal and mantle processes occurring along transtensional and transpressional transform fault domains on a lithospheric scale and related to continental breakup. There have been many detailed and disciplinary studies of the Dead Sea transform fault zone during the last 20 years and this book brings them together. This book is an updated comprehensive coverage of the knowledge, based on recent studies of the tectonics, structure, geophysics, volcanism, active tectonics, sedimentology and paleo and modern climate of the Dead Sea transform fault zone. It puts together all this new information and knowledge in a coherent fashion.

Of the many techniques that have been applied to the study of crystal defects, none has contributed more to our understanding of their nature and influence on the physical and chemical properties of crystalline materials than transmission electron microscopy (TEM). TEM is now used extensively by an increasing number of earth scientists for direct observation of defect microstructures in minerals and rocks. Transmission Electron Microscopy of Rocks and Minerals is an introduction to the principles of the technique and is the only book to date on the subject written specifically for geologists and mineralogists. The first part of the book deals with the essential physics of the transmission electron microscope and presents the basic theoretical background required for the interpretation of images and electron diffraction patterns. The final chapters are concerned with specific applications of TEM in mineralogy and deal with such topics as planar defects, intergrowths, radiation-induced defects, dislocations and deformation-induced microstructures. The examples cover a wide range of rock-forming minerals from crustal rocks to those in the lower mantle, and also take into account the role of defects in important mineralogical and geological processes.

All existing introductory reviews of mineralogy are written accord ing to the same algorithm, sometimes called the "Dana System of Mineralogy". Even modern advanced handbooks, which are cer tainly necessary, include basic data on minerals and are essentially descriptive. When basic information on the chemistry, structure, optical and physical properties, distinguished features and para genesis of 200-400 minerals is presented, then there is practically no further space available to include new ideas and concepts based on recent mineral studies. A possible solution to this dilemma would be to present a book beginning where introductory textbooks end for those already famil iar with the elementary concepts. Such a volume would be tailored to specialists in all fields of science and industry, interested in the most recent results in mineralogy. This approach may be called Advanced Mineralogy. Here, an attempt has been made to survey the current possibilities and aims in mineral matter investigations, including the main characteristics of all the methods, the most important problems and topics of mineral ogy, and related studies. The individual volumes are composed of short, condensed chap ters. Each chapter presents in a complete, albeit condensed, form specific problems, methods, theories, and directions of investigations, and estimates their importance and strategic position in science and industry.

Nanosized Tubular Clay Minerals provides the latest coverage from leading scientists on a wide field of expertise regarding the current state of knowledge about nanosized tubular clay minerals. All chapters have been carefully edited and coordinated, and readers will find a resource that provides a clear view of the fundamental properties of clay materials and how their properties vary in chemical composition, structure, and the ways in which their modes of occurrence affect their engineering applications. Besides being a great reference, the book provides research scientists, university teachers, industrial chemists, physicists, graduate students, and environmental engineers and technologists with the ability to analyze and characterize clays and clay minerals to improve selectivity, along with techniques on how they can apply clays in ceramics in all aspects of industrial, geotechnical, agricultural, and environmental use. - Examines clay properties from the molecular to the macroscopic scale - Addresses experimental and modeling issues - Authored by experts who are well-versed in the properties of nanosized tubular clay minerals