EARTH SCIENCES
RESEARCH JOURNAL

Earth Sci. Res. SJ. Vol. 16, No. 2 (Dcember, 2012): 3

Letter from the Editor,

Greatly appreciated readers of ESRJ,
I am pleased to bring you Vol. 16(2) 2012 which contains interesting articles related to applying 

methods regarding seismic prospecting, geotechnics, geomorphology, seismology and geochemistry in 
such varied countries as Japan, Turkey, Iran, Nigeria and Cameroon. Procedures for suitably treating 
seismic signals by using discrete wavelet transform (DWT), or treating clays aimed at modifying their 
physical attributes form part of the basic contributions regarding seismic engineering and geotechnics’ 
immense usefulness.

This issue also contains the results of geomorphological analysis carried out on the NW coast of 
Kyushu, Japan, inferring paleoclimatic conditions and the configuration of the paleoshoreline during 
the Holocene age. Such information contributes towards knowledge concerning coastal dynamics and 
its relationship with ancient populations’ evolution in the Japanese archipelago.

A systematic analysis concerning instrumental seismicity led to inferring conditions regarding 
the Turkish peninsula’s fracture regime. Such work illustrates the concentration of events and their 
fractal characterisation, possibly being related to this active region of the world’s seismotectonic 
conditions.

Four pieces of geochemical work, one of them related to the effects of runoff from a coal mine in 
Iran and the other three related to the environmental characterisation of several Mesozoic and Palaeo-
zoic formations in Nigeria and Cameroon, emphasise new geological knowledge emerging from Asia 
and Africa.

We would like to thank all our authors who submitted work for making their contributions and 
their willingness to support ESRJ, and invite the whole community to continue sending us new re-
search work coming within the scope of our geoscientific journal.

On a different matter, I would like to take this opportunity to invite the geoscientific community 
to participate in two interesting events to be held in Colombia during 2013:

- The 14th Colombian Congress of Geology to be held in Bogota (July 31st to August 2nd 2013) 
will offer an appropriate scenario for presenting and discussing recent results regarding knowled-
ge of Colombian geology, associated with this traditional meeting, will be held the Simposio de 
Exploradores, that will allow to identify new exploration horizons in O&G and mining in Latin 
America and Caribbean. and

- The AAPG ICE will be held in Cartagena (8-11th September) where topics related to Latin-
American basins and petroleum systems, unconventional resources, challenges concerning heavy 



oil, mature fields, deep water exploration and production, and environmental geology will be dealt 
with within the framework of the O&G industry, as well new academic foci and government in-
terests.

The aforementioned events will surely enable new advances to be made which will be of interest to 
all. We hope to see you in Colombia during these events and the Scientific Workshop and commemo-
rating of the first 100 years of San Calixto Observatory in La Paz, Bolivia.

Other important events in Latin America will be: 

- The Meeting of the Americas, a Joint Assembly that covers topics in all areas of the geophysical 
sciences. The meeting will be held at the Cancun Center in Cancun, Mexico, 14–17 May 2013. This 
important meeting is leadership by the AGU and also sponsored by institutions like: Asociación 
Argentina de Geofísicos y Geodestas (AAGG), Asociación Latinoamericana de  Geofísica  Espacial 
(ALAGE), Asociación Latinoamericana de Paleomagnetismo y Geomagnetismo (LatinMag), Chi-
lean Geological Society (CGS), Centro Regional de Sismología para América del Sur (CERESIS), 
Geochemical Society (GS), Mexican Association of Exploration Geophysicists (AMGE), Mexican 
Geological Society (SGM), Mexican Union for Quaternary Studies (UMEC), Mineralogical So-
ciety (MS), Sociedade Brasileira de Geofísica (SBGf ), Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) 
and Unión Geofísica Mexicana (UGM).

Finally I shall mention the official opening of the National Laboratories Network of Geosciences 
of Colombia, an initiative sponsored by the Colombian State through the National Hydrocarbons 
Agency, Colciencias (National Science Foundation of Colombia), five colombian universities (Natio-
nal University of Colombia, Caldas University, Universidad Industrial de Santander, UPTC, EAFIT) 
as well other local institutions associated to the Gesociences (the Colombian Geologic Survey, the 
Cartographic Institute and the International Center of Physics). A large, complete networking, of last 
generation, distributed countrywide, that support specialized analyses for the O&G and mining in-
dustries, academy and research centers. Many of our lectors may find in this networking an interesting 
source of mediums for new studies  along the worldwide.

Carlos A. Vargas
Editor