Two Himalayan porphyry copper-molybdenum-gold belts have been developed in the eastern part of the Himalayan-Tibet orogenic zone related to the collision between the Indian and Asian Plates. Both were accompanied by the emplacement of high-level intracontinental, alkali-rich, potassic felsic magmas which produced a huge Cenozoic belt of potassic igneous rock. The emplacement of these magmas was controlled by large-scale strike-slip fault systems, orientated roughly orthogonal to the of the Indo-Asian continental convergence, which adjusted the collisional strain. The Jomda-Markam-Xiangyun copper-molybdenum belt is the western of the two, developed along a narrow zone following the Nanqian thrust, the Jinshajiang fault system, and the Red River shear zone, whereas the eastern, the Zhongdian-Yanyuan-Yao'an porphyry copper-gold-silver belt, was developed along the western margin of the Yangtze Craton. The ore-bearing porphyries have compositions which include granite, monzogranite, and monzonite, with a small amount of quartz-syenite porphyry. They are distinguished from barren porphyries by their higher Si02 (>63 wt %), lower Y (<20 ppm) and their adakitic magma affinity. All alkali-rich porphyries are relatively enriched in large-ion lithophile elements (K, Rb and Ba) and depleted in high-field strength elements (Nb, Ta, Ti and P) with a wide range of Nb/Y ratios.

Erosional sculpted forms from open bedrock channels in a variety of lithologies are described, classified, and illustrated. The resulting typology demonstrates both the diversity of bedforms in bedrock channels and the existence of features common to many channels and lithologies. This investigation develops a consistent nomenclature and places the study of bedforms in bedrock channels on a rational foundation along with that of their sedimentary counterparts.

The author’s advection-polymorphic hypothesis of deep processes in the tectonosphere is based on V.V. Belousov’s system of endogenous regimes, a certain source of energy (radioactive decay in crustal and upper mantle rocks), and the method of energy transfer (advection). Elementary volumes of transported material have been termed «quanta of tectonic action» (QTA) with the diameter of about 50―70 km. The physical reality of such objects is proved. The choice of endogenous regime is related to the type of the preceding thermal model. <...>

There is an ever-increasing need for a better understanding of regional seismic hazards, particularly in developing parts of the world where major building projects are planned and there is a huge migration of people to large cities that are at risk from earthquakes. Disasters in recent times, such as the earthquakes in Japan and Haiti, are chilling proof of the dangers of building in active fault zones.