Foreword

The purpose of geology is tracing the past, exploring the future, supporting development and benefiting mankind. Especially since the Industrial Revolution, geology has played crucial roles in supporting the socio-economic development, studying the earth evolution and the human origins, and promoting the scientific and technological progress.

Facing an era of worldwide changes, traditional modes of geological work are being severely challenged. The connotation of basic geological theories is turning from the sole study of geosciences to Earth System Science. Geology is starting to serve a wider range of natural resources, apart from the traditional survey and exploration of mineral resources in the past. The working areas of geology have been remarkably extended to the space,the deep earth, the ocean and the polar regions, while the studied subjects are significantly expanded to the natural resources such as the mountains, the rivers, the forests, the farmlands, the lakes and the grasslands. China Geology is co-sponsored by the China Geological Survey (CGS) and the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences (CAGS), aiming at disseminating new ideas, exploring new problems, sharing new discoveries of geology with peers and experts around the world. The journal seeks to promote research from all aspects of geology, including basic, applied and engineering research and applications, such as the investigation on interaction of multi-layer in Earth, the survey and assessment on energy and other important mineral resources, hydrogeological and water resources, the comprehensive investigation, evaluation, protection and restoration on the natural resources, marine geological survey, the survey and assessment on major economic zones and urban areas, international geological cooperation, etc.

The strategic deployment from the CGS based on the new situation has made widely recognized achievements in many aspects, such as the geological study of the Tibetan Plateau,vertebrate paleontological studies such as dinosaurs and fossil birds, as well as the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) or "Golden Spike" studies. The CGS has also made impressive progress in the survey and development of non-conventional energy resources such as natural gas hydrate in the South China Sea, Sinian shale gas and shale oil,geothermal and hot dry rocks (HDR). The progress has not only contributed to the basic geological theories, but also brought geological work into a much more important position in serving the socio-economic development and protecting the ecological system of the earth.

China Geology publishes papers as columns including, the Original Articles, the Review Articles, the Research Advances,News and Highlights. It will take advantages of China’s new findings in geological survey, and put the focuses on publishing the forward-looking, leading and subversive academic achievements in resolving issues in major resources, environment and basic geological problems; publishing basic, comprehensive, and thematic reviews; and publishing new findings and latest geological survey data. Under the background of the dynamic information, ubiquitous internet and mega data, together with the global geological counterparts, China Geology will actively explore how the geological work to maintain the position of the forerunner, sustained and efficient support for global economic development and environmental protection, together to create a new future of global geological work.