Editor's column: Ecostratigraphy

[Anders Martinsson:] Editor's column: Ecostratigraphy.
The natural development of biostratigraphy is toward ecostratigraphy , i.e. the correlation of fossil ecosystems and their arrangement in a geochronological framework. This stage is not easily attainable and provides far-reaching systematical and ecological knowledge of the organisms and communities involved. Hence, considerable ecostratigraphical success is hitherto only to be reported from the Quaternary, but the development should be guided towards similar knowledge of earlier intervals of the Phanerozoic.     

Editor's column: Stratotypes

The recent designation of a stratotype for the Silurian-Devonian boundary (= the base of the Devonian) marks the end of an enterprise which has been widely referred to as a standard for the elaboration of major stratotypes. Although the philosophy of stratotypes is well developed, practical life is less ready for them. The procedure for authorization of stratotypes as well as their protection and integration with the planned urban and rural landscape call for authoritative deliberations and initiative.     

Editor's column: Symposia and congresses

Symposia and congresses (and similarly named conferences) provide a specific medium for scientific communication that should complement, not duplicate, published or circularized reporting. The total expenditure for presentation of results at a session of the International Geological Congress is at least in the region of 8 million dollars, and there are hundreds of smaller geological meetings every year. Progress in finding rational forms for meetings is slow, and elementary deficiencies in meeting organization are incessantly repeated. The fact that meetings have established themselves as a very viable institution in science provides no excuse for not watching and reviewing their structure and economy as vigilantly as, for example, publications.     

Editor's column: Palaeontology of fossils

Palaeontology cannot progress without neontology, and the palaeontologist must often engage himself in investigations of recent plants and animals. There is, however, a clear tendency among palaeontologists to avoid the problems of hard preparation and incomplete documentation of life and death in the rocks. Resources intended for palaeontology are increasingly used for investigations of Recent organisms without more apparent relations than botany and zoology in general to urgent palaeontological problems. More fossil-oriented palaeontology is advocated.     

Editor's column: Cryptozoic and Phanerozoic

[Anders Martinsson:] Editor's column: Cryptozoic and Phanerozoic.
The use of Cryptozoic as the antithesis of the widely accepted term Phanerozoic is recommended. Precambrian has been used to suppress the former term, but is less suited semantically and is derived from a different term system.     

Editor's column: Directories as scientific catalysts

International funding of scientific activities is mostly of catalyst size only. Systematic efforts to track down the catalysing situations in these activities are made by the funding organizations. Great attention is devoted to meetings, while the catalysts of current activities between meetings are neglected. Regular primary publications are the closest counterparts in the current work of meetings but are out of size and inconvenient in structure for catalytic support. Circulars, newsletters and annotated directories (many hybrids occur) are very important catalysts of more manageable size. Taken together they represent considerable amounts of largely concealed labour and costs. Standards are badly needed for making the organization of information elements in directories efficient. Each entry in a directory should add a research profile to the scientists' identity and address. Directories may remain a jungle product, but scientists' considerable efforts in producing them merit a reconsideration of the organization of their contents and the provision of advice for their production and distribution.     

Editor's column: Palaeontological and stratigraphical newsletters

Newsletters and annotated directories are important sources of information in science. Most newsletters concentrating on individual research in progress are not formally published but circularized. Reporting on results or findings in circularized newsletters ('non-publications') often means misplacing the material and almost always non-availability through secondary services. The circularized newsletters are mostly very efficient means of information among the established specialists on the mailing-lists. but the information seldom reaches newcomers and non-specialists. In order to make their existence known in somewhat wider circles, Lethaia offers space for onepage presentations of newsletters relevant to palaeontology and stratigraphy.     

Editor's column: Stratification in international geology

The two large organizations in international geology, the permanent International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) and the long-term International Geological Correlation Programme (IGCP), are strongly stratified units and victims of platform sedimentation. Their National Committees and corresponding bodies are often useless as channels of the active scientists' initiative and influence. Their constituent and affiliated scientific bodies are deprived of all influence on the management of the organizations, in favour of managements bureaucratically and autocratically recruited according to a pattern of equitable geographical distribution. The IGCP is wasting effort in hunting for programme gaps, whilst both organizations are campaigning against regional concentrations of interest and consequent influence. Both organizations are in bad need of activating their national members and opening up their management to influence from their scientific bodies. For this purpose important changes in their constitutions are needed. Only then can their formal strength become real and their many challenging tasks be efficiently tackled.     

Editor's column: Titles of palaeontological papers

In articles provided with an abstract ('extended title with connected sentences'), there is no reason to overcrowd the title with information of key-word character. The title should be formulated to assist the selective reader. Additional information for the needs of secondary publications should be supplemented in the abstract and in a special line of key-words for indexing. We should aim at clean titles, using bibliographic and documentalishc foresight.     

Editor's column: Tnternational Geological Correlation Programme

The International Geological Correlation Programme (IGCP) offers great opportunities to geologists but suffers from a marked lack of identity in both public and professional perspective. This can be remedied by organizing the programme into a number of reasonably large projects with an identity of their own. Such a structure has to be attained according to a differentiated pattern, adjusted to accommodate groups and persons with initiative and dedication. The Board of the IGCP now has its great chance to act creatively by structurizing the programme. Now that the IGCP has become more widely known, geologists should make increased use of their formal powers to influence the programme, through the IUGS and individually.     

Editor's column: Planktic, nektic, benthic

The terms planktic, nektic , and benthic are taken as examples of the construction and malconstruction of biological and geological terms. Both in vernacular terminology and systematic nomenclature the formation of adjectives and compounds follows the same basic rules - keep the three concepts of stem, suffix, and connective vowel clear, and most of the serious malconstructions will be avoided.     

Editor's column: Nemagraptus, Pelekysgnathus, Foramenella

Systematic nomenclature follows the same rules for compounding and derivation as the scientific terminology discussed in a preceding Editor's Column. Lethaia honours appealing and correctly constructed names (and terms), but the codes of biological nomenclature do not in practice permit 'justified emendations' of names which do not meet the linguistic requirements in the same codes - in practice priority in 'spelling' supersedes correctness in 'language'. Construction of systematic names is easy, and the introduction of further incorrect and mnemonically cumbersome forms is easily curbed by requiring a statement on the derivation of each new name, scrutinized by a linguist if necessary.     

Editor's column: The International Union of Geological Sciences

The International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), founded in 1961. has developed into one of the strongest unions of the ICSU family. A composite but efficient international working structure has been organized, based on extensive voluntary efforts which are moderately yet effectively subsidized by the Union. Current developments trend towards closer cooperation with the International Geological Congress. The IUGS now covers 74 countries, although the strength in the international working structure may be contrasted with a certain lack of promotion at the national level, particularly with regard to information. This must be remedied. Geologists concerned are also encouraged to obtain their information directly through the IUGS Geological Newsletter.     

Indian publishing: enduring the boom

There has been a boom in the publication of Indian plant science research in recent years, defying national trends in other sciences and outperforming the international trends in plant science publications. This boom augurs well for India considering the importance of agriculture to her economy and the crucial need for science-based solutions to break the yield barriers. However, sustaining it requires tackling the problems of funding, infrastructure, manpower and other policy issues.