Words of the Editor-in-Chief — Academic discussion is an effective measure to promote scientific development

Abstract

Van Loon et al.'s paper “The response of stromatolites to seismic shocks: Tomboliths from the Palaeoproterozoic Chaibasa Formation, E India” with a new term “tomboliths” and original viewpoints should be published, but some contents need to be discussed. Shanmugam's paper “The response of stromatolites to seismic shocks: Tomboliths from the Palaeoproterozoic Chaibasa Formation, E India: Discussion and liquefaction basics” pointed out some queries and problems about Van Loon et al.'s paper. It is an academic discussion paper and should be published as well. However, some main problems, such as the new term “tomboliths” and its origin of seismic shocks, “whether stromatolites or tomboliths are soft-sediment deformation structures or not”, etc., also need to be discussed. Academic discussion is an effective measure to promote scientific development. The more thorough academic discussions are carried out regarding academic problems, the more scientific facts and truths will become clear. All participants in this discussion are contributors. It is active to carry out the policy of “A hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend” by our Journal of Palaeogeography.

Keywords

• Tomboliths
• Seismic shocks
• Stromatolitic bioclasts
• Stromatolitic gravels
• Stromatolites
• Soft-sediment deformation structures (SSDS)
• Academic discussion
• A hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend
• Geological practice