This is the book you need to improve your interpretations of carbonates. Using a systematic treatment of the entire subject of carbonate depositional environments, this unique book is specifically designed for use by the non-specialist -- the petroleum geologist or field geologist -- who uses carbonate depositional environments in facies reconstructions and environmental intepretations. This classic work, covering settings from non-marine to deep water, focuses on the recognition of depositional environments with extenive use of color diagrams and photographs of sedimentary structures and facies assemblages. Although the ultimate purpose of this text is to improve exploration for oil, gas, and mineral deposits, it also includes environments not normally considered to be particularly prospective for oil and gas in an attempt to provide as complete a framework as possible for recognition of environments. Suitable for use as a textbook, this book is also an invaluable reference fo the specialist or advanced graduate student. It provides perspective on large-scale influences on carbonate depositional envionments such as tectonic patterns, fluctuations of sea level, variations of climate, and evolutionary patterns of organisms. --

In this volume, the geologic framework is established with review papers by experts in carbonate generation, rock properties, sequence and seismic stratigraphy, and structural deformation. Then seismic expression of carbonate terranes is explored in case studies showing the importance of integrating seismic and petrophysical control with geologic models.

This unparelleled reference synthesizes the methods used in microfacies analysis and details the potential of microfacies in evaluating depositional environments and diagenetic history, and, in particular, the application of microfacies data in the study of carbonate hydrocarbon reservoirs and the provenance of archaeological materials. Nearly 230 instructive plates (30 in color) showing thin-section photographs with detailed explanations form a central part of the content. Helpful teaching-learning aids include detailed captions for hundreds of microphotographs, boxed summaries of technical terms, many case studies, guidelines for the determination and evaluation of microfacies criteria, for enclosed CD with 14000 references, self-testing exercises for recognition and characterization skills, and more

Carbonate rocks (limestones and dolomites) constitute a major partof the geological column and contain not only 60% of the world'sknown hydrocarbons but also host extensive mineral deposits. Thisbook represents the first major review of carbonate sedimentologysince the mid 1970's. It is aimed at the advanced undergraduate -postgraduate level and will also be of major interest to geologistsworking in the oil industry. Carbonate Sedimentology is designed to take the readerfrom the basic aspects of limestone recognition and classificationthrough to an appreciation of the most recent developments such aslarge scale facies modelling and isotope geochemistry. Novelaspects of the book include a detailed review of carbonatemineralogy, non-marine carbonate depositional environments and anin-depth look at carbonate deposition and diagenesis throughgeologic time. In addition, the reviews of individual depositionalsystems stress a process-based approach rather than one centered onsimple comparative sedimentology. The unique quality of this bookis that it contains integrated reviews of carbonate sedimentologyand diagenesis, within one volume.

Sedimentology and stratigraphy are neighbors yet distinctly separate entities within the earth sciences. Sedimentology searches for the common traits of sedimentary rocks regardless of age as it reconstructs environments and processes of deposition and erosion from the sediment record. Stratigraphy, by contrast, concentrates on changes with time, on measuring time and correlating coeval events. Sequence stratigraphy straddles the boundary between the two fields. This book, dedicated to carbonate rocks, approaches sequence stratigraphy from its sedimentologic background. This book attempts to communicate by combining different specialities and different lines of reasoning, and by searching for principles underlying the bewildering diversity of carbonate rocks. It provides enough general background, in introductory chapters and appendices, to be easily digestible for sedimentologists and stratigraphers as well as earth scientists at large.

This textbook provides an overview of the origin and preservation of carbonate sedimentary rocks. The focus is on limestones and dolostones and the sediments from which they are derived. The approach is general and universal and draws heavily on fundamental discoveries, arresting interpretations, and keystone syntheses that have been developed over the last five decades. The book is designed as a teaching tool for upper level undergraduate classes, a fundamental reference for graduate and research students, and a scholarly source of information for practicing professionals whose expertise lies outside this specialty. The approach is rigorous, with every chapter being designed as a separate lecture on a specific topic that is encased within a larger scheme. The text is profusely illustrated with all colour diagrams and images of rocks, subsurface cores, thin sections, modern sediments, and underwater seascapes. Additional resources for this book can be found at: www.wiley.com/go/james/carbonaterocks