Clear writing and analysis of the broad spectrum of processes that produce shale are coupled with well-captioned 150 illustrations, 40 tables, boxed technical details, glossary and appendices. Recounts the step-by-step evolution and stages of shal, enabling readers to master the basics and to dig yet deeper into their origin, practical implications and relationship to earth history. Background information appears in appendices (Clay Mineralogy, Isotopes, Petrology, etc.); technicial details in high-lighted boxes, and definitions of 300+ terms in the Glossary.

Advanced textbook outlining the physical, chemical, and biological properties of sedimentary rocks through petrographic microscopy, geochemical techniques, and field study.

This is the first book to investigate the structure, origin and evolution of carbonate mud-mounds. Mud-mounds are accumulations of biogenic carbonate sediment that are common in the geological record, and economically important as they host lead zinc mineralization and oil and gas. The book reviews, for the first time, the different mechanisms of mud-mound formation and examines in detail the major changes in mud-mound type and occurrence through geological time. The major part of the book contains case studies of mud-mounds from the Palaeozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic. The coverage is global and truly international, with 32 authors from 10 countries. The first volume to deal with the structure, formation and evolution of mud-mounds. Copiously illustrated, with nine colour plates. If you are a member of the International Association of Sedimentologists, for purchasing details, please see: http://www.iasnet.org/publications/details.asp?code=SP23

This comprehensive, one-volume encyclopedia covers the sedimentological aspects of sediments and sedimentary rocks. It features more than 250 entries by some 180 eminent contributors from all over the world, excellent indices, cross references, and extensive bibliographies.

The Ordos Basin: Sedimentological Research for Hydrocarbons Exploration provides an overview of sedimentological approaches used in the lacustrine Ordos Basin (but also applicable in other marine and lacustrine basins) to make hydrocarbon exploration more efficient. Oil exploration is becoming increasingly focused on tight sandstone reservoirs and shales. The development of these reservoirs, particularly regarding the sedimentary processes and the resulting sediments, are still poorly understood. Exploration and exploitation of such reservoirs requires new insights into the lateral and vertical facies changes, and as already indicated above, the knowledge surrounding facies and how they change in deep-water environments is still relatively unclear. - Covers several geological aspects so the reader may well understand the context of the various chapters - Explores and explains the important relationship between sedimentology and hydrocarbon explorations - Highlights the significance of sedimentological aspects (facies, porosity, etc.) for basin analysis and the development of energy resources

Extensive field studies on the African and North American plates during this past decade have yielded a wealth of new data and ideas about rift basins and the origin of passive margins. New surface and subsurface basins have been identified; fossils abound in strata that only recently were considered barren; oil exploration is being actively pursued in continental strata of the Richmond-Taylorsville, Sanford and Newark basins, Late Triassic marine strata have been identified in Georges Bank off the coast of Massachusetts, and the roles of wrench tectonics, successor basins and listric normal faults have challenged the classical view that these are simple extensional basins.This two part work brings together representative examples of these studies. It is not intended as an exhaustive synthesis of the subject, but rather a vehicle to present new data, new ideas and alternative views. Some of the papers present regional summaries, others attempt to relate local features to regional questions, while others describe modern rift basins as possible analogs of early Mesozoic basins.Geologic data from the Atlantic passive margins record that continental rifting of central Pangaea occurred during the latest Triassic-earliest Jurassic (Liassic), and that sea-floor spreading probably began no later than the Middle Jurassic. The primary subject of this book focuses on the Triassic-Jurassic rifting events that led to the breakup of Pangaea and the opening of the central Atlantic Ocean. Whereas other treatises have focused on the origin of the passive margins, inferred primarily from geophysical data of the offshore basins, this volume primarily and uniquely focuses on land-based field studies of the onshore synrift basins. Offshore studies of synrift basins are also included and add substantially to our understanding of the breakup. However, the onshore data base, while complementary, is different, thus providing researchers with a different insight to the questions at hand.The book is organized into four sections. Section I, Pangaean Plate in Time and Space, first locates Pangaea in space and then places the Triassic basins within an historical context on the Alleghanian-Variscan Orogens. Section 2, the offshore and onshore basins of the North American and African Plates, comprises about 70% of all papers in this book, and includes papers on structural geology, petrology, paleontology, sedimentation, organic geochemistry, vulcanism and mineral resources. Section 3, Related Mesozoic Atlantic Rift Basins, includes papers on Iberia, Western Europe, the Benue Trough and Brazil. The final section of the book, Analogs, includes the rift basins of East Africa, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Elat (Aqaba), the Dead Sea and the Rio Grande.The book is richly illustrated throughout with figures, photographs, tables and fold-out maps, including nine in full colour.

This process-oriented book combines optical mineralogy with petrography and petrology. It covers all rock types. It focuses on the study of the behavior of rocks in response to geological processes. In addition to covering common igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks, it also examines weathered, hydrothermally altered, and low-temperature precipitative and deformed rocks. It covers all rock types that relate to the fields of hydrogeology, environmental geology, economic geology, neotectonics, earth science, seismology, and geologic engineering. Incorporates numerous high-quality photographs, including 8 pages of color photos.

Shales and mudstones are the most poorly understood sedimentary rock type. They comprise approximately two thirds of the stratigraphic column and contain the bulk of recorded earth history. In the future, understanding shales will be crucial for a wide variety of studies. Yet, getting a balanced perspective of research on these fascinating rocks is difficult because it is dispersed over so many subdisciplines. The two volumes of this book present up to date research on a wide range of topics in shale geology, and were assembled with the goal to ease access to this engaging field of research. Chapter introductions were written by experts in their field, and are intended to define the state of the art, to provide access to pertinent literature, and to set the stage for the corresponding research papers. Volume I covers basin-scale analysis, sedimentology and paleontology of shales. Volume II supplements this perspective with detailed treatments of petrography, burial history, petrophysics, geochemistry, and economic aspects of shales. The broad coverage of topics should make this book a valuable source of information for those that want to keep informed about current developments in shale research, and a source of inspiration for those interested to enter this exciting field of study.