A Comprehensive review of modern stratigraphic methods. The stratigraphic record is the major repository of information about the geological history of Earth, a record stretching back for nearly 4 billion years. Stratigraphic studies fill out our planet’s plate-tectonic history with the details of paleogeography, past climates, and the record of evolution, and stratigraphy is at the heart of the effort to find and exploit fossil fuel resources. Modern stratigraphic methods are now able to provide insights into past geological events and processes on time scales with unprecedented accuracy and precision, and have added much to our understanding of global tectonic and climatic processes. It has taken 200 years and a modern revolution to bring all the necessary developments together to create the modern, dynamic science that this book sets out to describe. Stratigraphy now consists of a suite of integrated concepts and methods, several of which have considerable predictive and interpretive power. The new, integrated, dynamic science that Stratigraphy has become is now inseparable from what were its component parts, including sedimentology, chronostratigraphy, and the broader aspects of basin analysis.
This book is intended to complement the author's 1996 book "The geology of fluvial deposits", not to replace it. The book summarizes methods of mapping and interpretation of fluvial depositional systems, with a detailed treatment of the tectonic, climatic and eustatic controls on fluvial depositional processes. It focuses on the preserved, ancient depositional record and emphasizes large-scale (basin-scale) depositional processes. Tectonic and climatic controls of fluvial sedimentation and the effects of base-level change on sequence architecture are discussed. Profusely illustrated and with an extensive reference to the recent literature, this book will be welcomed by the student and professional geologist alike.
Review of the second edition "For geologists and geophysicists studying sedimentary fill of basins, this volume is a valuable addition to their shelves. The book is packed with informationincludes numerous lists of references, and is up-to-date. As a source volume, this book is second to none. It is clear and well organized." GEOPHYSICS
Fluvial deposits represent the preserved record of one of the major nonmarine environ ments. They accumulate in large and small intermontane valleys, in the broad valleys of trunk rivers, in the wedges of alluvial fans flanking areas of uplift, in the outwash plains fronting melting glaciers, and in coastal plains. The nature of alluvial assemblages - their lithofacies composition, vertical stratigraphic record, and architecture - reflect an inter play of many processes, from the wandering of individual channels across a floodplain, to the long-term effects of uplift and subsidence. Fluvial deposits are a sensitive indicator of tectonic processes, and also carry subtle signatures of the climate at the time of deposition. They are the hosts for many petroleum and mineral deposits. This book is about all these subjects. The first part of the book, following a historical introduction, constructs the strati graphic framework of fluvial deposits, step by step, starting with lithofacies, combining these into architectural elements and other facies associations, and then showing how these, in turn, combine to represent distinctive fluvial styles. Next, the discussion turns to problems of correlation and the building of large-scale stratigraphic frameworks. These basin-scale constructions form the basis for a discussion of causes and processes, including autogenic processes of channel shifting and cyclicity, and the larger questions of allogenic (tectonic, eustatic, and climatic) sedimentary controls and the development of our ideas about nonmarine sequence stratigraphy.
Sequence stratigraphy represents a new paradigm in geology. The principal hypothesis is that stratigraphie successions may be subdivided into discrete sequences bounded by widespread unconformities. There are two parts to this hypothesis. First, it suggests that the driving forces which generate sequences and their bounding unconformities also generate predietable three-dimensional stratigraphies. In re cent years stratigraphie research guided by sequence models has brought about fundamental im provements in our understanding of stratigraphie processes and the controls of basin architecture. Sequence models have provided a powerful framework for mapping and numerieal modeling, enabling the science of stratigraphy to advance with rapid strides. This research has demonstrated the importance of a wide range of processes for the generation of cyclie sequences, including eustasy, tectonics, and orbital forcing of climate change. The main objective of this book is to document the sequence record and to discuss our current state of knowledge about sequence-generating processes.
Sediments and Basins provides a basic overview of the principles of stratigraphy, sedimentology and basin analysis. The book is illustrated with numerous photographs and diagrams; many of the latter having been drawn specifically for the text. The emphasis throughout is on the presentation of practical techniques. The text is designed to cover the topics for both an introductory sedimentary geology and/or basin analysis course offered either at the second or third year level. --
Sediments and Basins provides a basic overview of the principles of stratigraphy, sedimentology and basin analysis. The book is illustrated with numerous photographs and diagrams; many of the latter having been drawn specifically for the text. The emphasis throughout is on the presentation of practical techniques. The text is designed to cover the topics for both an introductory sedimentary geology and/or basin analysis course offered either at the second or third year level.
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