This volume describes the nature, causes, and consequences of the diverse fluid movements that produce energy and mineral resources in sedimentary basins. The contained papers point to new capabilities in basin analysis methods and models. The processes that operate in the resource-producing thermo-chemical-structural reactors we call sedimentary basins are reviewed. Efficient ways to infer the tectonic history of basins are described. Impacts on hydrocarbon maturation and migration of glacial tilting, magmatic intrusion, salt migration, and fracturing are illustrated. The conditions under which subsurface flow will channel with distance traveled are identified. Seismic methods that can image and map subsurface permeability channels are described. The surface maturation, surface charge, and chemical reaction foundations of creep subsidence are set forth. Dynamic aspects of the hydrogen resource in basins are analyzed. There is much that is new that is presented in these papers with the intent of stimulating thinking and enthusiasm for the advances that will be made in future decades.

"This special volume contains a selection of articles presented at the AAPG Hedberg Research Conference on Basin and Petroleum System Modeling (BPSM) held in Napa, California, on May 3-8, 2009."--P. 1.

In the extensive field of earth sciences, with its many subdisciplines, the trans fer of knowledge is primarily established via personal communication, during meetings, by reading journal articles, or by consulting books. Because more information is available than can be assimilated, it is necessary for the individual to search selectively. Books take more time from the inception of an idea until publication than any of the other means of communication men tioned. As a consequence, their function is somewhat different. Many good books are a compilation of up to date knowledge and serve as reference or instruction manuals. Some books are a collection of previously published papers dealing with a certain topic, while others may basically provide large sets of data or examples. The Frontiers in Sedimentary Geology series was established both for stu dents and practicing earth scientists who wish to either stay abreast of the most recent ideas or developments or to become familiar with an important topic in the field of sedimentary geology. The series attempts to deal with sub jects that are in the forefront of both scientific and economic interest. The treatment of a subject in an individual volume should be a combination of topi cal, regional, and interdisciplinary approaches. Although these three terms can be defined separately, in reality they should flow into each other. A topical treatment should relate to a major category of sedimentary geology.

The first comprehensive presentation of methods and algorithms used in basin modeling, this text provides geoscientists and geophysicists with an in-depth view of the underlying theory and includes advanced topics such as probabilistic risk assessment methods.

This book has been prepared by the collaborative effort of two somewhat separate technical groups: the researchers at the Institute for Petroleum and Organic Geochemistry, Forschungszentrum Jii lich (KFA), and the technical staff of Integrated Exploration Systems (IES). One of us, Donald R. Baker, from Rice University, Houston, has spent so much time at KFA as a guest scientist and researcher that it is most appropriate for him to contribute to the book. During its more than 20-year history the KFA group has made numerous and significant contributions to the understanding of petroleum evolution. The KFA researchers have emphasized both the field and laboratory approaches to such important problems as source rock recognition and evaluation, oil and gas generation, maturation of organic matter, expulsion and migration of hydrocarbons, and crude oil composition and alteration. IES Jiilich has been a leader in the development and application of numerical simulation (basin modeling) procedures. The cooperation between the two groups has resulted in a very fruitful synergy effect both in the development of modeling software and in its application. The purpose of the present volume developed out of the 1994 publication by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists of a collection of individually authored papers entitled The Petroleum System - From Source to Trap, edited by L. B. Magoon and W. G. Dow.