A sound understanding of the global carbon cycle requires an appreciation of the various physico-chemical and biological processes that determine the production, distribution, deposition and diagenesis of organic matter in the natural environment. This book is a comprehensive interdisciplinary synthesis of this information, coupled with an organic facies approach based on data from both microscopy and bulk organic geochemistry.

The book on deposition, diagenesis, and weathering of organic matter-rich sediments is a summary of seven years of research work of the author at the Institute of Petroleum and Organic Geochemistry in J}lich. It contains a comparision of various depositional environments (lakes, deltas, seas)with respect to organic matter characteristics, a special chapter on the deposition of the Posidonia shale, a summary of organic matter maturation and related petroleum generation, and a chapter on the use of maturationparameters as calibration tools for numerical modelling of temperature histories of sedimentary basins. Also, microscopic effects of petroleum generation and oil to gas cracking are treated. The final chapters deal withcoals as source rocks for oil and gas and with the effects of weatheringon sediments which are rich in organic matter.

Depositional models for organic-carbon-rich sediments have been the subjects of both great interest and great controversy for many years. These sediments serve as the ultimate source of virtually all oil and gas. They also represent the interface between biological and geological processes and provide critical evidence for the state of the atmosphere and oceans. Yet despite their importance and decades of research, the origin of these sediments remains the source of vigorous disagreement. The twelve papers in this volume represent the cutting edge of research in this topic. They explore the origin of organic-carbon-rich sediments through a variety of techniques, including sedimentology, geochemistry, paleontology and computer modeling. All papers take multidisciplinary approaches to the topic, and together, they demonstrate the complex interconnected processes that trigger the deposition of organic carbon. This book will appeal to geoscientists in many disciplines, including explorers for petroleum who need models for source rock deposition, organic and inorganic geochemists who study processes in water and sediment, sedimentologists who interpret ancient deposition environments, and climatologists and oceanographers who reconstruct the behavior of the ancient atmosphere and oceans.

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

This book brings together the knowledge from a variety of topics within the field of geochemistry. The audience for this book consists of a multitude of scientists such as physicists, geologists, technologists, petroleum engineers, volcanologists, geochemists and government agencies. The topics represented facilitate as establishing a starting point for new ideas and further contributions. An effective management of geological and environmental issues requires the understanding of recent research in minerals, soil, ores, rocks, water, sediments. The use of geostatistical and geochemical methods relies heavily on the extraction of this book. The research presented was carried out by experts and is therefore highly recommended to scientists, under- and post-graduate students who want to gain knowledge about the recent developments in geochemistry and benefit from an enhanced understanding of the dynamics of the earth's system processes.