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.

The author presents examples of coal deposits two different continents: from the European Carboniferous and the Permian Gondwana sequence of Australia. The organic and petrographic composition of the coal content of palaeo-environmentally well defined groups of sediments allow the discrimination of two coal facies indices as suitable indicators for distinct settings. Combining the analytical methods of coal petrography, sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy an integrated view of coal formation is attained.

Nonrenewable energy resources, comprising fossil fuels and uranium, are not ran domly distributed within the Earth's crust. They formed in response to a complex array of geologic controls, notably the genesis of the sedimentary rocks that host most commercial energy resources. It is this genetic relationship between economic re sources and environment that forms the basis for this book. Our grouping of petro leum, coal, uranium, and ground water may appear to be incongruous or artificial. But our basic premise is that these ostensibly disparate resources share common genetic attributes and that the sedimentological principles governing their natural distributions and influencing their recovery are fundamentally similar. Our combined careers have focused on these four resources, and our experiences in projects worldwide reveal that certain recurring geologic factors are important in controlling the distribution of com mercial accumulations and subsurface fluid flow. These critical factors include the shape and stability of the receiving basin, the major depositional elements and their internal detail, and the modifications during burial that are brought about in these sediments by pressure, circulating fluids, heating, and chemical reaction. Since the first edition of this book in 1983, there has been a quantum leap in the volume of literature devoted to genetic stratigraphy and refinement of sedimentologi cal principles and a commensurate increase in the application of these concepts to resource exploration and development.

Deepwater Sedimentary Systems: Science, Discovery and Applications helps readers identify, understand and interpret deepwater sedimentary systems at various scales – both onshore and offshore. This book describes the best practices in the integration of geology, geophysics, engineering, technology and economics used to inform smart business decisions in these diverse environments. It draws on technical results gained from deepwater exploration and production drilling campaigns and global field analog studies. With the multi-decadal resilience of deepwater exploration and production and the nature of its inherent uncertainty, this book serves as the essential reference for companies, consultancies, universities, governments and deepwater practitioners around the world seeking to understand deepwater systems and how to explore for and produce resources in these frontier environments. From an academic perspective, readers will use this book as the primer for understanding the processes, deposits and sedimentary environments in deep water – from deep oceans to deep lakes. This book provides conceptual approaches and state-of-the-art information on deepwater systems, as well as scenarios for the next 100 years of human-led exploration and development in deepwater, offshore environments. The students taught this material in today's classrooms will become the leaders of tomorrow in Earth's deepwater frontier. This book provides a broad foundation in deepwater sedimentary systems. What may take an individual dozens of academic and professional courses to achieve an understanding in these systems is provided here in one book. - Presents a holistic view of how subsurface and engineering processes work together in the energy industry, bringing together contributions from the various technical and engineering disciplines - Provides diverse perspectives from a global authorship to create an accurate picture of the process of deepwater exploration and production around the world - Helps readers understand how to interpret deepwater systems at various scales to inform smart business decisions, with a significant portion of the workflows derived from the upstream energy industry

Hardcover plus Foldouts