This book is focused on the basics of applying thermochronology to geological and tectonic problems, with the emphasis on fission-track thermochronology. It is conceived for relatively new practitioners to thermochronology, as well as scientists experienced in the various methods. The book is structured in two parts. Part I is devoted to the fundamentals of the fission-track method, to its integration with other geochronologic methods, and to the basic principles of statistics for fission-track dating and sedimentology applied to detrital thermochronology. Part I also includes the historical development of the technique and thoughts on future directions. Part II is devoted to the geological interpretation of the thermochronologic record. The thermal frame of reference and the different approaches for the interpretation of fission-track data within a geological framework of both basement and detrital studies are discussed in detail. Separate chapters demonstrate the application of fission-track thermochronology from various perspectives (e.g., tectonics, petrology, stratigraphy, hydrocarbon exploration, geomorphology), with other chapters on the application to basement rocks in orogens, passive continental margins and cratonic interiors, as well as various applications of detrital thermochronology.

Fission track dating is based on the microscopic observation and counting of etchable tracks left by the spontaneous fission of uranium in minerals. Since its development in 1963 the method attracted a steadily growing interest from geologists and geochronologists throughout the world. Apart from its relative experimental ease the success must be mainly ascribed to the specific ability of the method of unravelling the thermal and tectonic history of rocks, a potential which only became fully exploited during the last decade with the systematic introduction of track size analysis. The present work is the first one to deal entirely with fission track dating covering all of its aspects from the origin of the fission tracks, the basis of track etching and fading, the various dating techniques as well as practical procedures and the geologic interpretation to the most recent applications in geology and archaeology.

Our colleagues from the French-speaking parts of Switzerland - the Suisses romands - and above all the committee of the 3rd Cycle, e Earth Sciences (3 Cycle, Sciences de la Terre) honored us by asking us to give a course on Isotope Geology for the year 1977. The course, entitled Evaluation et Interpretation des Donnees Isotopiques (eval uation and Interpretation of Isotopic Data), was intended to inform earth scientists, graduate and postgraduate, from the western Swiss Universities on the subject of Isotope Geology. Such courses usually consist of two parts: lectures and excursions. Thus, in March 1977, we gave such a two-week course at the Miner alogical Institute of the University of Berne. The first week was devoted essentially to the methods of dating, the second week to the behavior of stable isotopes. In July 1977, on the occasion of an excursion to the Central and Western Alps, we were able to demonstrate our results. Guest professors were invited to make contributions to the course.

Low-temperature thermochronology has become an essential tool when studying near-surface geological processes. Time-temperature constraints are vital to quantify and describe a large variety of geological processes, such as relief building, erosion and sedimentation or the maturation of organic matter in sedimentary basins. After a brief history covering the discovery of fission tracks to their first applications in geochronology, Fission-track Thermochronology presents a complete description of not only the fission-track, but also the (U Th Sm)/He thermochronology approaches, both on basement rocks and on sediments. Firstly, the physical and chemical processes that underlie these techniques are addressed, and the analytical methods are described in detail. A particular focus is placed on the latest developments, such as the use of laser-ablation ICP-MS, and a whole chapter is dedicated to statistical modeling of the data. Finally, numerous examples of applications to geological questions will provide the reader with a comprehensive overview of the possibilities of low temperature thermochronology in solving geological and geomorphological questions.

The purpose of the series is to compile and pass on the accumulated knowledge of regional geology that is being lost as generalists with field experience are replaced by specialists with computers. It is designed to appeal to both academic and petroleum geologists. In this third and final part of Volume One, geologists discuss extensional basins including rifts, passive margins, and inverted extensional basins. The chapters have a broadly similar layout, and where appropriate include a section on the petroleum system. They cover non-volcanic and transform passive margins, cratonic basins on pre-Cambrian and Paleozoic basements, and world maps. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

The collection of papers in this volume is a direct result of the Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists Research Symposium on "Thermal History of Sedimentary Basins: Methods and Case Histories" held as part of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists Annual Convention in New Orleans in March 1985. The original goal of the sym posium was to provide a forum where specialists from a variety of dis ciplines could present their views of methods that can be used to study the thermal history of a sedimentary basin or an important portion of a basin. An explicit part of that goal was to illustrate each method by presentation of a case history application. The original goal is addressed by the chapters in this volume, each of which emphasizes a somewhat different approach and gives field data in one way or another to illustrate the practical useful ness ofthe method. The significance of our relative ignorance of the thermal conductivities of sedimentary rocks, especially shales, in efforts to understand or model sedimentary basin thermal histories and maturation levels is a major thrust of the chapter by Blackwell and Steele. Creaney focuses on variations in kerogen composition in source rocks of different depositional environments and the degree to which these chem- . ically distinct kerogens respond differently to progressive burial heating.

Volume 58 of Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry presents 22 chapters covering many of the important modern aspects of thermochronology. The coverage of the chapters ranges widely, including historical perspective, analytical techniques, kinetics and calibrations, modeling approaches, and interpretational methods. In general, the chapters focus on intermediate- to low-temperature thermochronometry, though some chapters cover higher temperature methods such as monazite U/Pb closure profiles, and the same theory and approaches used in low-temperature thermochronometry are generally applicable to higher temperature systems. The widely used low- to medium-temperature thermochronometric systems are reviewed in detail in these chapters, but while there are numerous chapters reviewing various aspects of the apatite (U-Th)/He system, there is no chapter singularly devoted to it, partly because of several previous reviews recently published on this topic.