Over 60% of the Earth's surface is covered with deep marine sediments, however, until the early 1980s, no comprehensive text books appeared to support the rapid expansion in the study of these sediments. While the whole field of marine geology has expanded enormously and entirely new disciplines, such as paleoceanography, have been developed, there remains a lack of reference texts on study techniques that investigators in the marine community can turn to. Minerals and Mineraloids in Marine Sediments is an optical identifica tion guide that I believe will become a standard reference text for use in the microscope analysis of marine sediment& and sedimentary rocks. The systematic collection of sediment cores from the deep ocean floor began in earnest with the Swedish Deep Sea Expedition, 1947-1948. Much of the microscopic examination of the sediments collected in these piston cores (10 m+ long) was conducted on separated grain mounts or thin sections of impregnated sediments. By the late 1960s a simpler technique of examining a mounted smear of the cored silt and clay size sediment on a microscope slide had become standard practice in American oceanographic institutions. This semi quantitative technique became the standard tool used in core description aboard Glomar Challenger through the 15 years of the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP), 1968-1983. Visual percentage estimates of biogenic and mineral components were made using petrologic micro scopes.

Over 60% of the Earth's surface is covered with deep marine sediments, however, until the early 1980s, no comprehensive text books appeared to support the rapid expansion in the study of these sediments. While the whole field of marine geology has expanded enormously and entirely new disciplines, such as paleoceanography, have been developed, there remains a lack of reference texts on study techniques that investigators in the marine community can turn to. Minerals and Mineraloids in Marine Sediments is an optical identifica tion guide that I believe will become a standard reference text for use in the microscope analysis of marine sediment& and sedimentary rocks. The systematic collection of sediment cores from the deep ocean floor began in earnest with the Swedish Deep Sea Expedition, 1947-1948. Much of the microscopic examination of the sediments collected in these piston cores (10 m+ long) was conducted on separated grain mounts or thin sections of impregnated sediments. By the late 1960s a simpler technique of examining a mounted smear of the cored silt and clay size sediment on a microscope slide had become standard practice in American oceanographic institutions. This semi quantitative technique became the standard tool used in core description aboard Glomar Challenger through the 15 years of the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP), 1968-1983. Visual percentage estimates of biogenic and mineral components were made using petrologic micro scopes.

This volume presents papers on the use of micro-XRF core scanners in palaeoenvironmental research. It contains a broad ranging view of instrument capability and points to future developments that will help contribute to higher precision elemental data and faster core analysis. Readers will find a diverse range of research by leading experts that have used micro-XRF core scanners in a wide range of scientific applications. The book includes specific application papers reporting on the use of XRF core scanners in a variety of marine, lacustrine, and pollution studies. In addition, coverage also examines practical aspects of core scanner usage, data optimisation and data calibration and interpretation. In a little over a decade, micro-XRF sediment core scanners have made a substantive contribution to palaeoenvironmental research. Their impact is based on their ability to rapidly, non-destructively and automatically scan sediment cores. Not only do they rapidly provide important proxy data without damaging samples, but they can obtain environmental data at decadal, annual and even sub-annual scales. This volume will help both experienced and new users of these non-destructive core scanners take full advantage of one of the most powerful geochemical screening tools in the environmental scientist's toolbox.

First published in 1981 as the Offshore Information Guide this guide to information sources has been hailed internationally as an indispensable handbook for the oil, gas and marine industries.

Characterisation of the shallow subsurface has gained in importance as civil and geotechnical engineering and environmental applications have become more dependent on a precise definition of geomechanical and geohydrological properties. A better understanding of the subsurface conditions offers wide-ranging benefits to governments, industry and individual citizens. Subsurface geological modelling became an economic and technologic reality in the late 1980's, when competing 3-D geoscientific information systems were the subject of considerable research and evaluation, especially by the petroleum exploration industry. Investigations in the shallow subsurface impose additional requirements that have only recently become technically and economically achievable. The very shallow urban underground environment, where many infrastructure and utilities elements are located, presents the most difficult characterisation problems. Subsurface modelling techniques have matured, along with modern data base concepts. The evolution of the Internet and Web-browser technologies has expanded information transmission and dissemination capabilities. Subsurface models are being integrated with decision-support systems to provide predictions of technical and economic performance. Yet even the most sophisticated of these models leave some uncertainty in geologic interpretation. A variety of techniques for assessing uncertainty have been developed and are being evaluated.