"Redbeds are clastic sedimentary rocks stained red by hematite. They offer important information concerning past climates and depositional and tectonic environments, their paleomagnetic properties and in the reconstruction of past plate motions, and -- possibly of greatest significance -- deposits of base metals, uranium and vanadium occur closely associated with redbeds in many parts of the world. By bringing together information on redbeds the Geological Survey is providing a tool useful in mineral exploration and is thereby meeting one of its principal objectives -- determining the mineral and energy resources available to Canada." --

2012 PROSE Award, Earth Science: Honorable Mention For more than fifty years scientists have been concerned with the interrelationships of Earth and life. Over the past decade, however, geobiology, the name given to this interdisciplinary endeavour, has emerged as an exciting and rapidly expanding field, fuelled by advances in molecular phylogeny, a new microbial ecology made possible by the molecular revolution, increasingly sophisticated new techniques for imaging and determining chemical compositions of solids on nanometer scales, the development of non-traditional stable isotope analyses, Earth systems science and Earth system history, and accelerating exploration of other planets within and beyond our solar system. Geobiology has many faces: there is the microbial weathering of minerals, bacterial and skeletal biomineralization, the roles of autotrophic and heterotrophic metabolisms in elemental cycling, the redox history in the oceans and its relationship to evolution and the origin of life itself.. This book is the first to set out a coherent set of principles that underpin geobiology, and will act as a foundational text that will speed the dissemination of those principles. The chapters have been carefully chosen to provide intellectually rich but concise summaries of key topics, and each has been written by one or more of the leading scientists in that field.. Fundamentals of Geobiology is aimed at advanced undergraduates and graduates in the Earth and biological sciences, and to the growing number of scientists worldwide who have an interest in this burgeoning new discipline. Additional resources for this book can be found at: http://www.wiley.com/go/knoll/geobiology.

This extensively updated new edition of the widely acclaimed Treatise on Geochemistry has increased its coverage beyond the wide range of geochemical subject areas in the first edition, with five new volumes which include: the history of the atmosphere, geochemistry of mineral deposits, archaeology and anthropology, organic geochemistry and analytical geochemistry. In addition, the original Volume 1 on "Meteorites, Comets, and Planets" was expanded into two separate volumes dealing with meteorites and planets, respectively. These additions increased the number of volumes in the Treatise from 9 to 15 with the index/appendices volume remaining as the last volume (Volume 16). Each of the original volumes was scrutinized by the appropriate volume editors, with respect to necessary revisions as well as additions and deletions. As a result, 27% were republished without major changes, 66% were revised and 126 new chapters were added. In a many-faceted field such as Geochemistry, explaining and understanding how one sub-field relates to another is key. Instructors will find the complete overviews with extensive cross-referencing useful additions to their course packs and students will benefit from the contextual organization of the subject matter Six new volumes added and 66% updated from 1st edition. The Editors of this work have taken every measure to include the many suggestions received from readers and ensure comprehensiveness of coverage and added value in this 2nd edition The esteemed Board of Volume Editors and Editors-in-Chief worked cohesively to ensure a uniform and consistent approach to the content, which is an amazing accomplishment for a 15-volume work (16 volumes including index volume)!

This volume covers the occurrence, interpretation and significance of bitumens (hydrocarbon residues) in ore deposits. Bitumens occur with a wide variety of ores, including deposits of base metals, mercury, uranium, gold and other precious metals. The papers included reflect this variety of bitumen occurrences and the potential for obtaining useful data from them. The contributions are written by acknowledged experts in this field, who cover analytical techniques and case studies using diverse petrographic and geochemical approaches which will give ore geologists and geochemists an excellent insight into the interpretation of bitumens during mineral exploration. The large number of plates in particular will help the non-specialist to make good use of the volume through the application to new deposits. This is the most comprehensive set of contributions published on a subject of growing interest; at a time when explorationists are increasingly recognising the occurrence of bitumens in ore deposits and the fact that the evolution of mineralising fluids and hydrocarbon fluids may be closely interlinked.

Diagenesis is a highly developed, interdisciplinary field of study. It is reciprocal in that it borrows from numerous scientific or technological specialities and then, in turn, repays them with useful results. Too often, however, the information gained and concepts developed remain unintegrated instead of being utilized quickly by several related earth-science fraternities. This volume, the first of a multi-volume work, attempts to bring together such information, thereby assisting the individual and the research group in keeping up with the data explosion.There is no end in sight to diagenetic research because of its wide practical and intellectual appeals. Consequently, periodic reviews, such as presented in this volume, are greatly needed.