Cretaceous black sandstone deposits of Western Interior have stratigraphic, structural, textural, and mineralogical characteristics helpful in reconstructing local and regional depositional environments.

The purpose of this monograph is to provide participants in my various short courses with a brief statement of the material I cover in my lectures. In addition, key illustrations are reproduced for guidance. A brief bibliography of reference material is appended to each chapter. The bibliographic material includes those references that I consider critical to my remarks. No claim is made of topical or bibliographic completeness. This monograph also is intended as a brief summary of depositional processes, Holocene sediments, ancient counterparts of depositional environments, and examples of oil- and gas-bearing stratigraphic traps in five depositional environments. This summary is intended to complement lecture and reading courses dealing with sedimentology, depositional systems, sedimentary facies, sedimentary environments, sandstone diagenesis, and sedimentary modelling as a predictive tool for exploration. The student is cautioned, however, that this monograph is merely an introduction and summary overview of the subject. More complete treatments appear in standard textbooks. Sedimentology has changed and advanced over the past twenty-five years, in part because the American oil industry needed to make predictions about the occurrence of the harder-to-find stratigraphic traps. In addition, the development of plate-tectonic theory, and supportive data from the Deep Sea Drilling Project, have caused sedimentology to change from an essentially descriptive science to a mature, predictive science. The 1960s and 1970s in particular witnessed an explosion of new insights and understanding of how sediments are deposited, and how sedimentary rocks are formed.

In this work, the reader will find the basic concepts and vocabulary of sedimentary geology, along with a presentation of the new ideas that are in current use in petroleum exploration. This abundantly illustrated book will serve as an excellent educational tool and remain a valuable resource and handy reference work in any petroleum geology library.Contents: 1. Basics of dynamic geology. 2. Continental and oceanic basins. 3. Sedimentary driving mechanisms and environments. 4. Time evolution: Sedimentary sequences, stratigraphy. 5. From sediments to sedimentary basin rocks and mountain chains. 6. Petroleum systems. IndexState of Strain. 2. State of Stress. 3. Thermodynamics of Continuous Media. II. Mechanism of Material Strain. 4. Linear Elasticity. General Theory. 5. Plane Theory of Elasticity. 6. Behaviour of a Material Containing Cavities. 7. Thermodynamics of Saturated Porous Media. 8. Infinitesimal Thermoporoelasticity. 9. The Triaxial Test and the Measurement of Thermoporoelastic Properties. 10. Thermoporoelastoplasticity. General Theory and Application. III. Mechanisms of Material Cohesion Loss. 11. Fissuring. 12. Introduction to Damage Theory. 13. Appearance of Shearing Bands in Geomaterials.

Sedimentary Environments is one of the most distinguished and influential textbooks in the earth sciences published in the last 20 years. The first and second editions both won universal praise and became classic works in sedimentology. Since the publication of the last edition, the study of sedimentary environments and facies has made great strides, with major advances in facies modelling, sequence stratigraphy and basin modelling. The 3rd edition of this classic text will likely set the benchmark even higher, and needless to say, will continue being the textbook of choice for sedimentology students. The latest edition of a classic text. Incorporates all the latest advances in dynamic stratigraphy. Will remain the textbook of choice for upper level undergraduate and graduate students in sedimentology.