This book will constitute the proceedings of the ILP Workshop held in Abu Dhabi in December 2009. It will include a reprint of the 11 papers published in the December 2010 issue of the AJGS, together with 11 other original papers.

What is the important geologic information recorded in Thrust Belts and Foreland Basins (TBFB) on the evolution of orogens? How do they transcript the coupled influence of deep and surficial geological processes? Is it still worth looking for hydrocarbons in foothills areas? These and other questions are addressed in the volume edited by Lacombe, Lavé, Roure and Vergés, which constitutes the Proceedings of the first meeting of the new ILP task force on "Sedimentary Basins", held in December 2005 at the Institut Français du Pétrole, on behalf of the Société Géologique de France and the Sociedad Geologica de España. This volumes spans a timely bridge between recent advances in the understanding of surface processes, field investigations, high resolution imagery, analogue-numerical modelling, and hydrocarbon exploration in TBFB. With 25 thematic papers including well-documented regional case studies, it provides a milestone publication as a new in-depth examination of TBFB.

In the current cost-constrained environment for hydrocarbon exploitation, increasing emphasis is being placed on robust subsurface description and a clear understanding of the range of uncertainty associated with reservoir models. Structural heterogeneity, particularly at the subseismic scale, forms an integral part of these refined descriptions as it allows greater prediction of subsurface flow characteristics. This volume examines the best current practice and new challenges in hydrocarbon reservoir characterization and modelling of small to subseismic deformation features through case studies, experimental results and modelling. The papers follow four themes: characterization of deformation in porous sandstones, novel characterization techniques, quantifying and characterizing deformation in carbonates, and modelling small-scale features. It includes a collection of papers from a two-day international conference that brought academic and industry geoscientists and engineers together to discuss best current practice and new challenges in reservoir characterization and modelling of small to subseismic deformation features. The volume should be of interest to geoscientists, petrophysicists, reservoir engineers and modellers.

Many sedimentary basins worldwide contain extrusive and intrusive igneous rock sequences, and these rocks and associated magmatic processes can exert profound influences on a diverse range of basin processes and elements, including multiscale structural and tectonic development, heat flow, transport of hydrocarbons and other basinal fluids, and the hydraulic properties and integrity of reservoir and sealing units. Recent years have witnessed increased focus on improved understanding of igneous processes in basins to aid hydrocarbon exploration and development projects, and there is growing interest in the multifaceted role that igneous sequences in basins may play in the energy transition, for example as components of carbon capture and storage projects, and sources of geothermal energy, natural hydrogen and helium. This volume showcases state-of-the-art research from both academia and industry, drawing on global examples and addressing reservoir-to-plate scales, providing critical new data, knowledge and technological capabilities that highlight the opportunities, complexities and potential pitfalls associated with unlocking the energy resources of sedimentary basins impacted by igneous processes.

This volume is a state of the art look at our understanding of joint development in the crust. Answers are provided for such questions as the mechanisms by which joints are initiated, the factors controlling the path they follow during the propagation process, and the processes responsible for the arrest of joints. Many of the answers to these questions can be inferred from the geometry of joint surface morphology and joint patterns. Joints are a record of the orientation of stress at the time of propagation and as such they are also useful records of ancient stress fields, regional and local. Because outcrop and subsurface views of joints are limited, statistical techniques are required to characterize joints and joint sets. Finally, joints are subject to post-propagation stresses that further localize deformation and are the focus for the development of new structures.

A knowledge of structural geology is fundamental to understanding the processes by which the earth's crust has evolved. It is a subject of fundamental importance to students of geology, experienced field geologists and academic researchers as well as to petroleum and mining engineers. In contrast to many structural textbooks which dwell upon geometrical descriptions of geological structures, this book emphasises mechanical principles and the way in which they can be used to understand how and why a wide range of geological structures develop. Structures on all scales are considered but the emphasis of the book is on those that can be seen on the scale of hand specimen or outcrop. Drawing on their considerable teaching experience the authors present a coherent and lucid analysis of geological structures which will be welcomed by a wide variety of earth scientists.