This book celebrates the professional career of Harold Reading, who has played a leading role in the development of the IAS, and has been at the roots of the development of 'facies sedimentology' as an art in itself and as a major tool in the broader field of geology. This special collection of original research papers from Harold Reading's students covers the wide range of his research interests and reflects the power of facies sedimentology today. State-of-the-art research papers in the important field of facies sedimentology * a festschrift to one of the great names in sedimentology.

Fluvial deposits represent the preserved record of one of the major nonmarine environ ments. They accumulate in large and small intermontane valleys, in the broad valleys of trunk rivers, in the wedges of alluvial fans flanking areas of uplift, in the outwash plains fronting melting glaciers, and in coastal plains. The nature of alluvial assemblages - their lithofacies composition, vertical stratigraphic record, and architecture - reflect an inter play of many processes, from the wandering of individual channels across a floodplain, to the long-term effects of uplift and subsidence. Fluvial deposits are a sensitive indicator of tectonic processes, and also carry subtle signatures of the climate at the time of deposition. They are the hosts for many petroleum and mineral deposits. This book is about all these subjects. The first part of the book, following a historical introduction, constructs the strati graphic framework of fluvial deposits, step by step, starting with lithofacies, combining these into architectural elements and other facies associations, and then showing how these, in turn, combine to represent distinctive fluvial styles. Next, the discussion turns to problems of correlation and the building of large-scale stratigraphic frameworks. These basin-scale constructions form the basis for a discussion of causes and processes, including autogenic processes of channel shifting and cyclicity, and the larger questions of allogenic (tectonic, eustatic, and climatic) sedimentary controls and the development of our ideas about nonmarine sequence stratigraphy.

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.

This book is intended as a practical handbook for those engaged in the task of analyzing the paleogeographic evolution of ancient sedimentary basins. The science of stratigraphy and sedimentology is central to such endeavors, but although several excellent textbooks on sedimentology have appeared in recent years little has been written about modern stratigraphic methods. Sedimentology textbooks tend to take a theoretical approach, building from physical and chemical theory and studies of mod ern environments. It is commonly difficult to apply this information to practical problems in ancient rocks, and very little guidance is given on methods of observation, mapping and interpretation. In this book theory is downplayed and the emphasis is on what a geologist can actually see in outcrops, well records, and cores, and what can be ob tained using geophysical techniques. A new approach is taken to stratigraphy, which attempts to explain the genesis of lithostratigraphic units and to de-emphasize the importance of formal description and nam ing. There are also sections explaining principles of facies analysis, basin mapping methods, depositional systems, and the study of basin thermal history, so important to the genesis of fuels and minerals. Lastly, an at tempt is made to tie everything together by considering basins in the con text of plate tectonics and eustatic sea level changes.

This completely revised and enlarged second edition provides an up-to-date overview of all major topics in sedimentary geology. It is unique in its quantitative approach to denudation-accumulation systems and basin fillings, including dynamic aspects. The relationship between tectonism and basin evolution as well as the concepts of sequence cycle and event stratigraphy in various depositional environments are extensively discussed. Numerous, often composite figures, a well-structured text, brief summaries in boxes, and several examples from all continents make the book an invaluable source of information for students, researchers and professors in academia as well as for professionals in the oil industry.

This unparelleled reference synthesizes the methods used in microfacies analysis and details the potential of microfacies in evaluating depositional environments and diagenetic history, and, in particular, the application of microfacies data in the study of carbonate hydrocarbon reservoirs and the provenance of archaeological materials. Nearly 230 instructive plates (30 in color) showing thin-section photographs with detailed explanations form a central part of the content. Helpful teaching-learning aids include detailed captions for hundreds of microphotographs, boxed summaries of technical terms, many case studies, guidelines for the determination and evaluation of microfacies criteria, for enclosed CD with 14000 references, self-testing exercises for recognition and characterization skills, and more