Despite the wide range of sedimentology texts published (most of
them by Blackwell) there is a clear gap in the maret for a text
that integrates sedimentary environments, sedimentary petrology,
processes and field description at an introductory level.
As well as occupying this niche, the book also makes use of
electronic delivery by providing a set of practical exercises
(integrated with the book) that will be used for the lab part of
the course. These will be offered on a CD-ROM bound with the
book.
A second CD-ROM containing colour versions of all the images
(photos and line drawings) in the book in .pdf and .ppt formats,
plus text, will be freely available to instructors.
Prosposal (as submitted by the authors)
Principles of Sedimentology
Dr Charlie Bristow and Dr Andrew Carter
Rational for the book
Currently, there is not a single book in sedimentology that
adequately combines theoretical aspects, e.g. fluid dynamics and
facies models, with applied techniques such as sedimentary
petrology, logging and and palaeocurrent analysis. Our proposed
book will place emphasis on the description and interpretation of
ancient sediments with reference to modern sedimentary environments
using a process and product approach. There will be accompanying
CD?s containing a library of colour images used in the book
and companion (to the chapters) practical exercises with high
quality colour digital images and quicktime movies that enable a
more innovative approach to teaching field techniques such as
outcrop description and interpretation using virtual logging
exercises. The methodology is explained in a step-by-step format
which allows independent student work. The virtual logging
exercises are not intended to replace field teaching but to provide
students with improved skills and understanding of what is expected
when they do go into the field and have to make their own
descriptions and interpretations of sediments and sedimentary
rocks.
Intended readership
The book is intended for first and second year BSc Geology and
Earth Science students. It is based around an existing second year
course unit at Birkbeck which has been developed to support mature
(18-80 yrs) distance learning students (domestic and overseas) who
come from a wide age range, contrasting backgrounds and skills. As
a consequence it has been designed to be easy to read and
understand. The book and accompanying CDs incorporate many colour
digital photographs and diagrams redrawn from published papers as
well as many original diagrams to communicate ideas and explain
concepts in a user friendly style. Examples have been selected from
around the world to give the book both international appeal and
utilize the best examples in sedimentary geology.
Contents
Chapters 1 to 22
1 A Philosophy of Sedimentary Geology ? Walther?s
Law, uniformitarianism, catastrophism, and facies analysis.
2 Weathering and Erosion ? origin of sediments, landscape
geomorphology and feedbacks between tectonics and erosion
3 Description and Classification of Clastic Sediments ?
mudrocks, sandstones and conglomerates.
4 Sedimentary ironstones, phosphates and organic sediments -
including peat, coal and hydrocarbons.
5 Sandstone Diagenesis ? diagenetic processes, stages of
diagenesis and diagenetic environments.
6 Sedimentary Structures ? primary and secondary
sedimentary structures, ripples, dunes, plane bed, bioturbation and
soft sediment deformation.
7 Fluids and Flow ?flow dynamics, bedform phase diagram,
bedform migration and models.
8 Aeolian Sediments ? desert environments, aeolian sand
transport, ripples, dunes, ancient deserts, GPR.
9 Volcaniclastics ? pyroclastic flows and falls, lahars
and epiclastics.
10 Alluvial Fan Environments ? alluvial fan formation,
deposition, modern examples, ancient examples, fan deltas.
11 Fluvial Sedimentary Environments ? rivers, floodplains
channel morphology, braided, meandering, anastomosed, modern
examples, ancient examples, architectural element analysis.
12 Deltaic Environments ? delta classification, fluvial,
wave, tide dominated, estuaries, modern examples, ancient
examples.
13 Shallow Marine Environments ? beaches, barrier islands,
tidal channels, etc. waves, tides, storms, sea-level change, modern
and ancient examples.
14 Turbidites and Submarine Fan Environments ? turbidites,
submarine fans, debris flows, grainflows, slumps, slides and
olistostromes.
15 Glacial Environments ? Earth?s glacial record,
glacial environments, tills and diamicts.
16 Lakes and Evaporite Environments ? modern and ancient
lakes, evaporites and siliceous sediments.
17 Description and Classification of Carbonate Sediments ?
carbonate composition, skeletal grains, non-skeletal grains,
grainstone, packstone, wackestone, petrography and
pore-types.
18 Carbonate Diagenesis ? diagenetic environments and
processes including dolomitisation.
19 Carbonate Depositional Environments ? carbonate soils,
lakes, peritidal carbonates, lagoons, carbonate sandbodies and
reefs.
20 Carbonate Ramps and Shelves ? ramps, shelves and
platforms, controls on carbonate sediments, carbonate production,
response to eustacy.
21 Sedimentary Basins ? classification, mechanisms of
formation, sedimentary facies, and predictive models.
22 Sequence Stratigraphy ? concepts and models, sequence
boundaries, flooding surfaces, parasequences, stacking
patterns.
Practicals 1 to 21
1 Facies Analysis ? a log based exercise Sum Sum sands,
Trinidad.
2 Sediment yield ? comparison of geochronological and
recent estimates of erosion.
3 Sandstone Petrography 1 - grain size and Texture in thin
section
4 Sandstone Petrography 2 - composition and classification in
thin section.
5 Sandstone Petrography 3 - diagenesis.
6 Grain size analysis ? paper practical handling sieve
data.
7 Palaeocurrent analysis ? rose diagrams, vector means and
tadpole plots.
8 Aeolian sediments -Navajo Sandstone, Utah, thin sections,
palaeowind and palaeogeography
9 Volcaniclastics - isopach map of Bishop Tuff.
10 Virtual Logging exercise - Thames River, Terrace
Gravels.
11 Fluvial sandstone - The Otter Sandstones virtual log.
12 Shallow marine - Thin section, Woburn Sands virtual log and
tidal currents.
13 Turbidite channels - a question of correlation, Ainsa,
Spain.
14 Graphic log interpretatation.
15 Lateral and Vertical Facies Changes.
16 Evaporite minerals ? Zechstein and Abu Dhabi, lakes
Krabi Basin Thailand.
17 Carbonate Petrography 1 - Limestone textures in thin
section.
18 Carbonate Petrography 2 - Limestone Diagenesis in thin
section.
19 Carbonate Petrography 3 ? Carbonate environments.
20 Carbonate interpretation ? Carbonate ramp, Eocene
Sierra del Cadi, Spain.
21 Basin analysis ? North Sea.
22 Sequence stratigraphy exercise.
Comparison with existing text books
A major strength of our proposed book and companion CDs is the
description and interpretation of sedimentary environments. There
does not appear to be a book of appropriate level available on this
important subject, we consider texts such as Sedimentary
Environments and Facies (Ed. H.G. Reading) or Facies Models (Eds.
R.G. Walker and N.P. James) to be too advanced for first and second
year undergraduates. Books that did cover this subject such as R.
C. Selley?s Ancient Sedimentary Environments, are long since
out of print. Other texts such as Mike Leeder?s Sedimentology
Process and Product is out of print and now replaced by the more
advanced Sedimentology and Sedimentary Basins, which we do not
consider to be appropriate for first and second year
undergraduates. There is some overlap with Maurice Tuckers
Introduction to Sedimentary Petrology, but as its name implies this
text tends to concentrate on sedimentary petrology and offers less
on sedimentary environments, processes and facies. Similarly there
is some overlap with Gary Nichols Sedimentation and Stratigraphy
but our book will contain less stratigraphy and much more on
sedimentary environments, processes and facies. Boggs, Principles
of Sedimentology and Stratigraphy, covers much of the sedimentary
environments and facies and stratigraphy but does not include
practical and petrographic components of sedimentology. Most of the
existing textbooks are weak on the practical aspects of
sedimentology, and our book will provide a new teaching and
learning resource.
None of the books described above contain a similar emphasis on
practical exercises. The practical exercises are not available in a
similar format elsewhere, we are not aware of any other virtual
logging exercises, and we believe that the training in facies
analysis in the laboratory is unique. There are thin section
photomicrographs in Tucker, and Adams et al., but, we re-iterate,
these are not designed to be part of a practical exercise like the
exercises proposed in this book (see accompanying CD) and therefore
students are unable to make the connection between theory and
application.
Book length and format
The book is estimated to be about 300 pages in length, and will
be in black and white while it is possible to include a CD which
will include all the diagrams and photographs and additional
material in colour. To accompany the text are a series of practical
exercises available only on CD, these are self contained exercises
but they are also associated with appropriate chapters in the book.
The practicals provide background information on the outcrop in
addition to a data set which can be described and interpreted.
Instructions for handling the data and accompanying field
photographs provide ground truth for many of the exercise which is
based on real outcrop data. Model answers are also included. The
design of the practicals allows collected by students to be
substituted for the material provided.
The text and diagrams including colour photographs could be
included on one CD. Given, the large number of outcrop photographs
used in the virtual logging exercise and the photomicrographs in
the petrology practicals we can only fit 12 practicals onto a
single CD. As a consequence, there may be practical limitations to
the number of practicals that can be included. The proposal
includes a list of 22 practicals but this may have to be
adjusted.
The accompanying CD includes some examples of chapters and
practicals to illustrate the style and content of the book and
accompanying CD. Please note that these are only outline drafts and
the numbers do not necessarily correspond to the chapter numbers in
the proposal.
Chapters:
1 A Philosophy of Sedimentary Geology
3 Description and Classification of Clastic Sediments
6 Sedimentary Structures
10 Alluvial Fan environments
13 Shallow Marine Environments
17 Description and Classification of Carbonate Sediments
Practical Exercises
1 Facies Analysis
3 Sandstone Petrography 1 (Grain size and texture)
6 Palaeocurrent analysis
9 Virtual logging exercise 1
11 Virtual logging exercise 3
13 Carbonate petrography 1
Model answers
Model answers for the practical exercises are included on the CD
for self assessment.
The Lectures and practicals on the CD are in PDF format so that
they can be used on both mac and pc, the files should self
open.
- ISBN10 1405119845
- ISBN13 9781405119849
- Publish Date 27 January 2009
- Publish Status Cancelled
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher John Wiley and Sons Ltd
- Imprint Wiley-Blackwell (an imprint of John Wiley & Sons Ltd)
- Format Paperback
- Pages 352
- Language English