Principles of Sedimentary Basin Analysis

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.