Reading's Sedimentary Environments

An all-new edition of one of the most influential books in the earth sciences, endorsed by the International Association of Sedimentologists

Richly illustrated with hundreds of new images, this is a completely new edition of the well-known classic text Reading’s Sedimentary Environments: Processes, Facies and Stratigraphy. The book again delivers an objective, thorough overview of the different ways in which sedimentary rocks are best described and interpreted via an understanding of sedimentary process using facies analysis. Throughout, this fourth edition covers the most recent work on sedimentary facies, processes and environments as well as the dynamics of stratigraphy, especially with respect to understanding preservation, extreme events, climate, tectonics and sea-level change. It includes extensive illustrations of the resulting 3D geometries using seismic imagery as well as outcrop and core data.

The main part of the book comprises specific chapters for each important depositional environment, from terrestrial to coastal and deep sea settings. Each chapter can be used independently, as each provides a standalone discussion of how to reconstruct a particular sedimentary environment through facies analysis of rock successions, cores, or in some cases, seismic data or vertical petrophysical log profiles.

New content in this edition covers:

• An overview of diverse methodologies of facies analysis and environmental reconstruction, including landscape system approaches, illustrated by extensive case studies
• Biogenic sedimentary structures, their formational processes and use in facies analysis
• A discussion of sequence stratigraphy methodology and the biases produced by the preservation filter on the sedimentary record
• Extraterrestrial sedimentology as illustrated by the sedimentary facies of Mars, the moons of Jupiter, and other solar system bodies
• Research directions and current developments in line with broad approaches to Earth Systems Science

Reading’s Sedimentary Environments is a valuable learning resource for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students, researchers and professionals in earth sciences, in particular geology, geochemistry, oceanography, and geoengineering. This book is endorsed and supported by the International Association of Sedimentologists (IAS), the premier professional organization in the field.

Bruce Levell is currently a Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford, UK, after having worked for Royal Dutch Shell for 35 years in various roles, including Chief Scientist Geology and being Vice President for Global New Ventures as well as Emerging Technologies.