Regolith Science

This comprehensive reference on the fundamentals of regolith science describes how regolith is developed from parental rocks and emphasises the importance of chemical, physical, water and biological processes in regolith formation. It provides details for mapping regolith landforms, as well as objective information on applications in mineral exploration and natural resource management. Regolith Science also provides a concise history of weathering through time in Australia. It includes previously unpublished information on elemental abundances in regolith materials along with detailed information on soil degradation processes such as in acid sulfate soils.

Written by experts in the field, Regolith Science summarises research carried out over a 13 year period within the Cooperative Research Council for Landscape Environments and Mineral Exploration. This book will be a valuable resource for scientists and graduate/postgraduate students in geology, geography and soil science, and for professionals in the exploration industry and natural resources management.

Keith Scott is an Honorary Research Fellow at CSIRO Exploration and Mining and a Visiting Fellow at RSES, ANU. He has been studying weathering for the past 35 years with the aim of developing better methods of geochemical exploration for base metal and Au deposits by understanding the processes involved during weathering. Colin Pain is a Senior Regolith Geoscientist at Geoscience Australia and Adjunct Associate at the University of Canberra. He is the co-author of a previous book on regolith, soils and landforms. His research over the last decade has emphasised the relationship between landforms and regolith processes, especially as applied to natural resource management.