Carbonate Mud Mounds

This is the first book to investigate the structure, origin and evolution of carbonate mud-mounds. Mud-mounds are accumulations of biogenic carbonate sediment that are common in the geological record, and economically important as they host lead zinc mineralization and oil and gas. The book reviews, for the first time, the different mechanisms of mud-mound formation and examines in detail the major changes in mud-mound type and occurrence through geological time. The major part of the book contains case studies of mud-mounds from the Palaeozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic. The coverage is global and truly international, with 32 authors from 10 countries. The first volume to deal with the structure, formation and evolution of mud-mounds. Copiously illustrated, with nine colour plates. If you are a member of the International Association of Sedimentologists, for purchasing details, please see: http://www.iasnet.org/publications/details.asp?code=SP23

Annotation This book provides a synthesis of seabed geomorphology and benthic habitats based on the most recent, up-to-date information. Case studies from around the world are presented.

Cold-water coral ecosystems figure the formation of large seabed structures such as reefs and giant carbonate mounds; they represent unexplored paleo-environmental archives of earth history. Like their tropical cousins, cold-water coral ecosystems harbour rich species diversity. For this volume, key institutions in cold-water coral research have contributed 62 state-of-the-art articles on topics from geology and oceanography to biology and conservation, with some impressive underwater images.

An accessible resource, covering the fundamentals of carbonate reservoir engineering Includes discussions on how, where and why carbonate are formed, plus reviews of basic sedimentological and stratigraphic principles to explain carbonate platform characteristics and stratigraphic relationships Offers a new, genetic classification of carbonate porosity that is especially useful in predicting spatial distribution of pore networks.

Microbial carbonates (microbialites) are remarkable sedimentary deposits because they have the longest geological range of any type of biogenic limestones, they form in the greatest range of different sedimentary environments, they oxygenated the Earth’s atmosphere, and they produce and store large volumes of hydrocarbons. This Special Publication provides significant contributions at a pivotal time in our understanding of microbial carbonates, when their economic importance has become established and the results of many research programmes are coming to fruition. It is the first book to focus on the economic aspects of microbialites and in particular the giant pre-salt discoveries offshore Brazil. In addition it contains papers on the processes involved in formation of both modern and ancient microbialites and the diversity of style in microbial carbonate buildups, structures and fabrics in both marine and non-marine settings and throughout the geological record.

In recent years there has been a virtual explosion of stratigraphic studies utilizing the principles of sequence stratigraphy. Although the concept of time stratigraphy is not new, the packaging of depositional units into systems tracts and sequences is. This new approach has led to the reassessment of areas that in some cases have been the subject of intense geological scrutiny for decades. The fundamental principles upon which sequence stratigraphy is based are applicable at a broad range of temporal and physical scales. This volume arises from several sessions on sequence stratigraphy held at the Thirteenth International Sedimentological Congress, with emphasis on facies associations within a sequence stratigraphic framework.

A comprehensive and richly illustrated overview of the Gulf of Mexico Basin, including its reservoirs, source rocks, tectonics and evolution.

This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the rapidly developing field of microbial sediments, featuring excellent artwork. It contains authoritative and stimulating contributions by distinguished authors that cover the field and set the scene for future advances.