Geochemical Sediments And Landscapes

This state-of-the-art volume reviews both past work and current research, with contributions from internationally recognized experts. The book is organized into fourteen chapters and designed to embrace the full range of terrestrial geochemical sediments. An up-to-date and comprehensive survey of research in the field of geochemical sediments and landscapes Discusses the main duricrusts, including calcrete, laterite and silcrete Considers deposits precipitated in various springs, lakes, caves and near-coastal environments Considers the range of techniques used in the analysis of geochemical sediments, representing a significant advance on previous texts

Clays and soils are of great importance in various scientific fields, such as agriculture and environmental science, and in mineral deposits. Students and close collaborators of Georges Millot, the eminent French clay sedimentologist, have put together a book with topics ranging from weathering processes and diagenetic evalution of sediments to sedimentary mineral deposits. The book is of interest to practitioners, advanced students as well as teachers in the above fields.

Providing fundamental discussion of regolith properties andchemistry, this book considers many landscape situations andfeatures, whilst linking process to position, geochemistry andtime. Presenting information from an Australian perspective itprovides new insights into the subject, which are developed awayfrom the yoke of traditional Northern Hemisphere ideas andconcepts. * Presents a new approach to the problems of understanding regolithgeology and landscapes * Presents the general aspects and principles of regolith * Chapters present views on landscapes and their evolution, thenature of minerals, the behaviour of water at a landscape level andthe exploration of water behaviour at various scales in regolithmaterials * Investigates methods of conveying information about regolith viamaps and in GIS packages

A modern, quantitative, process-oriented approach to geomorphology and the role of Earth surface processes in shaping landforms, starting from basic principles.

Conceptual Models in Exploration Geochemistry: The Canadian Cordillera and Canadian Shield is a compilation of 38 case histories from the shield and the cordillera. This volume aims to develop models ideally for the systematic description and exploration of geochemical data. These idealized models describe the principles and mechanisms of anomalies, which govern the use of exploration geochemistry. Furthermore, this volume focuses on the use of soils and sediments in exploration geochemistry. This volume is divided into four sections, the first of which is an introduction about landscape geochemistry, the idealized models, standardization of field data, and the general principles of geochemical migration. The second section consists of the idealized models and nineteen case studies obtained from the Canadian Cordillera. The third section also consists of idealized models and case studies but these were obtained from the Canadian Shield. Both the second and third sections discuss, in different views, the mineral zoning and distribution of mineralization, Pleistocene geology, physiography, climate and vegetation, and soils. This volume concludes with a discussion on orientation sampling and standardization of data collection and presentation.

This volume contains 22 chapters introducing a wide range of semi-arid and geologic landscapes. Botswana, a thinly populated nation, the size of France, is a Southern African keystone country at the heart of the Kalahari, sharing some of the major sub-continental drainage basins such as the Limpopo, Zambezi, Orange, and Okavango with its neighbouring countries. The extensive Kalahari Sand surface has been sculptured by numerous past processes which have produced subtle but regional landforms consisting of extensive dunes and shorelines. Incipient rifting has created the dynamic Okavango and Makgadikgadi fan-basin systems which produces iconic wetlands with a world heritage status. Geological outcrops in particular to the east expose highly denuded basement lithologies which produces numerous inselbergs that are home to a rich archaeological heritage. The book also examines the geomorphology of mineral and water resources which sustain the economy and population and also features dedicated chapters that cover diamondiferous kimberlites, caves, pans, dams, duricrusts and wildlife. Chapter 6 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

It is the policy of the federal Canadian Forestry Service to sponsor research initiatives from the private sector that are judged to be pertinent to its mandate and offer particular promise towards the optimal management of Canadian forest resources. This book is based on such an initiative. It represents the philosophy of the author himself and is in no way constrained by the views of the sponsoring agency. Over the past two decades Dr J. A. C. Fortescue has become well known at a number of research centers throughout the world. He has pioneered the approach to environmental understanding that is comprehensively developed in this text. The limitations of traditional compartmentalized approaches are depre cated and the case is made for a holistic rethinking of basic concepts and princi ples. Landscape Geochemistry is the disciplinary outcome that gives expression to this rethinking. It may be viewed as the minimum scale of conceptual approach necessary in the environmental sciences to solve present-day problems and to exploit future opportunities.

The processes occurring in surface marine sediments have a profound effect on the local and global cycling of many elements. This graduate text presents the fundamentals of marine sediment geochemistry by examining the complex chemical, biological, and physical processes that contribute to the conversion of these sediments to rock, a process known as early diagenesis. Research over the past three decades has uncovered the fact that the oxidation of organic matter deposited in sediment acts as a causative agent for many early diagenetic changes. Summarizing and discussing these findings and providing a much-needed update to Robert Berner's Early Diagenesis: A Theoretical Approach, David J. Burdige describes the ways to quantify geochemical processes in marine sediment. By doing so, he offers a deeper understanding of the cycling of elements such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, along with important metals such as iron and manganese. No other book presents such an in-depth look at marine sediment geochemistry. Including the most up-to-date research, a complete survey of the subject, explanatory text, and the most recent mathematical formulations that have contributed to our greater understanding of early diagenesis, Geochemistry of Marine Sediments will interest graduate students of geology, geochemistry, and oceanography, as well as the broader community of earth scientists. It is poised to become the standard text on the subject for years to come.