Sandstone Diagenesis

Diagenesis affects all sediments after their deposition andincludes a fundamental suite of physical, chemical and biologicalprocesses that control the texture, mineralogy and fluid-flowproperties of sedimentary rocks. Understanding the processes andproducts of diagenesis is thus a critical component in the analysisof the evolution of sedimentary basins, and has practicalimplications for subsurface porosity destruction, preservation andgeneration. This in turn is of great relevance to the petroleum andwater industries, as well as to the location and nature of someeconomic mineral deposits. Combines key papers in sandstone diagenesis published inSedimentology over the last 30 years. Records the development of diagenesis from the description ofgrain shapes through provenance, petrography and analyticalgeochemistry to predictive models of diagenetic process. Provides definitions and explanations of the terms and conceptsused in diagenesis. If you are a member of the International Association ofSedimentologists, for purchasing details, please see:http://www.iasnet.org/publications/details.asp?code=RP4

Diagenesis is a highly developed, interdisciplinary field of study. It is reciprocal in that it borrows from numerous scientific or technological specialities and then, in turn, repays them with useful results. Too often, however, the information gained and concepts developed remain unintegrated instead of being utilized quickly by several related earth-science fraternities. This volume, the first of a multi-volume work, attempts to bring together such information, thereby assisting the individual and the research group in keeping up with the data explosion. There is no end in sight to diagenetic research because of its wide practical and intellectual appeals. Consequently, periodic reviews, such as presented in this volume, are greatly needed.

Diagenesis affects all sediments after their deposition and includes a fundamental suite of physical, chemical and biological processes that control the texture, mineralogy and fluid-flow properties of sedimentary rocks. Understanding the processes and products of diagenesis is thus a critical component in the analysis of the evolution of sedimentary basins, and has practical implications for subsurface porosity destruction, preservation and generation. This in turn is of great relevance to the petroleum and water industries, as well as to the location and nature of some economic mineral depos.

The first edition appeared fourteen years ago. Since then there have been significant advances in our science that warrant an updating and revision of Sand and Sandstone. The main framework of the first edition has been retained so that the reader can begin with the mineralogy and textural properties of sands and sandstones, progress through their organization and classification and their study as a body of rock, to consideration of their origin-prove nance, transportation, deposition, and lithification-and finally to their place in the stratigraphic column and the basin. The last decade has seen the rise of facies analysis based on a closer look at the stratigraphic record and the recognition of characteristic bed ding sequences that are the signatures of some geologic process-such as a prograding shallow-water delta or the migration of a point bar on an alluvial floodplain. The environment of sand deposition is more closely determined by its place in such depositional systems than by criteria based on textural characteristics-the "fingerprint" approach. Our revi sion reflects this change in thinking. As in the geological sciences as a whole, the concept of plate tectonics has required a rethinking of our older ideas about the origin and accumu lation of sediments-especially the nature of the sedimentary basins.

The present volume is an intellectual agglomeration covering a variety of topics in diagenesis. It starts with the diagenesis of marine pore waters and soft-sediment deformations, followed by two chapters on sandstones - one on climatic influence in terrestrial sandstone diagenesis and the other on the deep-sea volcaniclastic sandstones. Diagenesis of carbonates is treated next, with one chapter on compactional diagenesis and another devoted to a case study (Aymestry Limestone Beds, UK). There are two chapters on the origin and migration of oil: (a) maturation of organic matter, and (b) relation of diagenesis to mineralization and hydrocarbon reservoir development, followed by a chapter on sedimentary ore genesis - banded iron-formation. In conclusion there are two chapters on paleosols. This book will be of interest to geologists, geochemists and petroleum engineers.