Analytical Sedimentology

Useful as both a self-instructional manual and a guide to the analysis of sediments in both the field and the laboratory, Analytical Sedimentology provides cookbook recipes for common analytical procedures dealing with sediments. It also serves as an introduction to the principles and reference sources for procedures that generally would be performed by specialist consultants or commercial laboratories. Using a minimum of mathematics and virtually no theory, the book introduces practitioners to easy, inexpensive options for sample collection and preparation, data acquisition, analytic protocols, result interpretation and verification techniques. This step-by-step guide considers the advantages and limitations of different procedures, discusses safety and troubleshooting, and explains the importance of such support skills as mapping, photography, and report writing. Designed as a supplemental text for students or as a reference manual for practitioners, Analytical Sedimentology will be an essential guide for students and professionals in the geosciences and environmental sciences. Readers will find Analytical Sedimentology a handy and regularly consulted reference, with a scope that ranges from fieldwork through laboratory analytical procedures to downhole geological techniques. Its practical orientation will make it particularly useful to geochemical laboratories, groups involved in environmental studies, and students. The companion volume by the same authors, Practical Sedimentology, Second Edition, gives an introduction and concise review of principles and interpretations related to sedimentary process, environments, and deposits, with an emphasis on applications over theory.