Diagenesis: A Quantitative Perspective

This advanced text treats the transformation of sediment into rock, a fundamental process which directly determines the storage and transmissibility properties of reservoirs and seals in hydrocarbon and groundwater systems and in strata-bound mineralization. Attention is paid to diagenetic data from classical petrography and geochemistry and the statistical techniques required to establish its significance and assist in its interpretation. Historically under-used methodologies such as mass balance calculations and the study of modern aquifer systems for understanding rock properties below ancient unconformities are also emphasised. New ground is broken by discussing physico-chemical processes and controls against a background of geological and hydrological evolution of sedimentary basins. In particular, this reconciles the importance of chemical kinetics in shallow, low temperature environments with that of equilibrium thermodynamics in deep, high temperature environments for the evolution of diagenetic products. It also allows detailed treatment of the economically important topic of the loss of porosity with depth. Throughout, the emphasis is on the quantitative description and evaluation of the time-variant parameters controlling heat, fluid and mass transport in porous rock, and upon their integration using mathematics. A full mathematical background is provided and all the basic equations are rigorously derived. Audience: This book will prove essential reading for postgraduate academics and industrial professionals whose work involves predicting rock properties for basin evaluation, and is expected to stimulate new diagenetic research.