Sedimentary Rocks in the Field: A Colour Guide is a much needed addition to the literature of sedimentology. It offers much more than its title reveals. Eleven of the fifteen chapters define the main types of sedimentary rock and illustrate them in all their beauty and variety with numerous color photographs. The remaining chapters - also lavishly illustrated - provide introductions to field techniques, principal characteristics of sedimentary rocks, and interpretations of depositional environments, all of which enrich the book tremendously. The provision of stratigraphic time scales, mapping symbols, grain-size comparator chart and sediment description checklist, together with Wulff stereonet and Lambert equal-area projection templates, further adds to its usefulness in and out of the field.

Concepts and Models
FLINT, A. G. & NUMMEDAL, D. The falling stage systems tract: recognition and importance in sequence stratigraphic analysis
POSAMENTIER, H. W. & MORRIS, W. R. Aspects of the stratal architecture of forced regressive deposits
Palaeozoic-Mesozoic
INESON, J. R. & SURLYK, F. Carbonate megabreccias in a sequence stratigraphic context: evidence from the Cambrian of North Greenland
HAMBERG, L. & NIELSEN, L. H. Shingled, sharp-based sandstones: depositional response to stepwise forced regression in a shallow basin, Upper Triassic Gassum Formation, Denmark
OLSEN, T. R. & STEEL, R. The significance of the Etive Formation in the development of the Brent system: a review of the likelihood of forced regression during progradation

Pye, К. Introduction: the nature and significance of aeolian sedimentary systems
Aeolian mechanics and dune morphodynamics
McEwan, I. K. & Willetts, В. B. Sand transport by wind: a review of the current conceptual model
Hardisty, J., Rouse, H. L. & Hart, S. Gain function analysis of sand transport in a turbulent air flow
Burkinshaw, J. R., Illenberger, W. K. & Rust, I. C. Wind-speed profiles over a reversing transverse dune
Wiggs, G. F. S. Desert dune dynamics and the evaluation of shear velocity: an integrated approach
Desert dunefields

Modern Fluvial-Deltaic Deposits in Daihai Lake Basin, Northern China
Shunli Li, Chengpeng Tan, Xin Shan, Xinghe Yu, and Xuefa Shi

Core Investigation of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program from the Cretaceous Songliao Basin (SK-1/SK-2/ SK-3), NE China
Yuan Gao, Youfeng Gao, and Daniel E.

Ibarra Cambrian Tempestites in the Xiaweidian Area, Western Beijing City
Bo Liu, Kaibo Shi, Hangyu Liu, Chun Wu, and Qing He

Lower Cretaceous Lacustrine Sedimentary Sequences of a Small Intracontinental Rift Basin in Luanping, China
Ping Luo, Chuanmin Zhou, Xingyang Zhang, Zhijie Zhang, Xuanjie Zhang, and Xiufen Zhai Songliao

Some 75% of the rocks at the Earth’s surface are sedimentary in origin, and these include the familiar sandstones, limestones and shales, and the less common but equally well-known salt deposits, ironstones, coal and chert. Sedimentary rocks of the geological record were deposited in the whole range of natural environments that exist today. The study of these modern environments and their sediments and processes contributes much to the understanding of their ancient equivalents. There are some sedimentary rock types; however, for which there are no known modern analogues, or their inferred depositional environments are only poorly represented at the present time.

During the past two to three decades, the scanning electron microscope (SEM) has become established as an essential tool in the study of sedimentary rocks, sediments, and soils. It provides a useful complement to the traditional role of the petrographic microscope, which became popular after the pioneering work of Henry Clifton Sorby in the second half of the nineteenth century (Sorby, 1877a,b, 1878).

Our modern society has a constant need for raw materials and energy. An on-going effort in exploration and research is necessary, therefore, to discover and develop them. And, in this effort, it is better to appeal to geology than to rely on chance.

Clays are one of the most important groups of minerals that destroy permeability in sandstones, but they also react with drilling and completion fluids and induce fine-particle migrationduring hydrocarbon production. They are a very complex family of minerals that commonly are mutually intergrown and contain a wide range of solid solutions and form by a wide range of processes. They form under a wide diversity of pressure and temperature conditions, as well as rock and fluid compositional conditions.

ROTHWELL, R. G. & RACK, F. R. New techniques in sediment core analysis: an introduction

HASCHKE, M. The Eagle III BKA system, a novel sediment core X-ray fluorescence analyser with very high spatial resolution
RICHTER, T. O., VAN DER GAAST, S., KOSTER, R., VAARS, A., GIELES, R., DE STIGTER, H. C., DE HAAS, H. & VAN WEERING, T. C. E. The Avaatech XRF Core Scanner: technical description and applications to NE Atlantic sediments
CROUDACE, I. W., RINDBY, A. & ROTHWELL, R. G. ITRAX: description and evaluation of a new multi-function X-ray core scanner
THOMSON, J., CROUDACE, I. W. & ROTHWELL, R. G. A geochemical application of the ITRAX scanner to a sediment core containing eastern Mediterranean sapropel units

In recognition of the increasing interest in the subject of deformation of sediments and sedimentary rocks shown by Earth scientists in recent years, a major international conference with this theme was held at University College London in April 1985. This volume contains the texts of those contributions to the Conference that were submitted for publication.