In this timely volume, geoscientists from both industry and academia present a contemporary view of salt at a global scale. The studies examine the influence of salt on synkinematic sedimentation, its role in basin evolution and tectonics, and ultimately in hydrocarbon prospectivity. Recent improvements in seismic reflection, acquisition and processing techniques have led to significant advances in the understanding of salt and sediment interactions, both along the flanks of vertical or overturned salt margins, and in subsalt plays such as offshore Brazil. The book is broadly separated into five major themes covering a variety of geographical and process-linked topics. These are: halokinetic sequence stratigraphy, salt in passive margin settings, Central European salt basins, deformation within and adjacent to salt, and salt in contractional settings and salt glaciers.
Salt tectonics is the study of how and why salt structures evolve and the three-dimensional forms that result. A fascinating branch of geology in itself, salt tectonics is also vitally important to the petroleum industry. Covering the entire scale from the microscopic to the continental, this textbook is an unrivalled consolidation of all topics related to salt tectonics: evaporite deposition and flow, salt structures, salt systems, and practical applications. Coverage of the principles of salt tectonics is supported by more than 600 color illustrations, including 200 seismic images captured by state-of-the-art geophysical techniques and tectonic models from the Applied Geodynamics Laboratory at the University of Texas, Austin. These combine to provide a cohesive and wide-ranging insight into this extremely visual subject. This is the definitive practical handbook for professional geologists and geophysicists in the petroleum industry, an invaluable textbook for graduate students, and a reference textbook for researchers in various geoscience fields.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the leading international body for assessing the science related to climate change. It provides policymakers with regular assessments of the scientific basis of human-induced climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation. This IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate is the most comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the observed and projected changes to the ocean and cryosphere and their associated impacts and risks, with a focus on resilience, risk management response options, and adaptation measures, considering both their potential and limitations. It brings together knowledge on physical and biogeochemical changes, the interplay with ecosystem changes, and the implications for human communities. It serves policymakers, decision makers, stakeholders, and all interested parties with unbiased, up-to-date, policy-relevant information. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Submarine slopes provide the critical link between shallow-water and deep-water sedimentary environments. They accumulate a sensitive record of sediment supply, accommodation creation/destruction, and tectonic processes during basin filling. There is a complex stratigraphic response to the interplay between parameters that control the evolution of submarine slope systems, e.g. slope gradient, topographic complexity, sediment flux and calibre, base-level change, tectonic setting, and post-depositional sediment remobilization processes. The increased understanding of submarine slope systems has been driven partly by the discovery of large hydrocarbon fields in morphologically complex slope settings, such as the Gulf of Mexico and offshore West Africa, and has led to detailed case studies and improved generic models for their evolution. This volume brings together research papers from modern, outcrop and subsurface settings to highlight these recent advances in understanding of the stratigraphic evolution of submarine slope systems.
This reference on the geology and geophysics of continental margins contains a total of 15 papers developed from a session of the Fifth International Congress of the Brazilian Geophysical Society held in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1997, as well as a number of other contributions. Subjects include the roots of the southeastern continental margin of Brazil, the mosaic of Terranes in central Europe, the evolution of the Angolan passive margin; geological and geophysical interpretation of the San Julian Basin offshore Argentina; and the tectonic evolution of the equatorial South Atlantic. Of likely interest to academic geoscientists working in basin analysis and those engaged in petroleum exploration. Member price, $52.50. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.
Summaries of the major features of the geology of North America and the adjacent oceanic regions are presented in 20 chapters. Topics covered include concise reviews of current thinking about Precambrian basement, Phanerozoic orogens, cratonic basins, passive-margin geology of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast regions, marine and terrestrial geology of the Caribbean region and economic geology.
U.S. Arctic waters north of the Bering Strait and west of the Canadian border encompass a vast area that is usually ice covered for much of the year, but is increasingly experiencing longer periods and larger areas of open water due to climate change. Sparsely inhabited with a wide variety of ecosystems found nowhere else, this region is vulnerable to damage from human activities. As oil and gas, shipping, and tourism activities increase, the possibilities of an oil spill also increase. How can we best prepare to respond to such an event in this challenging environment? Responding to Oil Spills in the U.S. Arctic Marine Environment reviews the current state of the science regarding oil spill response and environmental assessment in the Arctic region north of the Bering Strait, with emphasis on the potential impacts in U.S. waters. This report describes the unique ecosystems and environment of the Arctic and makes recommendations to provide an effective response effort in these challenging conditions. According to Responding to Oil Spills in the U.S. Arctic Marine Environment, a full range of proven oil spill response technologies is needed in order to minimize the impacts on people and sensitive ecosystems. This report identifies key oil spill research priorities, critical data and monitoring needs, mitigation strategies, and important operational and logistical issues. The Arctic acts as an integrating, regulating, and mediating component of the physical, atmospheric and cryospheric systems that govern life on Earth. Not only does the Arctic serve as regulator of many of the Earth's large-scale systems and processes, but it is also an area where choices made have substantial impact on life and choices everywhere on planet Earth. This report's recommendations will assist environmentalists, industry, state and local policymakers, and anyone interested in the future of this special region to preserve and protect it from damaging oil spills.
The monograph offers a comprehensive discussion of the role of evaporites in hydrocarbon generation and trapping, and new information on low temperature and high temperature ores. It also provides a wealth of information on exploitable salts, in a comprehensive volume has been assembled and organized to provide quick access to relevant information on all matters related to evaporites and associated brines. In addition, there are summaries of evaporite karst hazards, exploitative methods and problems that can arise in dealing with evaporites in conventional and solution mining. This second edition has been revised and extended, with three new chapters focusing on ore minerals in different temperature settings and a chapter on meta-evaporites. Written by a field specialist in research and exploration, the book presents a comprehensive overview of the realms of low- and high-temperature evaporite evolution. It is aimed at earth science professionals, sedimentologists, oil and gas explorers, mining geologists as well as environmental geologists.
Over the past 20 years there has been a major growth in efforts to quantify the geometry and dimensions of sediment bodies from analogues to provide quantitative input to geological models. The aim of this volume is to examine the current state of the art, from both an industry and an academic perspective. Contributions discuss the challenges of extracting relevant data from different types of sedimentary analogue (outcrop, process models, seismic) and the application and significance of such information for improving predictions from subsurface static and dynamic models. Special attention is given to modelling reservoir properties and gridding issues for predicting subsurface fluid flow. As such, the volume is expected to be of interest to both the geoscience community concerned with the fundamentals of sedimentary architecture as well as geological modellers and engineers interested in how these characteristics are modelled and influence subsurface predictions.
