Mud and Mudstones Introduction and Overview [Paperback]

Clear writing and analysis of the broad spectrum of processes that produce shale are coupled with well-captioned 150 illustrations, 40 tables, boxed technical details, glossary and appendices.

Recounts the step-by-step evolution and stages of shal, enabling readers to master the basics and to dig yet deeper into their origin, practical implications and relationship to earth history.

Background information appears in appendices (Clay Mineralogy, Isotopes, Petrology, etc.); technicial details in high-lighted boxes, and definitions of 300+ terms in the Glossary.

Mud and mudstone, the most abundant of all sediments and sedimentary rocks, are relevant to many different human activities and disciplines and thus have a widely scattered literature. Our book provides the first elementary overview of mud and mudstone written for a broad spectrum of professionals, teachers and students in geology, petroleum geology and engineering, urban planning and development, paleontology and paleoecology, and architecture and archaeology. Mud and mudstone provide the foundations to master all their aspects and prepares you to dig deeply into the many fascinating questions of their origin, relationships to earth history and practical uses. Key topics include the production of mud, its transport, the important role of bottom oxygen, sites of deposition, burial, provenance, mudstones in basins and an overview of practical uses followed by an appendix and extended glossary.

From the reviews:

The book covers just about every aspect successfully. The text is easy reading, even for a non-specialist, and the authors provide numerous examples  sol/