Philip a. Allen

This cutting-edge summary combines ideas from several sub-disciplines including geology, geomorphology, oceanography and geochemistry to provide an integrated view of Earth surface dynamics in terms of sediment generation, transport and deposition. Introducing a global view of fundamental concepts underpinning source-to-sink studies, it provides an analysis of the component segments which make up sediment routing systems. The functioning of sediment routing systems is illustrated through calculations of denudation and sedimentation as well as the response to external drivers; with the final sections focusing on the stratigraphic record of sediment routing systems. Containing quantitative solutions to a wide range of problems in Earth surface dynamics, it is suitable for graduate students as well as academic and professional researchers; and will enable an understanding of sediment routing systems.

Science is a temple built with human hands. It is not an apparatus that relentlessly cranks out answers from ice-cold observations swallowed like mouthfuls of krill into a whale. There is no linear arrow of scientific progress. The collection of ancient mysteries and modern controversies from the fields of Earth and environmental science in 'Earth Dramas' illustrate how the scientific enterprise is affected by a range of social, cultural and psychological factors. The undergrowth of science is a shady place where different interpretations are fermented and hide from the light of day. Scientists become actors in a drama with a storyline they did not themselves compose. The drama is not some inevitable part of a natural order, but is the creation of human thinking and interaction. Despite this, science has been fantastically successful, and the use of world-pictures does not strongly undermine the objectivity of a result that has been fought hard for, weighed, tested and replicated, and passed into the hallowed ground of acceptance. The 12 main chapters of 'Earth Dramas' give a flavour of some of the dramas that have arisen in the past and continue to strongly influence current controversies about the Earth and its environment. Understanding these dramas is essential for the effective translation of scientific discovery to society, so that we avoid a 'dark sarcasm in the classroom'. After an introductory chapter that takes a general view of the way in which world-pictures colour the scientific enterprise, the following 11 chapters give various examples of how scientific debate proceeds or has proceeded. Some of these examples are long disputes that eventually converge onto a broadly held consensus, while others are contemporary areas of often cantankerous disagreement. In several examples, the roles of external agencies are illuminated, whether they are multinational corporations, the media or the demands of society at large. Topics covered are continental drift, the phoney war between science and religion over evolution, the Gaia hypothesis of a self-regulating planet, the recognition of an Age of Man (the 'Anthropocene'), the controversy about global glaciation in the past known as 'Snowball Earth', the age of the Earth, mass extinctions and the demise of the dinosaurs, stories of great floods, including Noah's Flood, the deep circulation of the Earth, the subterranean architecture of the sedimentary rocks beneath our feet and the carbon crisis that threatens global climate change. The book concludes with some thoughts as to why scientific findings are commonly greeted with mistrust and cynicism by society, and proposes that science needs to be humanized rather than 'imposed'. The book is written in a literary style, with historical anecdotes, portraits of the main players, brief philosophical reflections, story-telling and even poetry. It is thought provoking, educational, creatively written and entertaining.

Basin Analysis is an advanced undergraduate and postgraduate text aimed at understanding sedimentary basins as geodynamic entities. The rationale of the book is that knowledge of the basic principles of the thermo-mechanical behaviour of the lithosphere, the dynamics of the mantle, and the functioning of sediment routing systems provides a sound background for studying sedimentary basins, and is a pre-requisite for the exploitation of resources contained in their sedimentary rocks. The third edition incorporates new developments in the burgeoning field of basin analysis while retaining the successful structure and overall philosophy of the first two editions. The text is divided into 4 parts that establish the geodynamical environment for sedimentary basins and the physical state of the lithosphere, followed by a coverage of the mechanics of basin formation, an integrated analysis of the controls on the basin-fill and its burial and thermal history, and concludes with an application of basin analysis principles in petroleum play assessment, including a discussion of unconventional hydrocarbon plays. The text is richly supplemented by Appendices providing mathematical derivations of a wide range of processes affecting the formation of basins and their sedimentary fills. Many of these Appendices include practical exercises that give the reader hands-on experience of quantitative solutions to important basin analysis processes. Now in full colour and a larger format, this third edition is a comprehensive update and expansion of the previous editions, and represents a rigorous yet accessible guide to problem solving in this most integrative of geoscientific disciplines. Additional resources for this book can be found at: www.wiley.com/go/allen/basinanalysis.

Basin Analysis is an advanced undergraduate and postgraduate text aimed at understanding sedimentary basins as geodynamic entities. The rationale of the book is that knowledge of the basic principles of the thermo-mechanical behaviour of the lithosphere, the dynamics of the mantle, and the functioning of sediment routing systems provides a sound background for studying sedimentary basins, and is a pre-requisite for the exploitation of resources contained in their sedimentary rocks. The third edition incorporates new developments in the burgeoning field of basin analysis while retaining the successful structure and overall philosophy of the first two editions. The text is divided into 4 parts that establish the geodynamical environment for sedimentary basins and the physical state of the lithosphere, followed by a coverage of the mechanics of basin formation, an integrated analysis of the controls on the basin-fill and its burial and thermal history, and concludes with an application of basin analysis principles in petroleum play assessment, including a discussion of unconventional hydrocarbon plays. The text is richly supplemented by Appendices providing mathematical derivations of a wide range of processes affecting the formation of basins and their sedimentary fills. Many of these Appendices include practical exercises that give the reader hands-on experience of quantitative solutions to important basin analysis processes. Now in full colour and a larger format, this third edition is a comprehensive update and expansion of the previous editions, and represents a rigorous yet accessible guide to problem solving in this most integrative of geoscientific disciplines. Additional resources for this book can be found at: www.wiley.com/go/allen/basinanalysis.

Earth Surface Processes is an introductory text for those studying the dynamics of fluid and sediment transport in the environments, in the context of both present-day patterns as well as the environmental changes decipherable in the geological record. The book is divided into two parts. The first deals with the global-scale aspects of the earth's surface system. The second part focuses on the physical underpinnings for fluid and sediment transport in a number of settings, found at the earth's surface and in its oceans. Earth Surface Processes fits into the literature of the broad holistic discipline of 'Earth System Science.' The author illustrates the physical principles of earth's surface processes and explains the relevant theories by quantitative practical exercises. The pioneering textbook on the "new sedimentology" One of the first textbooks to adopt the Earth Systems approach to geology, developed at Penn State and Stanford Should reinvigorate more traditional courses in physical sedimentology and dynamical sedimentology Successfully marries the innovative holistic approach to Earth Systems with the traditional reductionist approach to sedimentary processes Explains both the global-scale Earth Surface System and the fluid dynamics and sedimentary transport processes that underlie this Quantitative approach is reinforced with worked examples and solutions Richly illustrated with original diagrams and a colour plate section