Einsele G. Sedimentary Basins Evolution, Facies, and Sediment Budget

Springer-Verlag, 1992, p. 628This book addresses both qualitative and quantitative aspects of basin analysis, including topics such as various flux rates, diagenesis, and fluid flow, in the context of plate tectonics and sedimentary geology. Tectonic subsidence and uplift are prerequisites for basin formation and terrigenous sediment supply, but sedimentary processes in a basin are governed by other factors, including water circulation and recycling of nutrients, sediment transport, deposition, and redistribution. The sedimentary facies of a basin are largely controlled by the interrelationship between subsidence, sedimentation rate, and relative sea level change. Basinal sediment budgets are a topic which has been rarely treated in textbooks. Large-scale processes, facies associations, and especially sedimentary sequences are stressed in the book, rather than small-scale sedimentary structures, texture, petrographic characteristics, or detailed descriptions of biogenic sediment components and trace fossils. The latter phenomena are sufficiently described in a number of modern books. Finally, brief sections address the application of basic knowledge to exploration for hydrocarbons, coal, minerals, and deep groundwater.
This book is written for advanced students and professionals who require a comparatively straightforward, elementary treatment of sedimentary basin processes and evolution. The reader should already be familiar with general geology and geologic principles and have some basic knowledge of sedimentology. Quantitative aspects are described by simple equations and idealized examples. The book emphasizes broad, large-scale features of sedimentary basins and their facies associations. It provides only a limited number of case studies, which are chosen mostly from Europe and North America, but from other continents as well.
Many experts will probably find that their specific topics are not treated thoroughly enough and that important datails have been omitted. Others may criticize that not all publications relevant to their fields are cited in the reference list. I would be grateful if these colleagues were to inform me when important points are missing or not treated properly.Basin Classification and Depositional EnvironmentsTectonic Basin Classification
Pre-, Syn-, and Post-Depositional Basins
Basin Morphology and Depositional Environments
Continental Sediments
Glacial Deposits of Lowlands and Shallow Seas
Fluvial Sediments, Alluvial Fans, and Fan Deltas
Eolian Sediments
Volcaniclastic Sediments (Tephra Deposits)
Lake Sediments
Coastal and Shallow Sea Sediments (Including Carbonates)
Beach and Shoreface Sediments
Sediments of Tidal Flats and Barrier-Island Complexes
Sediments of Shallow Seas (Including Carbonates)
Sediments of Marine Delta Complexes
Sediments of Adjacent Seas and EstuariesWater Circulation and Sediments
Sedimentary History of Some Modern Adjacent Seas
Oceanic Sediments
General Aspects
Water Circulation in the Oceans
Hemipelagic and Pelagic Deep-sea Sediments
Gravity Mass Flow Deposits and Turbidites
Erosion and Reworking of Deep-sea Sediments
Special Depositional Environments and Sediments
Green Marine Clays
Oolitic Ironstones
Red Beds
Marine Evaporites
Nonactualistic (Precambrian) Depositional Environments
Depositional Rhythms and Cyclic Sequences
General Aspects
Special Features and Examples of Rhythmic Bedding
Depositional Cycles in Lakes. Fluvial and Deltaic Systems
Sea Level Changes and Sequence Stratigraphy
Long-Term Cyclic Phenomena in Earth's History
Superposition of Cycles of Various Orders and Differing Origin
Subsidence
General Mechanisms Controlling Subsidence
Methods to Determine Subsidence of Sedimentary Basins
Modeling of Rift Basins and Observed Subsidence Curves
Passive Continental Margins
Subsidence of Basins Related to Tectonic Loading. Subduction and Strike-Slip Motion
Denudation: Solute Transport and Flux Rates of Terrigenous Material
Weathering and Soils
Chemical and Mechanical Denudation Rates from River Loads
Mineralogical Composition of Suspended River Loads
Long-Term Denudation Rates from the Sediment Budget of Various Basins
Tectonic Uplift, Denudation and Geomorphology
Sedimentation Rates and Organic Matter in Various Depositional Environments
General Aspects
Average Sedimentation Rates
Production and Preservation of Organic Matter
The Interplay Between Sediment Supply, Subsidence and Basin FillSimple Relationships Between Source Area on Land and Basin Fill
Different Modes of Basin Filling
Vertical and Lateral Facies Associations (Overview)
Basin Evolution and Sediments
Rift Basins
Continental Margin and Slope Basins
Intracratonic Basins Associated with Mega-Rifting
Continental or Intracratonic Sag Basins
Deep-see Trenches, Forearc and Backarc Basins
Remnant and Foreland Basins
Pannonian-Type Basins
Pull-Apart Basins
Basin-Type Transitions (Polyhistory Basins)
Mechanical and Chemical Diagenesis
General Aspects of Mechanical and Chemical Diagenesis
Compaction. Compaction Flow and Other Flow Mechanisms
Principles of Chemical Diagenesis
Thermal History of Sedimentary Basins and the Onset of Metamorphism
Special Methods and Processes in Diagenesis
Hydrocarbons and Coal
Source Rocks, Kerogen Types, and Hydrocarbon Potential
Generation of Hydrocarbons
Examples of Hydrocarbon Habitats
Evolution of Coal