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Evaporites, petroleum and mineral resources
BOOK REVIEWS
161
Generally, conference proceedings volumes are at best uneven in quality and suffer from poor or no review. This volume is a notable exception. Its exceptional quality is a tribute to the editorship and organization of Paul Lyons and Boris Alpern. The editors solicited papers by specialists in different fields who in turn responded by preparing papers which collectively represent what I consider the best collection on current coal and peat research. The volume is very well illustrated, free of any major errors and the papers were clearly subject of strong reviews. Some of the papers could have been improved considerably by use of color plates, but the absence of color is understandable in light of increase of costs. In summary Peat and Coal: Origin, Facies, and Depositional Models with its sister volume Coal:
Classification, Coalification, Mineralogy, TraceElement Chemistry, and Oil and Gas Potential (Lyons and Alpern, 1989) are an absolute must for any student whose research involves analyses and interpretation of organic matter in rocks. At a price of $202,75, Peat and Coal: Origin, Facies and Depositional Models represents a substantial investment, but for the professional researcher it is a must buy. The volume is too detailed to be appropriate for undergraduate students, but the volume is essential reading for graduate students pursuing organic matter related research. R.M. BUSTIN (Vancouver, B.C., Canada)
Evaporites, Petroleum and Mineral Resources. J.L. Melvin (Editor). Developments in Sedimentology, 50, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1991, 556 pp., US $120.-/Dfl. 120.-, ISBN 0-444-88680-X. I enjoyed reading this excellent, well written, clear and concise text with its emphasis on the depositional and diagenetic setting of evaporites. The reader with a greater interest in petroleum and evaporites should not be put off by the fact that only one chapter deals with the petroleum potential of evaporites in any detail, since the extensive descriptive writing and well illustrated examples described throughout the book provide a fine introduction to evaporites and their occur-
rence and does provide a lead into their relationship with hydrocarbons. Nevertheless the title of the book is misleading, probably representing an intention of the editor which only partially came to fruition. The book consists of six chapters (really papers) with numerous examples of recent and ancient evaporites. The book begins with a concise and well illustrated paper by Robertson Handford. This deals with marginal marine halite and the controls on its precipitation, in situ growth and transport, crystallography, its early diagenesis, and a variety of ancient and modern settings for this mineral. Settings discussed include the Danakil depression of Afar, Lake MacLeod of Australia, and the Permian Basin of Texas. This paper is followed by one by John Warren describing sulphate-dominated sabkhas, salinas, mudflats and salterns, illustrated with a number of both recent and ancient examples ranging from the Holocene of the Arabian Gulf, the Corong of Australia, to the Permian of West Texas, to the Ferry Lake Anhydrite of East Texas. Next is a paper by Smoot and Lowenstein on the depositional setting of non-marine evaporites. There are extensive descriptions of sediments from lacustrian, to saline pans, to mudflats, to delta, to alluvial fans, to ephemeral and perennial stream settings, aeolian sediments and springs, etc., etc. The authors consider both recent and ancient settings. The latter include the Green River Formation of the western USA, the Tajo Basin of Spain, the Newark Basin of the USA, the Fundy Basin of Canada, and the Rotliegendes and Zechstein of the North Sea. Next is a paper which probably lead to the "petroleum" in the title of the book. This paper on petroleum and evaporites by Hite and Anders deals with a number of examples of the occurrence of organic matter in marine, and lacustrian settings. It considers evaporites as source rocks, and reservoirs. It discusses evaporitic oils, the role of evaporites in preserving organic matter and the suppression of the reflectance of vitrinite. There are numerous illustrations of gas chromatograms. Next is a paper by Kyle and Posey which deals with the development of cap rocks associated
1(12
with salt domes. Examples cited include cap rocks of the Gulf of Mexico, Iran and North Africa. Topics covered include fluid infiltration, sediment loading, timing and causes of diapirism and its relationship to cap rock development, etc. The paper considers sulphur deposits and other mineral deposits associated with cap rocks and diapirism. It does not enter into any extensive discussion into the relationship of cap rocks to petroleum entrapment. The final p a p e r of the text is on the role of evaporites in their association with mineral resources. This text by Kyle emphasizes metallic ores but also considers iodine, bromine, and nitrogen. It covers topics including the Superior-
BOOK REVIEWS
type Iron formations, and evaporites and igneous hosted ore deposits. 1 note that the book missed a chapter on deep-water evaporites but felt the quality of the rest of the papers made up for this omission, l liked the book and think it will be of help to the general geological reader. It should be a good reference text for the graduate student and professional specialist who is interested in evaporites and who needs to track down the latest news on the evaporite research. I am pleased to have the text on my shelves and recommend this book to you if you want to know more about this topic. CHRISTOPHER
K E N D A L L (Columbia, S.C., USA)
161
Generally, conference proceedings volumes are at best uneven in quality and suffer from poor or no review. This volume is a notable exception. Its exceptional quality is a tribute to the editorship and organization of Paul Lyons and Boris Alpern. The editors solicited papers by specialists in different fields who in turn responded by preparing papers which collectively represent what I consider the best collection on current coal and peat research. The volume is very well illustrated, free of any major errors and the papers were clearly subject of strong reviews. Some of the papers could have been improved considerably by use of color plates, but the absence of color is understandable in light of increase of costs. In summary Peat and Coal: Origin, Facies, and Depositional Models with its sister volume Coal:
Classification, Coalification, Mineralogy, TraceElement Chemistry, and Oil and Gas Potential (Lyons and Alpern, 1989) are an absolute must for any student whose research involves analyses and interpretation of organic matter in rocks. At a price of $202,75, Peat and Coal: Origin, Facies and Depositional Models represents a substantial investment, but for the professional researcher it is a must buy. The volume is too detailed to be appropriate for undergraduate students, but the volume is essential reading for graduate students pursuing organic matter related research. R.M. BUSTIN (Vancouver, B.C., Canada)
Evaporites, Petroleum and Mineral Resources. J.L. Melvin (Editor). Developments in Sedimentology, 50, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1991, 556 pp., US $120.-/Dfl. 120.-, ISBN 0-444-88680-X. I enjoyed reading this excellent, well written, clear and concise text with its emphasis on the depositional and diagenetic setting of evaporites. The reader with a greater interest in petroleum and evaporites should not be put off by the fact that only one chapter deals with the petroleum potential of evaporites in any detail, since the extensive descriptive writing and well illustrated examples described throughout the book provide a fine introduction to evaporites and their occur-
rence and does provide a lead into their relationship with hydrocarbons. Nevertheless the title of the book is misleading, probably representing an intention of the editor which only partially came to fruition. The book consists of six chapters (really papers) with numerous examples of recent and ancient evaporites. The book begins with a concise and well illustrated paper by Robertson Handford. This deals with marginal marine halite and the controls on its precipitation, in situ growth and transport, crystallography, its early diagenesis, and a variety of ancient and modern settings for this mineral. Settings discussed include the Danakil depression of Afar, Lake MacLeod of Australia, and the Permian Basin of Texas. This paper is followed by one by John Warren describing sulphate-dominated sabkhas, salinas, mudflats and salterns, illustrated with a number of both recent and ancient examples ranging from the Holocene of the Arabian Gulf, the Corong of Australia, to the Permian of West Texas, to the Ferry Lake Anhydrite of East Texas. Next is a paper by Smoot and Lowenstein on the depositional setting of non-marine evaporites. There are extensive descriptions of sediments from lacustrian, to saline pans, to mudflats, to delta, to alluvial fans, to ephemeral and perennial stream settings, aeolian sediments and springs, etc., etc. The authors consider both recent and ancient settings. The latter include the Green River Formation of the western USA, the Tajo Basin of Spain, the Newark Basin of the USA, the Fundy Basin of Canada, and the Rotliegendes and Zechstein of the North Sea. Next is a paper which probably lead to the "petroleum" in the title of the book. This paper on petroleum and evaporites by Hite and Anders deals with a number of examples of the occurrence of organic matter in marine, and lacustrian settings. It considers evaporites as source rocks, and reservoirs. It discusses evaporitic oils, the role of evaporites in preserving organic matter and the suppression of the reflectance of vitrinite. There are numerous illustrations of gas chromatograms. Next is a paper by Kyle and Posey which deals with the development of cap rocks associated
1(12
with salt domes. Examples cited include cap rocks of the Gulf of Mexico, Iran and North Africa. Topics covered include fluid infiltration, sediment loading, timing and causes of diapirism and its relationship to cap rock development, etc. The paper considers sulphur deposits and other mineral deposits associated with cap rocks and diapirism. It does not enter into any extensive discussion into the relationship of cap rocks to petroleum entrapment. The final p a p e r of the text is on the role of evaporites in their association with mineral resources. This text by Kyle emphasizes metallic ores but also considers iodine, bromine, and nitrogen. It covers topics including the Superior-
BOOK REVIEWS
type Iron formations, and evaporites and igneous hosted ore deposits. 1 note that the book missed a chapter on deep-water evaporites but felt the quality of the rest of the papers made up for this omission, l liked the book and think it will be of help to the general geological reader. It should be a good reference text for the graduate student and professional specialist who is interested in evaporites and who needs to track down the latest news on the evaporite research. I am pleased to have the text on my shelves and recommend this book to you if you want to know more about this topic. CHRISTOPHER
K E N D A L L (Columbia, S.C., USA)