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Sedimentary Basins of Continental Margins and Cratons (Developments in Geotectonics, 12)
Sedimentary Geology, 24 ( 1 9 7 9 ) 1 8 3 - - 1 9 6
183
© Elsevier Scientific P u b l i s h i n g C o m p a n y , A m s t e r d a m - - P r i n t e d in T h e N e t h e r l a n d s
Book Reviews
Sedimentary Basins o f Continental Margins and Cratons (Developments in Geotectonics, 12). M.H.P. Bott (Editor). Elsevier, Amsterdam 1977, 314 pp., Dfl 90.00 or U.S.$ 36.75. This b o o k , which is issued as No. 12 in the series Developments in Geotectonics was first published as a complete part of Tectonophysics in 1976. The papers in it were presented at a symposium entitled 'Sedimentary Basins of the Continental Margin and Craton' held at Durham, England in April 1976, under the auspices of the Inter-Union Commission on Geodynamics and was organized b y working groups 7 and 8 of the Commission. From personal reports, it would seem that the symposium was a success, and the scope and quality of the collected presentations, edited by Professor Bott, bear this out. The question of 'why', 'where' and 'how' sedimentary basins develop b o t h on the margin and within continental areas, and the distinction between what can be broadly termed epeirogenic and taphrogenic types is, as Professor Bott point o u t in his preface 'perhaps the major outstanding problem of tectonics within plates'. This collection of papers illustrates the diversity of the problem and is a valuable documentation of both the current lines of attack from a theoretical point of view, and some case histories. At the Durham Symposium there were three main sessions covering: Rheology and Mechanisms, Continental Margin Basins, and Craton Basins, and the papers within the b o o k have been organized to follow the same format. Five papers (Murrell, Watts and Ryan, Sleep, H a x b y et al. and Bott) are devoted to the question of Rheology and Mechanisms and these discuss various models based on gravity loading, thermal mechanisms and crustal stretching. In the Introduction, Bott reviews these mechanisms and expands the discussion to cover aspects not directly dealt with b y papers in the b o o k , b u t raised during the discussions at the symposium. By the very nature of the topic, papers within this category are heavily biased towards theoretical and mathematical considerations, although b o t h Watts and Ryan and H a x b y et al. develop their models on case histories from which good stratigraphic data are available. Seven papers are devoted to Continental Margin Basins (Kent, Burke, Sheridan, Whitten, Scrutton and Dingle, Cobbing, and Leeder) and of these, four deal with the sedimentary basins on tensionally rifted margins in the Atlantic Ocean -- probably a fair reflection of effort expended and knowledge gained on the subject in recent years. The papers in this section contain an acceptable mix of facts, probabilities and possibilities, although it is perhaps
184 a pity that a review paper was not included, Kent's coming closest. The final section, covering Cratonic Basins is well represented by nine papers (Sweeney, Burke, Steel, Kallasam, Nalivkin, Kravchenko et al., Rudkevich, Bazanov et al. and Drewry). Four of these deal with various aspects of cratonic basins in Russia which range in age from Precambrian to Cainozoic and these are valuable summaries for English language readers. Overall, papers in the book are of a high quality and there is a good selection, no doubt reflecting in large measure Professor Bott's organization of the original symposium and his editing. Inevitably, the question of continuity, and the reconciliation of the numerous hypotheses arises in a book of this nature. Professor Bott's Introduction does this to some extent, but the reader is in the end left on his own to pay hi~ m o n e y and make his choice. This may not be a bad t h i n g - after all the book is written for practising scientists who should be able to pick the bones out of such a collection, and formulate their own opinions. In this regard, the short paper by Kent is significant. His views on the timing of post-Hercynian taphrogenic and intercratonic downwarping along Atlantic type continental margins have been expressed before and pose profound problems for the 'classical' plate tectonist. Sombody soon will have to respond to this voice in the wilderness. The book is to be r e c o m m e n d e d - - b u t of course not to subscribers to
Tectonophysics! R.V. DINGLE (Rondebosch, Cape, S. Africa)
Principles of Sedimentology. G.M. Friedman and J.E. Sanders. Wiley, New York, N.Y., U.S.$ 21.95. This outstanding and unique book is the only one available that synthesizes the total broad field of sedimentology, from the surface to the subsurface and from the submicroscopic to litospheric plates. In this synthesis, material has been used not only from the fields of stratigraphy and sedimentology, but also from physics, chemistry, geophysics, geochemistry, organic geochemistry, oceanography, biology (physiology of skeletal secretion and microbiology), engineering, environmental geology, tectonics, paleoecology, petroleum geology, log analysis, economic geology, statistics, and mathematics. The book progresses from emphasis on individual particles in modern sediments, and in the rock record, to how particles form, accumulate, and are modified as a result of physical, chemical, and biological processes, both on the surface and in the subsurface. The problems and techniques of studying subsurface strata are repeatedly emphasized and related to exploration for oil, gas, water, and mineral deposits. Outstanding features that make this classical text unique are as follows: (1) Organization - - t h e format takes the readers down to fundamental pro-
183
© Elsevier Scientific P u b l i s h i n g C o m p a n y , A m s t e r d a m - - P r i n t e d in T h e N e t h e r l a n d s
Book Reviews
Sedimentary Basins o f Continental Margins and Cratons (Developments in Geotectonics, 12). M.H.P. Bott (Editor). Elsevier, Amsterdam 1977, 314 pp., Dfl 90.00 or U.S.$ 36.75. This b o o k , which is issued as No. 12 in the series Developments in Geotectonics was first published as a complete part of Tectonophysics in 1976. The papers in it were presented at a symposium entitled 'Sedimentary Basins of the Continental Margin and Craton' held at Durham, England in April 1976, under the auspices of the Inter-Union Commission on Geodynamics and was organized b y working groups 7 and 8 of the Commission. From personal reports, it would seem that the symposium was a success, and the scope and quality of the collected presentations, edited by Professor Bott, bear this out. The question of 'why', 'where' and 'how' sedimentary basins develop b o t h on the margin and within continental areas, and the distinction between what can be broadly termed epeirogenic and taphrogenic types is, as Professor Bott point o u t in his preface 'perhaps the major outstanding problem of tectonics within plates'. This collection of papers illustrates the diversity of the problem and is a valuable documentation of both the current lines of attack from a theoretical point of view, and some case histories. At the Durham Symposium there were three main sessions covering: Rheology and Mechanisms, Continental Margin Basins, and Craton Basins, and the papers within the b o o k have been organized to follow the same format. Five papers (Murrell, Watts and Ryan, Sleep, H a x b y et al. and Bott) are devoted to the question of Rheology and Mechanisms and these discuss various models based on gravity loading, thermal mechanisms and crustal stretching. In the Introduction, Bott reviews these mechanisms and expands the discussion to cover aspects not directly dealt with b y papers in the b o o k , b u t raised during the discussions at the symposium. By the very nature of the topic, papers within this category are heavily biased towards theoretical and mathematical considerations, although b o t h Watts and Ryan and H a x b y et al. develop their models on case histories from which good stratigraphic data are available. Seven papers are devoted to Continental Margin Basins (Kent, Burke, Sheridan, Whitten, Scrutton and Dingle, Cobbing, and Leeder) and of these, four deal with the sedimentary basins on tensionally rifted margins in the Atlantic Ocean -- probably a fair reflection of effort expended and knowledge gained on the subject in recent years. The papers in this section contain an acceptable mix of facts, probabilities and possibilities, although it is perhaps
184 a pity that a review paper was not included, Kent's coming closest. The final section, covering Cratonic Basins is well represented by nine papers (Sweeney, Burke, Steel, Kallasam, Nalivkin, Kravchenko et al., Rudkevich, Bazanov et al. and Drewry). Four of these deal with various aspects of cratonic basins in Russia which range in age from Precambrian to Cainozoic and these are valuable summaries for English language readers. Overall, papers in the book are of a high quality and there is a good selection, no doubt reflecting in large measure Professor Bott's organization of the original symposium and his editing. Inevitably, the question of continuity, and the reconciliation of the numerous hypotheses arises in a book of this nature. Professor Bott's Introduction does this to some extent, but the reader is in the end left on his own to pay hi~ m o n e y and make his choice. This may not be a bad t h i n g - after all the book is written for practising scientists who should be able to pick the bones out of such a collection, and formulate their own opinions. In this regard, the short paper by Kent is significant. His views on the timing of post-Hercynian taphrogenic and intercratonic downwarping along Atlantic type continental margins have been expressed before and pose profound problems for the 'classical' plate tectonist. Sombody soon will have to respond to this voice in the wilderness. The book is to be r e c o m m e n d e d - - b u t of course not to subscribers to
Tectonophysics! R.V. DINGLE (Rondebosch, Cape, S. Africa)
Principles of Sedimentology. G.M. Friedman and J.E. Sanders. Wiley, New York, N.Y., U.S.$ 21.95. This outstanding and unique book is the only one available that synthesizes the total broad field of sedimentology, from the surface to the subsurface and from the submicroscopic to litospheric plates. In this synthesis, material has been used not only from the fields of stratigraphy and sedimentology, but also from physics, chemistry, geophysics, geochemistry, organic geochemistry, oceanography, biology (physiology of skeletal secretion and microbiology), engineering, environmental geology, tectonics, paleoecology, petroleum geology, log analysis, economic geology, statistics, and mathematics. The book progresses from emphasis on individual particles in modern sediments, and in the rock record, to how particles form, accumulate, and are modified as a result of physical, chemical, and biological processes, both on the surface and in the subsurface. The problems and techniques of studying subsurface strata are repeatedly emphasized and related to exploration for oil, gas, water, and mineral deposits. Outstanding features that make this classical text unique are as follows: (1) Organization - - t h e format takes the readers down to fundamental pro-