1Introduction: sedimentology and stratigraphy 1 -- 1.1 Sedimentology and stratigraphy in Earth sciences 1 -- 1.2 Stratigraphy and sedimentology 2 -- 1.3 See the world in just one grain of sand 2 -- 1.4 Processes and products 3 -- 1.5 Sedimentary environments and facies 4 -- 1.6 Modern and ancient sedimentary environments 6 -- 1.7 Geographical distribution of environments and facies 6 -- 1.8 Changing environments and facies through time 6 -- 1.9 Stratigraphic record and geological time 7 -- 1.10 Earth history, global tectonics, climate and evolution 7 -- 2 Terrigenous clastic sediments: gravel, sand and mud 10 -- 2.1 Components of sediments and sedimentary rocks 10 -- 2.2 Classification and nomenclature of terrigenous clastic sediments and sedimentary rocks 11 -- 2.3 Gravel and conglomerate 12 -- 2.4 Sand and sandstone 14 -- 2.5 Clay, silt and mudrock 18 -- 2.6 Description of the textures of terrigenous clastic sedimentary rocks 20 -- 2.7 Granulometric and clast shape analysis 21 -- 2.8 Maturity of terrigenous clastic material 23 -- 2.9 Terrigenous clastic sediments: summary 24 -- 3 Biogenic, chemical and volcanogenic sediments 25 -- 3.1 Limestone 25 -- 3.2 Volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks 29 -- 3.3 Evaporite minerals 31 -- 3.4 Cherts 32 -- 3.5 Phosphates 33 -- 3.6 Sedimentary ironstone 33 -- 3.7 Carbonaceous (organic) deposits 33 -- 3.8 Description of sedimentary rocks in hand specimen 35 -- 3.9 Examination of sedimentary rocks under the microscope 35 -- 4 Processes of transport and sedimentary structures 37 -- 4.1 Transport media 37 -- 4.2 Behaviour of fluids and particles in fluids 38 -- 4.3 Flows, sediment and bedforms 43 -- 4.4 Waves 52 -- 4.5 Sedimentary structures in sand-mud mixtures 54 -- 4.6 Mass flows 54 -- 4.7 Mudcracks 58 -- 4.8 Erosional sedimentary structures 59 -- 4.9 Sedimentary structures and sedimentary environments 60 -- 5 Environments and facies 62 -- 5.1 Interpreting past depositional environments 62 -- 5.2 Concept of 'facies' 62 -- 5.3 Distribution of palaeoenvironments in time and space 66 -- 5.4 Palaeocurrents 66 -- 5.5 Provenance 69 -- 5.6 Graphic sedimentary logs 70 -- 5.7 Facies and environments: summary 74 -- 6 Continents: sources of sediment and environments of deposition 76 -- 6.1 From source of sediment to formation of strata 76 -- 6.2 Formation of mountains and hills 77 -- 6.3 Continental climatic regimes 77 -- 6.4 Surface processes 78 -- 6.5 Weathering processes 79 -- 6.6 Erosion and transport 83 -- 6.7 Factors which influence erosion rates 86 -- 6.8 Continental environments of deposition 87 -- 6.9 Continental environments: summary 88 -- 7 Glaciers and ice caps 89 -- 7.1 Formation of glaciers 89 -- 7.2 Erosion by glaciers 91 -- 7.3 Glacial deposits 91 -- 7.4 Distribution of glacial deposits 94 -- 7.5 Recognition of glacial deposits: summary 94 -- 8 Arid continental depositional environments 96 -- 8.1 Deserts 96 -- 8.2 Wind in deserts 97 -- 8.3 Water in a desert 101 -- 8.4 Alluvial fans 102 -- 8.5 Playa lakes 108 -- 8.6 Life in the desert 109 -- 8.7 Characteristics of the deposits of arid continental environments: summary 109 -- 9 Rivers: the fluvial environment 111 -- 9.1 River forms and patterns 111 -- 9.2 Modern rivers 113 -- 9.3 Floodplains 120 -- 9.4 Ancient fluvial deposits 121 -- 9.5 Palaeocurrents in fluvial systems 123 -- 9.6 Fossils in fluvial environments 124 -- 9.7 Soils and palaeosols 124 -- 9.8 Recognition of fluvial deposits: summary 126 -- 10 Lacustrine environments: fresh and saline lakes 128 -- 10.1 Modern lakes 128 -- 10.2 Morphology and processes in lakes 129 -- 10.3 Lacustrine sediments and facies 130 -- 10.4 Saline lakes 132 -- 10.5 Life in lakes 133 -- 10.6 Lake environments: summary 134 -- 11 Marine realm: morphology and processes 135 -- 11.1 Marine environments 135 -- 11.2 Tides 136 -- 11.3 Wave and storm processes 140 -- 11.4 Thermo-haline currents 141 -- 11.5 Divisions of the marine realm 142 -- 11.6 Chemical and biochemical sedimentation in oceans 143 -- 11.7 Ecology of the seas 144 -- 11.8 Marine environments: summary 147 -- 12 Deltas and estuaries 149 -- 12.1 Deltas 149 -- 12.2 Controls on deltas 152 -- 12.3 Coarse-grained deltas 158 -- 12.4 Delta 'cycles' 159 -- 12.5 Post- and syndepositional effects on deltas 161 -- 12.6 Recognition of deltaic deposits: summary 162 -- 12.7 Estuaries 163 -- 12.8 Recognition of estuarine deposits: summary 165 -- 13 Coastlines: beaches, barriers and lagoons 167 -- 13.1 Coastal environments 167 -- 13.2 Morphological features of coastlines 168 -- 13.3 Clastic coastlines 171 -- 13.4 Carbonate coastlines 174 -- 13.5 Arid coastlines 176 -- 13.6 Recognition of coastal deposits: summary 178 -- 14 Shallow seas 180 -- 14.1 Sediment supply to shallow seas 180 -- 14.2 Shallow marine clastic environments 181 -- 14.3 Storm-dominated shallow clastic seas 181 -- 14.4 Tide-dominated shallow clastic seas 183 -- 14.5 Shallow marine carbonate environments 186 -- 14.6 Carbonate ramps 187 -- 14.7 Rimmed carbonate shelves 188 -- 14.8 Epeiric, drowned and isolated carbonate platforms 190 -- 14.9 Barred basins and saline giants 191 -- 14.10 Criteria for the recognition of shelf sediments 193 -- 15 Deep marine environments 194 -- 15.1 Modern and ancient oceans 194 -- 15.2 Deep marine mass flows 196 -- 15.3 Submarine fans 199 -- 15.4 Contourites 202 -- 15.5 Pelagic and hemipelagic sedimentation 202 -- 15.6 Other features of deep ocean sediments 205 -- 15.7 Fossils in deep ocean sediments 205 -- 15.8 Ancient deep ocean deposits 206 -- 15.9 Recognition of deep ocean deposits: summary 206 -- 16 Volcanic environments 208 -- 16.1 Volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks 208 -- 16.2 Lavas 208 -- 16.3 Volcaniclastic rocks 208 -- 16.4 Environments of deposition 212 -- 16.5 Recognition of volcanigenic deposits: summary 213 -- 16.6 Volcanic rocks in stratigraphy: flows, dykes and sills 214 -- 17 Sediments into rocks: post-depositional processes 215 -- 17.1 Post-depositional modification of sedimentary layers 215 -- 17.2 Post-depositional physical and chemical processes 217 -- 17.3 Nodules and concretions 220 -- 17.4 Clastic diagenesis 221 -- 17.5 Carbonate diagenesis 222 -- 17.6 Post-depositional changes to evaporites 225 -- 17.7 Diagenesis of volcaniclastic sediments 226 -- 17.8 Formation of coal and hydrocarbons 226 -- 17.9 Diagenetic processes: summary 228 -- 18 Stratigraphy: concepts and lithostratigraphy 229 -- 18.1 Stratigraphy and geological time 229 -- 18.2 Chronostratigraphy 231 -- 18.3 Physical stratigraphy 232 -- 18.4 Lithostratigraphy 234 -- 18.5 Lithostratigraphic nomenclature 236 -- 18.6 Lithostratigraphy and environments 238 -- 18.7 Lithostratigraphy and geological maps 239 -- 18.8 Lithostratigraphy and correlation 240 -- 19 Biostratigraphy 241 -- 19.1 Strata and fossils 241 -- 19.2 Fossils in stratigraphy 244 -- 19.3 Taxa used in biostratigraphy 246 -- 19.4 Correlating different environments 248 -- 19.5 Biostratigraphic nomenclature 248 -- 19.6 Biostratigraphy and chronostratigraphy 249 -- 20 Dating and correlation techniques 251 -- 20.1 Radiometric dating 251 -- 20.2 Magnetostratigraphy 255 -- 20.3 Other dating methods 259 -- 20.4 Dating in the Quaternary 260 -- 20.5 Correlation 261 -- 21 Sequence stratigraphy and sea level changes 264 -- 21.2 Depositional sequences and systems tracts 268 -- 21.3 Facies patterns in depositional sequences 270 -- 21.4 Sequences in carbonate depositional environments 272 -- 21.5 Subdivision of depositional sequences and systems tracts: parasequences 274 -- 21.6 Sequence stratigraphy and depositional environments 276 -- 21.7 Practical sequence stratigraphy 280 -- 21.8 Causes of sea level fluctuations 281 -- 22 Subsurface stratigraphy 290 -- 22.1 Seismic reflection profiles 290 -- 22.2 Interpreting seismic reflections 292 -- 22.3 Structural features on seismic profiles 293 -- 22.4 Seismic facies 294 -- 22.5 Relating seismic profiles to geological cross-sections 294 -- 22.6 Borehole stratigraphy and sedimentology 294 -- 22.7 Subsurface facies analysis 297 -- 22.8 Use of borehole data 298 -- 23 Sedimentary basins 299 -- 23.1 Tectonics of sedimentary basins 299 -- 23.2 Basins related to crustal extension 300 -- 23.3 Basins related to subduction 306 -- 23.4 Basins related to continental collision 310 -- 23.5 Basins related to strike-slip plate boundaries 312 -- 23.6 Complex and hybrid basins 315 -- 23.7 Changes in tectonic setting with time 315 -- 24 Earth through geological time 316 -- 24.1 Uniformitarianism: 'the present is the key to the past' 316 -- 24.2 Catastrophic events: meteorite and comet impacts 318 -- 24.3 'Catastrophic' events in sedimentation 318 -- 24.4 Life (biosphere) through time 320 -- 24.5 Atmosphere and air circulation 322 -- 24.6 Plate tectonics through time 323 -- 24.7 Climate through time 324 -- 24.8 Planetary behaviour through time 326 -- 24.9 Gaps in the record 326 -- 24.10 Sedimentary record 328.