296 Book Reviews/Sedimentary Geology 92 (1994) 291-297

ters are concerned with porosity and permeability prediction, fluid migration, correlation, and petroleum recovery. These topics are mainly cov- ered through the presentation of case histories, and the techniques from the early part of the book are brought in as necessary. This is a very interesting way of presenting information and it is done well. General points are brought into the descriptions and there are useful concluding statements showing the significance of the topic.

This textbook will be used by many third-year undergraduates to supplement their course mate- rial. It is a great source of information on many aspects of sedimentary geochemistry and, in addi- tion, there are many examples taken from North Sea hydrocarbon plays, including detailed case studies of several, as well as from other oil provinces around the world, so that the book also provides data for petroleum geology courses. The index is very valuable in this respect; it enables the interested reader to delve into the book and find information on a specific oilfield or forma- tion, if that is used as an example. The book will be a useful addition to the library shelves, and many academics and geologists in industry will purchase a copy too. Highly motivated under- graduates will buy it, but for most it will be a very useful point of reference.

M A U R I C E T U C K E R (Durham, UK)

Alluvial Sedimentation. M. Marzo and C. Puigdeffibregas (Editors). Special Publication Number 17, International Association of Sedi- mentologists, Blackwell Scientific, Oxford, 1993 xi + 586 pp., £70.00, ISBN 0-632-03545-5.

The majority of the 35 contributions within Alluvial Sedimentation arise from the 4th Interna- tional Conference on Fluvial Sedimentology held in Sitges, Spain, in October 1989. The underlying theme of this volume is the relationship between alluvial stratigraphy and fluvial processes which is explored in either of two ways. Firstly, modelling, field and laboratory studies of the processes and controls of contemporary sediment transport are used with a view to improving the interpretation

of ancient sedimentary environments. However, the bulk of the papers utilise analyses of litho- stratigraphy and fluvial architecture in order to determine former processes.

The contributions are arranged in five sec- tions: sediment transport, alluvial facies, geomor- phic and structural controls on alluvial systems, alluvial stratigraphy and ores. Section one con- tains seven geomorphological process-based pa- pers dealing with the development and movement of fluvial bedforms and bed material in field and laboratory settings. These include an important addition to the dryland fluvial literature (Hassan) concerning the movement of bed material as a result of flood events in two ephemeral streams in the Negev and Judean deserts. In contrast, Martini, Kwong and Sadura discuss the role of ice-rafted sediment in cold-climate fluvial systems and the importance of recognising deposits result- ing from ice-rafting in the geological record.

The nine papers in section two cover alluvial facies in ancient and modern river environments. They include facies models of the unique assem- blages of bedforms and sedimentary structures found at contemporary channel confluences (Bristow, Best and Roy), an analysis of overbank sediment grain-size distributions (Guccione) and a study of crevasse-splay sediments in the Jurassic Ravenscar Group of North Yorkshire (Mj0s, Walderhang and Prestholm). Section three con- siders structural and geomorphological controls upon alluvial systems in Argentina, Greece, Spain and Poland. The five papers include a discussion of the use of relatively recent changes in channel geometry and facies patterns in establishing changes in the hydrological regime of the Raba River (Wyzga), together with a major new study of Quaternary alluvial fan sedimentation in southern Crete (Nemec and Postma).

In section four the twelve studies are primarily concerned with alluvial stratigraphy. These pro- vide the most naturally unified section in the book, with papers on both vertical and lateral stratigraphic dimensions of alluvial deposits. The section begins with a revised stratigraphic model (Bridge and Mackey) of the complex controls upon alluvial sedimentation and alluvial architec- ture. This is complemented by Dreyer's quantifi-

Book Reviews/Sedimentary Geology 92 (1994) 291-297 297

cation of the fluvial architecture of Palaeocene ephemeral stream deposits from northern Spain. The remaining papers cover examples of lithofa- cies variations from a variety of environmental settings including discussions of intercalations be- tween fluvial deposits and those of marine (Kvale and Vondra), lacustrine (Cojan) and volcanic ori- gin (Haughton; Eriksson and Simpson). Section five concludes the collection with two papers on the applied and economic implications of alluvial studies (Nami and Ashworth; Manier, Mercier and Ledru).

The overall production of Alluvial Sedimenta- tion is excellent, largely error-free with consis- tently well reproduced diagrams and superb use of black and white photographs throughout. The main strength of the volume lies in its interna- tional and interdisciplinary coverage, which strad- dles and successfully links sedimentology, geo- morphology, stratigraphy, structural geology and ore geology. This could, however, be considered a weakness, as the collection of papers is so broad-

ranging that it appears to lack focus in places. In many instances the distribution of papers be- tween sections seems almost arbitrary, particu- larly where individual contributions cover a wide range of topics (a feature of many papers by the very nature of the multiple factors influencing alluvial sedimentation processes). However, this is a minor criticism as the primary value of this book lies in the large number of important new papers it contains. In addition, the breadth of geographic and disciplinary coverage of Alluvial Sedimentation offers an extremely useful entry into a diverse literature. Despite its compara- tively high price, this is another excellent publica- tion in the International Association of Sedimen- tologists Special Publications series which should certainly be an essential library purchase and may be useful for the specialist who wishes to broaden their knowledge base.

DAVID J. NASH (Brighton, U.K.)