Product Description: Regine Petersen uses the stories of meteorite falls as a background for her multifaceted narratives; a rock crashing through the roof of an Alabama home in the 1950s and hitting a woman, a group of children recovering a meteorite in their village in post-war Germany, and a more recent event in India involving two Rajasthani nomads...read more

Sedimentary rock covers almost 75% of Earths surface, but as is weathers away it reveals clues about Earths past that help us understand our world. This text takes readers inside the layers of sedimentary rock that have covered our planet for millions of years. Readers will read about how these rocks form through compaction and lithification, and how weathering and erosion destroy them. The standards-based text supports elementary science curricula, covering topics such as the many kinds of sedimentary rock, rock identification, and fossils. The text also explores how people use sedimentary rocks, and where on Earth the most beautiful examples are found. Stunning photographs, sidebars, and fact boxes further enhance the learning experience.

Sedimentary rocks are widely distributed at the Earth's surface and their accurate description is essential for interpretations of depositional environments and palaeo-geography. Designed to be used in the field, this book describes both techniques and approaches and discusses particular aspects including composition, texture, sedimentary structures and fossils. Explanations are aided by the inclusion of detailed illustrations.

This book is concerned almost wholly with a diverse suite of carbonate rocks that were formed near the margins of shallow tropical seas during the last 5-7 million years of the Permian period (300-251 Ma). These unique rocks, collectively known as the Magnesian Limestone, have been studied for more than 160 years and the names of some of the early workers - Geinitz, Murchison, Phillips, Sedgwick, Sorby - would grace any geological hall of fame. Despite this formidable assault, and the efforts of a host of later workers, the Magnesian Limestone still retains many of its secrets. Permian marine rocks crop out on both sides of the Pennines, but those of the Zechstein Sea to the east are by far the thicker and more varied, and in these lie all but one of the sites selected for special protection. Detailed accounts of the rocks in 26 such sites form about half of this book and the normal and special features of these sites are compared, contrasted and placed in their mutual context in the remainder of the book. The sites were selected according to a range of criteria, including uniqueness, representativeness, historical importance and suitability for teaching purposes and research; most are inland quarries but a few are in the unrivalled coastal cliffs of classical County Durham where the main difficulty lies in deciding what not to select.

This handy pocket-sized guide shows how to achieve successful fieldwork on sedimentary rocks, paying particular detail to the precision and accuracy of recording detail. Various sedimentary rock-types, textures and all the basic field techniques required are clearly described. Thoroughly revised to incorporate up-to-date information, this 3rd edition will be of use to all students and professionals with a geological background. Features include: New sections on safety in the field, the use of GPS in sedimentary studies, core description, fossils as depth indicators and facies models. Improved illustrations and a new updated layout.

Provides an overview of sedimentary rocks, discussing their formation, location, identifying characteristics, history, significance, and uses throughout the world.

Product Description: Includes expert analysis of the key rock-forming environments of the world, plus advice on identifying rock types and building a spectacular collection.

(view table of contents)