Includes bibliographical references and index.

Sedimentary materials, processes and products -- Continental environments -- Marine environments -- Post-depsitional processes -- Stratigraphy.

"Each chapter covering environments of deposition will be divided into two sections. The first section will cover the characteristics of the modern setting, outlining the principal processes of erosion, transport and deposition. This will primarily be a geomorphological approach to sedimentology and environments. The second section will consider the products of the depositional environments in terms of what is preserved in the sedimentary record. This will be a stratigraphic approach to the products of different depositional environments. This approach is proposed to help draw a distinction between features that are important products of sedimentary processes in modern landscapes and the sedimentary products that will be preserved in the rock record. As an example, upland glacial processes create important sedimentary features in modern landscapes but are in regions of net degradation and will not be preserved in the longer-term rock record. The principle of using modern environments to interpret the sedimentary record will also be explored in more detail in terms of the limitations of the approach. Changes in the forms and diversity of plants and animals through time have very strongly impacted on sedimentary processes and products in both continental and marine environments. The differences between icehouse and greenhouse periods in Earth history also need to be taken into account when considering sedimentary environments. In particular, our current view of depositional environments is through the prism of the recent ice ages and many aspects of the greenhouse world would have looked very different. A simple uniformitarian' approach must therefore be used with care. Previous editions of the book made mention of these issues, but there will be more prominence to how changes in the planet through time impact on sedimentology"-- Provided by publisher.