BookReviews
Deep Marine Environments" Clastic Sedimentation and
Tectonics
K. T. Pickering, R. N. Hiscott and F. J. Hein
Unwin Hyman Ltd, London; 1989; 416 pp;
ISBN: 0 04 551122 5; 0 04 445201 2 (softcover); Price: hardback, 75.00; softcover,
29.95
Kevin Pickering and his co-authors are to be congratulated on
this very fine, state of the art, specialist sedimentology text. It
is the result of several years of hard work and arises, of
course, out of many more years of careful research work by
all three authors into deep marine sedimentation.
Following a brief historical introduction, the book is
divided into three parts. Part 1 (Chapters 2 - 4 ) deals with
depositional processes, facies and controls in the deep sea.
The data on processes provide a good summary of our current
knowledge, the facies are carefully documented with well
chosen illustrations, and the chapter on controls gives a useful
summary but is, in my opinion, rather slight and less thought-
provoking than it might have been.
Part 2 (Chapters 5 - 9 ) examines the range of deep marine
sedimentary environments with a chapter each on slope
systems (aprons and slope basins), channel systems, sub-
marine fans, sheet systems (abyssal plains, trench and arc
basins) and contourite drifts. Clearly, this has been one of the
most difficult parts of the book to write, especially in achiev-
ing a balance between comprehensive coverage, specific case
studies and author synthesis. To some extent, the individual
authors have chosen slightly different approaches for 'their'
chapters, although there is generally an emphasis on the
factors controlling sedimentation and development of the
system and, in every instance, a good range of case studies.
Geological Evolution of South-east Asia
Charles S, Hutchison
Oxford University Press; 1989; ISBN 0 19 854439 1; Price 70.00; XV + 368pp
In his preface Charles Hutchison explains that this book is not
intended as a standard regional geology but is instead his
personal interpretation of the region. He is certainly well
qualified for the task he has undertaken, having steeped
himself in the geology of South-east Asia over a 30 year
period while on the staff of the University of Malaya. Around
800 references are cited and this must surely be the most
comprehensive account yet of this large and complex region.
After a brief introduction which reviews country by country
the history of geological studies in South-east Asia, the
second chapter is devoted to a description of the Late
Mesozoic and Cainozoic tectonic features of the region. The
areas of oceanic crust are described and their probable origins
are discussed; the region's marginal seas are examined, as are
its active plate margins and the 17 microcontinents which dot
the region. These fragments are generally agreed to have
rifted off the margin of one or other of the two major
continental plates, Sundaland and Australia, and have either
become embedded in now largely stable blocks such as
Borneo or else are still on their different conveyor belts.
Reminding the reader of Wallace's Line, Hutchison draws a
geological boundary through the middle of Sulawesi, pointing
out that all terrains to the east of it were previously remote
from South-east Asia and have drifted northwards to their
present positions over the last 90 Ma. Rounding off this
chapter, the fault systems of South-east Asia are introduced,
testing ideas on block movements against the available
palaeomagnetic evidence but rightly concluding that many
problems and inconsistencies remain to be solved.
Staying with the relatively recent history of the region,
Chapter 3 is an account of its Cainozoic sedimentary basins. It
is this part of the book on which the petroleum geologist is
likely to wish to concentrate, although with 71 basins covered
Marine and Petroleum Geology, 1991, Vol 8, February
This case study approach, using both modern and ancient
examples, is an attractive feature of the book, although it
does appear to have detracted from more general synthesis.
Part 3 (Chapters 10-12) sets these elements of the deep
marine environment into their plate tectonic setting, with the
three most interesting chapters on evolving and mature
passive margins, active convergent margins and oblique-slip
continental margins. The approach for these chapters is again
one of well documented case studies.
In summary, Deep Marine Environments is a well written
book that will be welcomed by all researchers in the field of
deep sea sediments, not least for its enormous reference list.
Certainly, as the authors and publishers claim, it should also
be of interest to undergraduates taking specialist courses and
to professional geologists in the hydrocarbon or other sectors.
Except for Part 1, the reader should not expect great or
revealing syntheses of the subjects dealt with but, rather, a
series of case study presentations. My only other complaint
would be the figures; too many and some in completely the
wrong size or shape. However, these are minor criticisms of a
valuable book.
D. A. V. Stow
Southampton, UK
in only 40 pages the description of each is necessarily brief.
Hutchison's approach is to classify the basins according to
their plate-tectonic setting and he recognizes 11 classes.
However, he acknowledges that the use of a term to classify a
basin does not necessarily mean that we understand its origin:
in many cases terms like back-arc basin, cratonic basin, etc.,
are more geographically descriptive than related to their
genesis.
Heat-flow characteristics are mentioned from one basin to
another and a pattern of high geothermal gradients is evident
in basins developed on Sundaland with low gradients
occurring in more oceanic and volcanic arc basins. Had
Hutchison been a petroleum geologist he may have been
tempted to correlate this pattern with the distribution of
hydrocarbon fields in the region; or could it be that just as
important in determining their distribution is the nature of
the basin fill? But, again, the author leaves it to the reader to
seek his own correlation - - on the face of it those basins
which have received the greatest proportion of volcanic-
derived sediment appear to be the least productive.
As I think back nearly 20 years to the protests which were
raised against the suggestion that the continental core of
South-east Asia may have originally been part of
Gondwanaland, I smile as I read how warmly that notion has
now been embraced. The concept has of course evolved as
more geological data have been gathered and the author
devotes nearly half of this book to describing the Palaeozoic
and Mesozoic rocks and their relationships, which provide the
evidence for early super-continent connections. Inevitably it
means concentrating on the continental core of South-east
Asia at the expense of the younger oceanic accretions.
Central to Hutchison's reconstruction is the Mesozoic
suture which has been traced from northern Thailand to the
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