Best James L. - A Field Guide to the Carboniferous Sediments of the Shannon Basin, Western Ireland

1. Chapter 06
2. Chapter 08
3. Chapter 09

1. Chapter 01
2. Chapter 02
3. Chapter 03
4. Chapter 04
5. Chapter 05
6. Chapter 06
7. Chapter 07
8. Chapter 08
9. Chapter 09
10. Chapter 10
11. Chapter 11

Edited by

JAMES L. BEST & PAUL B. WIGNALL

This edition first published 2016
2016 by the International Association of Sedimentologists

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ISBN: 9781119257127

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Cover image: James L. Best and Paul B. Wignall

1. Jim Best, Jack and Richard Threet Chair in Sedimentary Geology, Departments of Geology, Geography & GIS, Mechanical Science and Engineering and Ven Te Chow Hydrosystems Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 605 East Springfield Avenue, Champaign, IL 61820, USA.
2. Paul B. Wignall, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 9JT, UK.

1. Karen Braithwaite, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 9JT, UK. now at: School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, College Road, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE12 5RD, UK.
2. Alex Bryk, Department of Geology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 605 East Springfield Avenue, Champaign, IL 61820, USA; now at: Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California Berkeley, 307 McCone Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
3. John Graham, Department of Geology, Museum Building, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland.
4. Eric Obrock, Department of Geology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 605 East Springfield Avenue, Champaign, IL 61820, USA; now at: ExxonMobil, 22777 Springwoods Village, Parkway, Spring, TX 77389, USA.
5. Jeff Peakall, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 9JT, UK.
6. David R. Pyles, EOG Resources, 600 17th Street Suite 1000N, Denver, CO 80202, USA. Formerly at: Chevron Centre of Research Excellence, Department of Geology and Geological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USA.
7. Jessica Ross, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 9JT, UK.; now at: Maersk Oil North Sea UK, Maersk House, Crawpeel Road, Aberdeen, AB12 2LG, UK.
8. Lorna J. Strachan, Earth Science Programme, School of Environment, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand.
9. Eleanor J. Stirling, BP Exploration Operating Company Ltd., Chertsey Road, Sunbury-on-Thames, Middlesex TW16 7LN, UK.
10. Ian D. Somerville, School of Earth Sciences, Science Centre West, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.

We are very grateful to a whole host of people who have inspired and helped us in our research in Western Ireland over the past twenty-five years and also provided enthusiasm and assistance in completing this field guide.

Firstly, we are grateful to all of the contributors to this book in its long journey from inception to publication and thank them for their input, patience and dedication to producing a field guidebook to a region of globally-renowned and important geology that will hopefully be very widely used. We have also benefitted from visiting this area with many people over the years and are very grateful for the insights and expertise provided by Jeff Peakall (University of Leeds), Drew Phillips (Illinois State Geological Survey), Steve Marshak and Michael Stewart (University of Illinois), Jeff Nittrouer (Rice University) and Owen Sutcliffe (Neftex). We would also like to thank several generations of Leeds University and University of Illinois undergraduates and postgraduates who have worked in the region and greatly contributed to our understanding of the geology; especially Dan Bell, Alex Bryk, Karen Braithwaite, Rachael Dale, Heather Macdonald, Eric Obrock and Eleanor Stirling. We are thankful to Dan Bell for data that helped construct the geological map of Kilkee. We are also grateful for the help of the IAS Special Publications editors we have worked with Ian Jarvis, Tom Stevens and Mark Bateman for their encouragement and perseverance; and also to the IAS and the Jack and Richard Threet Chair in Sedimentary Geology at the University of Illinois for funding the final graphics compilation. We are indebted to Chris Simpson for his superb work on the final graphics that ensured the consistency of all illustrations in the guide and made them available for online download. Ian Francis, Kelvin Matthews, Delia Sandford and Radjan Lourde Selvanadin at Wiley Blackwell are thanked for their guidance and work in bringing this guide to publication.

We have also been incredibly fortunate to make lasting friends in County Clare in our many years working there and these people have provided a constant source of knowledge, help, good humour and true friendship. We are especially grateful to Patrick Blake and Patrick Egan (Liscannor), Orla and Mark Vaughan (Kilfenora Hostel and Vaughans Pub, Kilfenora), Brian Farrell (Burren Coaches, Ballyvaughan) and Geoff and Susanne Magee (Dolphinwatch, Carrigaholt) for their friendship and help.