"The book is primarily meant for graduate students ... . The book is also useful in planning field trips to be organized for students and researchers. ... Throughout the book, excellent field photographs illustrate the lithofacies and sedimentary structures well, and add to visual pleasure. ... Reference list is up-to-date ... attesting to the fact that readers are getting first-hand information in this book. ... Certainly the libraries can subscribe to this useful field guide." (Dilip Saha, Journal of Earth System Science, Vol. 131, 2022)
"The authors have ably combined their research findings and field traverse recordings, references in an exemplary manner and on reading the book it brings a virtual field trip to the Vindhyan Supergroup. ... The authors' wide experience and publications on the Vindhyan sequence are added merit of this book. An ideal book for students, researchers and trainee geologists. I congratulate the authors for their contribution and sharing their field knowledge and experience in this book." (R. Nagendra, Journal of the Geological Society of India, Vol. 97, November, 2021)
Geological Background.- Facies, Paleogeography and Sequence Stratigraphy.- Selected Traverses.- Selected Field Sections.- Microbial Mat Structures Formed Within Siliciclastics.- Index.
Dr. Subir Sarkar is a Professor at the Department of Geological Sciences, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India. He completed his Ph.D. at Jadavpur University in 1991. He has more than 25 years of experience in teaching and about 30 years in research. His research interests include sedimentology/ biosedimentology and basin evolution. Dr. Sarkar has published more than 100 research articles in peer-reviewed national and international journals and conference proceedings. He has also published 16 book chapters and edited four books. The Vindhyan Group is a happy hunting ground for Prof. Sarkar since 1991. Prof. Sarkar has worked in different laboratories in different countries and has accumulated vast experience about many Proterozoic formations around the world.
Dr. Santanu Banerjee is a Professor at the Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay since 1999. He completed M.Sc. (Applied Geology) at Allahabad University (1992) and Ph.D. at Jadavpur University (1997). He supervised several research projects on sedimentology and stratigraphy of Indian sedimentary basins. His research interests include microbial mat structures in Precambrian siliciclastics, origin of glauconite, sequence stratigraphy and petroleum geology. He has worked extensively on sedimentary facies and basin analysis in the Precambrian Vindhyan basin of central India and Meso-Cenozoic Kutch basin. Dr. Banerjee has published more than 100 research articles in peer-reviewed journals, contributed for 18 book chapters and edited 2 books. He is the country Ambassador of Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM). He currently serves the editorial board of Journal of Palaeogeography, Journal of Earth Systems Science and Arabian Journal of Geosciences.
This book offers extensive information on the course of sedimentation in the Proterozoic Vindhyan Basin and the potential record of ancient life stored within the rocks. It covers topics ranging from facies analysis to sequence-building, from carbonates to siliciclastics, and mixed lithology and life records from microbial to potentially eukaryotes, along with the basin evolutionary history. Further, the book includes 75 color photographs and accompanying hand-sketches to help readers grasp key aspects of Vindhyan Geology. Vindhyan rocks are well known for their excellent preservation of microbial record of earth. Offering a student-friendly field guide containing detailed route maps, geological maps and a wealth of visual examples, it is also extremely useful in terms of understanding the microbe-dominated environments on Mars.