Deep-Water Oil Sand Reservoirs — Vintage Scripps Marine Geology Course, 1982

A fascinating artifact from the era when geologists were learning to read ancient oceans from layers of stone.

Deep-Water Oil Sand Reservoirs: Ancient Case Histories and Modern Concepts was written by geologist Oscar E. Weser of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and published as No. 6 in the American Association of Petroleum Geologists' Education Course Note Series.

Rather than simply functioning as an oil-production manual, the book examines the geology of deep-water sedimentary environments and how ancient deposits can be interpreted using modern geological concepts. Illustrated case studies, diagrams, maps, stratigraphic sections, and photographs document the structures left behind by ancient marine processes.

Among its more visually striking material is a color geological map of the California Borderland, showing the complex submarine basins, ridges, islands, channels, and other physiographic structures lying offshore Southern California.

The book also represents a particular period in the history of applied geology, when increasingly sophisticated models of Earth's sedimentary environments were being closely integrated with the search for petroleum reservoirs. Today it provides a useful historical record of both the development of marine geology and the ways that scientific knowledge was applied by the fossil-fuel industry.

Details: Oscar E. Weser, Deep-Water Oil Sand Reservoirs—Ancient Case Histories and Modern Concepts. AAPG Education Course Note Series #6. Originally published November 1977; this copy is the second printing, September 1982. Weser was affiliated with Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California.

Condition: Very good vintage condition overall. Light age and shelf wear to the covers and edges. Interior appears clean and well preserved. See photographs for exact condition.