This literary 'Swiss army knife' on limestones provides descriptions and illustrations to explain the origins and uses of these important deposits. The book discusses their compositions and largely organically driven origins, as well as the environments in which they form, including both marine and land-based systems. Microscopic examination reveals the secrets of their subsequent development to form rocks. A brief explanation considers new views on their unique stratigraphy. Limestones are the fundamental ingredient for cement manufacturing and provide both building stones and aggregates. Landscapes that include limestones form iconic, and locally protected, karst scenery, with the distinction of generating some of the most intractable hydrogeological and foundation problems, illustrated by case studies. They provide reservoirs for ~50% of the world's oil and gas reserves and locally host mineral ores; examples include lead-zinc-barite-fluorite, and copper. The closing chapter discusses the conservation of geological and geomorphological assets in Sites of Special Scientific Interest, with some lithologies designated as Heritage Stones.
Colin J.R. Braithwaite is currently an Honorary Research Fellow at Glasgow University. He received a BSc and PhD in Geology from King's College, London University, and he has lectured at the Universities of St. Andrews (Queen's College Dundee) and Dundee, and later Glasgow, providing courses for geology and other science students, Civil Engineering, Town Planning, and Law, together with outreach groups.His research has been supported by these universities, and by the UK Natural Environment Research Council, the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, the Royal Society, the European Union, the Engineering Research Council, and the Leverhulme Trust (Emeritus Fellowship). His work with the Dundee University Centre for Industrial Research Consultancy led to later projects related to the hydrocarbons and minerals industries, and civil engineering. He has research results published in ~120 papers, mostly in international journals, and he has reviewed and edited ~400 papers and books. He is a Fellow of the Geological Society of London (Chartered Geologist), Emeritus Member of the US Society for Sedimentary Geology, Member of the International Association of Sedimentologists.
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