Cet Atlas de Pétrologie s'adresse en premier lieu à tous les étudiants engagés en cursus de Licence dans les domaines des sciences de la vie et de la Terre. Construit sous forme de fiches en double page et abondamment illustré, cet ouvrage offre une vision synthétique sur un ensemble de minéraux et de roches magmatiques, sédimentaires et métamorphiques, les plus fréquemment rencontrés et dont la reconnaissance fait l'objet de séances de travaux pratiques. li est aussi l'occasion de découvrir les roches extraterrestres avec l'étude des météorites et d'aborder certains domaines de la géologie appliquée avec l'étude de ressources naturelles dans leurs gisements et leurs utilisations. <...>

A forerunner of the ATLAS was first published in 1970(1). This early survey comprised 27 zeolite structures known at the time. Then the "Atlas of Zeolite Structure Types" by W.M. Meier and D.H. Olson, with 38 entries, was published by the Structure Commission of the IZA in 1978. This was followed by the much expanded 2nd edition of the ATLAS in 1988 comprising 64 entries, the updated 3rd edition in 1992 with 85 entries, and the fully revised 4th edition in 1996 with 98 entries. This 5th edition is again an updated version of the previous compilation, and the number of entries has risen significantly to 133.

Analyses of geological structures from field exposure of rocks have been one of the important and intriguing disciplines in (applied) Earth Sciences. Since the 1990s, especially after the boom of three‐dimensional seismic technologies, reflection seismic data in two and three dimensions have become the modern ‘field’ for geologists. A large number of exploration geoscientists analyze reflection seismic data to interpret sedimentary sequences and deformation structures to provide prospective leads for exploration in their respective industries. Today, seismic data are used extensively in industries such as hydrocarbon and mineral exploration, carbon dioxide sequestration, sea floor hazard surveys for cables and pipelines and so on. This book primarily deals with reflection seismic data in the hydrocarbon industry.

Interpretation of structures from field is an integral part of structural geology. While research papers cannot display morphologic variations of individual structures, an atlas of field structural snaps remained due. This book fills up that gap. I have drawn most examples from western Himalayan shear zones. The reader is suggested to consult the key papers in the ‘References’ section for more information. I welcome comments and counterarguments at: soumyajitm@gmail.com <...>

We were once emailed a long list of questions, arranged with paragraph‐sized spaces below each question for our  detailed answers and including photos of specific cored fractures, from a student starting to work on fractured cores. The questions were both basic and important, and included queries such as: Are both the slabs and butt of the cores used in fracture studies? How do you distinguish extension from shear fractures?

Air, sea, surface water and soil support life, from which comes our food; the fossil remains of life, that is: coal, oil and gas, together with solar and terrestrial radiation provide energy; but almost all the artifacts of human civilization are made from substances taken from the earth's crust.

This atlas has been prepared for students of earth science, geology, mineralogy and physical geography who requ~re a text for practical classes on rocks and mInerals under the minoscope. While the book's prime purpose is as an introduction to the subject for college and university students as an essential part of their course, we hope that amateur geologists and mineralogists will also find it useful and attractrve.