Clay minerals form in a wide variety of crustal environments, e.g. in soil profiles, in sediments at the surface and in deeply buried sedimentary deposits, and under regional, contact and hydrothermal metamorphism conditions.
The book provides information about the dynamics of isotope systems in clays and helps us to understand the physical and chemical parameters in the transfer of masses within the crustal domain. Written for graduate students taking courses in sedimentary geochemistry, clay mineralogy, and soil mineralogy, the book will also appeal to scientists carrying out research on clay genesis and mass transfer in crustal environments.

Chemical modifications of supracrustal materials have occurred at various times in the Earth's history. This reference book gives an overlook over themost recent findings of isotope research in the sedimentary environment. The reader, interested in the diagnetic evolution of sediments, can use the book as a tool for the understanding of mineral-water interactions in the supracrustal level.