Jim Best holds the Jack and Richard Threet Chair in Sedimentary Geology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, and has research interests in process sedimentology and the dynamics of alluvial, lacustrine, deltaic and deep-sea environments. His work concerns experimental research and field studies in both modern and ancient environments, including fieldwork in Argentina, Bangladesh, Canada, Cambodia, Chile, New Zealand and the UK.Paul Wignall is Professor of palaeoenvironments at the University of Leeds, UK, and his principal research interests lie in the origin and characteristics of mass extinction events in the geological record. He has also pioneered research in mudrocks and palaeoenvironmental change in ancient oceans, and has conducted field work across the globe, including Canada, China, Greenland, Svalbard, Poland, Tibet, USA and the UK.Jim Best and Paul Wignall have also led student, academic and industrial field trips to, as well as conducted research in, the Shannon Basin of Western Ireland for over 25 years.

• Contributors viiAcknowledgements ixAbout the Companion Website xi1 Introduction to the Field Guide 1Jim Best & Paul B. Wignall2 The Shannon Basin: Structural Setting and Evolution 16John Graham3 Basin Models 35Paul B. Wignall & Jim Best4 Lower Carboniferous of the Shannon Basin Region 48Ian D. Somerville5 Viséan Coral Biostromes and Karsts of the Burren 79Ian D. Somerville6 The Clare Shales 97Paul B. Wignall, Ian D. Somerville & Karen Braithwaite7 Architecture of a Distributive Submarine Fan: The Ross Sandstone Formation 112David R. Pyles & Lorna J. Strachan8 Evolving Depocentre and Slope: The Gull Island Formation 174Lorna J. Strachan & David R. Pyles9 The Tullig and Kilkee Cyclothems in Southern County Clare 240Jim Best, Paul B. Wignall, Eleanor J. Stirling, Eric Obrock & Alex Bryk10 The Tullig and Kilkee Cyclothems of Northern County Clare 329Paul B. Wignall, Jim Best, Jeff Peakall & Jessica Ross11 The Younger Namurian Cyclothems around Spanish Point 350Paul B. Wignall & Jim BestAppendix: List of GigaPan Images 361References 362Index 371

Jim Best holds the Jack and Richard Threet Chair in Sedimentary Geology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, and has research interests in process sedimentology and the dynamics of alluvial, lacustrine, deltaic and deep-sea environments. His work concerns experimental research and field studies in both modern and ancient environments, including fieldwork in Argentina, Bangladesh, Canada, Cambodia, Chile, New Zealand and the UK.Paul Wignall is Professor of palaeoenvironments at the University of Leeds, UK, and his principal research interests lie in the origin and characteristics of mass extinction events in the geological record. He has also pioneered research in mudrocks and palaeoenvironmental change in ancient oceans, and has conducted field work across the globe, including Canada, China, Greenland, Svalbard, Poland, Tibet, USA and the UK.Jim Best and Paul Wignall have also led student, academic and industrial field trips to, as well as conducted research in, the Shannon Basin of Western Ireland for over 25 years.

• Contributors viiAcknowledgements ixAbout the Companion Website xi1 Introduction to the Field Guide 1Jim Best & Paul B. Wignall2 The Shannon Basin: Structural Setting and Evolution 16John Graham3 Basin Models 35Paul B. Wignall & Jim Best4 Lower Carboniferous of the Shannon Basin Region 48Ian D. Somerville5 Viséan Coral Biostromes and Karsts of the Burren 79Ian D. Somerville6 The Clare Shales 97Paul B. Wignall, Ian D. Somerville & Karen Braithwaite7 Architecture of a Distributive Submarine Fan: The Ross Sandstone Formation 112David R. Pyles & Lorna J. Strachan8 Evolving Depocentre and Slope: The Gull Island Formation 174Lorna J. Strachan & David R. Pyles9 The Tullig and Kilkee Cyclothems in Southern County Clare 240Jim Best, Paul B. Wignall, Eleanor J. Stirling, Eric Obrock & Alex Bryk10 The Tullig and Kilkee Cyclothems of Northern County Clare 329Paul B. Wignall, Jim Best, Jeff Peakall & Jessica Ross11 The Younger Namurian Cyclothems around Spanish Point 350Paul B. Wignall & Jim BestAppendix: List of GigaPan Images 361References 362Index 371

Jim Best holds the Jack and Richard Threet Chair in Sedimentary Geology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, and has research interests in process sedimentology and the dynamics of alluvial, lacustrine, deltaic and deep-sea environments. His work concerns experimental research and field studies in both modern and ancient environments, including fieldwork in Argentina, Bangladesh, Canada, Cambodia, Chile, New Zealand and the UK.Paul Wignall is Professor of palaeoenvironments at the University of Leeds, UK, and his principal research interests lie in the origin and characteristics of mass extinction events in the geological record. He has also pioneered research in mudrocks and palaeoenvironmental change in ancient oceans, and has conducted field work across the globe, including Canada, China, Greenland, Svalbard, Poland, Tibet, USA and the UK.Jim Best and Paul Wignall have also led student, academic and industrial field trips to, as well as conducted research in, the Shannon Basin of Western Ireland for over 25 years.

• Contributors viiAcknowledgements ixAbout the Companion Website xi1 Introduction to the Field Guide 1Jim Best & Paul B. Wignall2 The Shannon Basin: Structural Setting and Evolution 16John Graham3 Basin Models 35Paul B. Wignall & Jim Best4 Lower Carboniferous of the Shannon Basin Region 48Ian D. Somerville5 Viséan Coral Biostromes and Karsts of the Burren 79Ian D. Somerville6 The Clare Shales 97Paul B. Wignall, Ian D. Somerville & Karen Braithwaite7 Architecture of a Distributive Submarine Fan: The Ross Sandstone Formation 112David R. Pyles & Lorna J. Strachan8 Evolving Depocentre and Slope: The Gull Island Formation 174Lorna J. Strachan & David R. Pyles9 The Tullig and Kilkee Cyclothems in Southern County Clare 240Jim Best, Paul B. Wignall, Eleanor J. Stirling, Eric Obrock & Alex Bryk10 The Tullig and Kilkee Cyclothems of Northern County Clare 329Paul B. Wignall, Jim Best, Jeff Peakall & Jessica Ross11 The Younger Namurian Cyclothems around Spanish Point 350Paul B. Wignall & Jim BestAppendix: List of GigaPan Images 361References 362Index 371