This book, authored by R.V. Tyson, provides a comprehensive interdisciplinary synthesis of information on sedimentary organic matter, including its origin, early diagenesis, character, distribution, and bulk geochemical composition. It is primarily aimed at geological audiences but also caters to a broader range of earth and environmental scientists. The book is structured around processes, mechanisms, and the nature and distribution of specific organic components rather than depositional environments or case studies. Key topics include the nature of organic matter in sediments, production and delivery fluxes of planktonic organic matter, biological degradation, abundance of organic matter in sediments, preservation under oxygen-deficient conditions, and the classification and geochemical characterization of organic matter. The book also covers the distribution of various organic components, such as phytoclasts, amorphous organic matter, palynomorphs, and zooclasts, and discusses the relationship between palynofacies and sequence stratigraphy. Practical aspects of palynofacies analysis are addressed, and the book includes extensive references and a detailed bibliography. The author emphasizes the importance of integrating microscopy-based information with bulk geochemical data and aims to promote the use of palynofacies techniques in earth sciences.This book, authored by R.V. Tyson, provides a comprehensive interdisciplinary synthesis of information on sedimentary organic matter, including its origin, early diagenesis, character, distribution, and bulk geochemical composition. It is primarily aimed at geological audiences but also caters to a broader range of earth and environmental scientists. The book is structured around processes, mechanisms, and the nature and distribution of specific organic components rather than depositional environments or case studies. Key topics include the nature of organic matter in sediments, production and delivery fluxes of planktonic organic matter, biological degradation, abundance of organic matter in sediments, preservation under oxygen-deficient conditions, and the classification and geochemical characterization of organic matter. The book also covers the distribution of various organic components, such as phytoclasts, amorphous organic matter, palynomorphs, and zooclasts, and discusses the relationship between palynofacies and sequence stratigraphy. Practical aspects of palynofacies analysis are addressed, and the book includes extensive references and a detailed bibliography. The author emphasizes the importance of integrating microscopy-based information with bulk geochemical data and aims to promote the use of palynofacies techniques in earth sciences.