“A book like this would not have been possible 30 years ago. This is due primarily to two factors: [1] contributions from numerous studies over the last 30 years that have documented the significance of flood basalt volcanism in the geological record, including their links to mass extinction events, economically significant mineralization and groundwater resources, and CO2 sequestration. [2] Digital cameras that make taking (and storing) high-quality photographs by amateur photographers possible. As a result, documenting landscapes and specific physical features of geological phenomena has never been easier. These two overarching factors, coupled with researchers who have applied modern physical geological/volcanological techniques to the study of flood basalt volcanism, have set the stage for Hetu Sheth’s book A Photographic Atlas of Flood Basalt Volcanism. Sheth is a flood basalt expert, who is well-known for his work on the Deccan Traps (India) and other flood basalt/large igneous provinces (e.g., Ontong-Java, South Caucasus, etc.) across the world. This experience is tied to high-quality image and photo captions contributed to by 89 international collaborators (mostly geologists who also work on flood basalts), yielding an impressive archive of the diverse and spectacular geological features associated with flood basalt provinces. Thus, the book is an outstanding reference for anyone interested in better understanding flood basalt volcanism on Earth.” (Matthew E. Brueseke, Frontiers in Earth Science, Vol. 6 (115), September, 2018)
