04/22/2026
When one of your heroes likes your post you have to do a dedication!
I first read Greg Retallack's work on paleosols (https://www.amazon.com/Colour-Guide-Paleosols-Gregory-Retallack/dp/0471967114) as an undergrad back in 2000. I was working on a fluvial stratigraphy project on vertebrate fossil sites in the Siwaliks of Pakistan at the time and his work out there was super useful.
Now as a Uranium exploration geologist working on multiple fluvial successions across the US (Morrison, Chinle, Wasatch, Battle Spring, Fort Union, and Wind River), his work on paleosols (https://www.amazon.com/Soils-Past-Gregory-J-Retallack/dp/0632053763) is more relevant than ever, as most Uranium deposits are hosted in sandstone-filled channels that cut across poorly drained paleosols.