Book excerpt: The processes occurring in surface marine sediments have a profound effect on the local and global cycling of many elements. This graduate text presents the fundamentals of marine sediment geochemistry by examining the complex chemical, biological, and physical processes that contribute to the conversion of these sediments to rock, a process known as early diagenesis. Research over the past three decades has uncovered the fact that the oxidation of organic matter deposited in sediment acts as a causative agent for many early diagenetic changes. Summarizing and discussing these findings and providing a much-needed update to Robert Berner's Early Diagenesis: A Theoretical Approach, David J. Burdige describes the ways to quantify geochemical processes in marine sediment. By doing so, he offers a deeper understanding of the cycling of elements such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, along with important metals such as iron and manganese. No other book presents such an in-depth look at marine sediment geochemistry. Including the most up-to-date research, a complete survey of the subject, explanatory text, and the most recent mathematical formulations that have contributed to our greater understanding of early diagenesis, Geochemistry of Marine Sediments will interest graduate students of geology, geochemistry, and oceanography, as well as the broader community of earth scientists. It is poised to become the standard text on the subject for years to come.