Carbonate Microfabrics is the first attempt to bring together in one reference the application of microfabric analysis to the solution of problems in the fields of geology, geophysics and geotechnique. This book, the result of a symposium and workshop on carbonate microfabrics, explores the relationship of microfabrics to fundamental properties and processes in carbonates. Carbonate Microfabrics will be of particular interest to geologists and is intended to be of general interest to researchers in such related fields as geochemistry, geophysics, and geotechnique.

This unparelleled reference synthesizes the methods used in microfacies analysis and details the potential of microfacies in evaluating depositional environments and diagenetic history, and, in particular, the application of microfacies data in the study of carbonate hydrocarbon reservoirs and the provenance of archaeological materials. Nearly 230 instructive plates (30 in color) showing thin-section photographs with detailed explanations form a central part of the content. Helpful teaching-learning aids include detailed captions for hundreds of microphotographs, boxed summaries of technical terms, many case studies, guidelines for the determination and evaluation of microfacies criteria, for enclosed CD with 14000 references, self-testing exercises for recognition and characterization skills, and more

Microbial carbonates (microbialites) are remarkable sedimentary deposits because they have the longest geological range of any type of biogenic limestones, they form in the greatest range of different sedimentary environments, they oxygenated the Earth’s atmosphere, and they produce and store large volumes of hydrocarbons. This Special Publication provides significant contributions at a pivotal time in our understanding of microbial carbonates, when their economic importance has become established and the results of many research programmes are coming to fruition. It is the first book to focus on the economic aspects of microbialites and in particular the giant pre-salt discoveries offshore Brazil. In addition it contains papers on the processes involved in formation of both modern and ancient microbialites and the diversity of style in microbial carbonate buildups, structures and fabrics in both marine and non-marine settings and throughout the geological record.

"This volume presents current understanding of the mechanisms and environments of the formation of calcretes and palustrine carbonates. Through a series of specific field examples, papers in this volume illustrate the wide variety of potential applications of these types of deposits. The papers presented here cover a wide array of ages and environmental settings of calcrete and palustrine deposition and include many interesting applications, such as the climatic and geomorphic controls on calcrete formation, possible modern analogues for palustrine carbonates, the interplay between palustrine, pedogenic, and diagenetic processes, the utility of radio-isotopic methods for dating pedogenic carbonates, applications to understanding landscape evolution, and reconstruction of diagenetic sequences. The result is a state-of-the-art book on these deposits so common in the geological record and in recent environments."--Publisher's website.

During the past decade, work on cool-water carbonates has expanded to become a mainstream research area. Studies on modern and Quaternary deposits will continue to be important; however, there is increasing momentum towards unravelling sediment processes, biota-sediment interactions and diagenetic products in Cenozoic and older cool-water carbonates. Many contributions in this book document Cenozoic and Quaternary carbonates from landlocked (microtidal) water-bodies. These carbonates display important differences in biota and fabric distributions when compared with world ocean examples. Consequently, the scientific community is now better placed to reinterpret pre-Tertiary carbonates where there is a suspicion that they have developed under microtidal conditions. Some papers in the book provide new approaches to interpreting environmental change within macrotidal regimes and others lay firm foundations for future cool-water carbonate diagenetic research. The aim of the book is to illustrate recent international contributions to cool-water carbonates research, with an emphasis on Neogene and Recent case studies. Contributions are divided into three sections: microtidal carbonates from the Mediterranean realm; macrotidal examples from New Zealand, Australia and Mexico; and early diagenetic fabrics.

This book provides an up-to-date compilation of the latest research on the petrography, facies, paleonvironmental significance and economic aspects of continental carbonates. The overall organization of the book first emphasizes the descriptive aspects and processes operating on carbonate deposits in greatly varied settings, and then considers applications for basin analysis, as well as economic and historical aspects. This volume will be a valuable tool for graduate and postgraduate students as well as for experienced researchers. The first part (volume 61 in this series) will deal with the facies, environments, and processes of carbonates in continental settings. - Covering the greatly varied aspects of carbonate deposits from continental settings deposits - Clear and easy to follow organization of the book - Graduate to postgraduate level - Up to date information, so readers can find references from the classic literature to the most recent research

Periplatform slope sediments from the Bahamas serve as an example for a small-scale sedimentologic record of environmental changes. Carbonate platforms react sensitively to sea-level fluctuations. Therefore, sediments deposited on the slope during lowstands differ in composition from highstand deposits. A second focus is the early diagenetic alteration and cementation of these sediments with their high diagenetic potential. This book contributes to and discusses new developments in carbonate sedimentology such as the concepts of highstand shedding and early burial diagenesis, which also have an impact on reservoir studies.

Diagenesis of carbonates and clastic sediments encompasses the biochemical, mechanical, and chemical changes that occur in sediments subsequent to deposition and prior to low-grade metamorphism. These parameters which, to a large extent, control diagenesis in carbonates and clastic sediments include primary composition of the sediments, depositional facies, pore water chemistry, burial–thermal and tectonic evolution of the basin, and paleo-climatic conditions. Diagenetic processes involve widespread chemical, mineralogical, and isotopic modifications affected by the original mineralogy of carbonate and clastic sediments. These diagenetic alterations will impose a major control on porosity and permeability and hence on hydrocarbon reservoirs, water aquifers, and the presence of other important economic minerals. In this Special Issue, we have submissions focusing on understanding the interplay between the mineralogical and chemical changes in carbonates and clastic sediments and the diagenetic processes, fluid flow, tectonics, and mineral reactions at variable scales and environments from a verity of sedimentary basins. Quantitative analyses of diagenetic reactions in these sediments using a variety of techniques are essential for understanding the pathways of these reactions in different diagenetic environments.