Carbonates sedimentology / Седиментология карбонатов

The intention of this book is to provide a detailed synthesis of the enormous body of research which has been published on carbonate sediments and rocks. Such rocks are worthy of attention for several reasons. They are volumetrically a most significant part of the geological record and possess much of the fossil record of life on this planet. Most importantly they contain at least 40% of the world's known hydrocarbon reserves. They also play host to base metal deposits and groundwater resources, and are raw materials for the construction and chemical industries. No other rock type is as economically important. From a scientific viewpoint, carbonates are especially interesting for the diversity of their origins. Most limestones are ultimately biogenic in origin and an appreciation of biological and palaeobiological factors is essential in understanding their formation. Their simple mineralogies, usually monominerallic, belie their petrographic and chemical complexity and highly sophisticated microscopic and analytical techniques are required to decipher their diagenetic histories. Besides biological and geochemical expertise, understanding carbonate deposits also demands an appreciation of physical sedimentology and oceanography <...>