The papers in this book are the early results of a research program on sedimentation in Shark Bay which is being carried out from the Department of Geology, The University of Western Australia. The investigation is directed toward an understanding of processes responsible for the formation and early diagenesis of carbonate sediments. Particular emphasis has been placed on development of sedimentary facies and processes in the context of sea-level changes and evolution of the hydrologic environment during the latter part of the Quaternary. Shark Bay, which lies between latitudes 24°30’ and 26°45’S on the arid western coast of Australia, has the dimensions of a minor epicontinental sea; it has an area of about 5,000 sq mi and an average depth of 30 ft. The embayment offers exceptional opportunities for research in carbonate sedimentation since there is a wide range of environments, biotic communities, and sediment types available for study. Carbonate deposition is predominant, and sedimentation is controlled by hydrologic factors, waves, currents, and organisms. Organisms play a major role in sedimentation by contribution of skeletal parts and by intervention in sedimentation. <...>

A very large part of our understanding of carbonate sediments and rocks is derived from studies made with the microscope. Field work lays bare the gross relationships, but is apt to be hampered by the failure of many limestones to reveal themselves clearly in the hand specimen-a serious handicap in so complex a group of rocks. Geochemical and X-ray studies, though profoundly influential, suffer not only from the length of time between question and answer, but, above all, from their inability to take cognizance of the complex fabrics which are of such critical importance in this group of multicomponent rocks. The immediacy of the microscopical approach has sustained this method as the major research tool throughout the rapid expansion of carbonate studies since World War 11: the newer and more discerning classifications depend on it. The development of refined staining techniques, of replication, including the shadowing of acetate peels, combined with the use of the transmission and scanningelectron microscopes, have shown, along with the subtle methods of cathodoluminescence, that the microscope has a rich future <...>

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 <...>

Настоящая работа была закончена еще в 1924 г. В течение четырех лет я не мог, по различным соображениям технического характера, опубликовать ее. Такая задержка меня весьма радует, так как за это время я имел возможность обменяться коллекциями и письмами с профессором университета в Лилле P. Pruvost и тем самым подвергнул двойному контролю свои определения: с одной стороны, сравнив непосредственно свои образцы с французскими, с другой стороны—профессор P. Pruvost, просмотрев посланную ему коллекцию, указал на полное тождество донецких образцов с французскими и английскими. Другое обстоятельство, весьма благоприятное для моей работы, было то, что в течение четырех лет, постоянно работая в Донецком бассейне, я мог подвергать контролю те выводы, какие были мною сделаны в главах II и III. Такой контроль дал возможность, с одной стороны, подтвердить выводы и исправить мелкие недочеты и неправильные определения в тех толщах, которые подвергались наблюдению, с другой стороны—позволил расширить эти наблюдения на более обильном материале и, наконец, с третьей стороны—при таких наблюдениях часто удавалось разрешать некоторые неясные вопросы в геологии бассейна.