Carbonate ooids on the surface of a limestone; Carmel Formation (Middle Jurassic) of southern Utah, USA. Largest is 1.0 mm in diameter.
Carbonate rocks are a class of sedimentary rocks composed primarily of carbonate minerals. The two major types are limestone, which is composed of calcite or aragonite (different crystal forms of CaCO3), and dolomite rock (also known as dolostone), which is composed of mineral dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2). They are usually classified based on texture and grain size.[1] Importantly, carbonate rocks can exist as metamorphic and igneous rocks, too. When recrystallized carbonate rocks are metamorphosed, marble is created. Rare igneous carbonate rocks even exist as intrusive carbonatites and, even rarer, there exists volcanic carbonate lava.
Carbonate rocks are also crucial components to understanding geologic history due to processes such as diagenesis in which carbonates undergo compositional changes based on kinetic effects.[2] The correlation between this compositional change and temperature can be exploited to reconstruct past climate as is done in paleoclimatology. Carbonate rocks can also be used for understanding various other systems as described below.
^Regnet, J. B.; David, C.; Robion, P.; Menéndez, B. (2019-05-01). "Microstructures and physical properties in carbonate rocks: A comprehensive review". Marine and Petroleum Geology. 103: 366–376. Bibcode:2019MarPG.103..366R. doi:10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2019.02.022. ISSN 0264-8172. S2CID 135198700.
^Fantle, Matthew (2020). "The Role of Diagenesis in Shaping the Geochemistry of the Marine Carbonate Record". Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences. 48: 549–583. Bibcode:2020AREPS..48..549F. doi:10.1146/annurev-earth-073019-060021. S2CID 219738220.
paleoclimatology. Carbonate rocks can also be used for understanding various other systems as described below. Limestone is the most common carbonaterock and is...
minerals and carbonate rock (which is made of chiefly carbonate minerals), and both are dominated by the carbonate ion, CO2−3. Carbonate minerals are extremely...
Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonaterock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under...
volcanic rock Boninite – Ultramafic extrusive rock high in both magnesium and silica Carbonatite – Igneous rock with more than 50% carbonate minerals...
Limestone (calcium carbonate CaCO3) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the...
alkalinity, especially for carbonate minerals in contact with groundwater or seawater. The dissolution (or precipitation) of carbonaterock has a strong influence...
Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula CaCO3. It is a common substance found in rocks as the minerals calcite and aragonite...
mudstone is also used to describe carbonate rocks (limestone or dolomite) that are composed predominantly of carbonate mud. However, in most contexts, the...
Magnesium carbonate, MgCO3 (archaic name magnesia alba), is an inorganic salt that is a colourless or white solid. Several hydrated and basic forms of...
mud-supported carbonaterock that contains greater than 10% grains. Most recently, this definition has been clarified as a carbonate-dominated rock in which...
because as much as 50% of the world's hydrocarbon reserves are hosted in carbonaterock, and much of this is found in porous karst systems. The English word...
accumulate. The absence of carbonaterock in shale beds reflects the absence of organisms that might have secreted carbonate skeletons, also likely due...
metamorphosed graywacke, argillite, tuff, mafic igneous extrusive flows, and carbonaterock. It is estimated that nearly 70% of Cuba consists of karst limestone...
his carbonaterock classification system. Micrite is derived from MICRocrystalline calcITE. In the Folk classification micrite is a carbonaterock dominated...
that consists of either amphibole-chlorite-carbonate-talc rock, talc-carbonaterock, or simply talc rock and is sold in the form of sawn slabs. "Ground...
then normalize all the sedimentary rock fragments to 100% and attempt to find the relative abundances of carbonaterock fragments (CRFs), chert fragments...
Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2)) that have recrystallized under the...
refer to: Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonaterock Dolomite, Alabama, United States...
metallic minerals formed by the replacement of sedimentary, usually carbonaterock, by metal-bearing solutions in the vicinity of igneous intrusions. When...
marine sediments, 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) thick. They were predominantly carbonaterock, including dolomite (35–40% of total sequence) and limestone (25–30%)...
grain-supported carbonaterock that contains less than 1% mud-grade material. This definition has recently been clarified as a carbonate-dominated rock that does...
calcium carbonate and other minerals, which is precipitated from mineralized water solutions. Limestone is the chief form of calcium carbonaterock, which...
of the Upper and Lower Floridan aquifers, is a sequence of Paleogene carbonaterock which spans an area of about 100,000 square miles (260,000 km2) in the...
grain-supported carbonaterock that contains 1% or more mud-grade fraction. This definition has been clarified by Lokier and Al Junaibi (2016) as a carbonate-dominated...
(2,944 m) NAVD 88. The northwest face of the mountain is a massive carbonaterock (limestone and dolomite) cliff with 2,200 feet (670 m) of vertical rise...
(rock) fragments. Carbonate rocks are classified with the Dunham or Folk classification schemes according to the constituents of the carbonaterock. Metamorphic...
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