A Colour Atlas of Carbonate Sediments and Rocks under the Microscope

More than half of the world's petroleum is found in carbonate rocks, notably in the Middle East, the former USSR, and North America. These rocks show a bewildering variety of grains and textures, due to the wealth of different fossil organisms which contribute to their sedimentation and to the many diagenetic processes which modify textures and obscure the original deposits and fabric. Careful petrographic study with a polarizing microscope is a key element for studying carbonate sediments, as a comparison to field or core logging, and as a precursor to geochemical analysis. This atlas illustrates in full color numerous features of carbonate rocks and sediments, coverage far more extensive than in any general textbook. It is designed as a practical guide for identifying grain types and textures in carbonates and will appeal alike to undergraduate and graduate students and to professionals in both research and industrial laboratories.