Temporal and Spatial Patterns in Carbonate Platforms (Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences, 46)

Combining field research of outcrop geology and investigating the recent formation of carbonate rocks in coastal environments the author gives an introduction in sequence stratigraphy. Using computer simulations the book focuses on four questions, regarding the geometry of carbonate wedges, sequences comparable with geotectonic cycles, their influence by geoidal pulses and the determination of these geoidal pulse distribution in geological time. Examples from the Alps and Florida show that ramps and divergent patterns, megabreccias, drowning of carbonate platforms etc. are results of global short-term sea level falls, interpreted as geoidal eustasy. This volume will be a fruitful supplement for the interpretation and understanding of sequence stratigraphic sections not only for scientists and students but also for researchers in the oil andgas industry.