Articles on SPEPS

Carbonate rocks are one of the main components of the Earth's surface, accounting for 15-20% of all sedimentary rocks. They are important not only as a natural resource but also as a key source of information on Earth's history. This is because the shells/skeletons of calcifiers and their forming carbonate rocks record the surrounding environments in growth rings, chemical and isotopic compositions, and sedimentary successions, and their age can be directly measured/determined. Physical processes (e.g., dissolution) and products during diagenesis reflect the geological history after deposition. Furthermore, the development and demise of reefs and carbonate platforms are closely related to material cycles (e.g., the carbon cycle) on the Earth's surface as well as local and global environmental changes. For these reasons, research in carbonate sedimentology and geochemistry has rapidly intensified over the last decades, and has been further advanced through collaboration with studies using global climate models in recent years. In this SPEPS, we will present a comprehensive collection of basic and cutting-edge studies on all processes from biotic/abiotic carbonate precipitation, via sedimentation and reef/carbonate platform formation, to diagenesis, and provide a new perspective on carbonate sedimentology and geochemistry.

Edited by: Yasufumi Iryu, Davide Bassi, Kazuhiko Fujita, Takashi Nakamura, Marc Humblet