GEOL 5540 - Carbonate Depositional Systems I

• Be able to identify the depositional environment of carbonate rocks in hand sample.
• Gain an appreciation for changes in carbonate composition through time due to biotic evolution.
• Graduate students will research a specific depositional environment, determine the diagnostic criteria for identifying carbonates from that environment, and present this information to the class in a 30 minute presentation.
• Learn the controls on carbonate sedimentation including geochemical, tectonic, diagenetic, and climatic controls.
• Learn the diagnostic criteria for differentiating the most common carbonate depositional environments including eolian, lacustrine, subaerial, beach, tidal flat, bank margin, reef, open and restricted platform, slope, and basinal environments.
• Learn to classify carbonate rocks and to identify skeletal and non-skeletal constituents of carbonate rocks.
• Learn to use hypothesis testing to evaluate depositional environments for carbonate rocks.
• Understand the primary location and style of carbonate deposition in the modern world.