This volume will be of special interest to carbonate sedimentologists, geochemists, petroleum geologists, engineers, and seismologists. It addresses fundamental aspects of prograding carbonate platforms in a Neogene example from Great Bahama Bank. A remarkable seismic profile, which imaged the prograding margin, provided the seismic stratigraphic framework. Two continuouslycored and logged borings on the profile produced the ground truth for testing and characterizing processes: lithologies and ages of sequence boundaries; influence of sea level fluctuations on progradation, controls on impedance contrasts in carbonates; fluid flow through the submerged margin; log responses of different lithologies; and the origin, ages and depositional environments of the platform top and prograding clinothems. The new findings on diagenesis are of special interest, including complete mineral stabilization in seawater, early burial dolomitization related to sequence boundaries and how diagenesis controls sonic velocity and permeability.

This special publication Perspectives in Carbonate Geologyis a collection of papers most of which were presented at asymposium to honor the 80th birthday of Bob Ginsburg at the meetingof Geological Society of America in Salt Lake City in 2005. Themajority of the papers in this publication are connected with thestudy of modern carbonate sediments. Bob Ginsburg pioneered theconcept of comparative sedimentology - that is using the modern tocompare to and relate to and understand the ancient. These studiesare concerned with Bob's areas of passion: coral reefs andsea-level; submarine cementation and formation of beach rock;surface sediments on Great Bahama Bank and other platforms; originof ooids; coastal sediments; formation of stromatolites; impact ofstorms on sediments; and the formation of dolomite. The remainderof the papers apply the study of modern environments andsedimentary processes to ancient sediments. Recent other publications of the International Association ofSedimentologists SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS 40 Analogue and Numerical Modelling of Sedimentary Systems From Understanding to Prediction Edited by P. de Boer, G. Postma, K. van der Zwan, P. Burgess and P.Kukla 2008, 336 pages, 172 illustrations 39 Glacial Sedimentary Processes and Products Edited by M.J. Hambrey, P. Christoffersen, N.F. Glasser and B.Hubbard 2007, 416 pages, 181 illustrations 38 Sedimentary Processes, Environments and Basins A Tribute to Peter Friend Edited by G. Nichols, E. Williams and C. Paola 2007, 648 pages, 329 illustrations 37 Continental Margin Sedimentation From Sediment Transport to Sequence Stratigraphy Edited by C.A. Nittrouer, J.A. Austin, M.E. Field, J.H.Kravitz, J.P.M. Syvitski and P.L. Wiberg 2007, 549 pages, 178 illustrations 36 Braided Rivers Process, Deposits, Ecology and Management Edited by G.H. Sambrook Smith, J.L. Best, C.S. Bristow and G.E.Petts 2006, 390 pages, 197 illustrations 35 Fluvial Sedimentology VII Edited by M.D. Blum, S.B. Marriott and S.F. Leclair 2005, 589 pages, 319 illustrations REPRINT SERIES 4 Sandstone Diagenesis: Recent and Ancient Edited by S.D. Burley and R.H. Worden 2003, 648 pages, 223 illustrations Please see inside the book for the full list of IASpublications Cover design by Code 5 Design For information, news, and content about Wiley-Blackwell booksand journals in Earth Sciences please visit www.earthpages.com

This book on geology and hydrogeology of carbonate islands is volume 54 in the Developments in Sedimentology series.

Carbonate sediments are of increasing relevance for archives of past environmental conditions and for economical reasons in areas of geothermal energy and hydrocarbon reservoirs. Complex interaction of physical and chemical parameters with biological parameters determines the architecture and composition of carbonate sedimentary bodies. This book closes some of the still existing gaps in our understanding of the influence and interplay of physical, chemical, and biological parameters with carbonate sedimentation. An understanding of this interaction is not only required for reliable prediction of reservoir quality but also for a robust interpretation of environmental conditions in the past and the present. It is written by geologists for geologists in order to provide an easily accessible overview of the large amount of relevant information provided by the neighbouring sciences. The approach of the book is to document the modern depositional environments of three classical areas of carbonate deposition, each characteristic for a specific sedimentological setting (isolated platform, attached shelf, ramp) in order to assess both the range of physical, biological and chemical parameters and their sedimentary response. This book presents a comprehensive compilation based on data from published work and unpublished theses, and the integration of these data in order to extract previously undiscovered relationships between the discussed parameters and carbonate deposition.

This textbook provides an overview of the origin and preservation of carbonate sedimentary rocks. The focus is on limestones and dolostones and the sediments from which they are derived. The approach is general and universal and draws heavily on fundamental discoveries, arresting interpretations, and keystone syntheses that have been developed over the last five decades. The book is designed as a teaching tool for upper level undergraduate classes, a fundamental reference for graduate and research students, and a scholarly source of information for practicing professionals whose expertise lies outside this specialty. The approach is rigorous, with every chapter being designed as a separate lecture on a specific topic that is encased within a larger scheme. The text is profusely illustrated with all colour diagrams and images of rocks, subsurface cores, thin sections, modern sediments, and underwater seascapes. Additional resources for this book can be found at: www.wiley.com/go/james/carbonaterocks

Periplatform slope sediments from the Bahamas serve as an example for a small-scale sedimentologic record of environmental changes. Carbonate platforms react sensitively to sea-level fluctuations. Therefore, sediments deposited on the slope during lowstands differ in composition from highstand deposits. A second focus is the early diagenetic alteration and cementation of these sediments with their high diagenetic potential. This book contributes to and discusses new developments in carbonate sedimentology such as the concepts of highstand shedding and early burial diagenesis, which also have an impact on reservoir studies.