The term “Stick” describes the overall sedimentation
pattern very well, because of the ability of the system to
glue (through microbial activity) sediments and build
sturdy systems (Figure 2).
Relative changes in sea-level do not have a large impact
on the production rates of this system as the main sediment
production loci are situated on the upper slope, below the
wave base, and extend over a fairly extensive water depth
range. As a result, the production rates of this system are
fairly constant and can be described by slope shedding
(Kenter et al., 2005), slope-derived sediment production
not being affected by sea-level changes.
As a fourth system, one could add the cold-water coral
reefs (CWCR), first described from the Northwestern
European margin by Teichert (1958). These systems share
the stony corals with the T-factory and the nutrientdependent growth strategy with the C-factory. Characteristic for this CWCR-factory is the dominance of
ahermatypic corals, e.g., Lophelia and Madrepora, in a
sedimentary system with very high biodiversity. The nutrient dependency and occurrence throughout a wide range
of water depths below the photic zone result in the worldwide distribution of this sedimentary system, with new
discoveries being added daily (Correa et al., 2012;
Mienis et al., 2012).
Production profiles
The production profiles of the different factories not only
reflect the water depths in which the factories reach their
optimum growth and sediment production, but also the
environmental processes that steer the types and amounts
of sediment produced. Various environmental factors
drive the development of specific carbonate producing
organisms and associated modes of carbonate production,
which results in differences in the grain-size spectra produced, as well as dominant carbonate mineralogies. These
factors then relate to the efficiency of the system to build
sturdy structures, fixing the sediments within depositional
realms.
So the different styles of carbonate platform development are related to production profiles and thus the sensitivity of the system as a whole to environmental changes.
These differences are very well expressed in the response
of the T-, C-, and M-factories to relative changes in sealevel. Sharp contrasts are found in the T-factory, with high
production during highstands in sea-level when the flat
tops of the platforms are flooded. Sharply reduced production occurs during times when the tops become exposed
and sediment production is restricted to small surfaces
on the steep platform slopes. In the C-factory, relative
changes in sea-level have a minor effect on the overall production rates, but do cause re-sedimentation of sediments
during these changes. The M-factory also shows fairly stable sediment production and export rates during sea-level
changes, as the main sediment production sites are situated on the upper slope. Minor differences might occur
during phases of progradation and aggradation (Della
Porta et al., 2004). The CWCR-factory strongly depends
on the steady influx of nutrients either through slope currents or pelagic input. The CWCR-factories along the Irish
margin as well as the communities in the Mediterranean
show variations in their occurrence related to glacial and
interglacial time intervals.
Summary and conclusions
The carbonate factory concept provides a subdivision of
marine aquatic benthic carbonate sediment production
systems based on their styles of carbonate precipitation.
The planktonic carbonate factory is classified as an additional production system. The overall carbonate sediment
production for the individual systems (tropical, coolwater, microbial, and cold-water coral reef systems)
depends on specific factory-dependent sediment production profiles.
Bibliography
Atkinson, M. J., Carlson, B., and Crow, G. L., 1995. Coral growth in
high-nutrient, low-ph seawater: a case study of corals cultured at
Waikiki Aquarium, Honolulu, Hawaii. Coral Reefs, 14(4),
215–223.
Braga, J. C., and Martín, J. M., 1996. Geometries of reef advance in
response to relative sea-level changes in a Messinian (uppermost
Miocene) fringing reef (Cariatiz reef, Sorbas Basin, SE Spain).
Sedimentary Geology, 107, 61–81.
Chazottes, V., Reijmer, J. J. G., and Cordier, E., 2008. Sediment
characteristics in reef areas influenced by eutrophication-related
alterations of benthic communities and bioerosion processes.
Marine Geology, 250(1–2), 114–127.
Correa, T. B. S., Grasmueck, M., Eberli, G. P., Reed, J. K., Verwer,
K., and Purkis, S., 2012. Variability of cold-water coral mounds
in a high sediment input and tidal current regime, Straits of Florida. Sedimentology, 59(4), 1278–1304.
Della Porta, G., Kenter, J. A. M., and Bahamonde, J. R., 2004.
Depositional facies and stratal geometry of an Upper Carboniferous prograding and aggrading high-relief carbonate platform
(Cantabrian Mountains, N. Spain). Sedimentology, 51, 267–295.
Dravis, J. J., 1996. Rapidity of freshwater calcite cementation –
implications for carbonate diagenesis and sequence stratigraphy.
Sedimentary Geology, 107, 1–10.
Grammer, G. M., Crescini, C. M., McNeill, D. F., and Taylor, L. H.,
1999. Quantifying rates of syndepositional marine cementation
in deeper platform environments – new insight into a fundamental process. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 69(1), 202–207.
Halfar, J., Godinez-Orta, L., Mutti, M., Valdez-Holguín, J. E., and
Borges, J. M., 2004. Nutrient and temperature controls on modern carbonate production. An example from the Gulf of California, Mexico. Geology, 32(3), 213–216.
Halfar, J., Godinez-Orta, L., Mutti, M., Valdez-Holguin, J. E., and
Borges, J. M., 2006. Carbonates calibrated against oceanographic parameters along a latitudinal transect in the Gulf of California, Mexico. Sedimentology, 53, 297–320.
Harris, P. M., Ellis, J., and Purkis, S. J., 2013. Assessing the extent
of carbonate deposition in early rift settings. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, 97(1), 27–60.
James, N. P., and Kendall, A. C., 1992. Introduction to carbonate
and evaporite facies models. In Walker, R. G., and James, N. P.
(eds.), Facies Models – Response to Sea Level Change.
St. John’s: Geological Society of Canada, pp. 265–275.
CARBONATE FACTORIES
83
pattern very well, because of the ability of the system to
glue (through microbial activity) sediments and build
sturdy systems (Figure 2).
Relative changes in sea-level do not have a large impact
on the production rates of this system as the main sediment
production loci are situated on the upper slope, below the
wave base, and extend over a fairly extensive water depth
range. As a result, the production rates of this system are
fairly constant and can be described by slope shedding
(Kenter et al., 2005), slope-derived sediment production
not being affected by sea-level changes.
As a fourth system, one could add the cold-water coral
reefs (CWCR), first described from the Northwestern
European margin by Teichert (1958). These systems share
the stony corals with the T-factory and the nutrientdependent growth strategy with the C-factory. Characteristic for this CWCR-factory is the dominance of
ahermatypic corals, e.g., Lophelia and Madrepora, in a
sedimentary system with very high biodiversity. The nutrient dependency and occurrence throughout a wide range
of water depths below the photic zone result in the worldwide distribution of this sedimentary system, with new
discoveries being added daily (Correa et al., 2012;
Mienis et al., 2012).
Production profiles
The production profiles of the different factories not only
reflect the water depths in which the factories reach their
optimum growth and sediment production, but also the
environmental processes that steer the types and amounts
of sediment produced. Various environmental factors
drive the development of specific carbonate producing
organisms and associated modes of carbonate production,
which results in differences in the grain-size spectra produced, as well as dominant carbonate mineralogies. These
factors then relate to the efficiency of the system to build
sturdy structures, fixing the sediments within depositional
realms.
So the different styles of carbonate platform development are related to production profiles and thus the sensitivity of the system as a whole to environmental changes.
These differences are very well expressed in the response
of the T-, C-, and M-factories to relative changes in sealevel. Sharp contrasts are found in the T-factory, with high
production during highstands in sea-level when the flat
tops of the platforms are flooded. Sharply reduced production occurs during times when the tops become exposed
and sediment production is restricted to small surfaces
on the steep platform slopes. In the C-factory, relative
changes in sea-level have a minor effect on the overall production rates, but do cause re-sedimentation of sediments
during these changes. The M-factory also shows fairly stable sediment production and export rates during sea-level
changes, as the main sediment production sites are situated on the upper slope. Minor differences might occur
during phases of progradation and aggradation (Della
Porta et al., 2004). The CWCR-factory strongly depends
on the steady influx of nutrients either through slope currents or pelagic input. The CWCR-factories along the Irish
margin as well as the communities in the Mediterranean
show variations in their occurrence related to glacial and
interglacial time intervals.
Summary and conclusions
The carbonate factory concept provides a subdivision of
marine aquatic benthic carbonate sediment production
systems based on their styles of carbonate precipitation.
The planktonic carbonate factory is classified as an additional production system. The overall carbonate sediment
production for the individual systems (tropical, coolwater, microbial, and cold-water coral reef systems)
depends on specific factory-dependent sediment production profiles.
Bibliography
Atkinson, M. J., Carlson, B., and Crow, G. L., 1995. Coral growth in
high-nutrient, low-ph seawater: a case study of corals cultured at
Waikiki Aquarium, Honolulu, Hawaii. Coral Reefs, 14(4),
215–223.
Braga, J. C., and Martín, J. M., 1996. Geometries of reef advance in
response to relative sea-level changes in a Messinian (uppermost
Miocene) fringing reef (Cariatiz reef, Sorbas Basin, SE Spain).
Sedimentary Geology, 107, 61–81.
Chazottes, V., Reijmer, J. J. G., and Cordier, E., 2008. Sediment
characteristics in reef areas influenced by eutrophication-related
alterations of benthic communities and bioerosion processes.
Marine Geology, 250(1–2), 114–127.
Correa, T. B. S., Grasmueck, M., Eberli, G. P., Reed, J. K., Verwer,
K., and Purkis, S., 2012. Variability of cold-water coral mounds
in a high sediment input and tidal current regime, Straits of Florida. Sedimentology, 59(4), 1278–1304.
Della Porta, G., Kenter, J. A. M., and Bahamonde, J. R., 2004.
Depositional facies and stratal geometry of an Upper Carboniferous prograding and aggrading high-relief carbonate platform
(Cantabrian Mountains, N. Spain). Sedimentology, 51, 267–295.
Dravis, J. J., 1996. Rapidity of freshwater calcite cementation –
implications for carbonate diagenesis and sequence stratigraphy.
Sedimentary Geology, 107, 1–10.
Grammer, G. M., Crescini, C. M., McNeill, D. F., and Taylor, L. H.,
1999. Quantifying rates of syndepositional marine cementation
in deeper platform environments – new insight into a fundamental process. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 69(1), 202–207.
Halfar, J., Godinez-Orta, L., Mutti, M., Valdez-Holguín, J. E., and
Borges, J. M., 2004. Nutrient and temperature controls on modern carbonate production. An example from the Gulf of California, Mexico. Geology, 32(3), 213–216.
Halfar, J., Godinez-Orta, L., Mutti, M., Valdez-Holguin, J. E., and
Borges, J. M., 2006. Carbonates calibrated against oceanographic parameters along a latitudinal transect in the Gulf of California, Mexico. Sedimentology, 53, 297–320.
Harris, P. M., Ellis, J., and Purkis, S. J., 2013. Assessing the extent
of carbonate deposition in early rift settings. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, 97(1), 27–60.
James, N. P., and Kendall, A. C., 1992. Introduction to carbonate
and evaporite facies models. In Walker, R. G., and James, N. P.
(eds.), Facies Models – Response to Sea Level Change.
St. John’s: Geological Society of Canada, pp. 265–275.
CARBONATE FACTORIES
83