Microfabric features of microbial carbonates: experimental and natural evidence of mold holes and crusts

Results of our study based on examination of induced precipitation of carbonate by a cyanobacterium, Lyngbya in the laboratory, and the analyses of microphotographs of both modern and ancient microbial carbonates, demonstrated the importance of recognition of mold holes and carbonate crusts in understanding microbial carbonates. In the experiment, only cyanobacteria Lyngbya can induce precipitation of carbonate, forming scattered grains on the surface of Lyngbya filaments. Carbonate crusts enclosing the old parts of the filaments were formed through aggregation of these scatter grains while mold holes were formed after decay of the filaments. Mainly based on the experiment, six different ways of microbial carbonate formation were recognized: (1) trapping without mold holes, (2) trapping with mold holes, (3) particle-forming induced-precipitation of carbonate, (4) discrete crust-forming induced-precipitation of carbonate, (5) induced precipitation, forming tangled crusts that build a porous construction, and (6) induced precipitation, forming a dense construction. And mold holes and crusts can form in ways (4), (5), and (6). Examination of both modern microbial carbonates from the Shark Bay of Australia, Highborne Cay of Bahamas and the atoll of Kiritimati and the microbialites from the Cambrian dolostone sequence in Tarim, Xinjiang, China all demonstrated the limitation of recognizing only mesofabric features and importance of examining microfabric features for understanding of the genesis of the microbial carbonates and their proper classification. The shape, size and arrangement of the mold holes, crusts, and the features of the minerals filling in pores between the crusts, which are referred as the microfabric features here, are keys to better understand the formation and environments of both modern and ancient microbial carbonates.