Highlights – Mixed System Reef Diagenesis

Although siliciclastic-influenced carbonate systems are common through the stratigraphic record, their diagenesis remains poorly constrained, especially in the context of climatic variability.  Madden and Wilson describe diagenetic alteration of Neogene delta-front coral reefs that formed coevally with nearly continuous siliciclastic influx in a humid equatorial setting from equatorial Borneo.  The data show that continental groundwater flow driven by basin-margin palaeohydrology resulted in pervasive stabilization and calcitization, features rare in arid or temperate counterparts. The results provide an analog for patterns of diagenesis and porosity distribution in nearshore marine carbonates along predominantly siliciclastic coastlines, such as in delta-front, fan-delta, or siliciclastic inner-shelf settings.

Diagenesis of Neogene delta-front patch reefs: alteration of coastal, siliciclastic-influenced carbonates from humid equatorial regions by Robert H. C. Madden and Moyra E. J. Wilson