Although recently some have lamented the “demise” of carbonate
geology, practictioners in the field are not ones to let it die. Instead of
re-hashing what he considers to be more mundane aspects of carbonate
depositional systems, or argumentative aspects of cyclostratigraphy, Bruce Wilkinson starts from the
premise that “so much of carbonate sedimentology is crap” to develop the
concepts and applications of the future of carbonate geology—peloids and
pelotherapy. The Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) database of
the MEDLINE/PubMed defines pelotherapy as “The therapeutic use
of mud in packs or baths taking advantage of the absorptive qualities of the
mud. It has been used for rheumatism and skin problems.” Building on efforts of clay mineralogists, Wilkinson
argues that pelotherapy can take three approaches: 1) Geophagy, which utilizes the healing power of
the calcium carbonate-organic mix, but which can become addictive; 2) Psammotherapy (sand baths) useful for muscular-skeletal
diseases; and 3) Cosmetics, providing for a strong skrabiruyuschy effect. The
manuscript notes a niche (but growing) peloid travel destination,
clear relevance for modeling, and a strong and growing market –
after all, who doesn’t love a good peloidal mud bath?
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