Microbial carbonates: a sampling and measurement challenge for petrophysics addressed by capturing the bioarchitectural components
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Published:January 01, 2015
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CiteCitation
Patrick Corbett, Felipe Yuji Hayashi, Michael Saad Alves, Zeyun Jiang, Haitao Wang, Vasily Demyanov, Alessandra Machado, Leonardo Borghi, Narendra Srivastava, 2015. "Microbial carbonates: a sampling and measurement challenge for petrophysics addressed by capturing the bioarchitectural components", Microbial Carbonates in Space and Time: Implications for Global Exploration and Production, D. W. J. Bosence, K. A. Gibbons, D. P. Le Heron, W. A. Morgan, T. Pritchard, B. A. Vining
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Abstract
Ancient and modern stromatolites are potentially a challenge for petrophysicists when characterizing biosediments of microbial origin. Because of the heterogeneity, sometimes very cemented and lacking porosity, sometimes highly porous, these widely differing states can be used to develop techniques that can have wider application to addressing the representative elementary volume (REV – single or multiple REVs) challenge in microbial carbonates. Effective media properties – like porosity – need to be defined on REV scales and the challenge is that this scale is often close to or significantly larger than the traditional core plugs on which properties are traditionally measured....
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Microbial Carbonates in Space and Time: Implications for Global Exploration and Production

Microbial carbonates (microbialites) are remarkable sedimentary deposits. They have the longest geological range of any type of biogenic limestones, form in the greatest range of different sedimentary environments, oxygenated the Earth’s atmosphere and produce and, furthermore, store large volumes of hydrocarbons. This Special Publication provides significant contributions at a pivotal time in our understanding of microbial carbonates when their economic importance has become established and the results of many research programmes are coming to fruition.
It is the first book to focus on the economic aspects of microbialites and in particular the giant pre-salt discoveries offshore Brazil. The volume contains papers on the processes involved in the formation of both ancient and modern microbialites and the diversity of style in microbial carbonate build-ups. Structures and fabrics from both marine and non-marine settings are discussed from throughout the geological record.