Abstract
Thrombolites and stromatolites within shallowing-upward carbonate cycles in the Cambrian Shannon Formation, central Australia, display a systematic zonation of mega-meso- and microscopic structures. Subtidal to intertidal thrombolite-stromatolite zonations are interpreted to record ecologic successions of benthic microbial communities in response to sea-level fluctuations and shoaling sedimentation. Following each sea-level rise, distinct microbial communities colonised laterally adjacent environments differentiated by water depth, turbulence, frequency of exposure, abundance of metazoans, salinity and supply of detrital sediment. Systematic analysis of the thrombolites and stromatolites suggests that their microstructure is primarily controlled by the internal organisation and morphologic composition (coccoid or filamentous) of the successive microbial communities, that their mesostructure is controlled by a complex interaction of biological and environmental factors, and that their megastructure is primarily controlled by environmental factors.
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Kennard, J.M. (1994). Thrombolites and Stromatolites within Shale-Carbonate Cycles, Middle-Late Cambrian Shannon Formation, Amadeus Basin, Central Australia. In: Bertrand-Sarfati, J., Monty, C. (eds) Phanerozoic Stromatolites II. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1124-9_17
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1124-9_17
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