Calcarenite is a type of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

that is composed predominantly, more than 50 percent, of detrital (transported)

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class o ...

-size (0.0625 to 2 mm in diameter),

carbonate A carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid (H2CO3), characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, a polyatomic ion with the formula . The word ''carbonate'' may also refer to a carbonate ester, an organic compound containing the carbonate ...

grains. The grains consist of sand-size grains of either

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and ...

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

ooid Ooids are small (commonly ≤2 mm in diameter), spheroidal, "coated" (layered) sedimentary grains, usually composed of calcium carbonate, but sometimes made up of iron- or phosphate-based minerals. Ooids usually form on the sea floor, mo ...

intraclasts Intraclasts are irregularly shaped grains that form by syndepositional erosion of partially lithified sediment. Gravel grade material is generally composed of whole disarticulated or broken skeletal fragments together with sand grade material of wh ...

, pellets, fragments of older

s and dolomites, other carbonate grains, or some combination of these. Calcarenite is the carbonate equivalent of a

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

. The term calcarenite was originally proposed in 1903 by GrabauGrabau, A.W. (1903) ''Paleozoic coral reefs.'' Geological Society of America Bulletin. vol. 14, pp. 337-352.Grabau, A.W. (1904) ''On the classification of sedimentary rocks.'' American Geologist. vol. 33, pp. 228-247. as a part of his calcilutite, calcarenite and

calcirudite Calcirudite is a type of limestone that is composed predominantly, more than 50 percent, of carbonate grains that are larger in size than sand (2 mm in diameter). The grains can consist of either fragments of fossils, fragments of older limesto ...

carbonate classification system based upon the size of the detrital grains composing a limestone.Flügel, E. (2010) ''Microfacies of Carbonate Rocks'', 2nd ed. Springer-Verlag Berlin, Germany. 976 pp. Neuendorf, K.K.E., J.P. Mehl, Jr., and J.A. Jackson, J.A., eds. (2005) ''Glossary of Geology'' (5th ed.). Alexandria, Virginia, American Geological Institute. 779 pp. Calcarenites can accumulate in a wide variety of marine and non-marine environments. They can consist of grains of carbonate that have accumulated either as coastal sand dunes (

eolianite Eolianite or aeolianite is any rock formed by the lithification of sediment deposited by aeolian processes; that is, the wind. In common use, however, the term refers specifically to the most common form of eolianite: coastal limestone consisting ...

s),

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc sh ...

es, offshore bars and shoals,

turbidite A turbidite is the geologic deposit of a turbidity current, which is a type of amalgamation of fluidal and sediment gravity flow responsible for distributing vast amounts of clastic sediment into the deep ocean. Sequencing Turbidites wer ...

s, or other depositional settings.Scholle, P.A., D.G. Bebout, and C.H. Moore (1983) ''Carbonate Depositional Environments. '' Memoir no. 33. Tulsa, Oklahoma, American Association of Petroleum Geologists. 708 pp.

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See also