Microbialites; organosedimentary deposits of benthic microbial communities

Microbialites are organosedimentary deposits formed from interaction between benthic microbial communities (BMCs) and detrital or chemical sediments. Processes involved in the formation of calcareous microbialites include trapping and binding of detrital sediment (forming microbial boundstones), inorganic calcification (forming microbial tufa), and biologically influenced calcification (forming microbial framestones). Microbialites contrast with other biological sediments in that they are generally not composed of skeletal remains. -from Authors