Sedimentation as a Three-Component System

Sedimentation as a Three-Component System describes the most
common styles   of deposition in marine environments as they
relate to sediment composition. Three components, organic
matter, carbonate, and siliciclastic sediment, maysettle
concurrently, but at different rates, intermixing on the                  sea
floor to form a particular sediment composition. A change in
the      flux of one component is capable of relatively diluting
or concentrating theother two components, which can be
expressed in the characteristic ratio of organic carbon to
carbonate in the resulting sediment. The basic concept      of
this book is to address organic carbon-carbonate
associations in      terms of depositional inputs and time spans.
In addition, the                     three-component system describes organic
carbon changes related to major      facies transitions. Examples
include models of the genesis of carbonaceous   sediments,
with their various laminated to bioturbated lithotypes,               and
numerical organic carbon prediction.