Limestone

 Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and/or

aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate (CaCO3).
 Rock composed of at least 50% calcium carbonate, containing impurities such as Quartz, Dolomite, clay, and
iron oxides.

1 consist mostly of carbonate minerals:

2 1) Calcite CaCO3
3 2) Dolomite Ca,Mg (CO3)2
4 3) Plus organic remains preserved as carbonate skeletons.
5 Originally these minerals form as carbonate mud which then slowly turns into
solid rock via diagenesis.
6 During this process some of the original physical and chemical properties can
change slightly and frequently calcite can change to dolomite.

Mode of formation
1 In the geological past shallow seas were widespread and limestone could be
deposited over 1000's km2.
2 Organisms with carbonate skeletons occur throughout the world, so in
theory carbonate sediments can be deposited anywhere e.g. seas and oceans
3 However, they do not occur everywhere, there are several factors that
influence and therefore control the deposition of carbonates:
4 T of water
5 Salinity
6 Water depth
7 Amount of silica input
8 Limestones tend to form in warm seas.
9 These conditions are proved by the presence of index fossils such as corals.
10 Therefore most limestones form in tropical/sub-tropical belts 0 - 30° north or
south of the equator.
11 Most limestones formed since the Cambrian have formed in these latitudes.
12 The limestone forming organisms are also affected by salinity and depth of
the water and therefore tend to live at depths up to 200 m (where sunlight
can penetrate).
13 If the sea is too saline then animals do not survive as well so limestones tend
to occur in normal salinity ranges.
14 This depth allows algae to photosynthesise and animals to thrive in
continental shelf areas in particular.
15 Occasionally carbonate deposits can be found in environments deeper than
200 m e.g. abyssal plains.
16 However, the organisms forming these deposits would not have lived there.
17 They were floating or swimming organisms which once dead sank into the
deeper water and slowly accumulated as oozes (very fine carbonate
sediments).
Carbonate Compensation Depth
 1 Limestones cannot form below 3 - 5 km depth "Carbonate Compensation
Depth" because at that depth the P is so great that carbonates are re-
dissolved.
2 Carbonates will also not form if there is a large influx of silica material or
debris from the land.
3 This affects the survival and growth of limestone forming organisms and
inhibits the growth of the grasses that trap and fix the carbonate mud in
place.
4 Therefore limestones form either at a distance from land or else close to land
but not undergoing a lot of erosion (low lying land masses).

Types of limestone
1 A wide range of different types of limestone exist:
a) non-clastic, chemical or inorganic limestone (precipitated from water)
b) Detrital (minor) (loose fragments or grains that have been worn away from rock)
c) Bioclastic (rock formed from organic remains) form from the shells of dead sea creatures
d) Biochemical (secreted by marine organisms such as algae and coral )
e) Clastic (form from the cementation of sand and / or mud by calcite)

Clasts - if clastic / bioclastic then grains and / or broken or whole shell fragments visible;
if non-clastic / chemical then crystalline and no clasts visible.
clasts - fragments of pre-existing rocks or minerals that make up a sedimentary rock.

Mineralogy of Limestone
1 Calcite
o Formula: CaCO3
o System:Trigonal
o Lustre:Vitreous, Pearly
o Transparency: Transparent, Translucent
o Colour:White, Yellow, Red, Orange, Blue, Green, Brown, Grey
o Streak: White
o Hardness (Mohs):3
o Tenacity: Brittle
o Cleavage: Perfect
o Fracture: Irregular/Uneven, Step-Like
o Density 2.710 g/cm3
o Crystal system: trigonal

2 Aragonite
o Formula: CaCO3
o Lustre:Vitreous, Resinous
o Transparency: Transparent, Translucent
o Colour: Colorless to white or grey, often stained various hues by
impurities, such as blue, green, red or violet; colorless in transmitted light.
o Streak: Uncolored/white.
 o Hardness (Mohs):3½ - 4Hardness
o Tenacity: Brittle
o Cleavage: Distinct/Good
o Fracture:Sub-Conchoidal
o Density 2.947 g/cm3
o Crystal system: Orthorhombic

CLASSIFICATION OF LIMESTONE

1. Dunham classification

Robert J. Dunham in 1964, and refined by Embry and Klovan in 1971

• Mudstone contains less than 10% grains (usually assessed by area in cut or thin
section), supported by a lime mud.
• Wackestone consists of more than 10% grains, supported by a lime mud.
• Packstone contains lime mud, but is grain supported.
• Rudstone is coarse limestones supported by grains larger than 2 mm.
• Grainstone lacks mud, and is grain supported.
• Boundstone describes sediment where the original components have been bound
together after deposition.
• Bafflestone develops where organisms have acted as baffles during deposition,
reducing the local depositional energy. They will contain traces of baffling
organism and smaller grains that would be expected from the paleocurrent
strength.
• Bindstone is produce where organisms (such as algae) encrust the elements during
deposition and bind them together.
• Framestone is a solid calcareous or siliceous framework which is maintained by
an organism such as a coral or sponge.
• Crystalline carbonate does not have recognisable depositional structures.
2. Limestone classification (after Dunham, 1962, and Embry
and Klovan, 1971).