Calcarenite is a type of

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

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 usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

-size (0.0625 to 2 mm in diameter),

carbonate A carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid, (), 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 group ...

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

coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...

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 Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

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 floo ...

intraclasts In geology, intraclasts are irregularly-shaped grains that form by syndepositional erosion (i.e. erosion simultaneous with deposition) of partially-lithified sediment. Gravel grade material is generally composed of whole disarticulated or broken ...

, 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 rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

. The term calcarenite was originally proposed in 1903 by

Grabau Grabau is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aaron Grabau (born 1978), Australian basketball player * Amadeus William Grabau (1870–1946), geologist * Charles Grabau, jurist * Johannes Andreas August Grabau (1804–1879), t ...

Grabau, 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 Calcilutite (also known as cementstone) is a type of limestone that is composed of predominantly, more than 50 percent, of either clay-size or both silt-size and clay-size detrital (transported) carbonate grains. These grains consist either of foss ...

, 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 limest ...

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

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

s (

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 (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

es, offshore bars and shoals,

turbidite A turbidite is the geologic Deposition (geology), 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 ...

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.

References

See also