Abstract

Carbonates are the most abundant sediments and sedimentary rocks after terrigenous clastics. Carbonates are formed mainly by chemical, biochemical and biological processes, in contrast to sediments and rocks of terrigenous origin, which are essentially originated by the processes of weathering and erosion of other pre-existing rocks, almost all carbonates are formed in the marine environment, in coastal or tropical ocean environments where clastic sedimentation is minimal or does not exist. These carbonates develop as reefs, platforms, atolls, banks, mounds and ramps, as well as in the form of pelagic deposits in the oceans, for which a series of conditions are required in the formation and accumulation of these sediments [1]. In some lake environments with a tropical climate and lakes with high evaporation, carbonates can also form. Carbonates for their formation, either through direct precipitation or through organisms when they build their calcareous shells and skeletons, depend on the salinity and temperature of the waters, on the pH, on the partial pressures of carbon dioxide, dissolved oxygen, etc. The increase in salinity and temperature, the decrease in carbon dioxide, increase in oxygen and alkaline pH, favors the precipitation of calcium carbonate.