Synsedimentary cementation in the Lower Miocene reefal carbonates of the central basin, Iran

A systematic petrographic investigation is used to answer the question of occurrence, distribution and reasons for variation of cementation within reefal carbonates of Lower-Miocene age. Petrographic evidences indicate that submarine cementation occurred at or near the sediment/rock-water interface, but unlike some modern counterparts (i.e. Belize and the Great Barrier Reef) it is not restricted to local areas along the seaward margins of reefs. The f-Member of the Qum Formation is a classic example in which cementation occurs in relatively deeper basinal water as well as a wide variety of lagoonal, reef and fore-reef facies.