More than 20 examples of fossil carbonate platform systems were compared for slope angle and sediment fabric. Plots of slope angle versus sediment fabric show that grainy, non‐cohesive, mud‐free sediments build steeper slopes than muddy, cohesive, sediments. Examples near the end‐members of grainy and muddy carbonate platform flanks are found in the Triassic of the Dolomites in northern Italy and in the Bahamas, respectively. They document the flank geometry and the processes readjusting the slope profile once the limiting slope angle is exceeded. The grainy flank sediments in the Dolomites, modified by shearing and avalanching, produce straight slope profiles with declivities up to 35°, whereas the muddy Bahamian flank sediments, modified by large‐scale creep and rotational to translational sliding and slumping, produce a concave‐upwards slope profile, inclined at less than 4°. The comparison between slope angle and sediment fabric indicates that the physical behaviour of sediments in the gravity field, angle of shearing and mode of readjustment processes, is linked to the composition of the slope sediment. Among the variables such as sea‐level, subsidence, climate, plate motion and oceanographic setting (windward‐leeward), sediment fabric is suggested to be a major, if not the major control on slope angle and slope curvature of carbonate platform flanks. Besides the recently documented tendency of carbonate sediments to build steeper slopes than siliciclastics, this proposed relation sheds new light on the analysis and quantification of the variables influencing the geometry and depositional evolution of carbonate systems. Furthermore, it provides an opportunity to deduce sediment composition from seismic lines and predict lithology prior to drilling.

Positive shifts in global seawater δ13CDIC are related to changes in the ratio of organic relative to inorganic carbon burial in oceanic basins, whereas factors such as climatic cooling and the accumulation of polar ice are known to cause positive shifts in δ18O. Here, an alternative model is proposed for the formation of local positive isotope shifts in shallow‐marine settings. The model involves geochemically altered platform‐top water masses and the effects of early meteoric diagenesis on carbonate isotopic composition. Both mechanisms are active on modern (sub)tropical carbonate platforms and result in low carbonate δ13C and δ18O relative to typical oceanic values. During high‐amplitude transgressive events, the impact of isotopically light meteoric fluids on the carbonate geochemistry is much reduced, and 13C‐depleted platform‐top water mixes with open oceanic water masses having higher isotope values. Both factors are recorded as a transient increase in carbonate 13C and 18O relative to low background values. These processes must be taken into consideration when interpreting the geochemical record of ancient epeiric seas.

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More than 250 plugs from outcrops and three nearby boreholes in an undisturbed reef of Miocene (Tortonian) age were quantitatively analyzed for texture, mineralogy, and acoustic properties. We measured the P- and S-waves of carbonate rocks under dry (humidified) and brine-saturated conditions at [Formula: see text] effective pressure with an ultrasonic pulse transmission technique [Formula: see text]. The data set was compared with an extensive database of petrophysical measurements of a variety of rock types encountered in carbonate sedimentary sequences. Two major textural groups were distinguished on the basis of trends in plots of compressional-wave velocity versus Poisson’s ratio (a specific ratio of P-wave over S-wave velocity). In granular rocks, the framework of depositional grains is the main medium for acoustic-wave propagation; in crystalline rocks, this medium is provided by a framework of interlocking crystals formed during diagenesis. Rock textures are connected to primary depositionalparameters and a diagenetic overprint through the specific effects on Poisson’s ratio. Calculating acoustic velocities using Gassmann fluid substitution modeling approximates measured saturated velocities for 55% of the samples (3% error tolerance); however, it shows considerable errors because shear modulus changes with saturation. Introducing brine into the pore space may decrease the shear modulus of the rock by approximately [Formula: see text] or, alternatively, increase it by approximately [Formula: see text]. This change in shear modulus is coupled with the texture of the rock. In granular carbonates, the shear modulus decreases; in crystalline and cemented carbonates, it increases with saturation. The results demonstrate the intimate relationship between elastic behavior and the depositional and diagenetic properties of carbonate sedimentary rocks. The results potentially allow the direct extraction of granular and crystalline rock texture from acoustic data alone and may help predict rock types from seismic data and in wells.