Carbonate Rocks

Cathodoluminescence (CL)  discriminates diagenetic relationships in carbonates, especially dolomite. CL can reveal complex growth histories of calcite and dolomite crystals and replacement relationships. Phosphorescence of the dominant (orange-red) luminescence of the manganese cation prevents the use of certain acquisition modes. However, wavelength-filtered or spectrum imaging approaches can be useful for visualizing the texture apparent at other wavelengths.