Microbial Mats in Siliciclastic Depositional Systems Through Time

Book excerpt: The research field on microbial mats in siliciclastic environmental settings has greatly developed since its establishment by studies of pioneering scientists such as Gisela Gerdes, Wolfgang Krumbein, Jurgen Schieber, David Bottjer and others. The SEPM Special Publication is the result of the SEPM Field Conference on Sandy Microbial Mats (modern and ancient), which was held on May 21st to 23rd, 2010 at Dinosaur Ridge, Denver, Colorado, USA. The volume presents peer-reviewed individual case studies on microbial mats and on sedimentary structures (often called "microbially induced sedimentary structures - MISS") that occur in modern and ancient marine and terrestrial environments. The conference brought together sedimentologists, microbiologists, and paleontologists from 30 countries and all five continents. Topics discussed ranged from the evolution of cyanobacteria, the detection of quorom sensing in biofilms to the taxonomy of MISS and microbial mat ecology. The talks and posters presented fossil material from 3.2 Ga old rock successions to microbial mat samples from sediments of the present day. This volume is designed to present the wide spectrum of research in this multidisciplinary scientific field, and to integrate the many different points of view and approaches.