Carbonate Diagenesis Research involves the application of petrographic and geochemical techniques to distinguish the products of and describe the processes of diagenesis in carbonate units. In the Pleistocene, present day Andros Island was an ooid shoal complex similar in a surprising number of ways to the modern Joulters ooid shoal.
Research focuses on application of diagnostic criteria to define similar environments.
Andros rocks have experienced approximately 100,000 years of diagenetic alteration during which they have been exposed to vadose, phreatic and mixing zone conditions. Mineralogical, geochemical, and hydrogeological description of the current diagenetic environment in conjunction with evidence of past diagenesis allows a complete picture of the diagenetic history of the Andros Island ooid shoal to be described. The exposed portion of the Cockburn Town Reef has been extensively described and dated. This Pleistocene reef extends along the shoreline of western San Salvador. Cores have been retrieved through the exposed reef and along a transect perpendicular to the reef.