shallowing-upward carbonate cycle

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shallowing-upward carbonate cycle A stratigraphic sequence found on platforms, shelves (see SHELF), and some former lake beds, where carbonates have been deposited in progressively shallower water. The sequence develops where the rate of carbonate deposition exceeds the rate at which the receiving basin sinks, so the sediment surface repeatedly rises towards the water surface, while at the same time the deposit progrades (see PROGRADATION).