Untangling the Primary Biotic and Abiotic Controls on Oxygen, Inorganic and Organic Carbon Isotope Signals in Modern Microbialites.

Microbialites are organo-sedimentary structures formed throughout most of the Earth history, over a wide range of geological contexts, and under a multitude of environmental conditions affecting their composition. The carbon and oxygen isotope records of carbonates, which are most often their main constituents, have been used as a widespread tool for paleoenvironmental reconstructions. However, the multiplicity of factors that influence microbialites formation is not always properly distinguished in their isotopic record, in both ancient and modern settings.