Laminated microbial mats and microbialites have been documented from a variety of coastal marine environments. This study aims to provide the first detailed descriptions of intertidal pools, along with their hosted thrombolite and stromatolite structures, from Abu Dhabi, and to propose a model for their formation and evolution. It is proposed that the development of pools within the upper intertidal zone was initiated by localized erosion of the laminated microbial mats during high energy events. The removal of the protective mats permitted erosion of the underlying unconsolidated sediment to produce erosional scours that continued to develop to create the pools observed today. The margins of the newly‐created submerged environment were colonized by a cyanobacteria dominated microbial community. The precipitation of aragonite cement, associated with the cyanobacteria, stabilized the pool walls and cemented the microbial communities to form stromatolitic and thrombolitic fabrics. Syndepositional cementation was further enhanced by the precipitation of marine cements as a result of evaporation‐driven Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ supersaturation. Erosion behind and below the cemented pool wall eventually resulted in rim‐collapse and the formation of the observed pool margin parallel thrombolite bands. Successive generations of lithification and erosion increased the area of the pool with the earliest thrombolites eroding and becoming increasingly isolated. In summary, the resultant microbialites developed through the complex interplay of erosion, abiotic early lithification and microbially‐mediated processes, and represent a continuum between unlithified laminated microbial mats and domal microbialites. These features are most likely produced during a sea‐level scenario of stillstand or transgression and, as such, may be useful as a diagnostic tool to elucidate the onset of transgression. The newly proposed model for stromatolite formation has significant implications for the recognition and interpretation of similar structures observed in the fossil record.

中文翻译：

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在当今沿海萨布哈地区侵蚀引发的叠层石和血栓石形成

已经从各种沿海海洋环境中记录了层压的微生物垫和微生物颗粒。这项研究的目的是提供阿布扎比的潮间带池及其寄主的血栓石和叠层石结构的第一个详细描述，并为它们的形成和演化提供模型。有人提出，在高能事件期间，潮间带上层池的形成是由层状微生物垫的局部侵蚀引起的。去除保护垫可以使下面的未固结沉积物受到侵蚀，从而产生侵蚀性冲刷，并不断发展形成今天观察到的水池。新建的淹没环境的边缘被蓝细菌为主的微生物群落定殖。文石水泥的沉淀，与蓝细菌相关联，稳定了池壁并巩固了微生物群落，形成了层状和血栓性织物。由于蒸发驱动的钙的作用，海洋水泥的沉淀使同沉积作用进一步增强。²⁺和镁²⁺过饱和。水泥池壁后面和下方的侵蚀最终导致边缘塌陷，并形成了观察到的池边缘平行的血栓带。连续几代的石化作用和侵蚀作用增加了水池的面积，最早的血栓石侵蚀并变得越来越孤立。综上所述，由此产生的微偏硅酸盐是通过侵蚀，非生物早期石化和微生物介导的过程之间的复杂相互作用而发展起来的，代表了未石化的层状微生物垫层和半透明微硅酸盐之间的连续体。这些特征很可能是在海平面静止或越境的情况下产生的，因此，这些特征可作为阐明越境发作的诊断工具。