The planform pattern of carbonate lithofacies in shallow tropical systems have been described as both relatively simple (i.e. the lithofacies belt model) and highly complex (i.e., the lithofacies mosaic model). The lateral continuity of the lithofacies elements differs between these two descriptions with the former containing continuous strike-oriented elements while the latter contains numerous disjointed elements with no specified orientation under two conditions. First, we consider the lithofacies elements solely by their sediment texture, and second, we do not consider ecological constraints on the benthic communities. Using variography, we develop the spatial correlation index (SCI) for distinguishing between the two types of lithofacies arrangements and deploy the index to visualize the spatial distribution of belt-like and mosaic-like patterning for 7 lithofacies in 36 carbonate platforms. The visualizations suggest that the belt versus mosaic dichotomy does not adequately capture the complexity of lithofacies arrangements in modern carbonate systems. This limitation exists because carbonates primarily consist of biogenic sediments whose distribution is controlled by physical and ecological controls. Thus, taxonomy must be considered when examining these spatial patterns. Furthermore, there appears to be a co-occurrence of arrangements within each of the systems. Four motifs in the statistical distribution of the SCI values observed within the systems are identified. The motifs appear to depend on the biotic and abiotic factors of the sedimentary system under study. Belt-like arrangements for a framestone class appeared to be strongly associated with the higher energy environments, while mosaic-like arrangement for this class often occurred in sheltered, low-energy areas. For grainstone and wackestone classes, belt-like arrangements were located along the transition from platform rim to lagoon. Finally, the results suggest that a greater variety of sediment-texture arrangements may be observed in Modern shallow-water carbonate depositional systems than may be visible in Ancient systems observed within the rock record.

浅热带系统中碳酸盐岩相的平面形态被描述为相对简单（即岩相带模型）和高度复杂（即岩相镶嵌模型）。岩相元素的横向连续性在这两种描述之间有所不同，前者包含连续的走向走向的元素，而后者包含许多在两个条件下没有指定方向的分离元素。首先，我们仅根据沉积物的质地来考虑岩相元素，其次，我们不考虑底栖生物群落的生态约束。使用变异函数 我们开发了用于区分两种岩相排列的空间相关指数（SCI），并部署了该指数以可视化36个碳酸盐岩平台中7个岩相的带状和镶嵌状图案的空间分布。可视化结果表明，传送带与镶嵌二分法不能充分反映现代碳酸盐系统中岩相排列的复杂性。存在这种限制是因为碳酸盐主要由生物成因沉积物组成，其分布受物理和生态控制。因此，在检查这些空间模式时必须考虑分类法。此外，似乎在每个系统中都同时存在安排。确定了在系统内观察到的SCI值的统计分布中的四个图案。这些图案似乎取决于所研究沉积系统的生物和非生物因素。框石类的带状布置似乎与较高能量的环境密切相关，而此类的马赛克状布置通常发生在避风，低能耗的地区。对于花岗石类和瓦克石类，沿从平台边缘到泻湖的过渡带呈带状排列。最后，结果表明，在现代浅水碳酸盐岩沉积系统中，与在岩石记录内观察到的古代系统中相比，可以观察到更多种类的沉积物-质地排列。框石类的带状布置似乎与较高能量的环境密切相关，而此类的马赛克状布置通常发生在避风，低能耗的地区。对于花岗石类和瓦克石类，沿从平台边缘到泻湖的过渡带呈带状排列。最后，结果表明，在现代浅水碳酸盐岩沉积系统中，与在岩石记录内观察到的古代系统中相比，可以观察到更多种类的沉积物-质地排列。框石类的带状布置似乎与较高能量的环境密切相关，而此类的马赛克状布置通常发生在避风，低能耗的地区。对于花岗石类和瓦克石类，沿从平台边缘到泻湖的过渡带呈带状排列。最后，结果表明，在现代浅水碳酸盐岩沉积系统中，与在岩石记录内观察到的古代系统中相比，可以观察到更多种类的沉积物-质地排列。