For three years the Carbonate Rock Subcommittee of the A.A.P.G. Research Committee has been compiling data for approximately 500 terms that are used in describing and naming limestone and dolomite. With the great advance in knowledge about these rocks, resulting mainly from studies associated with the occurrence of petroleum in reefs and limestone banks, the body of nomenclature is expanding constantly. Contributing to the proliferation, but not without "mixed blessings," are investigations of ancient rocks, modern sediments, environments of deposition, dolomitization, mineral species, grain-sizes, fabrics, and diagenetic processes.

The subcommittee will assemble these terms, dissect them, illustrate their important concepts, and publish the results. By means of the illustrations to accompany the final report, the subcommittee hopes to consolidate the best contemporary ideas and at the same time prevent further confusion and synonymy in this highly complex family of petroliferous rocks.

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