Multimodal Analysis of Rocks and Sediments in Shallow Marine Environments

Overview

This project investigates the interactions of microrganisms with carbonate grains and corals-derived sediment in shallow-marine environments and how these interactions alter rocks and sediments over time. By combining in situ field experiments with X-ray micro–computed tomography (μCT) and Backscatering electron microscopy (BS-SEM), researchers were able to track these transformations in three dimensions and through time, directly visualizing microbial microboring, micrite formation, and the development of microporosity at the grain scale. This mutidisciplinary approach helps clarify the role of microbes in controlling early alteration processes in carbonate sediment/rock and how these processes shape rock properties of carbonates. 

Preliminary results of this project were presented by the lead researcher Thomas Teillet (former KAUST postdoc) at the International Meeting for Applied Geoscience and Energy (IMAGE) Conference as well as at the Mountjoy Carbonate Conference, both in August 2025.

KVL's visualization scientist Dr. Ronell Sicat supported Dr. Martinez in pre-processing the TEM scans, testing segmentation methods, and eventually post-processing the segmentation and extracted surfaces in order to get 3D geometries that were suitable for the target simulation software. KVL also provided free access to Avizo software for data visualization, segmentation, and analysis and a powerful workstation with a pen-and-tablet interface that enabled faster manual segmentation of the TEM data. KVL's contribution is acknowledged in the paper.