Dolostones in a Neogene strike-slip fault zone are described. Two main types of structural features are recognised: (i) Background deformation in the form of a network of bedding-perpendicular and hybrid conjugate fractures, barren fractures and bedding-parallel stylolites. (ii) Fault-related features include breccias and cataclasites. Orthorhombic rock lithons are generated from the intersection of fracture sets with bedding and/or joints. Lithon size and morphology change across the dolostone fault block gradually producing a tetragonal or isometric shape. The lithons are 1–2 cm in dimension (only ~ 20% outside this range) and have an average cross-sectional aspect ratio of 1.6, irrespective of size or structural position. Topology is analysed using nodes and branches, ranging from isolated (I- node and I-I branch) to connected (Y- and X-nodes, and I-C to C-C branches) respectively. The quantitative description of the geometrical and topological analysis of the dolostone lithons suggest that they become more connected and interact within the dolostone fault blocks. Assessing the change in topology and lithons connectivity have important implications for subsurface reservoirs and aquifers hosted in dolostone-fault zones.

Early marine diagenetic dolomite is a rather thermodynamically-stable carbonate phase and has potential to act as an archive of marine porewater properties. However, the variety of early to late diagenetic dolomite phases that can coexist within a single sample can result in extensive complexity. Here, the archive potential of early marine dolomites exposed to extreme post-depositional processes is tested using various types of analyses, including: petrography, fluid inclusion data, stable δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O isotopes, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios, and U-Pb age dating of various dolomite phases. In this example, a Triassic carbonate platform was dissected and overprinted (diagenetic temperatures of 50 to 430°C) in a strike-slip zone in Southern Spain. Eight episodes of dolomitization, a dolostone cataclasite and late stage meteoric/vadose cementation were recognized. The following processes were found to be diagenetically relevant: (i) protolith deposition and fabric-preservation, and marine dolomitization of precursor aragonite and calcite during the Middle–Late Triassic; (ii) intermediate burial and formation of zebra saddle dolomite and precipitation of various dolomite cements in a Proto-Atlantic opening stress regime (T ca 250°C) during the Early–Middle Jurassic; (iii) dolomite cement precipitation during early Alpine tectonism, rapid burial to ca 15 km, and high-grade anchizone overprint during Alpine tectonic evolution in the Early Eocene to Early Miocene; (iv) brecciation of dolostones to cataclasite during the onset of the Carboneras Fault Zone activity during the Middle Miocene; and (v) late-stage regression and subsequent meteoric overprint. Data shown here document that, under favourable conditions, early diagenetic marine dolomites and their archive data may resist petrographic and geochemical resetting over time intervals of 10⁸ or more years. Evidence for this preservation includes preserved Late Triassic seawater δ¹³C_DIC values and primary fluid inclusion data. Data also indicate that oversimplified statements based on bulk data from other petrographically-complex dolomite archives must be considered with caution.