Matyushkina O. The patterns of distribution and composition of ornamental varieties of marbled limestone of the Upper Jurassic of the Crimea

Thesis for the Candidate scientific degree of Geological Sciences by specialty "04.00.11 - Geology of Metallic and Nonmetallic Minerals". - State Institution "Institute of Environmental Geochemistry of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine", the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, Kiev, 2015. Thesis is devoted to the identification of patterns of distribution of ornamental varieties of marbled limestone of the Upper Jurassic of the Crimea and the definition of criteria for assessing the quality of raw materials. The evolution of formation of barrier reefs in the Crimea is theoretically proved and confirmed by actual data. It is found that the decorative marbled limestone of Upper Jurassic in Crimea is subdivided into cryptogenic, clastogenic, coral, organo-clastic and phytogenic species. The criteria for assessing the quality of marbled limestone was established and identified three varieties of marbled limestone. Marbled limestone ,firstly isolated within the array of Karadzha Sudaksky synclinorium, on a set of attributes (composition, character individually, textural and structural features) are defined as phytogenic formation, forming a genetic series: calcareous algae, stromatolites and oncolites. Keywords: marbled limestone, barrier reefs, the criteria for assessing the quality, fine varieties, stromatolites, oncolites.