Porosity in Pleistocene Grainstones from Barbados: Some Preliminary Observations

The island of Barbados is largely mantled by a series of Pleistocene reef tracts which are presently exposed to subaerial conditions ranging from extremely arid to humid subtropical. In the more arid regions the Pleistocene sediments have undergone relatively little subaerial diagenesis and are still mineralogically unstable and maintain a high primary porosity. In the more humid regions and on the older reef tracts, the sediments have completely altered to low-Mg calcite and have developed a predominantly secondary porosity fabric.