Sedimentary evolution of a coral-, microbialites- and debris-rich Upper Jurassic reef (upper Tithonian, eastern Sardinia, Italy)

The reef components and facies indicate that the investigated portion of the LBR corresponds to a shallow back-reef zone, characterized by well-lit and generally low-energy hydrodynamic conditions, possibly developed in back position with respect to a higher-energy zone that was closer to the edge of the platform. In this depositional context, the arrival of large amounts of debris and the evolving internal architecture are interpreted as the result of the infilling process of the back-reef zone due to the progradation of a sand apron, during a long-term regional regressive phase.