Characteristics and controlling factors of carbonate intra-platform shoals in the Tarim Basin, NW China

A conceptual model for the development of an Ordovician reef-shoal complex in the Tarim basin, NW China. Intra-platform shoals are found mainly in highstand system tracts of high-frequency depositional cycles. The shapes, scales and stacking patterns of the shoals are controlled by the direction and strength of wave and tide currents. The ideal locations for the development of intra-platform shoals are over micro-uplifts and facing windward paleoslopes.465