Introduction to the special issue “Signatures of microbes and microbial mats and the sedimentary record”

The present special issue originated from a session SSP4.5 at the EGU General Assembly 2010, Vienna: Microbes and microbial mat signatures and the sedimentary record. This special issue comprises a set of papers that focus on several aspects of microbial and microbial mat signatures, grouped into four major fields: (1) microbial biomineralisation, (2) microbial communities and mat-related structures, (3) organo-sedimentary accretion and microbial deposits, and (4) processes and products in submarine cold seeps and terrestrial mud volcanoes.