Fragmentation and dissolution of benthic foraminifera in Kiel Bight, Baltic Sea, Germany

Pure solution patterns were deduced from supplementary experiments.//Several carbonate destroying processes can be specified by ultrastructural patterns of the shell surfaces. Based on these patterns three zones are established, each showing different mechanisms of shell fragmentation: 1) zone of abrasion, 2) zone of disintegration, 3) zone of corrosion.

This zonation depends on the water depth and is caused primarily by water agitation and by under saturation of the bottom water with respect to carbonate.