Geometry and evolution of Triassic high-relief, isolated microbial platforms in the Dolomites, Italy: The Anisian Latemar and Carnian Sella platforms compared

Exceptional outcrop conditions in the Dolomites of northern Italy allow appreciation of facies variability, depositional geometries, and platform-to-basin relationships at seismic scale that developed during a complex sedimentary evolution. This itinerary focuses on two Triassic microbial carbonate platforms, the Latemar and Sella, providing examples of key concepts that are fundamental for the interpretation of subsurface geologic bodies. By comparing these two microbial platforms, a variability of facies architectures is highlighted. The relatively easy access, the exceptional exposure conditions, and the variety of carbonate platform types that grew in the Triassic of the Dolomites make this region an ideal field geology laboratory for training geologists working in exploration and in addition provide potential outcrop analogs of subsurface carbonate reservoirs.