The processes of dissolution and cementation, which have been documented in the sub-surface of modern and ancient carbonate platforms, are being driven by the oxidation of organic material in marine dominated fluids. The influence of these processes are not restricted only to the margins of the platform as waters are being circulated as a result of temperature differences between the interior and the adjacent seaway. This circulation of water not only distributes the corrosive waters to other regions of the platform promoting extensive carbonate diagenesis, but also provides a mechanism for the continual supply of sulfate which oxidizes autochthonous organic material and thermogenically derived hydrocarbons.