Quaternary Coral Reef Systems (eBook)

History, development processes and controlling factors

Colin J.R. Braithwaite, Lucien F. Montaggioni (Autoren)

eBook Download: PDF

2009 | 1. Auflage
550 Seiten
Elsevier Science (Verlag)
978-0-08-093276-7 (ISBN)

Infos

This book presents both state-of-the art knowledge from Recent coral reefs (1.8 million to a few centuries old) gained since the eighties, and introduces geologists, oceanographers and environmentalists to sedimentological and paleoecological studies of an ecosystem encompassing some of the world's richest biodiversity. Scleractinian reefs first appeared about 300 million years ago. Today coral reef systems provide some of the most sensitive gauges of environmental change, expressing the complex interplay of chemical, physical, geological and biological factors. The topics covered will include the evolutionary history of reef systems and some of the main reef builders since the Cenozoic, the effects of biological and environmental forces on the zonation of reef systems and the distribution of reef organisms and on reef community dynamics through time, changes in the geometry, anatomy and stratigraphy of reef bodies and systems in relation to changes in sea level and tectonics, the distribution patterns of sedimentary (framework or detrital) facies in relation to those of biological communities, the modes and rates of reef accretion (progradation, aggradation versus backstepping; coral growth versus reef growth), the hydrodynamic forces controlling water circulation through reef structures and their relationship to early diagenetic processes, the major diagenetic processes affecting reef bodies through time (replacement and diddolution, dolomitization, phosphatogenesis), and the record of climate change by both individual coral colonies and reef systems over the Quaternary.

* state-of-the-art knowledge from Recent corals reefs
* introduction to sedimentological and paleoecological studies of an ecosystems encompassing some of the world's richest biodiversity.
* authors are internationally regarded authorities on the subject
* trustworthy information

Inhalt

Front cover 1
Quaternary Coral Reef Systems: History, Development Processes and Controlling Factors 4
Copyright page 5
Contents 6
Preface 14
Chapter 1. Introduction: Quaternary Reefs in Time and Space 20
1.1. The Reef Phenomenon: Definitions and History of Discovery and Research 20
1.2. Types of Coral Reefs 22
1.3. Geographical Distribution of Corals and Coral Reefs 25
1.4. Modern Tropical Climate Modes 28
1.5. Quaternary Time Scales 30
1.6. Trends in the Quaternary Climate Dynamics 31
1.7. Establishing the Chronology of Quaternary Coral Reefs 33
1.8. Methods of Obtaining Data 39
Chapter 2. Palaeobiogeography: Evaluation of the Inheritance from the Tertiary 42
2.1. Introduction 42
2.2. Development Patterns of Tertiary Coral Reefs 43
2.3. Temporal and Spatial Variations in Coral and Calcareous Algal Diversity 61
2.4. Conclusions 82
Chapter 3. Structure, Zonation and Dynamic Patterns of Coral Reef Communities 86
3.1. Introduction 86
3.2. Structure and Zonation of Modern Reef Communities 87
3.3. Structure and Zonation of Quaternary Reef Communities 97
3.4. Dynamic Patterns of Reef Communities 131
3.5. Conclusions 138
Chapter 4. Controls on the Development, Distribution and Preservation of Reefs 142
4.1. Introduction 142
4.2. Controls on Reef Development and Distribution 144
4.3. Controls on Reef Community Preservation: The Taphonomic Approach 157
4.4. Conclusions 186
Chapter 5. Patterns of Carbonate Production and Deposition on Reefs 190
5.1. Introduction 190
5.2. Patterns of Reef Carbonate Production 191
5.3. Patterns of Reef Carbonate Deposition 202
5.4. Conclusions 240
Chapter 6. Reef Anatomy and Stratigraphy 242
6.1. Introduction 242
6.2. Morphology and Anatomy of Holocene Reefs 243
6.3. Structure and Pleistocene Stratigraphy of Barrier Reefs and Atolls 256
6.4. Stratigraphy of Emerged Reef Terraces 266
6.5. Stratigraphy of Submerged Reef Terraces and Banks 274
6.6. Reef Stratigraphy and Numerical Modelling 281
6.7. Conclusions 287
Chapter 7. Reef Hydrogeology 290
7.1. Introduction 290
7.2. External Hydrology: Water Characteristics and Reef Responses to Waves and Currents 291
7.3. Groundwater Hydrology 322
7.4. Conclusions 339
Chapter 8. Reef Diagenesis 342
8.1. Introduction 342
8.2. Mineralogy of Sediment Components 343
8.3. Cements in Quaternary Reef Limestones 344
8.4. Replacement and Dissolution 363
8.5. Hydrological Control of Flow Rates 370
8.6. Rates of Reef Diagenesis 372
8.7. Diagenetic Sequences 374
8.8. Dolomite and Reefs 377
8.9. Phosphorites 386
8.10. Conclusions 390
Chapter 9. Corals and Coral Reefs as Records of Climatic Change 392
9.1. Introduction 392
9.2. Individual Coral Colonies as Records of Climate 393
9.3. Climate Reconstruction based on Individual Coral Colonies 407
9.4. Coral Reefs as Records of Sea-Level Change 424
9.5. Conclusions 445
Chapter 10. Conclusions: Coral Reefs from the Past to the Future 448
10.1. The Historical Perspective 448
10.2. The Role of Controlling Factors in Reef Growth and Distribution 449
10.3. The Fossil Record as a Proxy for the Future of Reefs 450
10.4. Global Warming and the Future of Reefs 452
10.5. Prospective 453
References 456
Subject Index 541

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 13.8.2009
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Ökologie / Naturschutz
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Geowissenschaften ► Geografie / Kartografie
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Geowissenschaften ► Geologie
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Geowissenschaften ► Hydrologie / Ozeanografie
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Geowissenschaften ► Meteorologie / Klimatologie
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Geowissenschaften ► Mineralogie / Paläontologie
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Physik / Astronomie
• Themenwelt: Technik
• ISBN-10: 0-08-093276-2 / 0080932762
• ISBN-13: 978-0-08-093276-7 / 9780080932767