Coral Reef Geomorphology

Coral reef geomorphology is the study of the distribution, morphology, and processes that control the formation and morphological change of coral reefs and reef-associated landforms. Coral reef landforms are unique, as they result from the interaction between ecological processes responsible for the growth of coral and other carbonate producers and physical processes such as waves and currents that modulate ecological processes and redistribute carbonate material within reef systems. Coral reef geomorphology aims to understand how these process interactions vary across a range of timescales and control the morphological development of whole reef structures and reef-associated features. The range of temporal and spatial scales of interest to coral geomorphology bridges both short-term ecological and long-term geological timescales. Consequently, the discipline of coral reef geomorphology makes a major contribution to global debate regarding the future geomorphic condition of coral reefs.

Beginnings of Coral Reef Geomorphology

Coral reef geomorphology had its inception in the earliest modern voyages of scientific discovery to the tropical seas. Naturalists such as Joseph Banks and Alfred von Chamisso, together with navigators such as James Cook, provided the first accounts of the shape, extent, and distribution of coral reefs. These observations spawned the great coral reef problem, which focused on explaining the global distribution and form of coral reefs. Extensive geomorphological data sets on the apparent simplicity and recurring pattern of Pacific Ocean atolls were initially synthesized by Charles Lyell in Principles of Geology. These observations were later extended by Charles Darwin, whose subsidence model of coral reef development provided a [Page 585]genetic sequence explaining the formation of fringing reefs, barrier reefs, and atolls.

Figure 1 Schematic depiction of the range of coral reef geomorphic units: (A) cross-section of an atoll showing reef structure and major subunits of the reef platform typical of many reef settings and (B) sedimentary landform units typically found on or adjacent to coral

Source: Author.

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