Montaggioni / Braithwaite Quaternary Coral Reef Systems

History, development processes and controlling factors
1. Auflage 2009
ISBN: 978-0-08-093276-7
Verlag: Elsevier Science & Techn.
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 550 Seiten

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

Autoren/Hrsg.

Montaggioni, Lucien F.

Braithwaite, Colin J. R.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Front cover;1
2;Quaternary Coral Reef Systems: History, Development Processes and Controlling Factors;4
3;Copyright page;5
4;Contents;6
5;Preface;14
6;Chapter 1. Introduction: Quaternary Reefs in Time and Space;20
6.1;1.1. The Reef Phenomenon: Definitions and History of Discovery and Research;20
6.2;1.2. Types of Coral Reefs;22
6.3;1.3. Geographical Distribution of Corals and Coral Reefs;25
6.4;1.4. Modern Tropical Climate Modes;28
6.5;1.5. Quaternary Time Scales;30
6.6;1.6. Trends in the Quaternary Climate Dynamics;31
6.7;1.7. Establishing the Chronology of Quaternary Coral Reefs;33
6.8;1.8. Methods of Obtaining Data;39
7;Chapter 2. Palaeobiogeography: Evaluation of the Inheritance from the Tertiary;42
7.1;2.1. Introduction;42
7.2;2.2. Development Patterns of Tertiary Coral Reefs;43
7.3;2.3. Temporal and Spatial Variations in Coral and Calcareous Algal Diversity;61
7.4;2.4. Conclusions;82
8;Chapter 3. Structure, Zonation and Dynamic Patterns of Coral Reef Communities;86
8.1;3.1. Introduction;86
8.2;3.2. Structure and Zonation of Modern Reef Communities;87
8.3;3.3. Structure and Zonation of Quaternary Reef Communities;97
8.4;3.4. Dynamic Patterns of Reef Communities;131
8.5;3.5. Conclusions;138
9;Chapter 4. Controls on the Development, Distribution and Preservation of Reefs;142
9.1;4.1. Introduction;142
9.2;4.2. Controls on Reef Development and Distribution;144
9.3;4.3. Controls on Reef Community Preservation: The Taphonomic Approach;157
9.4;4.4. Conclusions;186
10;Chapter 5. Patterns of Carbonate Production and Deposition on Reefs;190
10.1;5.1. Introduction;190
10.2;5.2. Patterns of Reef Carbonate Production;191
10.3;5.3. Patterns of Reef Carbonate Deposition;202
10.4;5.4. Conclusions;240
11;Chapter 6. Reef Anatomy and Stratigraphy;242
11.1;6.1. Introduction;242
11.2;6.2. Morphology and Anatomy of Holocene Reefs;243
11.3;6.3. Structure and Pleistocene Stratigraphy of Barrier Reefs and Atolls;256
11.4;6.4. Stratigraphy of Emerged Reef Terraces;266
11.5;6.5. Stratigraphy of Submerged Reef Terraces and Banks;274
11.6;6.6. Reef Stratigraphy and Numerical Modelling;281
11.7;6.7. Conclusions;287
12;Chapter 7. Reef Hydrogeology;290
12.1;7.1. Introduction;290
12.2;7.2. External Hydrology: Water Characteristics and Reef Responses to Waves and Currents;291
12.3;7.3. Groundwater Hydrology;322
12.4;7.4. Conclusions;339
13;Chapter 8. Reef Diagenesis;342
13.1;8.1. Introduction;342
13.2;8.2. Mineralogy of Sediment Components;343
13.3;8.3. Cements in Quaternary Reef Limestones;344
13.4;8.4. Replacement and Dissolution;363
13.5;8.5. Hydrological Control of Flow Rates;370
13.6;8.6. Rates of Reef Diagenesis;372
13.7;8.7. Diagenetic Sequences;374
13.8;8.8. Dolomite and Reefs;377
13.9;8.9. Phosphorites;386
13.10;8.10. Conclusions;390
14;Chapter 9. Corals and Coral Reefs as Records of Climatic Change;392
14.1;9.1. Introduction;392
14.2;9.2. Individual Coral Colonies as Records of Climate;393
14.3;9.3. Climate Reconstruction based on Individual Coral Colonies;407
14.4;9.4. Coral Reefs as Records of Sea-Level Change;424
14.5;9.5. Conclusions;445
15;Chapter 10. Conclusions: Coral Reefs from the Past to the Future;448
15.1;10.1. The Historical Perspective;448
15.2;10.2. The Role of Controlling Factors in Reef Growth and Distribution;449
15.3;10.3. The Fossil Record as a Proxy for the Future of Reefs;450
15.4;10.4. Global Warming and the Future of Reefs;452
15.5;10.5. Prospective;453
16;References;456
17;Subject Index;541