The paradox of drowned reefs and carbonate platforms

Research Article| April 01, 1981 The paradox of drowned reefs and carbonate platforms WOLFGANG SCHLAGER WOLFGANG SCHLAGER 1Comparative Sedimentology Laboratory, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Fisher Island Station, Miami, Florida 33139 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information WOLFGANG SCHLAGER 1Comparative Sedimentology Laboratory, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Fisher Island Station, Miami, Florida 33139 Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2674 Print ISSN: 0016-7606 Geological Society of America GSA Bulletin (1981) 92 (4): 197–211. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1981)922.0.CO;2 Article history First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation WOLFGANG SCHLAGER; The paradox of drowned reefs and carbonate platforms. GSA Bulletin 1981;; 92 (4): 197–211. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1981)922.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract Shallow-water carbonate platforms and reefs are drowned when tectonic subsidence or rising sea level outpaces carbonate accumulation, and benthonic carbonate production ceases. Drowned platforms are common in the geologic record, but they present a paradox if one considers rates of processes involved. During the early Holocene, when sea level rose at rates of 6,000 to 10,000 µm/yr (= mm/1,000 yr), most reefs and platforms were outpaced by the rising sea. During the late Holocene with sea level rising 500 to 3,000 µm/yr in the Atlantic-Caribbean area, reefs and platforms started to recover, built to sea level, and prograded seaward, 1,000 µm/yr is thus a conservative estimate of the average growth potential of modern reefs and platforms. Independently, accumulation rates of prograding platforms in the geologic record suggest growth potential in excess of several hundred microns per year.The growth potential of 1,000 µm/yr exceeds any relative rise of sea level caused by long-term processes in the geologic record. Newly formed ocean crust subsides at a maximum of 250 µm/yr, basin subsidence averages 10 to 100 µm/yr, and sea level rises due to increased sea-floor spreading amount to less than 10 µm/yr. Rapid pulses of relative rise of sea level or reduction of benthic growth by deterioration of the environment remain the only plausible explanations of drowning.The geologic record shows examples of both of these processes. Global mass extinctions of reefs and platforms occurred in the middle Cretaceous (eustatic rise due to submarine volcanism or desiccation of a small ocean basin?) and the Late Devonian (global crisis of ocean environment, extraterrestrial cause?). Drowning controlled by regional tectonics prevailed in the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous of the Tethyan realm, and the drowning of Mesozoic platforms in the western North Atlantic seems to have been dictated by plate-tectonic drift to higher latitudes. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.