Profiles of ocean island coral reefs controlled by sea-level history and carbonate accumulation rates

Research Article| July 01, 2013 Profiles of ocean island coral reefs controlled by sea-level history and carbonate accumulation rates Michael Toomey; Michael Toomey * 1Geology and Geophysics Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 360 Woods Hole Road, MS#22, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA2Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA *E-mail: mrt02008@mit.edu. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Andrew D. Ashton; Andrew D. Ashton 1Geology and Geophysics Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 360 Woods Hole Road, MS#22, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar J. Taylor Perron J. Taylor Perron 2Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Michael Toomey * 1Geology and Geophysics Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 360 Woods Hole Road, MS#22, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA2Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA Andrew D. Ashton 1Geology and Geophysics Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 360 Woods Hole Road, MS#22, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA J. Taylor Perron 2Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA *E-mail: mrt02008@mit.edu. Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 07 Oct 2012 Revision Received: 24 Jan 2013 Accepted: 26 Jan 2013 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2013 Geological Society of America Geology (2013) 41 (7): 731–734. https://doi.org/10.1130/G34109.1 Article history Received: 07 Oct 2012 Revision Received: 24 Jan 2013 Accepted: 26 Jan 2013 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Michael Toomey, Andrew D. Ashton, J. Taylor Perron; Profiles of ocean island coral reefs controlled by sea-level history and carbonate accumulation rates. Geology 2013;; 41 (7): 731–734. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G34109.1 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 SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Modern and preserved coral reefs on islands exhibit a broad range of forms, from actively accreting fringing and barrier reefs to terraces preserved by drowning or subaerial exposure. Darwin's canonical model of reef development proposes an evolutionary sequence of reef forms as a volcanic island ages and subsides, from fringing reef to lagoon-bounding barrier reef to atoll. Compiled data from modern systems show, however, that many islands do not follow this sequence, implying that reefs are shaped by more than island subsidence alone. We show that the diversity of modern reef morphology arises from the combined effects of island subsidence, coral growth, and glacial sea-level cycles. A model for the evolution of a reef elevation profile over the past 400 k.y. reveals that different combinations of reef accretion rate and island vertical motion produce a variety of forms that matches the observed distribution of modern reefs. This match occurs only if the model is driven by Pleistocene sea-level oscillations—few modern environments have the right combination of conditions to produce the Darwinian atoll progression. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.