Reefs
“Wave resistant organic frameworks”-can be coral, or other organisms
Reefs today prefer clear, warm, normal salinity water
Grow in response to the wave energy available
Great Barrier Reef-large (2000 km) interconnected reef complex. 50-100 km from the coast due
to the presence of a lot of terrigenous sediment along the continental coastline.
Types of Reefs
Algal mats
Oyster reefs
Worm reefs
Coral-algal Reefs
Hermatypic corals have symbiotic brown algae and live in the photic zone
Also calcareous algae
Reef classification
Fringing reef
Barrier Reef
Atoll
Reef Environments
Windward Slope
Windward Reef Flat
Lagoon (with patch reefs)
Leeward Reef
Leeward Slope
“Bucket Model” for reef development
Reef Models and Sea Level
“Catch up”, “Keep up”, and “Give up” or drowning