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Submerged Reefs

  • Reference work entry
Encyclopedia of Modern Coral Reefs

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

Synonyms

Drowned reefs; Fossil reefs; Give up reefs; Relict reefs; Shelf edge reefs

Definition

Submerged reefs are reefs formed during periods of lower sea level, which currently have little or no modern upward coral framework accretion. These reefs are found in water depths ranging from 25 to 2,000 m depending on their tectonic setting, but most commonly between 40 and 120 m on passive continental margins. They are thought to have drowned as a result of inimical environmental conditions associated with sea level rise during the last deglaciation.

Introduction

Glacial and interglacial cycles have driven sea level oscillations over the last 500 ka, with extremes of at least –120 to +5 m relative to the present day sea level. Since the last glacial maximum of 19–20 ka, sea level has risen approximately 120 m (see Chapter Postglacial Transgression ). Within this time period, episodes of dramatically faster sea level rise punctuated an otherwise fairly steady transgression (see Chapter ...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geosciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    Elizabeth Abbey & Jody M. Webster

Authors
  1. Elizabeth Abbey
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  2. Jody M. Webster
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. James Cook University, Townsville, Australia

    David Hopley

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© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

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Abbey, E., Webster, J.M. (2011). Submerged Reefs. In: Hopley, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Modern Coral Reefs. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2639-2_153

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