James, N. P., Mountjoy, E. W., and Omura, A., 1971. An early Wisconsin reef terrace at Barbados, West Indies, and its climatic
implications. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 82,
2011–2018.
Lewis, J. B., 1960. The coral reefs and coral communities of Barbados. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 38, 1133–1145.
Lewis, J. B., 1984. The Acropora inheritance: a reinterpretation of
the development of fringing reefs in Barbados, West Indies.
Coral Reefs, 3, 117–122.
Macintyre, I. G., 1967. Submerged coral reefs, west coast of
Barbados, West Indies. Canadian Journal of Earth Science, 4,
461–474.
Macintyre, I. G., Glynn, P. W., and Toscano, M. A., 2007a. The
demise of a major Acropora palmata bank-barrier reef off the
southeast coast of Barbados, West Indies. Coral Reefs, 26,
765–773.
Macintyre, I. G., Glynn, P. W., and Toscano, M. A., 2007b. The
destruction of a large Acropora palmata Bank-barrier reef and
subsequent depletion of this reef building coral off Barbados,
West Indies. Atoll Research Bulletin, 545, 29pp.
Matthews, R. K., 1973. Relative elevation of late Pleistocene high
sea level stands: Barbados uplift rates and their implications.
Quaternary Research, 3, 147–153.
Mesolella, K. J., 1967. Zonation of uplifted Pleistocene coral reefs
on Barbados, West Indies. Science, 156, 638–640.
Mesolella, K. J., Matthews, R. K., Broecker, W. S., and Thurber,
D. L., 1969. The astronomical theory of climatic change: Barbados data. Journal of Geology, 77, 250–274.
Schellmann, G., and Radtke, U., 2004. A revised morpho- and
chronostratigraphy of the Late and Middle Pleistocene coral reef
terraces on Southern Barbados (West Indies). Earth Science
Reviews, 64, 157–187.
Scholz, D., and Mangini, A., 2007. How precise are U-series coral
ages? Geochimica. Cosmochimica. Acta, 71, 1935–1948.
Shackleton, N. J., and Matthews, R. K., 1977. Oxygen isotope stratigraphy of Late Pleistocene coral terraces in Barbados. Nature,
268, 618–620.
Speed, R. C., and Cheng, H., 2004. Evolution of marine terraces and
sea level in the last interglacial, Cave Hill, Barbados. Geological
Society of America Bulletin, 116, 219–232.
Speed R. C., and Larue, D. K., 1982. Barbados: architecture and
implications for accretion. Journal of Geophysical Research B,
87, 3633–3643.
Taylor, F. W., and Mann, P., 1991. Late Quaternary folding of coral
reef terraces, Barbados. Geology, 19, 103–106.
Toscano, M. A., and Macintyre, I. G., 2005. Comment on Toscano,
M. A., and Macintyre, I. G. (2003): “Corrected western Atlantic
sea level curve for the last 11000 years based on calibrated
14
C
dates from Acropora palmata framework and intertidal mangrove peat. Coral Reefs. 22(3), 257–270” Coral Reefs, 24,
187–190.
Cross-references
Back-Stepping
Calcrete/Caliche
Diagenesis
Eastern Caribbean Coral Reefs
Electron Spin Resonance Dating (ESR)
Emerged Reefs
Huon Peninsula, P.N.G.
Last Glacial Interstadials
Last Interglacial and Reef Development
Meltwater Pulses
Postglacial Trangression
Sea Level Change and Its Effect on Reef Growth
Submerged Reefs
BARRIER REEF (RIBBON REEF)
Serge Andréfouët
1
, Guy Cabioch
2
1
Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Anse Vata,
Noumea, New Caledonia
2
Institut de Recherche pour le Développement Centre
d’Ile de France, Bondy CEDEX, France
Definition and introduction
In Battistini et al. (1975), barrier reefs are defined as “a set
of coral reefs separated from a non-reefal land by a deep
lagoon.” This definition is based on morphology, specifically on the relative position between a land mass (itself
not the product of the reef, like a reef island for instance),
a lagoon, and a reef. With this definition, an atoll rim is not
a barrier reef. Other definitions of barrier reefs are related
to their genesis. Darwin (1842) explained their formation
by the progressive subsidence of fringing reefs surrounding a volcanic island, slowly creating a lagoon between
the barrier reef and the land. After complete disappearance
of the island, only barrier reefs remain at the periphery of
the system, forming atolls. Thus, atoll rims should also be
considered as part of the barrier reef category with this
definition. The two types of criteria, modern morphology,
and geological genetic processes lead to conflicts. Modern
views suggest to first label a reef as a “barrier reef,”
according to its modern morphology and configuration
within a set of land masses and reef complexes, and then
study the local and global genetic geological-scale processes that explain the local barrier-reef morphology.
Ribbon Reefs is a term used to describe the outer shelf
reefs of the Northern Great Barrier Reef, from 15
S off
Cooktown up to 10
S in the Torres Strait. They are
sequentially named by numbers (Ribbon Reef No 1, Ribbon Reef No 2, etc.). By similarity, the term has been
applied to linear, long, winding reefs, including atoll rims
and large banks, but it is not of common use.
Although demonstrated by deep coring projects into
Pacific Ocean atolls (Mururoa atoll), the Darwinian fringing-barrier-atoll genetic succession can be applied to only
a limited number of oceanic configurations worldwide.
Instead, the role of a number of factors need to be taken
into account: subsidence, antecedent substrate available
for Holocene coral colonization and growth, eustatic sealevel variations, freshwater dissolution during the period
of emergence at low-sea stands, and local tectonic processes are often necessary to explain the modern morphology. The relative importance of these factors is still
debated to explain barrier reef morphology (Purdy and
Winterer, 2006).
Morphology
Classification of reefs using their planar, view-fromabove, morphology as indicators of their genesis is common practice. In a barrier reef context, Hopley (1982)
discussed for the Great Barrier Reef the validity of the
102
BARRIER REEF (RIBBON REEF)
implications. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 82,
2011–2018.
Lewis, J. B., 1960. The coral reefs and coral communities of Barbados. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 38, 1133–1145.
Lewis, J. B., 1984. The Acropora inheritance: a reinterpretation of
the development of fringing reefs in Barbados, West Indies.
Coral Reefs, 3, 117–122.
Macintyre, I. G., 1967. Submerged coral reefs, west coast of
Barbados, West Indies. Canadian Journal of Earth Science, 4,
461–474.
Macintyre, I. G., Glynn, P. W., and Toscano, M. A., 2007a. The
demise of a major Acropora palmata bank-barrier reef off the
southeast coast of Barbados, West Indies. Coral Reefs, 26,
765–773.
Macintyre, I. G., Glynn, P. W., and Toscano, M. A., 2007b. The
destruction of a large Acropora palmata Bank-barrier reef and
subsequent depletion of this reef building coral off Barbados,
West Indies. Atoll Research Bulletin, 545, 29pp.
Matthews, R. K., 1973. Relative elevation of late Pleistocene high
sea level stands: Barbados uplift rates and their implications.
Quaternary Research, 3, 147–153.
Mesolella, K. J., 1967. Zonation of uplifted Pleistocene coral reefs
on Barbados, West Indies. Science, 156, 638–640.
Mesolella, K. J., Matthews, R. K., Broecker, W. S., and Thurber,
D. L., 1969. The astronomical theory of climatic change: Barbados data. Journal of Geology, 77, 250–274.
Schellmann, G., and Radtke, U., 2004. A revised morpho- and
chronostratigraphy of the Late and Middle Pleistocene coral reef
terraces on Southern Barbados (West Indies). Earth Science
Reviews, 64, 157–187.
Scholz, D., and Mangini, A., 2007. How precise are U-series coral
ages? Geochimica. Cosmochimica. Acta, 71, 1935–1948.
Shackleton, N. J., and Matthews, R. K., 1977. Oxygen isotope stratigraphy of Late Pleistocene coral terraces in Barbados. Nature,
268, 618–620.
Speed, R. C., and Cheng, H., 2004. Evolution of marine terraces and
sea level in the last interglacial, Cave Hill, Barbados. Geological
Society of America Bulletin, 116, 219–232.
Speed R. C., and Larue, D. K., 1982. Barbados: architecture and
implications for accretion. Journal of Geophysical Research B,
87, 3633–3643.
Taylor, F. W., and Mann, P., 1991. Late Quaternary folding of coral
reef terraces, Barbados. Geology, 19, 103–106.
Toscano, M. A., and Macintyre, I. G., 2005. Comment on Toscano,
M. A., and Macintyre, I. G. (2003): “Corrected western Atlantic
sea level curve for the last 11000 years based on calibrated
14
C
dates from Acropora palmata framework and intertidal mangrove peat. Coral Reefs. 22(3), 257–270” Coral Reefs, 24,
187–190.
Cross-references
Back-Stepping
Calcrete/Caliche
Diagenesis
Eastern Caribbean Coral Reefs
Electron Spin Resonance Dating (ESR)
Emerged Reefs
Huon Peninsula, P.N.G.
Last Glacial Interstadials
Last Interglacial and Reef Development
Meltwater Pulses
Postglacial Trangression
Sea Level Change and Its Effect on Reef Growth
Submerged Reefs
BARRIER REEF (RIBBON REEF)
Serge Andréfouët
1
, Guy Cabioch
2
1
Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Anse Vata,
Noumea, New Caledonia
2
Institut de Recherche pour le Développement Centre
d’Ile de France, Bondy CEDEX, France
Definition and introduction
In Battistini et al. (1975), barrier reefs are defined as “a set
of coral reefs separated from a non-reefal land by a deep
lagoon.” This definition is based on morphology, specifically on the relative position between a land mass (itself
not the product of the reef, like a reef island for instance),
a lagoon, and a reef. With this definition, an atoll rim is not
a barrier reef. Other definitions of barrier reefs are related
to their genesis. Darwin (1842) explained their formation
by the progressive subsidence of fringing reefs surrounding a volcanic island, slowly creating a lagoon between
the barrier reef and the land. After complete disappearance
of the island, only barrier reefs remain at the periphery of
the system, forming atolls. Thus, atoll rims should also be
considered as part of the barrier reef category with this
definition. The two types of criteria, modern morphology,
and geological genetic processes lead to conflicts. Modern
views suggest to first label a reef as a “barrier reef,”
according to its modern morphology and configuration
within a set of land masses and reef complexes, and then
study the local and global genetic geological-scale processes that explain the local barrier-reef morphology.
Ribbon Reefs is a term used to describe the outer shelf
reefs of the Northern Great Barrier Reef, from 15
S off
Cooktown up to 10
S in the Torres Strait. They are
sequentially named by numbers (Ribbon Reef No 1, Ribbon Reef No 2, etc.). By similarity, the term has been
applied to linear, long, winding reefs, including atoll rims
and large banks, but it is not of common use.
Although demonstrated by deep coring projects into
Pacific Ocean atolls (Mururoa atoll), the Darwinian fringing-barrier-atoll genetic succession can be applied to only
a limited number of oceanic configurations worldwide.
Instead, the role of a number of factors need to be taken
into account: subsidence, antecedent substrate available
for Holocene coral colonization and growth, eustatic sealevel variations, freshwater dissolution during the period
of emergence at low-sea stands, and local tectonic processes are often necessary to explain the modern morphology. The relative importance of these factors is still
debated to explain barrier reef morphology (Purdy and
Winterer, 2006).
Morphology
Classification of reefs using their planar, view-fromabove, morphology as indicators of their genesis is common practice. In a barrier reef context, Hopley (1982)
discussed for the Great Barrier Reef the validity of the
102
BARRIER REEF (RIBBON REEF)