Coral Reefs by Russell Kelley

Author:Russell Kelley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2021-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

Close-up of sand, showing grains of forams, broken corals, urchin spines, and Halimeda disks.

On reefs near continental land, much sand can come from sediment from weathered rocks washed off the land. This can be excessive and smothering when deforestation has occurred. However, on more distant reefs, especially, most sand comes from corals, and most is carried away from the reef. Sand patches are a major, integrated part of a coral reef’s ecology. Usually found in the lee of a reef, sandy areas are typically more extensive than the coral reef which supplies them. As sand is moved by waves it becomes graded by particle size. Coarser pieces and rubble are not moved far and settle out immediately behind the reef, while the finest particles are carried much further. Deeper lagoons well in the lee of the reef contain the finest sands and mud. The proportion that is thrown onto land, if land exists, forms the white sandy beaches familiar from tourist brochures.

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