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1.
Ningaloo Reef, located along the northwest coast of Australia, is one of the longest fringing coral reefs in the world extending ~300 km. Similar to other fringing reefs, it consists of a barrier reef ~1–6 km offshore with occasional gaps, backed by a shallow lagoon. Wave breaking on the reef generates radiation stress gradients that produces wave setup across the reef and lagoon and mean currents across the reef. A section of Ningaloo Reef at Sandy Bay was chosen as the focus of an intense 6-week field experiment and numerical simulation using the wave model SWAN coupled to the three-dimensional circulation model ROMS. The physics of nearshore processes such as wave breaking, wave setup and mean flow across the reef was investigated in detail by examining the various momentum balances established in the system. The magnitude of the terms and the distance of their peaks from reef edge in the momentum balance were sensitive to the changes in mean sea level, e.g. the wave forces decreased as the mean water depth increased (and hence, wave breaking dissipation was reduced). This led to an increase in the wave power at the shoreline, a slight shift of the surf zone to the lee side of the reef and changes in the intensity of the circulation. The predicted hydrodynamic fields were input into a Lagrangian particle tracking model to estimate the transport time scale of the reef-lagoon system. Flushing time of the lagoon with the open ocean was computed using two definitions in renewal of semi-enclosed water basins and revealed the sensitivity of such a transport time scale to methods. An increase in the lagoon exchange rate at smaller mean sea-level rise and the decrease at higher mean sea-level rise was predicted through flushing time computed using both methods.  相似文献   

2.
High-resolution multibeam swath-bathymetry and sediment samples were collected across the outer shelf region of the Columbretes Islands (southern Ebro continental shelf, western Mediterranean Sea). Bathymetric data from the submerged part of the Columbretes volcanic system revealed the presence of three main relict sand bodies along the outer shelf, at 80–116 m depth range, above which asymmetric and slightly asymmetric large and very large 2D and 3D subaqueous dunes were observed. These bed features were recognized, mapped and quantified with the aim of evaluating their potential formation mechanisms in relation to the local hydrodynamic and morphologic settings of the area. Dunes range from 150 to 760 m in wavelength and from tens of centimeters to 3 m in height, and are among the longest ever recognized in an outer shelf region. These bedforms are mostly composed of medium-sized sandy sediments, presumably coming from the degraded relict sand bodies on top of which they have developed, mixed with fine fractions from the recent draping holocenic sediments. The orientation of the dunes is SSW, progressively turning W towards the southernmost sector of the area, following the trend of the shelf-edge. Contemporary hydrodynamic measurements at the Ebro continental shelf-edge show that recorded currents are insufficient to form the observed bedforms and that stronger currents are required for sediment mobilization and dune formation. Based on their morphology and orientation, it is proposed that these bedforms are produced by the action of the southward-flowing Liguro-Provençal-Catalan (LPC) geostrophic current. The LPC probably reaches high near-bottom currents during energetic hydrodynamic events through interactions with the seafloor morphology of the study area. Subaqueous dunes are expected to be basically inactive features with respect to present-day processes, although they can be reactivated during high-energy events. The small Δh/λ ratio measured in the dune fields of the Columbretes shelf revealed that the dune heights fall below the values predicted by the Flemming (1988) global equation, as observed in other outer shelf settings also dominated by unidirectional flows. This may suggest a different morphodynamic character of large dunes formed on outer shelves in a micro-tidal regime.  相似文献   

3.
Variability in the regional setting and morphology of cuspate forelands on the west coast of Western Australia is examined in this paper. In accordance with this aim, principal differences in the geologic and geomorphologic setting of three prominent sites on the west coast were established and their association with historical changes and contemporary oceanographic processes was examined. The cuspate forelands investigated are Jurien Bay, Winderabandi Point and Turquoise Bay. The most significant differences in geologic setting are associated with the structure and location of an extensive offshore reef system. Morphologically, the reef alters from south to north, changing from a discontinuous ridge parallel to the shore along the central west coast, to a nearly continuous fringing reef at Ningaloo. The reefs vary in distance from the shore, being farthest in the south and closest in the north and they impound a series of inshore basins, or lagoons. The deeper southern basins are dominated by locally generated wind waves and wind‐generated currents. The shallower northern basins are most markedly affected by tidal currents and wave pumping across the reef flats. The large cuspate foreland at Jurien on the central west coast has undergone shoreline configuration change in response to changing phases of storminess as well as in response to a change in focus for sediment deposition as a result of offshore reef erosion. At Winderabandi Point on the Ningaloo coast, relict Pleistocene limestone has provided the focus for sedimentation and morphology has been controlled by a balance in refracted wave energy and nearshore currents driven by tidal and wave set‐up variability. At Turquoise Bay, where the lagoonal basin is most shallow and narrow, the morphology of the foreland suggests that it may at some stage have been migratory, but its present asymmetrical shape is maintained by strong northerly longshore drift and strong currents exiting the lagoon through a nearby gap in the reef crest. Fundamental differences between the two coastal regions include the structure of the offshore reef, processes driving flow of water within the lagoons and the role of storminess in evolution of coastal landforms. Although many questions regarding storm surge dynamics and landform change remain unanswered, this research provides a significant contribution to the understanding of the evolution of morphological systems in low‐wave‐energy protected environments. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

4.
The circulation driven by wave breaking, tides and winds within a fringing coral reef system (Ningaloo Reef) in Western Australia was investigated using the ocean circulation model ROMS two-way coupled to the wave model SWAN. Currents within the system were dominantly forced by wave breaking, with flow driven over the shallow reefs and towards the lagoon, which returned to the ocean through channels in the reef. Hindcast model simulations were compared against an extensive field dataset, revealing that the coupled wave–circulation model could accurately predict the waves and currents throughout this morphologically complex reef–lagoon system. A detailed momentum budget analysis showed that, over the reef, a dominant cross-shore balance was established between radiation stress gradients and a pressure (mean water level) gradient (similar to a beach). Within the lagoon, alongshore currents were primarily balanced by alongshore gradients in wave setup, which drove flow towards (and ultimately out) the channels. The importance of these wave-driven currents to Ningaloo Reef was quantified over a full seasonal cycle, during periods when wave and wind conditions significantly differed. These results showed that wave breaking still overwhelmingly dominated the circulation and flushing of Ningaloo Reef throughout the year, with winds playing an insignificant role.  相似文献   

5.
Oscillatory (e.g., tidal) flow over and around shallow reefs and islands is considered. Overall matching conditions (between sea levels and flows across the reef) are derived, to represent reef effects in models of larger regions.Analyses include various reef forms of uniform cross-section and water depth h(x), both narrow (uniform cross-reef transport) and broad (decoupled motions on either side). Simple island chains, or reefs broken by passages conducting all the flow, are also considered.In all cases, cross-reef transport is “down” the sea-surface slope, phase-shifted by 0 to 1/4 cycle. The transport is sufficient to render broken reefs effectively transparent to tides, unless the reefs are unusually far from the coast (> 100km, say), dense (> 90%) and broad (> 25km).The matching conditions are consistent with (expected) energy losses for unforced trapped waves propagating along a continental shelf with a long-shelf reef. There is a corresponding change of phase speed, if these effects are small, as is generally so for Kelvin waves. Continental shelf waves, particularly near their maximum frequency, may be strongly retarded and damped by a shelf-edge reef.  相似文献   

6.
With large-scale impacts on coral reefs due to global climatic change projected to increase dramatically, and suitability of many areas for reef growth projected to decrease, the question arises whether particular settings might serve as refugia that can maintain higher coral populations than surrounding areas. We examine this hypothesis on a small, local scale in Honduras, western Caribbean. Dense coral thickets containing high numbers of the endangered coral Acropora cervicornis occur on offshore banks while being rare on the fringing reef on nearby Roatán. Geomorphological setting and community dynamics were evaluated and monitored from 1996 to 2005. A model of population dynamics was developed to test assumptions derived from monitoring. Coral cover on the fringing reef declined in 1998 from >30% to <20%, but the banks maintained areas of very dense coral cover (32% cover by A. cervicornis on the banks but <1% on the fringing reef). Bathymetry from satellite images showed the banks to be well-separated from the fringing reef, making asexual connectivity between banks and fringing reef impossible but protecting the banks from direct land-runoff during storms. Exposure to SE tradewinds also causes good flushing. Only four A. cervicornis recruits were recorded on the fringing reef over 6 years. Runoff associated with hurricanes caused greater mortality than did bleaching in 1998 and 2005 on the fringing reef, but not on the banks. Since 1870, our analysis suggests that corals on the banks may have been favored during 17 runoff events associated with tropical depressions and storms and potentially also during five bleaching events, but this is more uncertain. Our model suggests that under this disturbance regime, the banks will indeed maintain higher coral populations than the fringing reef and supports the assumption that offshore banks could serve as refugia with the capacity to subsidize depleted mainland populations.  相似文献   

7.
Keiichi  Sasaki  Akio  Omura  Tetsuo  Miwa  Yoshihiro  Tsuji  Hiroki  Matsuda  Toru  Nakamori  Yasufumi  Iryu  Tsutomu  Yamada  Yuri  Sato  Hiroshi  Nakagawa 《Island Arc》2006,15(4):455-467
Abstract   High-resolution seismic reflection profiles delineated the distribution of mound-shaped reflections, which were interpreted as reefs, beneath the insular shelf western off Irabu Island, Ryukyus, southwestern Japan. A sediment core through one of the mounded structures was recovered from the sea floor at a depth of −118.2 m by offshore drilling and was dated by radiometric methods. The lithology and coral fauna of the core indicate that the mounded structure was composed of coral–algal boundstone suggesting a small-scaled coral reef. High-precision α-spectrometric 230Th/234U dating coupled with calibrated accelerator mass spectrometric 14C ages of corals obtained reliable ages of this reef ranging from 22.18 ± 0.63 to 30.47 ± 0.98 ka. This proves that such a submerged reef was formed during the lowstand stage of marine oxygen isotope stages 3–2. The existence of low-Mg calcite in the aragonitic coral skeleton of 22.18 ± 0.63 ka provides evidence that the reef had once been exposed by lowering of the relative sealevel to at least −126 m during the last glacial maximum in the study area. There is no room for doubt that a coral reef grew during the last glacial period on the shelf off Irabu Island of Ryukyus in the subtropical region of western Pacific.  相似文献   

8.
Side scan sonar records, sediment textural characteristics, and in-situ field observations were used to study gravelly and pebbly dunes and sorted bedforms on the inner shelf of Marettimo Island, along the northwestern Sicilian shelf. The dunes are composed of coarse sands, gravels and pebbles (D50: 2–16 mm), displaying a symmetrical shape with a wavelength in the range of 1–2.5 m and a height of 0.15–0.30 m. The bedforms are distributed in a patchy pattern in a depth range of 10–50 m, and are described for the first time on a Mediterranean inner shelf. Sorted bedforms are linear morphological features developed almost perpendicular to the coast in the eastern sector of the island between 15 and 50 m water depth. Bottom shear stresses required for sediment entrainment and the generation of the shallower dunes can be reached during strong storms (Hs=5–6 m; Tp=9–11 s), which are not common in the Mediterranean Sea. However, wave storm events recorded in the study area during the last 17 years are not able to generate the coarsest and deeper dunes, suggesting that the stirring mechanism for dune formation is associated with severe storms that have a recurrence interval of more than 17 years. The long-term stability of the coarse bedforms is supported by the permanence of sorted bedforms without significant morphological changes for long periods (>13 years). Therefore, it is shown that processes forming coarse bedforms can occur in tideless and moderate-energy settings like those of the Mediterranean continental shelves, although the morphological features are probably less dynamic and remain unaltered for longer periods than on higher-energy shelves.  相似文献   

9.
Spatial variability in community structure of dictyoceratid sponges (class Demospongiae; order Dictyoceratida) was examined on coral reefs in Torres Strait, an archipelago of islands and reefs between northern Queensland, Australia, and Papua New Guinea. Dictyoceratid sponge abundances and environmental factors were recorded at four locations, separated by 50–220 km. Each location was subdivided into 5–7 sites, each ?2 km apart. At each site, four 50×2 m belt transects were quantitatively surveyed, recording the dictyoceratid numbers, substrate type (rock, rubble and sand), water clarity, degree of reef slope and depth. Dictyoceratid abundance was similar among locations over large spatial scales, averaging 15.5 individuals per 100 m2, but varied significantly among sites within particular locations (i.e. small scale heterogeneity). Twenty-three dictyoceratid species were recorded in Torres Strait, with approximately half (12/23) found in only one location. The canonical correspondence analysis determined that the measured environmental factors explained only 26% of the spatial variation. Cluster analysis revealed a complex dictyoceratid community structure with similarities among neighbouring sites and among sites separated by hundreds of kilometres. Conversely the abundance and composition of dictyoceratids could vary greatly between neighbouring sites 2 km apart and on the same reef complex. The results of this study suggest that spatial variability of dictyoceratid sponges in Torres Strait is influenced by a combination of environmental, biological and stochastic processes.  相似文献   

10.
This research focuses on coral reef health in the South Pacific region, an area of high global coral diversity. Coral reef health surrounding four island case studies in the Cook Islands and Fiji have been assessed in areas that have not been previously surveyed. This study compares four islands with barrier and fringing reefs that have different levels of economic development, population pressure, land-use practices, and marine management practices. This interdisciplinary research methodology includes both ecological and social data collection to further understanding of human environment interactions. In comparing the reefs with different socio-economic factors, this research shows that reefs with traditional systems of resources management are healthier, population pressure is not the main factor causing the demise of the reefs and agro-industry is the main industry causing the degradation of the reef in these four South Pacific Islands. In addition, researchers need to use a whole reef perspective to examine coral reef health.  相似文献   

11.
Well‐sorted detrital limestone is one of the typical lithofacies of the latest interval of the Pleistocene Ryukyu Group, which is exposed in the Ryukyu Archipelago in southwestern Japan. The depositional environments of the limestone are interpreted to be extremely shallow and to include back‐reef lagoons or moats and subaerial sand dunes. However, detailed micropaleontological analyses have not been performed on this limestone. In this study, the interpretation of the depositional environments and paleo‐water depths was improved by quantitative examination of foraminiferal assemblages for the well‐sorted detrital limestone of the Minatogawa Formation in the southern part of Okinawa Island. Thin sections of limestone collected from the Minatogawa (Horikawa) quarry were subjected to sedimentological and foraminiferal analyses. Comparison with modern foraminiferal distribution within the Ryukyu Archipelago indicates that back‐reef and fore‐reef dwelling foraminifers characterize the fossil assemblages from the well‐sorted detrital limestone (bioclastic grainstone). Three ratios of indicator foraminiferal taxa (ratios of back‐reef to fore‐reef taxa, planktonic foraminifers to Amphistegina lobifera and Amphistegina lessonii, and Calcarina gaudichaudii to other Calcarina species), as well as multivariate analyses suggest that the well‐sorted detrital limestone was deposited in fore‐reef setting shallower than 40 m in water depth. A comparable depth range was reconstructed from the coral assemblage in the associated coral limestone, suggesting that the Minatogawa Formation was deposited in a gently inclined ramp setting with patch reefs and/or fringing reefs. Stratigraphic changes in paleo‐water depth, together with evidence of several unconformities associated with paleosol layers suggest that there were repeated transgressions and regressions, with an amplitude up to several tens of meters, when the Minatogawa Formation was deposited.  相似文献   

12.
An integrated approach combining swath bathymetry, an extensive dataset of vibrocores and high-resolution seismic reflection data was used to assess the origin and evolution of offshore sand ridges on a tideless continental shelf (Gulf of Valencia, western Mediterranean). The sand ridges are located in the mid-outer shelf at 55–85 m water depth, obliquely oriented to the shoreline. They are 1.5 to 7 m high, with a wavelength between 600 and 1,100 m and a mean height-to-wavelength ratio of 0.004. The sand ridges are composed of well-sorted medium sand and are partially covered by a mud layer, evidencing a moribund stage. They overlie an erosion surface that locally crops out at the seafloor and is interpreted as the Holocene wave-ravinement surface. In the sediment cores, this surface corresponds to an erosional lag composed of coarse sand and gravel with pebbles. Small topographic irregularities on this surface are interpreted as shoreline-associated features that may act as the precursor for ridge development. Their preservation within the sand ridges could be related to the hardness of these features. Internally, the sand ridges display high-angle dipping reflections, indicating ridge migration towards the southeast in the direction of the present-day sediment transport direction. The presence of interbedded mud layers, associated with these reflections, indicates intermittent episodes of mud deposition when active. The internal architecture of some small ridges also provides new insights into their transition from an active to moribund state, as evidenced by a change in the geometry of the internal units from progradational to aggradational, finally being overlain by onlapping finer deposits over the flanks and in the troughs. The Gulf of Valencia sand ridge field constitutes a valuable potential sand resource of 22 million m3 of well-sorted medium and coarse sand with limited mud content, which must be preserved as a strategic sand reservoir. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

13.
The distribution of mineral phases according to the provenance of carbonate and terrigenous facies of carbonate sediments from a large area of the continental shelf of northeast Brazil was investigated using a major element multivariate analysis approach. Heavy minerals such as ilmenite are restricted to the litoraneous facies of the continental shelf of the states of Paraíba and Pernambuco, and clay minerals are found in distal facies of the continental shelf of the State of Ceará. In the carbonate fraction, composed essentially by Mg-calcite and aragonite, there is co-variation between CaO/MgO and bathimetry in part of the studied continental shelf from depths between 15 and 20 m, apparently due to influence of the seawater temperature, degree of oxygenation and luminosity. The terrigenous facies are mainly composed of quartz, clay minerals, K-feldspars and micro-micaceous minerals, having Fe and Ti oxide and hydroxide minerals as major accessory phases. Major element behavior attests to the presence of arenaceous quartz-rich relict sediments in the 35, 60 and 80 m isobaths of the continental shelf of the state of Ceará which is here interpreted as a proxy of ancient coast lines during the Flandrian transgression.  相似文献   

14.
High‐resolution single‐channel seismic reflection surveys were carried out in the northern Ryukyu Island Arc during an NT05‐14 cruise of the R/V Natsushima. The survey area is located northeast of Amami Oshima and southwest of Kikai Shima immediately south of the current northern limit of coral reef formation in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. The main purpose of the surveys was to ascertain whether coral reefs formed during glacial periods and, if so, to determine their three‐dimensional distribution. We collected 784 km of high‐resolution single‐channel seismic data during the cruise. The acoustic basement is clearly observed under the Amami Spur, off Amami Oshima. The seismic profiles show two anticlines, each with an axis trending northeast to southwest. Thin Quaternary stratified sediment overlies the acoustic basement in the northwestern and southeastern slope areas, as well as between the anticlinal axes. The stratified sediment can be divided into several sedimentary units. The mound‐shaped reflections are found within the stratified sedimentary units in the central to eastern parts of the spur. Because the mound‐shaped reflections are characterized by strong reflections and chaotic internal structures in profiles, they are considered biogenic ‘reefs’ or banks consisting of coarse‐grained bioclasts. They overlie the acoustic basement or stratified sediment and reach 15 m in thickness and 400 m in width. In contrast, irregularly shaped topographic highs were detected at the shelf edge southwest off Kikai Shima, which are likely to be remnants of coral reefs formed during the last glacial period. Our seismic data indicate probable coral reef formation at low stands during glacial stages, such as the Last Glacial Maximum, even in the northern Central Ryukyus. The occurrence of drowned reefs may indicate that their growth rate was not sufficient to keep up with a rapid rise in sealevel after a glacial period.  相似文献   

15.
16.
Many plateau-edge reefs and reef mounds of the Late Permian have been discovered in Linxi County and adjacent areas of Inner Mongolia, China. These reefs verify that the Hinggan-Inner Mongolia Area was an open and unobstructed sea-trough in Late Permian. Facies and sequences of reef strata in Member 4 and Member 5 of the Linxi Formation were studied for information to reconstruct the closing process of the Linxi-Jiutai chasm in the sea-trough, i.e., to constrain subsidence, uplift, and final closing. Ages of the reef-bearing strata have been determined to be late and end of Late Permian, based on ranges or abundances of diverse fossils. Six reef-building organic assemblages were distinguished, representing different ecologic conditions, according to morphological functions and paleoecological adaptations of organisms including primarily sponges, bryozoans, and calcareous algae. Two types of shelf slopes, the gentle slope and the steep slope, have been interpreted for Member 4 and Member 5 of the Linxi Formation, based on the assemblages. The locations of outcrops, and types of these reefs delineate the north margin of Sino-Korea Platform, and define uplift and final closing of the Linxi–Jiutai chasm at the end of Late Permian.  相似文献   

17.
Sedimentary architecture and genesis of residual dune ridges in a temperate climate are presented and implications for their use as archive of changes in long-term precipitation and wind climate are discussed. Residual dunes are common features of wet aeolian systems, where they form sets of shallow ridges, oriented perpendicular to the prevailing wind direction. Residual dune ridges of the study area are vegetated and typically elevate 0.6 to 2.5 m above the surrounding interdune flats. They develop on the lower stoss side of active transgressive dunes, triggered by periods of elevated groundwater table and hence colonization of the foot of the dune by rapid growing pioneer vegetation. Stabilized by plants, the growing ridge detaches from the active transgressive dune and gets abandoned within years in the course of the downwind-migration of the transgressive dune. Grain-size data suggest a main sediment supply from the transgressive dune and only minor input from other sources. Ground-penetrating radar reveals that the residual dune ridges are composed of windward-dipping as well as leeward-dipping sedimentary beds. Leeward-dipping strata reflect sediment supply from the parental dune, whereas windward-dipping beds are seen to result from sediment redistribution along the ridge and sediment supply from the adjacent swales during the ridge growth period. Multi-annual to multi-decadal variability in precipitation leads to the development of sequences composed of tens of ridges, spanning time periods of several centuries. Spacing of individual ridges in these sequences is controlled not by long-term variability in precipitation alone, but probably also reflects variable wind intensity which affects the migration rate of the parental dune. The important role of vegetation in ridge construction makes these landforms a demonstrative example of landscape development by geo-biosphere interacting processes.  相似文献   

18.
The topographical complexity of coral reefs is of primary importance for a number of hydrodynamical and ecological processes. The present study is based on a series of high-resolution seabottom elevation measurements along the Maupiti Barrier Reef, French Polynesia. Several statistical metrics and spectral analysis are used to characterize the spatial evolution of the coral geometrical structure from the reef crest to the backreef. A consistent fractal-like power law exists in the spectral density of bottom elevation for length scales between 0.1 and 7 m, while at larger scale, the reef structure shows a different pattern. Such a fine characterization of the reef geometrical structure provides key elements to reconstruct the reef history, to improve the representation of reef roughness in hydrodynamical models and to monitor the evolution of coral reef systems in the context of global change. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

19.
20.
Modern atolls have been studied systematically and thoroughly in the South China Sea.However,the knowledge of a paleo-atoll and related sedimentary system is very limited.Here we used the newly acquired high resolution 2D seismic data,and discovered three late Miocene atoll systems in the offshore Xisha Islands for the first time.We named them atoll system A,B,C,respectively.These three atoll systems,all developed on the horsts dominated by normal fault,consist mainly of atoll reefs,patch reefs,fore-reef slope deposits,and lagoons.On the basis of the interpreted sequence stratigraphic framework and the identification of fore-reef slope deposits,we suggested only the atoll system A continued to grow until Quaternary,and both of atoll system B and C had been drowned in Pliocene.In late Miocene,the atoll systems in the study area were most developed,either in magnitude or in maturity,which indicated late Miocene was the most flourishing period of reef builders,and this was in accordance with the drilling result of ODP Leg 184 in the South China Sea.Pliocene was an important reef drowning period in the study area,and both atoll systems B and C were drowned and hemipelagic deposits prevailed gradually.Quaternary was another reef drowning period in the study area,two large atoll reefs grown on the atoll system A were finally drowned,and hemipelagic deposits begun to drape and fill the palaeo-atoll systems.The growth and drowning of atolls are controlled mainly by tectonic subsidence in long term,but global eustatic can impact it in short term also.  相似文献   

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