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Biokarst on Limestone Coasts, Morphogenesis and Sediment Production |
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| Authors: | Jürgen Schneider Horst Torunski |
| Institution: | Geologisch-Paläontologisches Institut und Museum der Universität, Goldschmidtstr. 3, D-3400 Göttingen, F. R. G. |
| Abstract: | Abstract. Biokarst-forms on limestone coasts are developed and arranged according to the bionomic zonation. The development of biokarst is the result of bioerosion, a synergistic effect of biological corrosion by endoliths and biological abrasion by grazers. The cumulative effect of biogenic carbonate destruction leads to coastal destruction with a resulting highly profiled morphology on the limestone surfaces along the coastal profile. Under the influence of environmental factors a zonation of organisms develops which brings in turn a zonation of erosion rates (0.1-1.1 mm a Products of bioerosion on limestone coasts are dissolved carbonate (by biological corrosion, 10–30% of the decomposed limestone) and particulate carbonate (by biological abrasion, 70–90% of the decomposed limestone) both of which contribute directly or indirectly to nearshore sedimentation. Size and shape of the bioerosional grains are determined by the boring pattern of the endoliths. The fine-grained sediments (maximum within the fraction 20–63 μm) contribute 3–25 % to the nearshore sediments. Drastic changes in the biological zonation (like the mass invasion of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus in the Northern Adriatic since 1972 which eliminated nearly the entire macrophyte zone) due to unknown factors or pollution can have a profound effect on the bioerosion rates, altering them by as much as a factor of ten. |
| Keywords: | Bioerosion biokarst geomorphology of limestone coasts sediment production grazing organisms epi- and endolithic microorganisms coastal ecology |