Fringing reef growth and morphology: a review

Abstract

Fringing reefs are generally not simple veneers of coral growth along tropical shorelines. Extensive research over the past few decades, based on radiocarbon dating of Holocene reef deposits, has indicated that they can develop in a complex variety of ways even though the surface morphology may appear relatively simple. The principal factor that appears to determine the growth and morphology of fringing reefs is the available accommodation space. Sea-level fluctuations are important, primarily because the sea surface determines the absolute accommodation space for a given reef. This means that a reef established during a period of sea-level rise will be able to accrete vertically as space is..