Institute for Marine Remote Sensing (IMaRS) Millennium Coral Reef Mapping Project Geomorphology

IMaRS Home Millennium Coral Reef Mapping Project: Millennium Corals Home Mapping Philosophy Scientific Goals NASA Landsat Archive Scales: Seascape Geomorphology Atolls & Banks Fringing Reefs Barrier Reefs Patch Reefs Other Reefs Methods Output Products Image Database Collaborations Schedule Authors & References Projects: Oceanic Atlas of the Gulf of Mexico Cariaco Related Links Contact Us

Geomorphology San Blas, Panama This overview of the main reef formations is not exhaustive. This page presents briefly the notion of seascape and the main classical geomorphological reef-types (atoll, bank, fringing, barrier, patch). There are many variations and other geomorphological sub-classes that we identify and map using images. One of the challenges of this project is that the global reef classification scheme we are building will be derived from modern, horizontal structures as seen from space. But to be accepted by the scientific community, the typology needs also reflect the geological history of the reefs and be in agreement with decades and centuries of habits, at least since Charles Darwin's work. Reef geomorphology is not "linear". Reef types do not necessarily fit into the traditional Darwinian fringing-barrier-atoll sequence. The geological history controls the modern geomorphology of many reefs. Pre-Holocene topography provides the foundation where reef-building organisms have flourished and grown in a vertical or horizontal mode according to the variations of sea-levels. Then, within a region, antecedent reef topography, modern reef growth and erosion, tectonic events, eustatic variations, oceanic hydroclimate and rainfall patterns have modulated the geomorphology we can observe now from space. Examples of seascape and reef geomorphology.

University of South Florida > College of Marine Science > Institute for Marine Remote Sensing (IMaRS) > Millennium Corals Project Home > Geomorphology University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, Institute for Marine Remote Sensing (IMaRS) http://imars.usf.edu/corals/geomorph.html Address questions and comments to Webmaster Updated Thu Jan 23 09:04:54 EDT 2003 (CJK)