Qualitative aspects of coral growth and carbonate production in a Middle Jurassic Reef
| Titre | Qualitative aspects of coral growth and carbonate production in a Middle Jurassic Reef |
|---|---|
| Type de document | article |
| Auteur(s) | Geister, J. |
| Date | 1989 |
| Titre de la publication | Memoir of the Association of Australasian Palaeontologists |
| Volume | vol. 8 |
| N° de page(s) | 425–432 |
| Résumé | In Bajocian patch reefs of the NE Paris Basin the annual growth of massive hermatypic scleractinians is indicated by rhythmic couplets of high/low density bands. These couplets are comparable to yearly growth bands in Recent reef coral. In the patch reef selected for this study - a particularly well-developed reef exposed in a quarry near Luxembourg - the density bands of the reef-building scleractinians predominantly thick, platy <i>Isastrea</i>sp. show a mean growth rate of 2.3mm per year. Due to unique ecological conditions, the mean vertical growth rate of the entire reef seems to have been close to that of the corals themselves. Therefore, the 18m thick reef body grew in a time interval of c. 10,000 years. From the above growth rate data and calculated original bulk densities of the coral skeletons, the CaCO3 production of the reef bas been estimated potential production P = 2,000 g/m3/year and gross production G = 1,600-1,800 gJm2/year. As there was only minimal carbonate loss by erosion, net production of the reef may have almost approximated gross production. If it was less, it must still have been of the same order of magnitude. The values compare well with those obtained from Recent shallow-water coral reefs. |
| Langue | Anglais |
| Collection |
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