Coral Systems

Abstract

Coral reefs are globally unique landforms formed in the tropical ocean from the interaction between ecological and physical processes. Reefs are also among the most valuable ecosystems on the Earth, although they are threatened by an intensifying range of stresses that include anthropogenic activities and global climate change. This chapter examines developments in the scientific understanding of the formation and geomorphic dynamics of coral reefs and reef-associated landforms. Reef science has its foundations in descriptive accounts of the form and distribution of coral reefs, driving considerations of the evolution of reef systems. With the assistance of developments in field-sampling techniques, instrumentation, and analytical techniques, an increased recognition has occurred of the geomorphic complexity of reef systems, and the process controls on reef landform development and change, which operate at a range of spatial and temporal scales. These process controls are explored using an ecomorphodynamic framework to examine the ocean-basin scale controls on the distribution and evolution of coral reefs; the importance of the carbonate factory in reef geomorphic development; new insights into the controls on the formation and fabric of reef structure at millennial timescales; and the process controls on the formation of sedimentary landforms and their temporal dynamics. The chapter also highlights key areas for ongoing research that include carbonate budget dynamics that modulate geomorphic development, improved resolution of local and regional-scale patterns of reef landform development, and process controls on the morphodynamics of reef landforms. Such knowledge is fundamental to better resolve the future trajectories of reef landforms in response to global climatic change.