Storm Features on a Southern Caribbean Fringing Coral Reef

Abstract

Although there have been many studies that have documented various effects of storms in coral reefs, to date there have been no systematic studies of the depth distribution of strom features and few discussions of the potential for preservation of evidence of strom activity in reefs. After hurricane Gilbert and tropical strom Joan passed through the Caribbean late in 1988, an opportunity became available to study storm features and to relate them to water depth in the leeward reefs of the southern Caribbean island of Bonaire. In January 1989, sixty indicators of storm impact on the reefs of Bonaire were found over the depth range 1.5 m to 37 m at 5 localities