Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Li, Yixin
• Wang, Fengjuan
• Liu, Zhiyong
• Jiang, Jinyang
• Han, Tingyu
• Liao, Xin
• He, Chunpeng
• Lu, Zuhong

Titel

The formation of biogenic reef stone: from coral skeleton to reef rubble

Ist Teil von

• Journal of oceanography, 2022-06, Vol.78 (3), p.135-149

Ort / Verlag

Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore

Erscheinungsjahr

2022

Quelle

SpringerLink_现刊

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by stony corals and reef rubble. Reef rubble is formed by the aragonite and calcite skeletons of dead scleractinian corals and other calcareous organisms. In the ocean, reef rubble contributes to numerous benefits to the marine environment, including the formation of coral reefs, the provision of habitats for marine organisms, and the ability to withstand the impact of waves; reef rubble also plays an important role in saltwater aquaria. However, the transformation process from coral skeleton to reef rubble is poorly understood. This study reconstructed mineralised samples at three stages of the formation process and observed this transformation visually using high-resolution micro-computer tomography. In the binding and cementation processes during reef rubble formation, the content of high-Mg calcite increased in the calcareous samples, the gaps among adjacent sediments disappeared, and the skeleton-void ratio of coral skeletons decreased from 40–50% to 12%. The compressive strength of coral skeletons increased from 4–7 MPa to more than 40 MPa during reef rubble formation, and decreased to 1–2.5 MPa after bioerosion by barnacles. This work provides structural information for diagenetic changes, insight into barnacle erosion in coral skeletons, and extends our understanding of mechanical strength changes during reef rubble formation, which contributes to understand the rigidity of coral reefs.