Skip to main content

Types of Coral Reef

According to origin, coral reef are classified mainly three types-
                                                                                                                           I.         Fringing Reef.
                                                                                                                         II.         Barrier Reef.
                                                                                                                       III.         Atoll Reef.
I.Fringing Reef:
Fringing reef is a coral platforms attached to a continental coast or an island.
Characteristics:
  1. Fringing reef runs as a narrow belt, 0.5 km to 2.5 km wide.
  2. Sometimes separated by a narrow, shallow lagoon or channel.
  3. The surface of a fringing reef is rough.
  4. They developed through upward growth.
Example:
Gulf of Mannar (India), Southern Florida(USA).

II.Barrier Reef:
Barrier reef is a coral platforms separated from the the adjacent land mass by a wide deep channel.
Characteristics:
  1. Barrier reefs are the largest & the most extensive of all the reefs.
  2. It extends as a broken.
  3. The average slope of barrier reef is 45°.
  4. Lagoon or Lake is formed in the middle zone of mainland & barrier reef.
Example:
Great Barrier Reef(Australia).
III.Atoll:
Atoll is a ringing reef, which partly or completely encloses a lagoon.
Characteristics:
  1. Atolls are located at great distances from deep sea platforms, where the submarine features may help in formation of atolls, such as- a submerged island or a volcanic.
  2. An atoll surrounds a body of water called a lagoon.
  3. A ring shaped coral reef.
  4. The shallow lake of the middle of atoll is 80-140 m in depth.
Example:
Fiji Atoll, Funafuti Atoll.
Fig: Fringing reef, Barrier reef and Atoll

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Concentric zone theory

Theories of City Structure-Concentric Zone Theory Introduction: The Concentric or Zonal Theory of urban landuse was first proposed in 1923 by E.W. Burgess. He was a sociologist. The idea behind the concentric model is that the development of a city takes place outwards from its central area in a series of concentric circles to form zones.  Assumption:        i.           Cultural & social heterogeneity of the population.       ii.           Commercial-industrial base to the economy of the city.     iii.           Private ownership of property & economic competition for space.     iv.           Expanding area & population of the city.       v.    ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sources of Water Mass

Sub-surface water masses formation is more active in the North & South Atlantic & the South Pacific & moderately active in the North Pacific. The sub-surface water masses is not active in the Indian Ocean because of its location in the southern hemisphere. The following arte major source areas of the origin of subsurface water masses-                                            i.           Norwegian Sea Area,                                           ii.           Irminger ...
Post a Comment
Read more

T-S Diagram

Definition: The diagram by which the salinity & temperature of the sea water are expressed is called T-S diagram. Prepared: T-S Diagram was prepared by Helland Harsenin (1916) with the objective to  determine the density of water at various depth. Characteristics: The Temperature ‘T’ & Salinity ‘S’ observed at the particular depth are represented by a single point in this diagram. The plotted points of T & S generally fall on a well defined curve, in which temperature & salinity decrease together. The density of water tends to increase with depth. In T-S Diagram, it may be observed that many combinations of temperature & salinity can yield the same density. In T-S Diagram, it may be observed that the density of water tends to increase with depth.  Diagrammatic Example: Significance: The T-S Diagram is a tool of great utility in Oceanography. The T-S Diagram is the way to visualize layering of water. The T-S Diagram helps in t...
Post a Comment
Read more