Postglacial reef growth

During the last two decades, drilling through recent coral reefs has resulted in an increasing knowledge of reef groeth patterns since the last Glacial Maximum (past 90000 years). The rapid deglacial sea level rise, from 18000 to between 6000-3000 years BP, was accompanied in the tropics, by the settlement of three successive reef generations within the periods of 18000-14700, 13800-11500 and 10000 years BP-Present, respectively. Most of these reefs are submerged between 140 m and less than 10 m of water depth. Reef growth has principally been constrained by local enviromental factors, among which nutrient levels, sea surface temperatures, substrate availability and hydrodynamic energy have probably been dominant. Permenently balanced conditions have promoted continuous growth (a graditional model); in most cases, reef development has beem discontinuous (a punctuated model), due to disruption of the biota. The relative influence of these various factors remain uncertain. (C) Academie des sciences / Editions scientifiques et medicales SAS.