Barrier reef (Ecology)
From The Encyclopedia of Earth
Barrier reef
March 30, 2010, 12:00 am
October 26, 2011, 10:48 am
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Geology (main)
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A barrier reef is one of three geomorophologically distinct types of coral reefs, the other two being fringing reefs and atolls.
| This article is written at a definitional level only. Authors wishing to expand this entry are inivited to expand the present treatment, which additions will be peer reviewed prior to publication of any expansion. |
Barrier reefs are separated from land by a lagoon or deep channel, and are usually formed by coastal subsidence.
Further Reading:
- Physical Oceanography Index
- R. S. K. Barnes and R.N.Hughes. 1988. An Introduction to Marine Ecology. Blackwell Scientific Publ.,
