Oceanography Terms 3 Set 12

Coral reefs consist of several distinct parts developed in response to their exposure to waves.

The ___ ________ is located landward of the algal ridge and lies at mean water level.

reef terrace

Coral reefs consist of several distinct parts developed in response to their exposure to waves.

The _____ _____ occurs on the windward side of the reef and endures the pounding waves.

algal ridge

Coral reefs consist of several distinct parts developed in response to their exposure to waves.

The ________ ____ is the reef slope extending down from the algal ridge.

buttress zone

Coral reefs consist of several distinct parts developed in response to their exposure to waves.

The ____ ____ extends downward from the buttress zone.

– Not many colonial corals live here because insufficient light reaches this depth

reef face

Corals grow continuously upward toward the ________. As sea level rises and/or land subsides, coral reefs pass through three stages of development: _____, _______, and _____

sunlight, fringing reef, barrier reef, atoll

________ _____ form limestone shorelines around islands or along continents. They are the earliest stage of reef development.

Fringing reefs

As the land is progressively submerged and the coral grows upward, a shallow lagoon expands. When the lagoon begins to separate the fringing reef from the shoreline, a ______ ____ is created.

barrier reef

In the final stage, the land vanishes below the sea and the reef forms a ring of islands, called an ____, surrounding a shallow lagoon.

atoll