南海珊瑚礁地貌模型研究

Geomorphological model of coral reefs in the South China Sea

近200a前Darwin于1832-1836年间环球考察热带海洋珊瑚礁后,首次建立了珊瑚礁地貌模型并论述其形成机制,该模型总体形态呈全部或部分被上截了顶部的锥形,本文简称为"上截锥型"。此后历经几代学者的研究,都继承了他的珊瑚礁地貌模型。对南海珊瑚礁地貌模型的研究,近年有研究描绘为另外一种模型,该模型的特点是礁外坡为内凹形,礁体形态呈蘑菇状,本文称为"蘑菇型"。本文根据许多南海珊瑚礁地形实测资料和地貌学研究文献,确认南海珊瑚礁地貌模型应为上截锥型,"蘑菇型"珊瑚礁地貌模型并不符合珊瑚礁形成演化规律,在自然界内不存在。

Darwin firstly developed the coral reef morphological type and discussed its genetic mechanism,after he performed a global survey for coral reefs in tropical oceans during 1832 to 1836.The overall morphology of coral reef in his model looks like a wholly or partly truncated cone-shape,which is called as “the truncated taper”type in this paper.Subsequent several-generation researchers accepted his model.In recent time some workers have put forward another type for coral reefs after studying on geomorphologic characteristics of coral reefs in the South Chi-na Sea （SCS）.In this new model,the outer reef slope takes on a concave curve and the reef＆#39;s shape is mushroom-like,and the model is called as mushroom-like type in this paper.Based on the measured data and references in ge-omorphology,we confirmed that the morphological type of coral reefs in the SCS is not the mushroom-like type but the truncated cone-shape,because the former one didn＆#39;t match the rules for the formation and evolution of cor-al reefs in nature.