珊瑚礁形成机制研究综述

Review on the Study of Formation Mechanism of Coral Reefs

首先回顾了近200 a来,对珊瑚礁形成机制研究而发展的各种学说和理论。这些理论根据珊瑚礁的形成是否与海平面的变化有关而分成2类,其中,"沉降"理论、"冰期控制"理论、"冰期控制沉降"理论、"扩张沉降"理论以及"热点沉降"理论等认为珊瑚礁的形成与海平面的变化有关;而"海底上升"理论、"先成台地"理论、"喀斯特盆地"理论等则认为珊瑚礁的形成与海平面的变化无关。其次梳理了近年对太平洋、印度洋、大西洋等地珊瑚礁演变的研究,揭示了控制珊瑚礁结构和形态的影响因素及其在极端事件下的发育和演变;中国对珊瑚礁形成机制的研究则主要集中在近50 a,通过对南海珊瑚礁钻探所获岩心分析或挖坑采样分析,认为珊瑚礁的形成或遵循"沉降"理论和"冰期控制"理论,即南海珊瑚礁的形成演化是在地壳长期缓慢沉降中同时受到第四纪冰期―间冰期的支配。最后,指出由于珊瑚礁的成因非常复杂,因此试图用一种学说来解释所有珊瑚礁发展的历史是不科学的;目前,随着新的野外调查方法和实验技术的应用,能够提供更多种的、更大量的珊瑚礁数据,因此研究具体某个珊瑚礁,找到适合其形成模式的解释显得更为重要。

Coral reefs have been formed through accumulation of debris of scleractinian corals and associated organism in shallow water of the tropic ocean, most of which are distributed in both sides of equator of the Pacific, the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic. The study of the formation mechanism of coral reefs is very important to understand the tectonic movement of the earth and marine dynamics. Darwin firstly gave the theory of coral reefs＇ formation mechanism about 200 years ago, since then many theories have been proposed, which can be classified into 2 groups according to the relationship between the formation of coral reefs and change of sea level. The theories which are related to the change of the seal level include： Darwin＇s subsidence hypothesis, Penck and Daly＇s glacial-control theory, Kuenen＇s glacially controlled subsidence theory, Dietz and Hess＇s spreading and subsidence theory, and Morgan＇s hotspot subsidence theory. And the other theories which have nothing with sea level change include： Murray＇s Sea floor uplift theory, Hoffmeister and Ladd＇s antecedent-platform theory, and Yabe and Asano＇s Karstic saucer theory. In the past decades, the studies on the revolution of coral reefs in the Pacific, the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic showed the factors which affected the structure and morphology of the coral reefs and how the reefs developed in the extreme events. The studies on formation mechanism of the coral reefs in China were started from about 50 years ago. The records of deep drilling in South China Sea shows that the corals reefs in China may form in accord with Subsidence theory and glacial subsidence theory, that is, the development and formation of coral reefs in South China Sea are in the slow subsidence of crust for a long time and controlled by the Quaternary glacial and inter glacial epoch. The formation of the coral reefs is so complicated and one theory could not be used to explain all coral reefs. With the development of the new way for field investigation and the application of new laboratory techniques, more data can be obtained and suitable formation model for specific reefs can be reached.