Sedimentation on Bermuda's Atoll Rim
Garrett P and Scoffin TP. 1977. Sedimentation on Bermuda's Atoll Rim. Pages 87-95. In Proceedings, Third International Coral Reef Symposium. Miami, FL. 1977. Proceedings of the International Coral Reef Symposium
Bermuda is an atoll with growing reefs surrounding a lagoon. Like other atolls its living corals are most prolific outside its rim. The rim itself shows many signs of being a deposit of particulate carbonate sediment built during the Pleistocene. The SE rim consists of high Pleistocene eolianite islands which clearly derived their sediment from reefs on the "main terrace" outside the rim. The rest of the rim was probably also supplied with sediment from the "main terrace" during the Pleistocene. Longshore drift propelled by westerly winds and waves is believed to have moved sediment from the 6 km-wide SW main terrace around to the SE and NW rims, where the largest sand-bodies occur. S winds blew sand up into eolianites on the SE rim. Winter frontal storms from the NW drove sediment through breaches in the NW rim into lobes in the adjacent lagoon. There is also some evidence favoring progradation of the SW rim during the Pleistocene. Karst solution during glacial low sea levels deepened the lagoonal basins and increased the relative elevations of rim sand bodies.
- Type
- Conference Proceeding Paper
- Authors
- Garrett, P.; Scoffin, T.
- Units
- SFCN
- Keywords
- Carbonate Sediment, Coral, Lagoonal Basins, longshore drift, Reefs