Production of Carbonate Sediments by Selected Large Benthic Foraminifera on Two Pacific Coral Reefs

Authors

Pamela Hallock, University of Texas of the Permian BasinFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-1981

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1306/212F7CB1-2B24-11D7-8648000102C1865D

Abstract

Carbonate production, deposition, and turnover rates by selected members of the rotaliine foraminiferal families Asterigerinidae, Calcarinidae, and Nummulitidae were calculated using growth and standing crop data. In Palau, Western Caroline Islands, carbonate production rates on seaward reef flats were up to 2.8 kg CaCO₃m^-2yr^-1, which is equivalent to carbonate deposition of almost l mm yr^-1. Productivity on lagoonal reef slopes were about 0.6 kg CaCO₃m^-2yr^-1 or deposition of about 0.2 mm yr^-1. Carbonate turnover rates in the living populations were 11-16 times per year. In Hawaii, production rates were much lower because of slower growth rates and the absence of the family Calcarinidae. Production rates were up to 0.15 kg CaCO₃m^-2yr^-1 on seaward reef slopes, which is a depositional rate of about 0.05 mm yr^-1. Carbonate turnover rates were 7-11 times per year. These production rates are comparable to many values reported in the literature for coral, coralline algae, and macrobenthos.

Was this content written or created while at USF?

No

Citation / Publisher Attribution

Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, v. 51, issue 2, p. 467-474

Scholar Commons Citation

Hallock, Pamela, "Production of Carbonate Sediments by Selected Large Benthic Foraminifera on Two Pacific Coral Reefs" (1981). Marine Science Faculty Publications. 997.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/997