Miocene reefs of Dominican Republic
The reefs are overlain by conglomeratic strata. The stratigraphic setting of these reefs suggests that they have developed along the stalled portions of rapidly prograding fan deltas. Thickets and layers of coral debris are found seaward and stratigraphically above the well-developed reef. The matrix sediments are exclusively fine-grained sand to mud, and the fauna are suggestive of more open shelf conditions. In thickets, branched (porites spp., Pocillopora spp.), small massive (Montastrea spp., Siderastrea spp.), and foliose or plate like (Agaricia spp.) corals are found upright in the muddy sediment. Similarities in coral species and areal proximity suggest that thickets are the source of most layers of coralline debris. The association of coral debris with graded bedding and cross-bedding suggests that coral debris has been reworked by storms. The growth of corals and development of coral reefs in the Miocene-Pliocene Yaque Group is limited only by opportunities created by the slowing of siliciclastic sedimentation. Soft, muddy, terrigenous substrates and a continuing supply of terrigenous mud exert only a limited, indirect effect on reef growth.
- OSTI ID:
- 6468804
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-880301-
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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BIOGEOCHEMISTRY
CENOZOIC ERA
CHEMISTRY
CNIDARIA
CORALS
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
EXPLORATION
GEOCHEMISTRY
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GEOLOGY
GEOPHYSICS
GREATER ANTILLES
GROWTH
HISPANIOLA
ISLANDS
MINERAL RESOURCES
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
REEFS
RESOURCES
SEDIMENTATION
SEDIMENTS
SILICATES
SILICON COMPOUNDS
STRATIGRAPHY
TERTIARY PERIOD
WEST INDIES