Modern fringing reefs are developed on the intertidal to subtidal area of Xiaodonghai bay, Sanya, Hainan Island. The reef flat extends several dozen meters toward the sea. Various ecological and sedimentary zonations can be distinguished, including, from land to sea, beachrocks, large massive corals, inner reef flat, outer reef flat, and fore-reef slope. The carbonate sediments and constituent hermatypic coral communities are different in these zones. The beachrocks are composed mainly of biological sands, including coral skeletons, algae, gastropods, bivalves, and benthic foraminifera. Quartz sands are less common in this zone. Carbonate diagenesis in beachrocks is characterized by early cementation. The fringing reef flat is progradationally developed toward the sea. Large massive corals grew in the zone next to the beachrocks. These corals are large, flat-toped, and autochthonous in the production of bioclastic grains and lime mud. Large and massive coral skeletons are surrounded by coral skeletal grains, bioclasts, and lime-mud sediments. The inner reef flat consists mainly of skeletons of branching corals that are covered by bioclasts and lime mud, and living corals are mostly massive in form. Statistical analysis of coral-community dynamics shows that the outer reef flat with strong waves is the most suitable place for hermatypic corals to flourish. There, the living corals are most densely distributed. Both massive corals and branching corals (e.g., Acropora corymbosa) are exceptionally healthy in this zone. Bioclasts and lime mud are washed out due to strong wave action. Microbial carbonates generally are deposited within cavities of the beachrocks and coral skeletal cavities and on the surfaces of bioclastic grains. The latter two types, however, are more common. Ecological-sedimentary zonations across the Xiaodonghai reef flat from beachrocks to outer reef flat are controlled by variations in wave strength and water energy. Microbial carbonates rarely developed on outer reef flat under strong wave actio
WANG Yue1,2, SHEN JianWei1 & LONG JiangPing3 1 Department of Marine Geology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology
Meiji (Mischief) coral atoll, in Nansha (Spratly) Islands, South China Sea, consists of an annular reef rim surrounding a central lagoon. On the atoll rim there are either protuberant 'motu' (small coral patch reefs on the rim of atoll) islets or lower sandy cays that contain modern microbialite deposits on the corals in pinnacles and surrounding bottoms of the atoll. Microbialites, including villiform, hairy, and thin spine growth forms, as well as gelatinous masses, mats and encrustation, developed on coral colonies and atoll rim sediments between 0 and 15 m deep-water settings. The microbialites were produced by natural populations of filamentous cyanobacteria and grew on (1) bulbous corals together with Acropora sp., (2) on massive colonies of Galaxea fascicularis, (3) on dead Montipora digitata, and (4) on dead Acropora teres, some hairy microbialite growing around broken coral branches. This study demonstrates that microbial carbonates are developed in coral reefs of South China Sea and indicates that microbial processes may be important in the construction of modern reef systems. The results have significance in the determination of nature and composition in microorganisms implied in the formation ancient microbialites, and permit evaluation of the importance of microbial deposits in mo-dern coral reefs and of 'microbialites' in biogeochemical cycles of modern coral reef systems. The re-sults also provide evidence of modern analogues for ancient microbialites in shallow-water settings, and combine with sedimentological studies of ancient microbialites to understand their controls.
SHEN JianWei1 & WANG Yue1,2 1 Department of Marine Geology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology
Two research methods, geomicrobiology and carbonate sedimentology, were adopted to study the microbial carbonates in the beachrocks, Shuiweiling, Luhuitou, Sanya City, Hainan Island. The results indicate that microbial carbonates occur in Shuiweiling beachrocks and cements related to microbial activitives are common. Microbial carbonates were mainly developed on the surfaces of coral skeletons and within the coral (fragments and shivers) skeletal cavities,and rarely grew in interspaces formed by coral and other biological detritus. The growth morphologies of microbial carbonates are various, including stromatolitic lamination, thin crusts, dome-like, and microbialites. Microbial carbonates commonly trap fine-sized bioclasts, contain tubular filaments, and show laminated growth striation. Microbial carbonates within the coral skeletal cavities are generally stromatolitic cone-shaped, with a random growth direction along the bearing of trend of cavities, showing distinct growth laminae and recognizable growth phases. It is a special growth pattern of crypt microbial carbonates. Microbial cements occur mainly in shape of needle cement, calcified filaments, microborings, and calcified framboidal spheres. The needle cement is the most common type. These microbial cements indicate that microbial activities and microbial carbonates played an important role in beachrock formation in which carbonates were dominant components and the climate of tropical ocean monsoon was influential. Such microbial carbonates and microbial cementation have not been reported here from beachrocks along the northern shorelines of the South China Sea. The results support a clear microbial origin for certain carbonate cements in beachrocks, confirm that microbial carbonates are a significant contributor to carbonate sedimentation, and widen the knowledge of beachrocks from a new field.
TENG JianBin1,2 & SHEN JianWei1 1 Department of Marine Geology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology
