Darwin publishes The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs
Darwin's first scientific monograph argues that fringing reefs, barrier reefs and atolls are three stages of a single process driven by the subsidence of a volcanic foundation, with coral growing upward as fast as the base sinks. The claim is made entirely from the geometry of reefs observed at different stages during the Beagle voyage; Darwin had no means of seeing what lay beneath a reef, and the theory remained contested for more than a century.
Historical — it happened, and the record is settled.
Subjects
- Charles Darwin · person · United Kingdom · not located
- Reef-building corals (Scleractinia) · species_group · Tropical and subtropical shallow seas, broadly 30 degrees N to 30 degrees S · not located
Evidence
Partly verified — Core facts are sourced; some optional detail is deliberately absent.
The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs
Fringing reefs, barrier reefs and atolls are successive stages of one process in which coral grows upward as a volcanic foundation subsides. V55 verification basis: the monograph was NOT consulted in this session — WebSearch budget was exhausted and WebFetch was refused by the egress proxy — and its argument is summarised from the producing model's knowledge of the work.
Charles Darwin; Smith, Elder and Co., London · 1842 · Partly verified
Darwin, C. (1842), The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs, London: Smith, Elder and Co.
Recorded on Charles Darwin
- Darwin publishes The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs
- Drilling on Enewetak reaches volcanic basement beneath the reef
- The first global mass bleaching event
- A published projection that reefs would bleach faster than they could recover
- Mass bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef
- The interval between severe bleaching events is measured, and it has collapsed
Related
Related because they share a subject in the Atlas — never because the text looks similar.
- The interval between severe bleaching events is measured, and it has collapsed · 2018-01
- Mass bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef · 2016-03 to 2016-04
- A published projection that reefs would bleach faster than they could recover · 1999
- The first global mass bleaching event · 1998
- Drilling on Enewetak reaches volcanic basement beneath the reef · 1952