CORAL REEF STUDIES

The author of this webpage has devoted significant time studying the challenge that is often proposed against recent creation because both living and fossil reefs are considered to grow too slowly for them to have developed within the limited time frame of the biblical creation model. Below are several pertinent documents, references and comments developed over the years.

INTRODUCTION

The term coral reefs is commonly used to describe wave resistant structures built up by coral, algae and other carbonate precipitating organisms. Reefs need not be produced by just coral organism, and the term “reef” can apply to any kind of resistant geological ridges, whether or not produced by organisms, so terminology is not precise. The term bioherm, that is restricted to structures produced by organism, is more precise, but not commonly used.

In discussing coral reefs and time, it is useful to distinguish between two kinds of reef. We have the present living reefs, common to shallow seas in tropical regions, like the huge Great Barrier Reef of Australia; and there are many mounds and ridges, found at various levels in the geologic layers, that are identified as fossil reefs.

The general conclusions of these discussions is that our present living reefs could have developed in a few thousand years, and most of our fossil reefs are really not reefs, the few that appear to be reefs may not have necessarily grown where presently found.

THE FIVE CORAL REEF STUDIES (PDFs)
2020 THE CAPITAN “REEF” REVISITED
2013 COMMENT ABOUT RATES OF CORAL REEF GROWTH (New Data)
2013  COMMENT ABOUT FOSSIL REEFS (New Data)
FOSSIL REEFS AND TIME (1995)
CORAL REEF GROWTH (1979)