热带海洋学报 ›› 2026, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (5): 94-107.doi: 10.11978/YG2025010CSTR: 32234.14.YG2025010

• 海洋地质学 • 上一篇    下一篇

南海美济珊瑚礁的形成与演化*

刘建国1,2(), 黄云1,2, 徐维海1,2, 黎刚1,2, 向荣1,2, 苏翔1,2, 罗云1,2, 赵中贤1,2, 颜文1,2,3()   

  1. 1 热带海洋环境与岛礁生态全国重点实验室(中国科学院南海海洋研究所), 广东 广州 511458
    2 边缘海与大洋地质实验室(中国科学院南海海洋研究所), 广东 广州 511458
    3 中国科学院大学, 北京 100049
  • 收稿日期:2025-11-04 修回日期:2025-12-20 出版日期:2026-09-10 发布日期:2026-10-13
  • 通讯作者: 颜文
  • 作者简介:

    刘建国(1978—), 男, 江西省萍乡市人, 研究员, 从事海洋沉积与古环境研究。email:

    *感谢沈建伟、朱小畏、田雨杭、孙杰、张强、邸鹏飞和王旭东在野外采集珊瑚礁样本。

  • 基金资助:
    国家重点研发计划(2021-06)

Formation and development of Meiji coral reefs in the South China Sea*

LIU Jianguo1,2(), HUANG Yun1,2, XU Weihai1,2, LI Gang1,2, XIANG Rong1,2, SU Xiang1,2, LUO Yun1,2, ZHAO Zhongxian1,2, YAN Wen1,2,3()   

  1. 1 State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 511458, China
    2 Laboratory of Marginal Sea and Ocean Geology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 511458, China
    3 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
  • Received:2025-11-04 Revised:2025-12-20 Online:2026-09-10 Published:2026-10-13
  • Contact: YAN Wen
  • Supported by:
    National Key Research and Development Program of China(2021-06)

摘要:

珊瑚礁是一种独特的地质体, 由生物活动在热带和亚热带海洋及沿海地区形成。尽管珊瑚礁的形成时间和演化过程已受到广泛关注, 但其具体细节仍存在诸多争议。文章以南沙群岛美济礁为研究对象, 通过锶、碳和氧同位素分析、矿物学、微体古生物学以及元素分析等方法, 重建了该珊瑚礁的形成和演化历史。研究结果表明, 珊瑚礁的形成演化是一个复杂的地质过程, 受到多种因素的综合影响, 其中区域构造运动和长期气候变化起着关键作用。珊瑚礁形成通常经历8个主要阶段, 第1阶段是火山基底的形成; 其后则是早期珊瑚群落于基底之上的定殖与构建, 并在此基础上逐渐发展壮大。如今, 在火山基底表面可以观察到大量的珊瑚礁, 其厚度可达约1000m, 这些珊瑚礁在形成过程中遭受了显著的侵蚀作用。这种阶段性侵蚀与沉积的现象, 可以通过阶段性侵蚀-沉积模型加以解释, 该模型不仅适用于美济礁, 也适用于研究西沙群岛等地区珊瑚礁的形成与演化。基于以上研究, 我们推测许多热带珊瑚礁可能不会长时间持续繁荣发展, 其生长过程中可能会受到多种环境因素的影响, 导致生长中断或衰退。在珊瑚礁的层状结构中, 通常会伴随沉积间断现象。这些间断记录了珊瑚礁生长过程中的暂停或侵蚀事件。

关键词: 珊瑚礁, 构造运动, 气候变化, 新生代, 美济礁

Abstract:

Coral reefs are unique geological bodies formed by biological activity in tropical and subtropical seas and coastal zones. Although the timing and evolutionary processes of coral reef formation have received extensive attention, many specific details remain contentious. In this study, we use strontium, carbon, oxygen isotope stratigraphy, mineralogy, micropaleontology, and whole-rock geochemistry to reconstruct the growth history of Meiji Reef in the Nansha Islands. The formation of coral reefs typically undergoes eight major stages: Stage 1 involves the formation of a volcanic basement, followed by a phase marked by the establishment and construction of early coral communities on this substrate, upon which they gradually grew and developed. Today, extensive exposures of coral reef are frequently observed on the surface of the volcanic basement, with a thickness of up to ~1000 m. These reefs underwent significant erosion during their formation. This phenomenon of episodic erosion and deposition can be explained by an episodic erosion-deposition model and is applicable to other coral reefs in the South China Sea (e.g., in the Xisha Islands). Based on these findings, we infer that many tropical reefs experienced episodic rather than continuous growth, with frequent hiatuses driven by tectonic subsidence, eustatic oscillations and environmental deterioration. This dynamic view provides a new framework for understanding reef evolution and offers a scientific basis for the conservation and sustainable management of coral-reef systems in a changing climate.

Key words: coral reef, tectonic movement, climatic change, Cenozoic, Meiji Reef

中图分类号: 

  • P737.11