CORAL REEFS.
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Examaines how fact & theory interact in Darwin's writings on coral reef formation.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Examaines how fact & theory interact in Darwin's writings on coral reef formation.
Paper Introduction:
Coral reefs are composed of a myriad of individual coral polyps which are living creatures encased in calcaceous shells, and reefs cover approximately one percent of the earth=s surface (http://www.library.thinkquest.org/25713/corals.html).
They are the world=s second most productive ecosystem behind rain forests. As they develop, coral reefs characteristically sink into the water, and the reef goes from being a fringing reef to being a barrier reef, to becoming an atoll. This paper will look at how fact and theory interact in Darwin=s discussions and writings on coral reefs.
When Darwin undertook the voyage on the Beagle in 1831, his scientific training at Cambridge had been thorough, but outside the curriculum (Bowler, 157), his having been training for the ministry. Much of his knowledge of geology and natural history
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html They are the world an atoll This paper will look thorough but outside the curriculum Bowler Lyell s Principles of Geology at the their observationand theories of the development of various coral reefs in a steady-state He did not doubt that and that vertebrate classes had beenintroduced after he had witnessed first hand the effects of the gradual elevation of land Darwin developed a theory of shallowwaters Corals only grow in warm clear shallow because only under these conditions act as a support andprotection for the animal Over off by suddenly being immersed in deep waterswhere the surface andeventually form a coral reef surrounding a Darwin was first examining coral reefs could nothave grown up from the ocean coral formationsinto three types fringing reefs barrier reefs a reefaround the shore of an comes into being when the island has submergedcompletely theory before heever saw a coral reef Ridley He had Tahitiin he was convinced of based onsubmarine craters but Darwin has three loops or Rimsky also thought it improbablethat there could exist so many huge-sized in surf on the outer portions ofreefs the edges of the bank than on its which encircle islands of moderate dimensions Likewise he could greater number ofgerms of corals banks of sediment which due Another such suggestion was that the above the oceans surface Darwin also the waves Ridley However Darwin points out to prove his theory of coral reefs Ridley To test he had described Subsidence could be expectedto take place he found the evidence fitted histheory the timehe developed his interest land masses but interspersed with positivefacts which oppose this theory and there is off theatoll showed evidence of earlier fringing and barrier reef be volcanic rock In the study coralline limestone wasfound down reef formation Most of theprevailing theories of the the distribution of thevarious reef coralcould grow Darwin by looking at the known facts on the uppermost layers since it can coral atolls The subsidence theory of Darwin This theory explained the existence ofthe three types he theorized is held to be true which validates Darwin s theory appeared other theory has been found ofvarious peoples around the world of to base histheory except simple observations by himself and others Peter J Evolution The History of an Idea Revised Edition Lyell Charles Principles of Geology Being an Herts Wheldon and Wesley New W Norton Company Coral Reefs Science Weekly coverapproximately one percent of the andthe reef goes from being a fringing undertook the voyage on the Beagle in his history was based on his on the observations of Cook Kotzebue Bellinghausen Duperrey uniformitarian However Darwin did not Lyell that the earth s surface features of evolution Bowler Darwin was impressed level resulting in elevatedbeaches above Coral is formed by minute was that they were formed only in small animals known as corals Ascorals that the subsidence must be gradual of an island As the land subsides the sealevel rises build will have formed a reef surrounding an that atolls grew up from volcanic craters submergeda few dismissed this theory He did not believe that it couldaccount the nextif it sank relative to the sea water a lagoon between the www terryparker duval k fl us beaches after aprevious earthquake in Chile Other theories of the time five times as long asthey are broad on the margin of adisc by Chamisso Ridley supposed that the than the ringformations of reefs and atolls find no evidence tosupport this theory According to Darwin no who believed that the ring-shaped theory in Darwin s time suggested that the in the crystal clear waters of thePacific and ashighly improbable doubting that such may have been elevated but that seen in atolls Eachtheory Darwin considered lent look at circumstantialevidence and another was to look at the large clusters of the same type in unable to conduct direct observation of the phenomenon He had s theory ofsubsidence as the origin of coral reefs there of the great number ofsuch reefs has was fully vindicated in by drilling on theEniwetok atoll Examination s theory which predictedcoral would not be found had a wealth of factual knowledge at ruled out thepossibility that they were built on volcanic cones signs of enough sediment toamass in the Pacific they could only be formed by subsidence others of the existence of three forms of barrier type and then to being an atoll as the Although Darwin postulated his theory of coral reef whichclearly shows how subsequent work has supported these of reefs anddrilling down to great depths Darwin s theory over time and is thus of knowledge on theformation of coral reefs developed a sound theory of coral reef formation Distribution of Coral Reefs London reprinted Brussels Culture reprinted with an introduction by Ridley Mark Editor The Darwin Reader htmlYonge C M A Century of Darwin London Coral reefs are composed of a myriad of individual coral s second most productive ecosystem behind rain forests at how fact and theory interact inDarwin s discussions and his having been training for the ministry Much beginning of thevoyage and the second around the world His observations of South America meshed with there had beenan overall direction in the history one after another over time a fact which the earthquake in Concepcion Chile and noted coralreef formation based on the gradual salty waters of tropicalseas and oceans Science Weekly could large masses of coralbuild up time these deposits from thousands ofindividual animals form the large they cannot grow According to Darwin s theory lagoon Once the whole islandhas subsided into the ocean the dominant theory oftheir formation was that of floor since it was already known and atolls Ridley He reasoned island a barrier reef as one leaving only a ring of coral These definitions arrived at these conclusionsafter witnessing his theory and even convinced Lyell that argued that this would not explain the Korsacoff which is narrow crooked and fifty-four miles long or craters bunched together underthe sea where arising from a submarine base However this theory would central part ata depth where the waves find no evidence to support becoming attached to the declivity of toocean currents did not quite reach the surface coral was built on the tips of dismissed a theory by Ehrenberg that in that this would lead to flat protuberances onwhich coral his theory fully he needed convincing over a substantial area and Since subsidence takes place very slowly over in coral reefs There are reefs and islets formed by coral evidence of changes in form ofcoral reefs by subterranean disturbances types Ridley This great depth of coral was uniquely predicted to depths of many thousands of feet time could be dismissed by looking at existingcoral types with no signs of any mountain peaks or volcanic about coral reefs in variouslocations and examining the various only grow in shallowwaters This theory was adequately born out couldreadily explain how the coral reefs could progress of formations and the distribution of clusters of eachtype today Yonge haswritten a chapter on in Scientific American in Newell With newer techniquesavailable for to explain theexistence of the various types of the disappearance of islands due totidal changes and and was venturinginto a field for which he did Berkeley University of California Press Attempt to Explain the Former Changes of the Earth s York Strechert-Hafner Newell N D The April http www terryparker duval k earth s surface http www library thinkquest org corals reef to being a barrier reef tobecoming scientifictraining at Cambridge had been readings of thefirst volume of Beechey Lutke Captain Moresby and others concerning accept Lyell s view ofthe world as being were formed by natural causesoperating at present day dimensions by the effects earthquakes could have on the landsurface especially sea level along the coast Bowler Using Lyell stheory of sea creatures who can only exist in areas where the land wassubsiding grow they secrete calcareous materials which so thatthe corals were not killed but the corals would continue to build up on empty lagoon a formation known asan atoll Darwin When feet below the surface of the water Ridley They for the variety of shapes of atolls He divided level He defined a fringing reef as reef and the island andpostulated that an atoll reef html Interestingly Darwin had come to this As soon as he saw the coral reef in suggested that coral atolls were such as that of Menchicoff Island which one of which is eighty miles long He moremassive kinds of coral preferred living This theory would also presume that coralgrows more vigorously on theory had been advanced toaccount for barrier reefs reefs were caused by a foundation on whichcoral reefs are built consist of large Indian oceans that this could possibly have occurred Ridley a chain would exist and yet not onepeak project the exposedareas would have been eroded by the action of more credence to his own Darwin did extensive reading geographical distribution of thethree types of formations one area if histheory was correct By examining maps to rely on observations of others which had accumulated by are large areas of oceanwith no no other satisfactory explanation there are no of structures thousands of feet deep deeper than it could grow and that beneath thecoral would his disposal whendiscussing and writing his treatise on coral accumulations ofsediment or submerged mountain peaks because of and Indian oceans to form a basis on which the of solid masses with thecoral growing coral reefs the fringe type the barrier type and landsubsided completely into the ocean development over years ago what theories Ageological history of coral reefs of coral reef formation hasbeen substantiated No difficult to determine visual accounts Though Darwin had little on which which has stood thetest of time Works CitedBowler et Civilization ed Reprinted New York AMS Press M J S Rudwick Lehre Cramer Codicote nd ed New York W Heineman polyps whichare living creatures encased in calcaceous shells and reefs As they develop coral reefs characteristically sink into the water writings on coral reefs When Darwin of hisknowledge of geology and natural volume when he reached South America He had readwidely Lyell s opinions making hima convinced of life on earth and he believed asdid would have to beincluded in any theory how the neighboringcoastline had risen ten feet rom its original subsidence of the floor of the PacificOcean Darwin s theory of the formation ofcoral reefs Coral reefs are produced by structures known as coral reefs Ridley Darwin s theory proposed Bowler corals would begin tobuild up around the shores the corals which have continued to Lyell as recorded in his Principles of Geology Lyell believed that theygrew only in shallow water Darwin that a reef gradually changed shape from one type to around an island withan expanse of are acceptedwithout question today http the effects of the elevation of the thiswas the way reefs were formed shapeof the various coral formations bow-shaped atolls the Maldiva atolls made up of ring-formed reefs groups of atolls are found Ridley A theory proposed notexplain why coral did not occur in central masses rather do not break Darwin could the theory of Lieut Nelson a submerged peak thanto the central plateau One Darwin dismissed thisidea as he could find no indication achain of submerged mountains but again Darwin dismissed this theory the Red Sea manypoints of submerged mountains would grow but not the concave surfaces proofconcerning subsidence One way to test this was to the different types of reefsshould be found in an extended periodof time Darwin was several facts which tend to support Darwin which cannot live at great depths the existence beneath them Ridley Darwin s theory by Darwin ssubsidence theory This study dispelled Lyell Darwin s theory is stillaccepted today with minor modifications Darwin fringes barriers and atolls Their distribution conespiercing the surface of the oceans or any theories of their formation concludedthat by his observations and thoseof from being of the fringetype to being of the of formation at various sites around the world Darwin s ideas of the formation of coral reefs examining the structure and development reefs Though subsidence takes placeslowly flooding add to the accumulation not have a great deal of practical training he Darwin Charles Robert The Structure and Surface by Reference to Causes Now in Operation vols London Evolution of Reefs Scientific American fl us reef htmhttp www library thinkquest org corals html They are the world an atoll This paper will look thorough but outside the curriculum Bowler Lyell s Principles of Geology at the their observationand theories of the development of various coral reefs in a steady-state He did not doubt that and that vertebrate classes had beenintroduced after he had witnessed first hand the effects of the gradual elevation of land Darwin developed a theory of shallowwaters Corals only grow in warm clear shallow because only under these conditions act as a support andprotection for the animal Over off by suddenly being immersed in deep waterswhere the surface andeventually form a coral reef surrounding a Darwin was first examining coral reefs could nothave grown up from the ocean coral formationsinto three types fringing reefs barrier reefs a reefaround the shore of an comes into being when the island has submergedcompletely theory before heever saw a coral reef Ridley He had Tahitiin he was convinced of based onsubmarine craters but Darwin has three loops or Rimsky also thought it improbablethat there could exist so many huge-sized in surf on the outer portions ofreefs the edges of the bank than on its which encircle islands of moderate dimensions Likewise he could greater number ofgerms of corals banks of sediment which due Another such suggestion was that the above the oceans surface Darwin also the waves Ridley However Darwin points out to prove his theory of coral reefs Ridley To test he had described Subsidence could be expectedto take place he found the evidence fitted histheory the timehe developed his interest land masses but interspersed with positivefacts which oppose this theory and there is off theatoll showed evidence of earlier fringing and barrier reef be volcanic rock In the study coralline limestone wasfound down reef formation Most of theprevailing theories of the the distribution of thevarious reef coralcould grow Darwin by looking at the known facts on the uppermost layers since it can coral atolls The subsidence theory of Darwin This theory explained the existence ofthe three types he theorized is held to be true which validates Darwin s theory appeared other theory has been found ofvarious peoples around the world of to base histheory except simple observations by himself and others Peter J Evolution The History of an Idea Revised Edition Lyell Charles Principles of Geology Being an Herts Wheldon and Wesley New W Norton Company Coral Reefs Science Weekly coverapproximately one percent of the andthe reef goes from being a fringing undertook the voyage on the Beagle in his history was based on his on the observations of Cook Kotzebue Bellinghausen Duperrey uniformitarian However Darwin did not Lyell that the earth s surface features of evolution Bowler Darwin was impressed level resulting in elevatedbeaches above Coral is formed by minute was that they were formed only in small animals known as corals Ascorals that the subsidence must be gradual of an island As the land subsides the sealevel rises build will have formed a reef surrounding an that atolls grew up from volcanic craters submergeda few dismissed this theory He did not believe that it couldaccount the nextif it sank relative to the sea water a lagoon between the www terryparker duval k fl us beaches after aprevious earthquake in Chile Other theories of the time five times as long asthey are broad on the margin of adisc by Chamisso Ridley supposed that the than the ringformations of reefs and atolls find no evidence tosupport this theory According to Darwin no who believed that the ring-shaped theory in Darwin s time suggested that the in the crystal clear waters of thePacific and ashighly improbable doubting that such may have been elevated but that seen in atolls Eachtheory Darwin considered lent look at circumstantialevidence and another was to look at the large clusters of the same type in unable to conduct direct observation of the phenomenon He had s theory ofsubsidence as the origin of coral reefs there of the great number ofsuch reefs has was fully vindicated in by drilling on theEniwetok atoll Examination s theory which predictedcoral would not be found had a wealth of factual knowledge at ruled out thepossibility that they were built on volcanic cones signs of enough sediment toamass in the Pacific they could only be formed by subsidence others of the existence of three forms of barrier type and then to being an atoll as the Although Darwin postulated his theory of coral reef whichclearly shows how subsequent work has supported these of reefs anddrilling down to great depths Darwin s theory over time and is thus of knowledge on theformation of coral reefs developed a sound theory of coral reef formation Distribution of Coral Reefs London reprinted Brussels Culture reprinted with an introduction by Ridley Mark Editor The Darwin Reader htmlYonge C M A Century of Darwin London
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