On Coral Reefs and other Carbonate of Lime Formations in Modern Seas

Abstract

The vast organic accumulations known as coral reefs are, undoubtedly, among the most striking ‘phenomena of tropical oceanic waters. The picturesque beauty of coral atolls and barrier reefs, with their shallow placid lagoons, and their wonderful submarine zoological and botanical gardens, fixed at once the attention of the early voyagers into the seas of equatorial regions of the ocean. Questions connected with the peculiar form, the structure, the origin, and the distribution of these great natural productions have, from the very outset, puzzled and interested all those who delight in the study of natural things. In this communication we propose to point out and discuss some of the more general phenomena of oceanic deposits, with special reference to the functions of corals and other lime-secreting organisms, and the accumulation of their dead shells and skeletons on the floor of the great oceans.

Shoreline features and Quaternary shoreline changes, Puerto Rico

“…An initial cementation from sea water was produced by the ammonifying action of decaying organic matter originally incorporated in bottom sediments and which had been piled onto the beach by storm waves. This well-known chemical reaction, described by Murray and Irvine (1891), consists of ammonia combining with CO2 to form ammonium carbonate, which then reacts with calcium salts in solution to form calcium carbonate (Twenhofel, 1932, p. 317). According to Daly this is followed by a second stage of cementation, where the precipitation of CaCO3 from sea water results from the effect of aeration and surf agitation on the CO2 partial pressure in the water.…”

On the Precipitation of Calcium Carbonate in the Sea by Marine Bacteria, and on the Action of Denitrifying Bacteria in Tropical and Temperate Seas

“…Both Baur (1) and Gran (9) Calcium salts in their culture solutions in order to obviate the great increase in alkalinity that resulted if Potassium or Sodium salts were used, but they have not called attention to, or apparently realized, the probable significance of this precipitation of Calcium carbonate by bacterial agency as an important factor in the formation of various sedimentary calcareous rocks in Tropical seas. The subject of the precipitation of Calcium carbonate in sea-water has been dealt with by Murray and Irvine- (14) in 1889, and again by Murray and Hjort (13) in 1912, and they ascribe the precipitation to the interaction of Ammonium carbonate, derived as an ultimate product of the decomposition of nitrogenous organic matter, with the Calcium sulphate present in sea-water, according to the equation (NH 4 ) 2 CO 8 + CaSO 4 = CaCO 3 + (NH 4 ) 3 SO 4 . Expressed in the terms of the Ionic Hypothesis, this reaction can be explained by the statement that CaCO 3 must be precipitated when the product of the concentration of its ions Ca" and CO!…”

“…The subject of the precipitation of Calcium carbonate in sea-water has been dealt with by Murray and Irvine' (14) in 1889, and again by Murray and Hjort (13) in 1912, and they ascribe the precipitation to the interaction of Ammonium carbonate, derived as an ultimate product of the decomposition of nitrogenous organic matter, with the Calcium sulphate present in sea-water, according to the equation (N H4)2 COg+ CaSO4= CaCOg+ (NH4h SO4' Expressed in the terms of the Ionic Hypothesis, this reaction can be eXplained by the statement that CaCOg must be precipitated when the product of the concentration of its ions Ca" and CO; exceeds a certain limit; an increase in the concentration of CO;; ions is produced by the advent of (NH4)2COg, which is partially ionized into NH~and CO;, and hence the product of the concentrations of Ca" and CO;;ions is increased, and CaCOg is thrown out of solution.…”

Effect of Calcium Carbonate Deposition Induced by Microorganisms and Plant Urease on Sand Reinforcement

“…When carbonate is the product, the process is called microbial-induced carbonate precipitation [12]. As early as the 18 th century, Murray and Irvine (1891) [13] conducted research on microbial deposition of calcium carbonate. In 1995, Gollapudi et al (1995) [14] firstly applied MICP to the field of geotechnical engineering.…”