Theory of atoll formation
Teoría de la formación de los atolones
- Date
- 1842 · confidence high
- Place
- London, United Kingdom
- Credited to
- Charles Darwin
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
Darwin proposed that atolls form when a coral reef grows around a slowly subsiding volcanic island, so the coral keeps growing upward as the island disappears beneath the sea. He published the idea in The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs (1842), after conceiving it during the voyage of the Beagle.
Darwin conceived the idea while visiting the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in 1836, during the voyage of the Beagle, before publishing it in 1842.
What it led to
- A unified explanation of fringing reefs, barrier reefs and atolls
- Verification drilling at Funafuti (1896-1898) and Bikini
- A reference model for the geology of oceanic volcanic islands