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fringing reef
(redirected from fringing reefs)

    Also found in: Encyclopedia, Hutchinson 0.02 sec.
fring·ing reef (frnjng)
n.
A coral reef formed close to a shoreline.
fringing reef
n
(Earth Sciences / Physical Geography) a coral reef close to the shore to which it is attached, having a steep seaward edge
fringing reef  (frnjng)
A coral reef formed close to the shoreline of an island or continent. Fringing reefs usually have a rough, tablelike surface that is exposed during low tide and a steep edge sloping toward the open water. Compare atollbarrier reef


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In a process that remained the focus of much debate and speculation until the 1940s (as the authors so engagingly convey), the corals that then formed fringing reefs along the edge of the continent grew upward, seeking sunlight, and keeping pace with the rising sea surface, eventually forming the "outer barrier" of the GBR.
The Great Barrier Reef: History, Science, Heritage by Foale, Simon / Pacific Affairs
There are two additional types of reefs besides barrier reefs: Fringing reefs are submerged coral platforms that extend out from the shore.
Australia's Great Barrier REEF by GUYNUP, SHARON / Science World
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