Lagoon infilling by coral reef sand aprons as a proxy for carbonate sediment productivity

Abstract Sand aprons are distinctive landforms that offer important insights into sedimentary dynamics for reef platform development. Here we link temporal and spatial scales of 21 sand in the southern Great Barrier Reef to understand their Holocene formation evolution response relative sea-level changes, depth Pleistocene base, contemporary morphodynamics. Our results show lagoon infilling is a function size self-limiting process controlled by hydrodynamics changes. Lagoon does not depend on type or degree exposure waves, but it could reflect past wave climates. carbonate productivity estimates based remarkably similar those inferred from habitat classification. Finally, hypothesize current has slowed because effects climate change.