An atoll (Maldivian atolu) is an annular organic reef enclosing a lagoon. The shape ranges from circular to very irregular. The reef may or may not have gaps or passages. There may be above-tidal islets on the reef. Some islets are accumulations of storm-cast detritus on the reef surface. Other islets are erosional remnants of former and higher extensions of the reef, or a combination of a remnant and detritus.
Reefs are composed of reef limestone or reef rock. Reef rock is biohermal if it consists of a growth lattice of interlocking organisms and detrital if it consists of fragments of either attached or solitary organisms, or fragments of older consolidated reef rock. Chemical contributions of fine-grained nature help to cement the reef mass, either during sedimentation or at some stage of diagenesis.
Most of the world's atolls are concentrated in the tropical Indo-Pacific region between latitudes...
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Macneil, F.S. (1968). Atolls ∗ . In: Geomorphology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-31060-6_18
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