Coral reef to form fringing reefs, and can eventually grow become a barrier reef. Where the bottom is rising, fringing reefs can grow around the coast, but coral raised above sea level dies. If the land subsides slowly, the fringing reefs keep pace by growing upwards on a base of older, dead coral, forming a barrier reef enclosing a lagoon between the reef and the land. A barrier reef can encircle an island, and once the island sinks below sea level a roughly circular atoll of growing coral continues to keep up with the sea level, forming a central lagoon. Barrier reefs
Coral Reef Alliance Coral Reef Alliance The Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California, that partners with local reef communities around the world to protect coral reefs. CORAL was founded in Berkeley, California, in 1994 by Stephen Colwell, and is currently headed by Dr. Michael Webster. With 19% of the world's coral reefs already destroyed and another 35% at immediate risk or threatened due to human pressures, organizations like CORAL are addressing an urgent need. The organization was founded in 1994 by Stephen Colwell in Berkeley, California. In the beginning, the goal was simple: to engage the