Claim: However, there is a process of accretion, where coral broken up by the waves washes up on these low-lying islands as sand, counteracting the reduction in land mass.

Relevance (1 = gold evidence, 0 = mined hard negative): 1
Passage: If sea level changes are too drastic, time will be insufficient for wave action to accumulate sand into a dune, which will eventually become a barrier island through aggradation.

Relevance (1 = gold evidence, 0 = mined hard negative): 1
Passage: He believed that waves moving into shallow water churned up sand, which was deposited in the form of a submarine bar when the waves broke and lost much of their energy.

Relevance (1 = gold evidence, 0 = mined hard negative): 1
Passage: Habili – reef specific to the Red Sea; does not reach near enough to the surface to cause visible surf; may be a hazard to ships (from the Arabic for "unborn") Microatoll – community of species of corals; vertical growth limited by average tidal height; growth morphologies offer a low-resolution record of patterns of sea level change; fossilized remains can be dated using radioactive carbon dating and have been used to reconstruct Holocene sea levels Cays – small, low-elevation, sandy islands formed on the surface of coral reefs from eroded material that piles up, forming an area above sea level; can be stabilized by plants to become habitable; occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans (including the Caribbean and on the Great Barrier Reef and Belize Barrier Reef), where they provide habitable and agricultural land Seamount or guyot – formed when a coral reef on a volcanic island subsides; tops of seamounts are rounded and guyots are flat; flat tops of guyots, or tablemounts, are due to erosion by waves, winds, and atmospheric processes Coral reef ecosystems contain distinct zones that host different kinds of habitats.

Relevance (1 = gold evidence, 0 = mined hard negative): 1
Passage: Waves, grazing fish (such as parrotfish), sea urchins, sponges and other forces and organisms act as bioeroders, breaking down coral skeletons into fragments that settle into spaces in the reef structure or form sandy bottoms in associated reef lagoons.

Relevance (1 = gold evidence, 0 = mined hard negative): 1
Passage: Over time, corals fragment and die, sand and rubble accumulates between the corals, and the shells of clams and other molluscs decay to form a gradually evolving calcium carbonate structure.

Relevance (1 = gold evidence, 0 = mined hard negative): 0
Passage: Sediment can negatively affect corals in many ways, such as by physically smothering them, abrading their surfaces, causing corals to expend energy during sediment removal, and causing algal blooms that can ultimately lead to less space on the seafloor where juvenile corals (polyps) can settle.

Relevance (1 = gold evidence, 0 = mined hard negative): 0
Passage: "Coral islands defy sea-level rise over the past century: Records from a central Pacific atoll".

Relevance (1 = gold evidence, 0 = mined hard negative): 0
Passage: Some land masses are moving up or down as a consequence of subsidence (land sinking or settling) or post-glacial rebound (land rising due to the loss of the weight of ice after melting), so that local sea level rise may be higher or lower than the global average.

Relevance (1 = gold evidence, 0 = mined hard negative): 0
Passage: Atolls may also be formed by the sinking of the seabed or rising of the sea level.

Relevance (1 = gold evidence, 0 = mined hard negative): 0
Passage: Coral reefs also act as a protective barrier for coastlines by reducing wave impact, which lowers the damage from storms, erosions, and flooding.

Relevance (1 = gold evidence, 0 = mined hard negative): 0
Passage: This is due to the subsiding of coastal lands.

Relevance (1 = gold evidence, 0 = mined hard negative): 0
Passage: "Islands disappear under rising seas".

Relevance (1 = gold evidence, 0 = mined hard negative): 0
Passage: The water surrounding the islands is shallow, making it difficult to land.