EXPLORING BIOEROSION THROUGH CONRAD NEUMANN’S VIEWFINDER IN THE 1980’S

One of Conrad Neumann’s early and lasting contributions to carbonate geology was to highlight the importance of bioerosion and recycling of shallow carbonates. Bioerosion at the tidal interface is intense enough to incise notches into taller features and control the surface morphology of coral reefs and their reef back flats. Conrad also identified bioerosional features in deeper substrates and explored them using Alvin. These efforts formed the basis of my masters thesis. One Alvin dive series focused on bioerosion of deep substrates in the Gulf of Mexico lead to the discovery of the deep seeps that housed tube worms and ecosystems reminiscent of those at hydrothermal vents. At heart Conrad was always an explorer. In doing his work he left not only a rich legacy of science but a valuable trove of photos and sketches that were also a measure of the man.