Postglacial reef development in the South-West Pacific : case studies from New Caledonia and Vanuatu
Autor: | Guy Cabioch |
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Jazyk: | angličtina |
Rok vydání: | 2003 |
Předmět: |
GENESE
TEMPERATURE DE SURFACE geography geography.geographical_feature_category Stratigraphy Fringing reef NEOTECTONIQUE Geology PALEOENVIRONNEMENT STRATIGRAPHIE RECIF FRANGEANT Substrate (marine biology) RECIF CORALLIEN Sea surface temperature MARGE CONTINENTALE PASSIVE Oceanography Passive margin PALEOCLIMAT NIVEAU MARIN HOLOCENE Island arc ARC INSULAIRE Reef |
Popis: | Analysis of reef development in the South-West Pacific provides valuable information on climatic variations and environmental changes during the past 20 ka. Here, I compare fringing reef development from two sites in different geotectonic settings. In New Caledonia, located on a stable passive margin, a lag in reef development is observed and postglacial reefs initiated late between 7.2 and 4 ka. In Vanuatu, located in an uplifting island arc, reef development was continuous from 24 to 6 ka, and there was no lag with the reef initiating as soon as substrate was available. The initiation lag in New Caledonia can be attributed to a lack of suitable substrate or to unfavorable oceanographic conditions such as cold sea surface temperature (SST), which did not allow reef initiation. In Vanuatu, although SST during much of the postglacial sea-level rise was probably cooler than present, the reef was still able to develop as soon as the substrate was flooded. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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