High-precision U–Th dating of storm-transported coral blocks on Frankland Islands, northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Liu, Entao; Zhao, Jian‐xin; Clark, Tara R.; Feng, Yuexing; Leonard, Nicole D.; Markham, Hannah L.; Pandolfi, John M.

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2014.08.017

Cited by 10 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…Furthermore, few storm histories have been developed that extend the temporal range of generally short (\100 yr) instrumental records. Long-term cyclone data have been reconstructed for the GBR region based on radiometric ages from beach ridges, gravel beach terraces, shingle ridges (Chappell et al 1983;Chivas et al 1986;Nott and Hayne 2001;Nott et al 2009;Forsyth et al 2010), storm-transported coral blocks (Yu et al 2012;Liu et al 2014) and oxygen isotope signatures of cyclonic rainfall preserved in speleothems (Nott et al 2007;Haig et al 2014). However, the influence of cyclones on long-term (millennial-scale) reef development has received little attention, despite observations of extensive ecological and geomorphological changes during recent cyclones (Scoffin 1993).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of sea level and cyclones on Holocene reef flat development: Middle Island, central Great Barrier Reef

et al. 2016

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The geomorphology and chronostratigraphy of the reef flat (including microatoll ages and elevations) were investigated to better understand the long-term development of the reef at Middle Island, inshore central Great Barrier Reef. Eleven cores across the fringing reef captured reef initiation, framework accretion and matrix sediments, allowing a comprehensive appreciation of reef development. Precise uranium-thorium ages obtained from coral skeletons revealed that the reef initiated *7873 ± 17 years before present (yBP), and most of the reef was emplaced in the following 1000 yr. Average rates of vertical reef accretion ranged between 3.5 and 7.6 mm yr -1 . Reef framework was dominated by branching corals (Acropora and Montipora). An age hiatus of *5000 yr between 6439 ± 19 and 1617 ± 10 yBP was observed in the core data and attributed to stripping of the reef structure by intense cyclones during the mid-to late-Holocene. Large shingle ridges deposited onshore and basset edges preserved on the reef flat document the influence of cyclones at Middle Island and represent potential sinks for much of the stripped material. Stripping of the upper reef structure around the outer margin of the reef flat by cyclones created accommodation space for a thin (\1.2 m) veneer of reef growth after 1617 ± 10 yBP that grew over the eroded mid-Holocene reef structure. Although limited fetch and open-water exposure might suggest the reef flat at Middle Island is quite protected, our results show that highenergy waves presumably generated by cyclones have significantly influenced both Holocene reef growth and contemporary reef flat geomorphology.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of sea level and cyclones on Holocene reef flat development: Middle Island, central Great Barrier Reef

et al. 2016

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“…Reefal deposits are excellent materials for identifying paleocyclones and paleotsunamis. Those natural archives currently include storm ridges (e.g., Nott & Hayne, ; Hayne & Chappell, ; Scheffers et al, ; Liu et al, ), large uplifted coral blocks (e.g., Lau et al, ; Liu et al, ; Yu et al, , ; Zhao et al, ), and lagoon sediments (e.g., Klostermann et al, ; Toomey et al, ; Yu et al, ). However, well‐developed storm ridge systems are not widespread on global coral reefs and are primarily recorded from Australia (Nott & Hayne, ; Hayne & Chappell, ; Scheffers et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tropical Sand Cays as Natural Paleocyclone Archives

Chen

Roff

Feng

et al. 2019

Geophysical Research Letters

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Sand cays are valuable paleo‐archives that can significantly increase our understanding of Holocene tropical cyclone variability. Here we conducted detailed sedimentological and chronological analyses from a 195‐cm‐depth pit excavated on Guangjin Island (northern South China Sea), a cay influenced by frequent tropical cyclones. Radiometric dating of multiple deposits revealed that foraminifera, soft coral spicules, and gastropod shells yielded variable age distributions, while U/Th ages of pristine Acropora branches provided a clear record of deposition and cay formation. Based on this robust chronostratigraphy, the proportions of >2‐mm grain size fraction within the deposits corresponded with the frequency of paleotyphoons recorded by historical records in recent centuries. U/Th ages (CE 1687 ± 12, CE 1735 ± 6, and CE 1813 ± 5) of Acropora branches from the deposits matched with three known historical typhoon events. Our results highlight the potential of cyclone‐deposited sand cays as new archives for recording paleocyclones.

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“…High Island is a small continental island located ~5km from the mainland coast (Liu et al, 2014). The leeward reef flat is ~300m wide and the reef slope drops off rapidly (~45˚) to a muddy sediment wedge where coral growth is limited (Wolanski et al, 2005).…”

Section: High Island (17˚09s 146˚00e)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The emergent reef flat contains numerous large fossil Porites microatolls (>2m diameter), with live coral limited to mainly juvenile recruits. The island is impacted regularly by flood plumes derived from the Russell-Mulgrave River, and by tropical storms and cyclones (Liu et al, 2014, Chin et al, 2006.…”

Section: High Island (17˚09s 146˚00e)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Holocene sea level and climate variability on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Leonard¹

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The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is a natural, social and economic asset synonymous with Australia; however, there are concerns regarding both the frequency and extent of modern reef decline, especially in regions within close proximity to the coastline. With the future of coral reefs uncertain, elucidating the controls on reef growth and decline in the recent geological past prior to anthropogenic impacts is imperative to future management strategies. Numerous reef cores have revealed a substantial hiatus period or reef "turn-off" event during the mid-Holocene (~4600 years before present; yBP 1950) clearly prior to anthropogenic influence. Previously published research has suggested that changes in sea level, climate, and/or environmental conditions caused this reef "turn-off", but the exact cause is still tentative.Whether sea level varied significantly during the Holocene has been debated for over half a century, with oscillations generally dismissed as dating artefacts due to large age errors or to the misinterpretation or inaccuracies of the sea level indicator. Coral microatolls, one of the most reliable sea level indicators, were used to test whether relative (RSL) oscillations could be detected during the Holocene. Elevation surveys of sub-fossil coral microatolls (n=32) and non-microatoll reef flat corals (n=10) were conducted on three separate sites in the Keppel Islands, southern GBR and dated using high precision uranium thorium (U-Th) techniques. The resultant palaeo-sea-level reconstruction revealed a rapid lowering of RSL of at least 0.4 m from 5500 to 5300 yBP following a RSL highstand of ~0.75 m above present from ~6500 to 5500 yBP. RSL then returned to higher levels before a 2000-yr hiatus in reef flat corals after 4600 yBP.To determine if this was a local scale response, or part of a broader regional signal, the same methodology was applied to another 8 sites from a wide latitudinal range along the GBR (11˚S to 20˚S). The 94 U-Th dates of sub-fossil microatolls from this research adds support to the RSL lowering event at 5500 yBP, with microatolls close to present sea level found at ~5100 yBP. A second oscillation of ~ -0.3m at 4600 yBP was also detected in the northern GBR, with microatolls at three sites close to modern SL between 4600 -4000 yBP. The RSL oscillations at 5500 yBP and 4600 yBP coincide with both substantial reduction in reef accretion and wide spread reef "turn-off", respectively, thereby suggesting that oscillating sea level was the primary driver of reef shut down on the GBR.Understanding the coeval palaeo-climate and -environmental conditions may reveal both the cause of these sea level oscillations and further modes of stress placed on coral reefs prior to the midHolocene hiatus. In the first instance one of the simplest and most efficient methods of extracting information from the annual bands of massive Porites sp. coral cores is by using the growth characteristics (i.e. linear extension) and ultra violet (UV) luminescent intensity which are linked to II sea surface ...

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High-precision U–Th dating of storm-transported coral blocks on Frankland Islands, northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Cited by 10 publications

References 70 publications

The influence of sea level and cyclones on Holocene reef flat development: Middle Island, central Great Barrier Reef

The influence of sea level and cyclones on Holocene reef flat development: Middle Island, central Great Barrier Reef

Tropical Sand Cays as Natural Paleocyclone Archives

Holocene sea level and climate variability on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

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