Relative sea-level changes during the last century recorded by coral microatolls in Belloc, Haiti

Weil-Accardo, Jennifer; Feuillet, Nathalie; Jacques, Éric; Deschamps, Pierre; Thirumalai, Kaustubh; Demeza, S.; Anglade, Dieuseul

doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2015.12.019

Cited by 8 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 38 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Toward this goal, we developed a Matlab code to simulate the growth of a microatoll in different contexts of relative sea level variations (steady relative sea level increase, sudden tectonic deformation, and rate increase of relative sea level change). We also compare the morphology of our microatolls from Martinique to that of coral we sampled farther north in Haiti in a different geodynamic context [ Weil‐Accardo et al , ]. Finally, we discuss our results in terms of climate and tectonics with the help of simple and widely used elastic dislocation models that relate upper plate vertical deformation to fault motion during different stages of the seismic cycle on the megathrust.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 80%

“…White dots: tide gauge records of at least 50 years (PSMSL, http://www.psmsl.org/data/obtaining/). Pink dots: short‐lived tide gauges used to construct a 74 year (1937–2011) composite monthly mean relative sea level record in Haiti [ Weil‐Accardo et al , ]. Blue dot: location of coral microatolls from Léogâne (Leog) in Haiti [ Weil‐Accardo et al , ].…”

Section: Causes Of the Relative Sea Level Changes Recorded By The Micmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Red numbers: rate of sea level rise from GPS‐corrected tide gauges (SONEL, http://www.sonel.org/) (Table ). Pink number: submergence rate inferred from the composite relative sea level curve in Haiti [ Weil‐Accardo et al , ] (Table ). Black rectangle: Lesser Antilles arc.…”

Section: Causes Of the Relative Sea Level Changes Recorded By The Micmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Black rectangle: Lesser Antilles arc. Cristobal (1909Cristobal ( -1981 1.4 ± 0.1 --Regional submergence 2.0 ± 0.8 b --Regional sea level rise --1.1 ± 0.8 a Submergence rate calculated by linear regression (Figure S19) for each tide gauge in Figure 13 (PSMSL, http://www.psmsl.org/data/obtaining/) and for the composite curve produced from several tide gauges surrounding Haiti [Weil-Accardo et al, 2016]. With available GPS records (SONEL, http://www.sonel.org/), we estimate the rate of sea level rise recorded by tide gauges.…”

Section: Coral Growth Modelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Two hundred thirty years of relative sea level changes due to climate and megathrust tectonics recorded in coral microatolls of Martinique (French West Indies)

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We sampled six coral microatolls that recorded the relative sea level changes over the last 230 years east of Martinique, on fringing reefs in protected bays. The microatolls are cup‐shaped, which is characteristic of corals that have been experiencing submergence. X‐ray analysis of coral slices and reconstructions of the highest level of survival (HLS) curves show that they have submerged at rates of a few millimeters per year. Their morphology reveals changes in submergence rate around 1829 ± 11, 1895, and 1950. Tide gauges available in the region indicate a regional sea level rise at a constant mean rate of 1.1 ± 0.8 mm/yr, which contrasts with our coral record, implying additional tectonic subsidence. Comparing our coral morphology with that of synthetic corals generated with Matlab by using the Key West tide gauge record (Florida), we show that their growth was controlled by tectonics and that a sudden relative sea level increase drowned them around 1950. Simple elastic models show that this sudden submergence probably occurred during the 21 May 1946 earthquake, which ruptured the plate interface in front of Martinique, in the mantle wedge, in an area of sustained seismic activity. The 1839 M8+ earthquake probably occurred in the same area. Long‐term subsidence of microatolls indicates that this deep portion of the megathrust is probably locked down to 60 km depth during the interseismic period. Our oldest coral recorded a long‐lasting period (50 years) of stable relative sea level after the 1839 earthquake, indicating that transient interseismic strain rate variations may occur in the Lesser Antilles.

show abstract

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Section: Causes Of the Relative Sea Level Changes Recorded By The Micmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Causes Of the Relative Sea Level Changes Recorded By The Micmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Coral Growth Modelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Two hundred thirty years of relative sea level changes due to climate and megathrust tectonics recorded in coral microatolls of Martinique (French West Indies)

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The coral thus adapts its upward growth following the changes of this level and develop a microatoll morphology. The HLS is typically related to the lowest tide of the year (Meltzner et al, ), even though the accurate relationship between the HLS and the tidal range varies between species (Briggs et al, ; Meltzner et al, ; Natawidjaja et al, ) and among corals depending on the coral's environment (e.g., Smithers & Woodroffe, ; Weil‐Accardo, Feuillet, Jacques, Deschamps, Saurel, et al, ). Since RSL changes generate concomitant HLS fluctuations (Zachariasen et al, , ), the coral adapts its growth in response to RSL changes.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relative Sea‐Level Changes Over the Past Centuries in the Central Ryukyu Arc Inferred From Coral Microatolls

et al. 2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study focuses on Okinawa and Yoron islands, in order to better understand tectonics in the Ryukyu Arc related to the subduction zone. We used coral microatolls—known for their centimetric accuracy in the record of relative sea‐level (RSL) changes—to reconstruct RSL changes over the last century from living microatolls. A fossil microatoll in Yoron was used to discuss possible RSL changes beyond the last century. The signal consists of emergence whose rate varies through time, interrupted by decadal to multidecadal periods of sudden and/or gradual submergence and by interannual sea‐level falls. Comparison with other existing RSL records in the arc highlights RSL variability along the arc. This pattern contrasts with the homogeneous and linear absolute regional sea‐level rise, implying that this latter signal cannot fully explain our observations and that an additional process is required. We suggest the subduction zone as a possible source for generating centimetric scale RSL changes observed in coral microatolls. We tested how the Ryukyu megathrust could explain our observations with elastic dislocation modeling. The emergence trend could be explained by interseismic loading on the plate interface with a minimum coupling rate of 25%, which is higher than previous estimates based on short instrumental records. As for the submergence events that occurred regularly in the coral record, we show that they could be explained by slow slip events on the shallower part of the megathrust or in the transition zone. Such process could accommodate a significant part of the total convergence.

show abstract

Coral records of relative sea-level changes

Woodroffe

Webster

2025

Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Relative sea-level changes during the last century recorded by coral microatolls in Belloc, Haiti

Cited by 8 publications

References 38 publications

Two hundred thirty years of relative sea level changes due to climate and megathrust tectonics recorded in coral microatolls of Martinique (French West Indies)

Two hundred thirty years of relative sea level changes due to climate and megathrust tectonics recorded in coral microatolls of Martinique (French West Indies)

Relative Sea‐Level Changes Over the Past Centuries in the Central Ryukyu Arc Inferred From Coral Microatolls

Coral records of relative sea-level changes

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About