The response of coral reefs to climate change - reef expansion and demise during the Holocene at the southernmost Pacific coral reef  


Authors / CoAuthors

Woodroffe, C.D. | Brooke, B.P. | Linklater, M. | Kennedy, D.M. | Jones, B.G. | Buchanan, C. | Mleczko, R. | Hua, Q. | Zhao, J.

Abstract

Coral reefs occur in shallow water with sea surface temperatures (SST) greater than 18ºC, extending beyond the tropics where warm currents enable their establishment [Hopley et al., 2007]. The southernmost reef in the Pacific Ocean occurs at Lord Howe Island (31° 30°S), fringing 6 km of the western margin of the island, with isolated reef patches on the north, west and eastern sides. The island is a Miocene volcanic remnant on the western flank of the Lord Howe Rise (foundered continental crust) formed of basaltic cliffs rising to 875 m, flanked by Quaternary eolianites [McDougall et al., 1981]. The reefs support 50-60 species of scleractinian corals, whose rates of growth are only slightly slower than in more tropical locations [Harriott and Banks, 2002]. However, carbonate sediments on the surrounding shelf are dominated by temperate biota, such as foraminifera and algal rhodoliths [Kennedy et al., 2002]. Prominent in mid shelf is a broad ridge-like feature that rises from water depths of 30-50 m, which we considered to be a relict coral reef that formerly encircled the island [Woodroffe et al., 2005, 2006]. This paper describes results of sonar swath mapping to determine the extent of the reef, and coring and dating that establishes its age and demise.

Product Type

nonGeographicDataset

eCat Id

70570

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  Custodian

EGD  

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Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)  
Cnr Jerrabomberra Ave and Hindmarsh Dr GPO Box 378
Canberra
ACT
2601
Australia

Keywords

  • External Publication
( Theme )
  • coasts
( Theme )
  • marine survey
( Theme )
  • climate
( Theme )
  • seabed
( Theme )
  • marine
Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)
  • Earth Sciences
  • Published_Internal

Publication Date

2010-06-09T00:00:00

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Australian Government Security ClassificationSystem    

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence    

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Use - license

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unknown

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geoscientificInformation

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Unknown

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Extents

[-31.5, -31.5, 159.0, 159.0]

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