New evidence for drowned shelf edge reefs in the Great Barrier Reef,Australia |
| |
| Authors: | Robin J Beaman Jody M Webster Raphael AJ Wust |
| |
| Institution: | 1. Research Institute of Geology and Geoinformation, Geological Survey of Japan, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8567, Japan;2. Department of Earth Environmental Sciences, Graduate School of Technology and Science, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan;3. Organization for Core Curriculum Studies, Kanazawa Gakuin University, Kanazawa 920-1392, Japan;4. Submarine Resources Research Project, JAMSTEC, Yokosuka 237-0061, Japan;5. Nippon Kaiyo Co., LTD, Kita-ku, Tokyo 114-0005, Japan;6. Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8578, Japan;1. Memorial University of Newfoundland, Department of Earth Sciences, St. John''s A1B3X5, Canada;2. Pertamina EP, asset-5, JKS 12950, Indonesia;3. Louisiana State University, Department of Geology and Geophysics and Coastal Studies Institute, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, USA |
| |
| Abstract: | We present four new high-resolution multibeam bathymetry datasets from the shelf edge of the northern Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Analysis of these data, combined with Chirp sub-bottom profiles and existing submersible observation data provides a fresh insight into the detailed morphology and spatial distribution of submerged reefs and terraces at the shelf edge. An extensive and persistent line of drowned shelf edge reefs exist on the GBR margin in about 40 to 70 m. They appear as barrier reefs up to 200 m wide and comprising twin parallel ridges of rounded pinnacles. Subtle yet consistent terrace and step features lie between 78 and 114 m seaward of the shelf edge reefs in the southern study area. Submersible observations confirm that the drowned reefs now provide a favorable hard substrate for live soft corals and algae. They form a consistent and extensive seabed habitat that extends for possibly 900 km along the GBR shelf edge. The submerged reef and terraces features may reflect a complex history of growth and erosion during lower sea-levels, and are now capped by last deglaciation reef material. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
