Large earthquakes kill coral reefs at the north-west Gulf of Aqaba |
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Authors: | Y Shaked A Agnon B Lazar S Marco U Avner M Stein |
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Institution: | Institute of Earth Sciences, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 91904, Israel;;Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel;;Arava Institute of Environmental Studies, Kibbutz Ketura, D.N. Hevel Eilot 88-840, Israel;;Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhe Yisrael St., Jerusalem, 95501, Israel |
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Abstract: | Down‐faulting at the north‐west margins of the Gulf of Aqaba is inferred to have triggered a catastrophic sedimentary event at 2.3 ka that killed the Elat fringing coral reef. Whereas segments of the Holocene reef were perfectly fossilized and preserved beneath a veneer of siliciclastic sediments, other segments were abraded, settled by nomads, and later re‐submerged under 4 m of water. Repeated damage triggered by down‐throwing earthquakes degenerate the fringing reefs of the north‐west end of the gulf. Conversely, on the north‐eastern and southern parts of the gulf, where earthquakes uplift the margins, modern reefs are thriving, attached to uplifted fossil reef terraces. Therefore, coastal subsidence moderates the development of fringing coral reefs during the late Holocene sea‐level stand still. |
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