Possible modes of coral-reef development at Molokai, Hawaii, inferred from seismic-reflection profiling |
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Authors: | Walter A Barnhardt Bruce M Richmond Eric E Grossman Patrick Hart |
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Institution: | (1) United States Geological Survey, Woods Hole Science Center, 384 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA;(2) United States Geological Survey, Pacific Science Center, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA;(3) United States Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, MS-999, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA |
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Abstract: | High-resolution, seismic-reflection data elucidate the late Quaternary development of the largest coral-reef complex in the
main Hawaiian Islands. Six acoustic facies were identified from reflection characteristics and lithosome geometry. An extensive,
buried platform with uniformly low relief was traced beneath fore-reef and marginal shelf environments. This highly reflective
surface dips gently seaward to ~130 m depth and locally crops out on the seafloor. It probably represents a wave-cut platform
or ancient reef flat. We propose alternative evolutionary models, in which sea-level changes have modulated the development
of reef systems, to explain the observed stratigraphic relationships. The primary difference between the models is the origin
of the underlying antecedent surface, which arguably could have formed during either regression/lowstand or subsequent transgression. |
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