Hot off the press!

Did rapid sea-level rise drown fossil coral reefs around Hawaii?

In a paper published today in Quaternary Science Reviews, the GRG examines evidence of a Hawaiian coral reef system drowning in response to deglacial meltwater pulse-1A.

A simplified rapid flooding of the -150m reef terrace during deglacial sea-level rise, shown by the rising blue sea level. Sample recovery location is marked by the purple cube. Bathymetry data from Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, and animation by Kelsey Sanborn, University of Sydney.

See the press release below for more info!

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-09/uos-drs092817.php

Follow this link for the article: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2017.08.022

Technical rebreather SCUBA divers collecting fossil coral material from -150 m below sea level off of Kawaihae. Image courtesy of Association for Marine Exploration.

This figure shows the location of sample collection on the reef crest of the -150 m below sea level reef terrace off Kawaihae, Hawaii (blue sphere). Below is a slope profile  showing the to show the backstepping younger and shallower terraces overlaying the targeted reef terrace. Bathymetry data from Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, and figure by Kelsey Sanborn, University of Sydney.