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Raised Coral Terraces at Malakula, Vanuatu, Southwest Pacific, Indicate High Sea Level During Marine Isotope Stage 3

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Guy Cabioch  and
Linda K. Ayliffe
Guy Cabioch
Affiliation:
IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement), B.P. A5, Nouméa cedex, New Caledonia, 98848, E-mail: cabioch@noumea.ird.nc
Linda K. Ayliffe*
Affiliation:
Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, CEA/CNRS, Av. de la Terrasse, Gif sur Yvette cedex, 91198, France
*
*Present address: Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112.
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Abstract

The occurrence of a series of raised coral reefs from the uplifted island of Malakula (Vanuatu, SW Pacific) provide an opportunity to examine sea-level fluctuations over at least the past 120,000 years. Thirteen fossil coral samples from Malakula were analyzed by the thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) U/Th dating technique, yielding information on sea levels during late marine isotope stage 3 and early stage 4. Our findings are in good agreement with sea-level estimates from raised coral terraces in Papua New Guinea and the recent sea-level reconstruction from the deep-sea sedimentary δ18O records. In particular, our coral data appear to confirm that sea levels at about 45,000–50,000 yr B.P. were only 30 to 60 m below the present level. Combined with other evidence of sea-level change, our data provide a strong case for much higher sea levels and therefore markedly reduced continental ice volume at 47,000 to 49,000 years ago.

Keywords

high relative sea levelsmarine isotope stage 3raised coral terracesTIMS U/Th agesVanuatusouthwest Pacific
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 56 , Issue 3 , November 2001 , pp. 357 - 365
Copyright
University of Washington

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