Abstract
Cores from ten holes, drilled to a maximum depth of 30 m, on Tarawa atoll in the central Pacific have been utilised in a study of the Holocene development of the atoll. Four dominant lithologies, in descending order, are cay rock, unconsolidated sediment, corals and leached limestone. Petrographic and radiometric age analyses indicate that the Holocene reef has developed on a previous (last interglacial) reef; the latter shows the effects of both vadose and phreatic freshwater diagenesis. Hydrological investigations beneath the present islands indicate the presence of freshwater lenses up to 29 m thick; the modern lenses are unrelated to freshwater diagenetic imprints preserved within the limestones. Vertical accretion rates of 5–8 m/1000 years for the Holocene reef section on Tarawa are significantly higher than rates measured for other Pacific atolls. The dated coral sequences suggest a more rapid rate of sea level rise during the early Holocene, and a relatively earlier stabilisation of sea level than has been suggested previously.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adey WH (1978) Coral reef morphogenesis: a multidimensional model. Science 202:831–837
Bloom AL (1970) Paludal stratigraphy of Truk, Ponape, and Kusaie, Eastern Caroline Islands. Geol Soc Am Bull 81:1895–1904
Clark JA, Farrell WE, Peltier WR (1978) Global changes in postglacial sea level: a numerical calculation. Quat Res 9:265–287
Crough ST (1984) Seamounts as recorders of hot-spot epeirogeny. Geol Soc Bull 95:3–8
Curray JR, Shepard FP, Veeh HH (1970) Late Quaternary sea-level studies in Micronesia: CARMARSEL Expedítion. Geol Soc Am Bull 81:1865–1880
Daniell TM (1983) Investigations employed for determining yield of the groundwater resources of Tarawa atoll, Kiribati. Proceedings of the Meeting on Water Resources Development in the South Pacific, Suva, 1983. United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific — Water Resources Series 57, pp 108–120
Davies PJ, Marshall JF (1980) A model of epicontinental reef growth. Nature (London) 287:37–38
Davies PJ, Hopley D (1983) Growth fabrics and growth rates of Holocene reefs in the Great Barrier Reef. BMR J Aust Geol Geophys 8:237–251
Ferguson J, Burne RV, Chambers LV (1982) Lithification of peritidal carbonates by continental brines at Fisherman Bay, South Australia, to form a megapolygon/spelean limestone association. J Sediment Petrol 52:1127–1147
Hanor JS (1978) Precipitation of beachrock cements: mixing of marine and meteoric waters vs CO2-degassing. J Sediment Petrol 48:489–501
Hinde GJ (1904) Report on the materials from the borings at the Funafuti atoll. In: The atoll of Funafuti. The Royal Society of London, pp 186–361
Jacobson G, Taylor FJ (1981) Hydrogeology of Tarawa atoll, Kiribati. Bureau of Mineral Resources Australia Record 1981/31
James NP (1974) Diagenesis of scleractinian corals in the subaerial vadose environment. J Paleontol 48:785–799
Kinsey DW (1981) The Pacific/Atlantic reef growth controversy. Proc 4th Int Coral Reef Symp 1:493–498
Labeyrie J, Lalou C, Delibrias G (1969) Etude des transgressions marines sur l'atoll de Mururoa par la datation des differents niveaux de corail. Cah Pac 3:59–68
Ladd HS, Ingerson E, Townsend RC, Russell M, Stephenson HK (1953) Drilling on Eniwetok atoll, Marshall Islands. Bull Am Assoc Petrol Geol 37:2257–2280
Lighty RG, Macintyre IG, Stuckenrath R (1982) Acropora palmata reef framework: a reliable indicator of sea level in the Western Atlantic for the past 10,000 years. Coral Reefs 1:125–130
Lloyd JW, Miles JC, Chessman GR, Bugg SF (1980) A groundwater resources study of a Pacific Ocean atoll — Tarawa, Gilbert Islands. Water Resour Bull 16:646–653
Marshall JF (1983) Lithology and diagenesis of the carbonate foundations of modern reefs in the southern Great Barrier Reef. BMR J Aust Geol Geophys 8:253–265
Marshall JF, Davies PJ (1982) Internal structure and Holocene evolution of One Tree Reef, southern Great Barrier Reef. Coral Reefs 1:21–28
Marshall JF, Davies PJ (1984) Last Interglacial reef growth beneath modern reefs in the southern Great Barrier Reef. Nature (London) 307:44–46
McNutt M, Menard HW (1978) Lithospheric flexure and uplifted atolls. J Geophys 83:1206–1212
Nakiboglu SM, Lambeck K, Aharon P (1983) Postglacial sealevels in the Pacific: implications with respect to deglaciation regime and local tectonics. Tectonophysics 91:335–358
Pingitore NE (1976) Vadose and phreatic diagenesis: processes, products and their recognition in corals. J Sediment Petrol 46:985–1006
Schlanger SO (1963) Subsurface geology of Eniwetok atoll. United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 260-BB, 991–1038
Schofield JC (1977) Late Holocene sea level. Gilbert and Ellice Islands, West Central Pacific Ocean. NZ J Geol Geophys 20:503–529
Scoffin TP, Stoddart DR (1978) The nature and significance of microatolls. Philos Trans R Soc London Ser B 284:99–122
Thom BG, Chappell J (1975) Holocene sea levels relative to Australia. Search 3:90–93
Thurber DL, Broecker WS, Blanchard RL, Potratz HA (1965) Uranium-series ages of Pacific atoll coral. Science 149:55–58
Tracey JI Jr, Ladd HS (1974) Quaternary history of Eniwetok and Bikini atolls, Marshall Islands. Proc 2nd Coral Reef Symp 2:537–550
Wheatcraft SW, Buddemeier RW (1981) Atoll island hydrology. Ground Water 19:311–319
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Marshall, J.F., Jacobson, G. Holocene growth of a mid-Pacific atoll: Tarawa, Kiribati. Coral Reefs 4, 11–17 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00302199
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00302199