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Acropora palmata reef framework: A reliable indicator of sea level in the western atlantic for the past 10,000 years

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Summary

A minimum sea-level curve for the past 10,000 years has been constructed on the basis of radiocarbon dates of Acropora palmata (Lamarck) samples from the shallow-water framework of both relict and modern reefs of the tropical western Atlantic. A. palmata framework is a reliable reference for reconstructing the history of late Quaternary sea levels owing to its restricted depth range (<1 to 5 m), the lack of postdepositional transport of A. palmata framework, the ease of obtaining uncontaminated samples, and the minimal compaction of A. palmata reef facies. The minimum sea-level curve constructed in this study is useful not only in evaluating the reliability of present and future Holocene sea-level curves for the western Atlantic, but also in estimating paleo-water depths in the study of Holocene reef history of this area.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Exploration and Production Research, Cities Service Company, Box 3908, 74102, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA

    R. G. Lighty

  2. Department of Paleobiology, Smithsonian Institution, 20560, Washington, D.C., USA

    I. G. Macintyre

  3. Radiation Biology Laboratory, Smithsonian Institution, 20560, Washington, D.C., USA

    R. Stuckenrath

Authors
  1. R. G. Lighty
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  2. I. G. Macintyre
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  3. R. Stuckenrath
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Lighty, R.G., Macintyre, I.G. & Stuckenrath, R. 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 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00301694

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00301694

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