Publication Date:
2017-02-02
Description:
Mayotte fore-slopes exhibit a distinct pattern in overall morphology, starting in the deep with an unlithified sedimentary wedge and slope, followed upwards by a cemented slope, and finally by a steep, almost vertical wall. On top of the wall, drowned reefs occur. Dated corals may reveal the history of sea-level changes indicating pristine reef growth during late isotope stage 3 (at 55–24 ka) at a present-day water depth greater than 80 m. A maximum sea-level drop of 150 m occurred during the last glacial maximum, around 20 ka. This lowering of sea-level is documented by karst features such as small caves and corroded and jagged surfaces. The phase of deglaciation is recorded by two give-up reef levels at 100–90-m water depth and 65–55-m water depth which we may relate to the Bølling (14 ka) and post Younger Dryas (11.5 ka) meltwater pulses, known from the deep-sea record.
Type:
Book chapter
,
NonPeerReviewed
Format:
text
Format:
text
DOI:
10.1002/9781444304879.ch11
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