Gilbert Camoin

Ice-sheet collapse and sea-level rise at the Bølling warming 14,600 years ago

Past sea-level records provide invaluable information about the response of ice sheets to climate forcing. Some such records suggest that the last deglaciation was punctuated by a dramatic period of sea-level rise, of about 20 metres, in less than 500 years. Controversy about the amplitude and timing of this meltwater pulse (MWP-1A) has, however, led to uncertainty about the source of the melt water and its temporal and causal relationships with the abrupt climate changes of the deglaciation. Here we show that MWP-1A started no earlier than 14,650 years ago and ended before 14,310 years ago, making it coeval with the Bølling warming. Our results, based on corals drilled offshore from Tahiti during Integrated Ocean Drilling Project Expedition 310, reveal that the increase in sea level at Tahiti was between 12 and 22 metres, with a most probable value between 14 and 18 metres, establishing a significant meltwater contribution from the Southern Hemisphere. This implies that the rate of eustatic sea-level rise exceeded 40 millimetres per year during MWP-1A.

Nature and environmental significance of microbialites in Quaternary reefs: the Tahiti paradox

Drill cores from the bamer reef-edge of Tahiti exhibit 85-93-m-thick coralgal sequences recording at least 13,500 years of continuous reef growth in optimal environmental conditions. The cored reef sequences form an overall shallowingupward succession with assemblages of branching or massive colonies of Porires at the base overlain by a robust-branching community (Acropom gr. dmmi/robirstn) heavily encrusted by coralline algae, sessile vermetid gastropods and arborescent foraminifers, which grew at depths less than 6 m. Microbialites generally form the last stage of encrustation of coral colonies, or more commonly, of related encrusting organisms, thus appearing as a major structural component of the reef sequence where they may locally form 809 of the rock by volume. They developed in an open cavity system of the reef framework with freely circulating normal-marine water. Microbialites include laminated crusts and clotted micritic masses, commonly associated in compound crusts, probably feflecting differences in the composition of the involved biological communities and in biomineralization processes that controlled the accretion of the crusts. The isotopic composition of the microbialites (+2.05 to +3.92% I they underwent also indivitlual processes of biominrlali2ation. Besicles the overall decrease in lizht and enqy conditions rttlecting progressive burial by conil growth, the widespread development of microbialites within the reef framework may be related to increased alkalinity and niitrient availability in interstitial waters due to temstrial groundwwr seepage and puiodic runoffs. The tlevelopment of micrubialites in the cryptic niches of the reef framework ceased about 6000 years

Continuous record of reef growth over the past 14 k.y. on the mid-Pacific island of Tahiti

Two boreholes were drilled through coralgal sequences in the barrier-reef edge of the mid-Pacific island of Tahiti, and their bases were radiometrically dated at 10.23 (±0.05) and 13.77 (±0.05) ka (thousand calendar years). The sequences are composed mainly of the reef-edge Acropora gr. danai-robusta and Hydrolithon onkodes assemblage, occasionally replaced by reef-slope tabular Acropora-Neogoniolithon or domal Porites-Lithophyllum assemblages. The response of reef growth to sea-level rise has varied according to the framework type, and vertical accretion rates have ranged from 9.3 to 20.6 mm ṁ yr −1 . From a general trend of long-term, continuous, sea-level rise tracked by growth, the reef-edge coralgal assemblages have experienced two distinct changes controlled by the antecedent paleotopography and internal reef processes. During the past 13.8 k.y. at Tahiti, there is no evidence of any reef-drowning event primarily caused by global glacio-eustatic perturbations as has been recorded in the Caribbean.

Penultimate Deglacial Sea-Level Timing from Uranium/Thorium Dating of Tahitian Corals

Early Riser How glacial-interglacial cycles and the long-term variability of sea level depend on the amount of energy received by Earth from the Sun is unclear. Thomas et al. (p. 1186, published online 23 April; see the cover) report results from fossil corals found in Tahiti that indicate that sea level began to rise when insolation at 65° North latitude was near a minimum, not after it had begun to rise, as predicted by the Milankovitch theory. In contrast, the timing of the last deglaciation agrees well with the Milankovitch theory. Thus, glacial cycles do not behave as simply as the Milankovitch theory suggests. Sea levels rose during the penultimate deglaciation while Northern Hemisphere insolation was at a minimum. The timing of sea-level change provides important constraints on the mechanisms driving Earth’s climate between glacial and interglacial states. Fossil corals constrain the timing of past sea level by their suitability for dating and their growth position close to sea level. The coral-derived age for the last deglaciation is consistent with climate change forced by Northern Hemisphere summer insolation (NHI), but the timing of the penultimate deglaciation is more controversial. We found, by means of uranium/thorium dating of fossil corals, that sea level during the penultimate deglaciation had risen to ~85 meters below the present sea level by 137,000 years ago, and that it fluctuated on a millennial time scale during deglaciation. This indicates that the penultimate deglaciation occurred earlier with respect to NHI than the last deglacial, beginning when NHI was at a minimum.

Microbialites in a modern lagoonal environment: nature and distribution, Tikehau atoll (French Polynesia)

Abstract Microbialites, including stromatolitic structures, gelatinous masses and mats develop in Tikehau lagoon (Tuamotu, French Polynesia), on the flanks and slopes of numerous pinnacles and ‘motu’ islets between 0 and 25 m deep, on coral colonies, algal tufts or on lagoonal sediments. Individual stromatolitic structures consist of hemispherical domes and are produced by monospecific populations of filamentous cyanobacteria belonging to three distinctive Phormidium species, Symploca , and possibly to one new species of Schizothrix . Gelatinous masses hanging from the ceiling of caverns are produced by Phormidium laysanense . Microbial mats are well developed at all depths on pinnacle slopes and are produced by either monospecific or mixed cyanobacterial populations. The study of micro- and ultrastructure of stromatolites reveals that they result both from trapping and binding of sediments and from carbonate precipitation. In addition to phototrophic biomineralization, pervasive carbonate precipitation occurred in association with decaying organic matter. The basic constructional elements of the precipitated carbonate consist of 0.1–0.2-μm rounded bodies that form very fine anhedral to subhedral micrite; their surfaces comprise extremely small carbonate granules (20–50 nm). Gradual changes (ageing) in the ultrastructure of carbonate precipitates include the precipitation of successive euhedral calcite layers around these grains. Widespread development of microbialites in this pristine lagoonal environment results from rapid blooms of microbial benthic communities, possibly induced by temporary and local nutrient pulses. Nutrients seem to undergo a restricted circulation between the sediment and pinnacle reef frameworks. Pinnacles and reef islets are repeatedly affected by catastrophic storm events which cause redistribution of sediments and nutrients.

A 300 000-yr coral reef record of sea level changes, Mururoa atoll (Tuamotu archipelago, French Polynesia)

Abstract The accurate dating of fossil coral reefs is of prime importance in determining the timing of deglaciation events and thus understanding the mechanisms driving glacial–interglacial cycles. So far, the most useful coral reef records of past sea level changes are those related to the last deglaciation and the Last Interglacial period. U/Th ages for older isotopic stages are more limited, due to the scarcity of datable material, reflecting diagenetic alteration. Most data are from emergent parts of reefs and reef terraces in active subduction zones where relative sea level records may be biased by variations in rates of tectonic uplift. New constraints on sea level changes over the past 300 000 yr are based on high-precision U-series age measurements of successive reef units on Mururoa. These have been cored in four continuous 300-m-long drill holes with seaward inclinations of 30 to 45° on the northeastern rim of the atoll. Past sea level positions have been calculated from the radiometric ages of corals by correcting the present depth of subsurface horizons both for thermal subsidence and for depositional palaeodepth. The location of this atoll at a considerable distance from former ice sheets (‘far field’) minimises the influence of glacio–isostatic rebound. Prominent units formed during four periods of relative sea level highstands, including the Holocene and stages 5 (∼125 ka), 7 (∼212 ka) and 9 (∼332 ka). These are primarily composed of coralgal frameworks that grew in very shallow water. Three periods of relative low stand correspond to stages 2 (∼17–23 ka), 4 (∼60 ka) and 8 (∼270 ka) during which small reefs developed in association with large bioclastic accumulations. Good agreement with the timing of sea level changes based on oxygen isotope measurements in deep-sea cores is noted for most of the dated reef units. We report here the first accurate coral record of the Last Glacial Maximum in the Pacific, 135–143 m below the present sea surface, suggesting that sea level may have been lower than expected during this period.

Stromatolites associated with coralgal communities in Holocene high-energy reefs

Thick laminar to columnar stromatolitic growths encrust typical high-energy coralgal reef communities in a French Polynesian outer-reef edge. The reef communities accumulated during vertical growth from 5870 ±100 yr B.P. to the present, at depths never exceeding 5 m below mean sea level. Oxygen and carbon isotope records and high calcification rates of stromatolite-encrusted corals strongly suggest that for about the past 6000 yr, the local environmental conditions were optimal for reef development. Accordingly, stromatolites can grow in healthy Holocene reefs. Because similar stromatolites have been recorded in other Cenozoic reefs, we suggest that microbial structures may have played a more prominent role in Cenozoic reef growth than is currently recognized.

Reef response to sea-level and environmental changes during the last deglaciation: Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 310, Tahiti Sea Level

The last deglaciation is characterized by a rapid sea-level rise and coeval abrupt environmental changes. The Barbados coral reef record suggests that this period has been punctuated by two brief intervals of accelerated melting (meltwater pulses, MWP), occurring at 14.08–13.61 ka and 11.4–11.1 ka (calendar years before present), that are superimposed on a smooth and continuous rise of sea level. Although their timing, magnitude, and even existence have been debated, those catastrophic sea-level rises are thought to have induced distinct reef drowning events. The reef response to sea-level and environmental changes during the last deglacial sea-level rise at Tahiti is reconstructed based on a chronological, sedimentological, and paleobiological study of cores drilled through the relict reef features on the modern forereef slopes during the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 310, complemented by results on previous cores drilled through the Papeete reef. Reefs accreted continuously between 16 and 10 ka, mostly through aggradational processes, at growth rates averaging 10 mm yr−1. No cessation of reef growth, even temporary, has been evidenced during this period at Tahiti. Changes in the composition of coralgal assemblages coincide with abrupt variations in reef growth rates and characterize the response of the upward-growing reef pile to nonmonotonous sea-level rise and coeval environmental changes. The sea-level jump during MWP 1A, 16 ± 2 m of magnitude in ∼350 yr, induced the retrogradation of shallow-water coral assemblages, gradual deepening, and incipient reef drowning. The Tahiti reef record does not support the occurrence of an abrupt reef drowning event coinciding with a sea-level pulse of ∼15 m, and implies an apparent rise of 40 mm yr−1 during the time interval corresponding to MWP 1B at Barbados.

Characterization of microbialite-forming cyanobacteria in a tropical lagoon: Tikehau Atoll, Tuamotu, French Polynesia

Natural populations of benthic cyanobacteria in the lagoon of Tikehau Atoll in French Polynesia were studied using a polyphasic approach that combined field observations, LM, culturing, and molecular sequencing. The approach assessed their phenotypic (morphotypic and ecological) and genotypic diversity. Partial sequences (approximately 450 bp long) of the PCR‐amplified 16S rRNA gene were obtained from both natural and cultured populations using cyanobacteria‐specific primers. The sequences obtained clustered into six separate phylogenetic clusters in relation to the complete set of 16S rRNA sequences available in public databases. Phylogenetic clustering correlated in many cases with some morphological characteristics. For example, Spirulina subsalsa could be identified to the morphospecies level using both molecular and microscopic approaches. Morphotypes identified as Symploca hydnoides (Kütz. ex Gomont) TK22, Phormidium sp. TK1, and P. laysanense (Lemmerman) TK14 formed a distinct cluster. The morphogenus Hydrocoleum (Blennothrix) clustered interestingly close to the morphologically similar, but planktonic, marine cyanobacterium Trichodesmium, suggesting a relationship. Other sequences belonging to morphotaxa with very narrow trichomes were found to be polyphyletic. Enrichment cultures, with inoculum obtained from field populations, were followed over a period of 18 months. Dominance in all cultures shifted over time in favor of a set of cyanobacterial strains with narrow trichomes, which were phenotypically and phylogenetically different from natural populations dominating the original samples. Sequences from strains enriched by cultivation clustered into two well‐defined phylogenetic groups, possibly identifying new taxa. These clusters may represent a niche of opportunistic species, evolved to exploit short‐term nutrient spikes in the environment.

Environmental controls on perennial and ephemeral carbonate lakes: the central palaeo-Andean Basin of Bolivia during Late Cretaceous to early Tertiary times

Abstract In the central palaeo-Andean Basin (Potosi Basin) of Bolivia, the up to 450-m-thick El Molino Formation (Campanian-Maastrichtian to early Tertiary) includes two main carbonate lacustrine episodes each of different extent and duration. These episodes are separated by an extensive development of alluvial facies (floodplain deposits) and limestones deposited in playa lakes or isolated ponds. The El Molino Formation has been investigated in six different areas of the Potosi Basin and affords the opportunity to document climatic and tectonic controls on the development of perennial and ephemeral carbonate lacustrine systems. The first lacustrine episode originated predominantly in perennial lakes with wave-dominated low-gradient ‘ramp’-type margins. Outer marginal lacustrine facies include winnowed oolitic grainstones, ostracod packstones and microbialite bioherms. More agitated areas were characterized by nearshore oolitic bars with associated thrombolite mounds. The fossil content, and the lack of significant precipitation of evaporites, indicate that the lake waters were of low salinity (probably oligohaline) during most of this period. After the first lacustrine episode, the widespread development of terrigenous alluvial facies (floodplain deposits), with interspersed playa lakes or isolated ponds in depressions on the floodplain, may indicate a change in the net water budget. The second lacustrine episode is dominated by dark micritic limestones and, to a lesser extent, microbialite bioherms which developed under semiarid climatic conditions. This episode includes the deposits of ephemeral saline, locally alkaline, shallow lakes which were characterized by low-energy, low-gradient ‘ramp’-type margins. The stable isotopic analysis of 163 carbonate samples covering the different facies and depositional settings displays a wide range of values ( −14.2 18 O and −12.9 13 C ) that is typical of nonmarine environments. The distribution of the values indicates that, during the deposition of the El Molino Formation, the basin was hydrologically closed and experienced no strong hydrogeographical changes, except for variations in the palaeolake level related to fluctuations in the regional P/E ratio. These are recorded by two main isotopic trends related to changes between perennial and ephemeral lacustrine conditions. Lacustrine sedimentation was controlled predominantly by climatically driven hydrological changes with repeated oscillations of the water level (expansion and contraction) and subsequent fluctuations in the width of lacustrine-facies belts.