Temporal and spatial variation of hermatypic coral assemblages and coral reefs in response to millenial-scale climate changes during the last glacial period

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24540500
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Stratigraphy/Paleontology
• Research Institution: Kanazawa Gakuin University
• Principal Investigator: SASAKI Keiichi 金沢学院大学, 基礎教育機構, 准教授 (50340021)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 造礁サンゴ / サンゴ礁 / サンゴ石灰岩 / ウラン系列年代測定 / 海洋酸素同位体ステージ３～４ / 氷期 / 気候変動 / 喜界島

Outline of Final Research Achievements

To understand how hermatypic corals and coral reefs expanded/shrunk their geographical distribution in response to the millenial-scale climate changes, glacial coral reef deposits were surveyed by shallow drillings in Kikai Island of Ryukyu Islands, located near the northern limit of coral reefs. Lithologic and stratigraphic investigations of these reef deposits with high-presision U-series dating of fossil corals indicate that coral reefs were developed intermittently responding to millenial-scale relative sea level changes at 40-70 kyr B.P. Further, taxonomic studies demonstrated that different coral assemblages including coral species dominated in the modern temperate regions built these reefs.

Free Research Field

サンゴ礁地質学