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Relative sea level response to mixed carbonate-siliciclastic sediment loading along the Great Barrier Reef margin

Lin, Yucheng; Whitehouse, Pippa L.; Hibbert, Fiona D.; Woodroffe, Sarah A.; Hinestrosa, Gustavo; Webster, Jody M.

Relative sea level response to mixed carbonate-siliciclastic sediment loading along the Great Barrier Reef margin Thumbnail


Authors

Yucheng Lin yucheng.lin@durham.ac.uk
PGR Student Doctor of Philosophy

Fiona D. Hibbert

Gustavo Hinestrosa

Jody M. Webster



Abstract

The continental shelf along northeastern Australia is the world’s largest mixed carbonate-siliciclastic passive margin and the location of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Following sea-level transgression during the last deglaciation, extensive sediment was deposited along the GBR due to neritic carbonate deposition (including shelf edge reefs, Holocene reefs and Halimeda bioherms) and fluvial discharge of terrigenous siliciclastic sediments. Such sediment loading can alter local relative sea level (RSL) by several metres through the sediment isostatic adjustment (SIA) process, a signal that is poorly constrained at the GBR. In this study, we used a glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) model to develop an ensemble-based sediment loading history for the GBR since Marine Isotope Stage 2 (MIS 2). A Bayesian style framework is adopted to calibrate the sediment history ensemble and GIA model parameters using a sea-level database. According to our results, 1853.7 Gt (1613.1-2078.7 Gt, 95% confidence interval) of sediment have been deposited across the GBR since MIS 2 (28 ka BP), causing spatially variable relative sea-level change with the highest magnitude (0.9-1.1 m) found in the outer shelf of the southern central GBR (18.4-21.6◦ S). Because the SIA-induced RSL rise is unrelated to ice mass loss, failing to correct for this signal will lead to systematic overestimation of grounded ice volume by up to ∼4.3 × 105 km3 during the Last Glacial Maximum. Additionally, we found that spatial variation in sediment loading and coastal environment may explain the different RSL history documented by published fossil coral reef records from Noggin Pass and Hydrographer’s Passage. These results highlight the importance of considering SIA for any postglacial sea-level studies adjacent to large sediment systems. Lastly, by quantifying both the GIA and SIA signals, we provide a spatially and temporally complete RSL reconstruction that is well-suited to be used as a boundary condition to study the evolution of the GBR shelf and slope sedimentary system.

Citation

Lin, Y., Whitehouse, P. L., Hibbert, F. D., Woodroffe, S. A., Hinestrosa, G., & Webster, J. M. (2023). Relative sea level response to mixed carbonate-siliciclastic sediment loading along the Great Barrier Reef margin. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 607, Article 118066. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2023.118066

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Feb 15, 2023
Online Publication Date Mar 1, 2023
Publication Date Apr 1, 2023
Deposit Date Mar 20, 2023
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Print ISSN 0012-821X
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 607
Article Number 118066
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2023.118066

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