A global dataset of Holocene reef morphometrics to improve numerical modelling of coral reef development
Authors: Pastier Anne-Morwenn , Huppert Kim , Malatesta Luca 
Published: March 2022

&lt;div spellcheck=&quot;true&quot; aria-live=&quot;assertive&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;Coral &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;reef construction&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; results from interactions between the biosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere. Reefs &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;constructed d&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;uring Quaternary sea-level variations and d&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;isplaced&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; by &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;rock uplift&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; produce stair-cased morphologies called reefal sequences. The stratigraph&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;y&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; and morpholog&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;y&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; of these sequences is &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;often &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;used &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;to infer&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; eustatic variations and vertical deformation.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div spellcheck=&quot;true&quot; aria-live=&quot;assertive&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div aria-live=&quot;assertive&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;Because &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;few coral terraces have been&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; precisely&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; dated&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; and &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;high resolution topo&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;-&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;bathymetry &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;is&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; scarce &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;along most coastlines&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;, morphostratigraph&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;ic&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;interpretations &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;of reefal sequences&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; usually seek to constrain only the elevation and age of &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;r&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;elative &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;s&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;ea&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; l&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;evel highstands and average rate of vertical deformation&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;. Numerical modelling of reef development &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;can &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;help &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;elucidate &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;the &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;continuous &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;evolution of &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;coral&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; reef&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;s&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; through glacio-eustatic cycles.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div spellcheck=&quot;true&quot; aria-live=&quot;assertive&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div spellcheck=&quot;true&quot; aria-live=&quot;assertive&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;How&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;e&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;ver,&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; controls on coral reef growth and morphology are still strongly debated.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; E&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;ustatic variations, vertical deformation of the lithosphere, geometry of the accom&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;m&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;odation space, ecology of the reef, temperature, wave regime, turbidity &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;and other factors may all affect reef type (e.g., barrier or fringing), volume and geometry.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div spellcheck=&quot;true&quot; aria-live=&quot;assertive&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div aria-live=&quot;assertive&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;In order to &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;quantify&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; controls&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; on coral reef development&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;, we &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;compiled&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; a global dataset &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;of&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; coral reef morphometrics&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; from satellite imagery&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; a&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;nd measurements of &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;potential controlling factors &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;(e.g., &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;slope of the bedrock, rate of vertical deformation, wave power, sea-surface temperature, reef growth rate&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div spellcheck=&quot;true&quot; aria-live=&quot;assertive&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div aria-live=&quot;assertive&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;Our first results highlight a strong &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;control &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;of the geometry of the accommodation space &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;on modern reefs morphology, especially on the reef type and the location of the reef crest. This geometry results from the &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;combination of the in&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;i&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;tial topography and antecedent constructions, which result from the interactions between eustatic variations, rate of vertical deformation and reef growth. A vast majority of barrier reefs, as well as the widest reef complexes, are located on antecedent reef platforms reoccupied during periods of sea-level rise.&amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div spellcheck=&quot;true&quot; aria-live=&quot;assertive&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div aria-live=&quot;assertive&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;Conclusions arising from this study will he&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;l&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;p validate our reef growth modelling, as well as its temporal and spatial resolution. This model could then not only improve the interpretation of the morphostratigraphic record, but also &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;clarify&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; the ability of coral reefs to keep-up with the future sea-level rise&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; and protect coastlines from &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;wave erosion.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div spellcheck=&quot;true&quot; aria-live=&quot;assertive&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div spellcheck=&quot;true&quot; aria-live=&quot;assertive&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;