Abstract
A flight of six major coral reef terraces, up to 700 m in altitude, occurs along the eastern and northern sides of Kabola Peninsula, Alor Island, Indonesia. Some radiometric dates have been obtained from unrecrystallized coral samples collected in growth position by three different methods (14C, 230Th/234U, ESR). This enabled the identification of the terraces corresponding to the Holocene and to oxygen-isotope stages 5c, 5e and 7. According to the present elevation of the dated terraces, a 1.0–1.2 mm/y mean rate of uplift can be discerned. Extrapolation of this trend to the whole sequence of terraces reveals a good correlation between the development of major terraces and interglacial or interstadial stages corresponding to astronomically calibrated oxygen isotope records, up to stage 13. The relatively rapid uplift rate in this region minimized the possibility of polycyclic sea-level stands at the same levels and contributed to the good preservation of some morphological reef features. Two superimposed marine notches are visible near the present shoreline, with retreat points at about 5.0 m and 8.6 m respectively above the present MLWST level. They can be interpreted as corresponding to a glacial interstadial (the upper notch) and to the Holocene sea-level peak (the lower one). As Holocene emergence has been less than what could be expected from a 1 mm/y rate of uplift, a major coseismic vertical displacement may occur in the future.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abbott MJ, Chamalaun FH (1981) Geochronology of some Banda are volcanics. In: Barber AJ, Wiryosujono S (eds) The geology and tectonics of eastern Indonesia. GRDC Bandung, Sp Publ 2, pp 253–268
Bard E, Hamelin B, Fairbanks RG (1990) U-Th ages obtained by mass spectrometry in corals from Barbados: sea level during the past 130 000 vears. Nature 346:456–458
Bloom AL (1980) Late Quaternary sea level change on South Pacific coasts: a study in tectonic diversity. In: Mörner NA (ed) Earth rheology, isostasy and eustasy. Wiley, New York, pp 505–516
Bloom AL, Broecker WS, Chappell JMA, Matthews RK, Mesolella KJ (1974) Quaternary sea level fluctuations on a tectonic coast: new 230Th/234U dates from the Huon Peninsula, New Guinea. Quat Res 4:185–205
Bloom AL, Yonekura N (1985) Coastal terraces generated by sea-level change and tectonic uplift. In: Woldenberg MJ (ed) Models in geomorphology. Allen and Unwin, Boston, pp 139–154
Causse C. Hillaire-Marcel C (1989) Th and U isotopes in Upper Pleistocene sediments ODP Site 645 (Baffin Bay) and 646, 647 (Labrador Sea). Proc ODP Sci Results, 105, College Station, TX, pp 551–560
Chappell J, Shackleton NJ (1986) Oxygen isotopes and sea level. Nature 324:137–140
Chappell J, Veeh HH (1978) Late Quaternary tectonic movements and sea-level changes at Timor and Atauro Island. Geol Soc Am Bull 89:356–368
Grün R (1989) Electron spin resonance (ESR) dating. Quat Int 1:66–109
Hantoro WS (1992) Etude des terrasses récifales quaternaires soulevees entre le détroit de la Sonde et l'île de Timor, Indonésie-Mouvements verticaux de la croûte terrestre et variations du niveau de la mer. PhD thesis University Aix-Marseille II
Hoang CT, Hearty PJ (1989) A comparison of U-series disequilibrium dates and amino acid epimerization ratios between corals and marine molluses of Pleistocene age. Chem Geol (Isotope Geosci Section) 29:317–323
Johnston P (1994) The effect of spatially non-uniform loads on prediction of sea-level change Geophys J Int (in press)
Johnston CR, Bowin CO (1981) Crustal reactions resulting from the mid-Pliocene to recent continental-island arc collision in Timor region. BMR J Austr Geol Geophys 6:223–243
Lambeck K, Johnston P, Nakada M (1990) Holocene glacial rebound and sea-level change in NW Europe. Geophys J Int 103:451–468
Lembeck K, Nakada M (1990) Late Pleistocene and Holocene sea-level change along the Australian coast. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimat Palaeoecol (Global Change Section) 89:143–176
McCaffrey R, Nabalek J (1984) The geometry of backarc thrusting along the eastern Sunda are, Indonesia: constraints from earthquake and gravity data. J Geophys Res 89:6171–6179
Mesolella KJ, Mattews RK, Broeker WS, Thurber DL (1969) The astronomical theory of climate change: Barbados data. J Geol 77:250–274
Nakada M, Lambeck K (1987) Glacial rebound and relative sea level variations: a new appraisal. Geophys J 90:171–224
Nakada M, Lambeck K (1988) The melting history of the Late Pleistocene Antarctic ice sheet. Nature 333:36–40
Nakada M, Lambeck K (1989) Late Pleistocene and Holocene sea-level change in the Australian region and mantle rheology. Geophys J 96:497–517
Pirazzoli PA (1986) Marine notches. In: Van de Plassche O (ed) Sea-level research. GeoBooks, Norwich, pp 361–400
Pirazzoli PA, Radtke U, Hantoro WS, Jouannic C, Hoang CT, Causse C, Borel Best M (1991) Quaternary raised coral-reef terraces on Sumba Island, Indonesia. Science 252:1834–1836
Pirazzoli PA, Radtke U, Hantoro WS, Jouannic C, Hoang CT, Causse C, Borel Best M (1993) A one million-year-long sequence of marine terraces on Sumba Island, Indonesia. Mar Geol 109:221–236
Radtke U, Grün R, Schwarcz P (1988) Electron spin resonance dating of the Pleistocene coral reef tracts of Barbados. Quat Res 29:197–215
Scoffin TP, Stoddart DR (1978) The nature and significance of microatolls. Phil Trans R Soc Lond B 284:99–122
Shackleton NJ (1987) Oxygen isotopes, ice volume and sea level. Quat Sci Rev 6:183–190
Shackleton NJ, Berger A, Peltier WR (1990) An alternative astronomical calibration of lower Pleistocene timescale based on ODP Site 677. Trans R Soc Edinburgh, Earth Sci 81:251–261
Silver EA, Reed D, McCaffrey R, Joyodiwiryo Y (1983) Back are thrusting in the eastern Sunda arc, Indonesia: a consequence of arc-continent collision. J Geophys Res 88, B9:7429–7448
Stuiver M, Pearson GW, Braziunas T (1986) Radiocarbon age calibration of marine samples back to 9000 caly BP. Radiocarbon 28 (2B):980–1021
Taylor FW, Jouannic C, Bloom AL (1985) Quaternary uplift of the Torres Islands, northern New Hebrides frontal arc: comparison with Santo and Malekula islands, central New Hebrides frontal arc. J Geol 93:419–438
Van Bemmelen RW (1949) The geology of Indonesia. The Hague, Government Printing Office
Woodroffe C, McLean R (1990) Microatolls and recent sea level change on coral atolls. Nature 344:531–534
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This work is a contribution to the IGCP Project 367 “Late Quaternary coastal records of rapid change” and to the activities of the INQUA Commissions “Neotectonics” and “Shorelines”, the task group “Paleoseismicity of the Late Holocene” of the Inter-Union Commission on the Lithosphere, and the UNESCO-IUGS cooperative programme “Earth Processes in Global Change” (CLIP Pilot Project)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hantoro, W.S., Pirazzoli, P.A., Jouannic, C. et al. Quaternary uplifted coral reef terraces on Alor Island, East Indonesia. Coral Reefs 13, 215–223 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00303634
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00303634