55 research outputs found

    Paleoceanography of the Eastern Asia from the Last Glacial Maximum to the early Holocene

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    A series of marginal seas that are separated from the Pacific Ocean by island arcs developed in Eastern Asia. The environmental property of these marginal seas amplified under a sea-level lowstand during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The Japan Sea was covered by low salinity water during the LGM. At the beginning of the post-glacial sea-level rise, the Oyashio Current firstly flowed into the Japan Sea throught the Tsugaru Strait. The influx of the Tsushima Current started around 10,000 yBP and become vigorously after 8,000 yBP. Meanwhile, the northward migration and influx of the Kuroshio Current into East China Sea started around 10,000 yBP and strengthened after 7,500 yBP. The route alternation of the Kuroshio Current might have contributed to the establishment of the Tsushima Current and acted as a trigger for the drastic environmental changes around the merginal seas in Eastern Asia at the time of the post-glacial sea-level rise

    Morphology and Anatomy of Holocene Raised Coral Reef Terraces in Kodakara Island, Tokara Islands, northwestern Pacific, Japan

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    Well-developed Holocene raised coral reef terraces are formed in Kodakara Island (29°13'N 129°19'E), Tokara Islands, northwestern Pacific, Japan. Detailed morphology and sedimentary structure of the raised reef terraces are observed by field survey through the terraces surface and core drillings. The Holocene raised reef in Kodakara Island are divided into three terraces (TI to III). The surface geo-biological facies and paleo-morphology such as spur and groove system or reef mounds are well preserved on these terraces. The raised coral reefs in Kodakara Island consist of reef flats and reef slopes. No lagoon formed in these terraces. On the raised reef surface, we observed five distinct reefal facies (S-f1-5). The platy and encrusting Acropora facies is the major constituent of the terrace surfaces. We obtained seven drilling cores (B1 to 7) from Terraces I and II along a transect in the southern part of the island. The thickness of the Holocene reef is more than 14m which is approximately equivalent to the Holocene reefs in the middle and southern Ryukyu Islands. Sedimentary structure consists of seven facies (C-f1-7: five reefal and two non-reefal facies). The drilling cores indicating the shallowing sequence at the upward of the cores which characterized by platy-encrusting Acropora facies overlying massive Porites, favid and/or encrusting-foliaceous coral facies. It may indicate the environmental change such as wave-energy gradients and turbidity during the reef development

    Drilling Research of a high-latiude coral reef in Mage Island, Stsunan Islands, Japan

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    Four drilling cores are observed from a high-latitude coral reef at the northwestern Mage Island (N30゜45' 40"). The thickness of the Holocene reef is around 2.5m in the reef edge and 4m in back reef. The Holocene thickness is relatively thin comparing to the modern reefs in the middle or the southern Ryukyu Islands. The reef structure Acropora facies, reworked coral rubble facies. This zonal structure conforms to the ecological coral-zonation corresponding to the wave-energy gradient

    Late glacial to deglacial variation of coralgal assemblages in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

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    Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 325 cored submerged reefs along the shelf edge of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) to study sea-level and environmental changes and their impacts on reef communities and reef growth since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Previous work defined five reef sequences (Reef 1–5) that span the last 30,000 years. Here we examined the variation in coralgal assemblages and their paleoenvironmental settings in late glacial to deglacial sequences from 23 holes cored seaward of the modern GBR in water depths from 46 to 131 m along four transects at three localities: Hydrographers Passage (HYD-01C and HYD-02A), Noggin Pass (NOG–01B), and Ribbon Reef (RIB-02A). We identified three coralline algal assemblages and eight coral assemblages indicating a broad range of reef settings from the shallow reef crest (0–5 m) to the deep forereef slope (>20 m). We document in detail for the first time the distribution and composition of reef communities that grew in the GBR during the LGM from 22,000–19,000 years ago. They included coral taxa that are major reef builders today: Isopora, Acropora gr. humilis, Dipsastraea gr. pallida, Porites, and Montipora. Prior to the fall in sea level to the maximum extent of the LGM, late glacial reef communities developed more proximally (landward) to the modern GBR along the shelf edge. Their distribution and composition reflect influences of the older Pleistocene basement depth and possible terrigenous sediment inputs. Post-LGM deglacial reef growth was vigorous in proximal sites and characterized by the accretion of a very shallow high-energy coralgal assemblage composed of medium to robustly branching Acropora, including A. gr. humilis, and thick algal crusts of Porolithon gr. onkodes associated with vermetid gastropods. More distally, reef growth was variably impacted by terrigenous input following deglacial reflooding of antecedent reef terraces. The coralgal succession and sedimentary facies in Noggin Pass indicate that an early drowning trend was linked to increased turbidity that was likely controlled by shelf morphology (narrow shelf, steep slope) and/or proximity to a paleo-river mouth. The deglacial succession in Ribbon Reef lacks typical shallow-water indicators, which may reflect influences of the particularly steep slope of the northern GBR shelf edge on reef zonation. A major sea-level jump at the onset of the Younger Dryas displaced reef habitats further upslope, forming a barrier reef system mainly composed of robustly branching acroporids distinct from the more distal sites. Our results highlight the importance of sedimentation and shelf morphology in addition to relative sea-level changes in controlling variations in reef community over centennial to millennial timescales. © 2019 Elsevier B.V.Australian Research Council-DP109400

    Response of the Great Barrier Reef to sea level and environmental changes over the past 30,000 years

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    Previous drilling through submerged fossil coral reefs has greatly improved our understanding of the general pattern of sea-level change since the Last Glacial Maximum, however, how reefs responded to these changes remains uncertain. Here we document the evolution of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), the world\u27s largest reef system, to major, abrupt environmental changes over the past 30 thousand years based on comprehensive sedimentological, biological and geochronological records from fossil reef cores. We show that reefs migrated seaward as sea level fell to its lowest level during the most recent glaciation (~20.5-20.7 thousand years ago (ka)), then landward as the shelf flooded and ocean temperatures increased during the subsequent deglacial period (~20-10 ka). Growth was interrupted by five reef-death events caused by subaerial exposure or sea-level rise outpacing reef growth. Around 10 ka, the reef drowned as the sea level continued to rise, flooding more of the shelf and causing a higher sediment flux. The GBR\u27s capacity for rapid lateral migration at rates of 0.2-1.5 m yr−1 (and the ability to recruit locally) suggest that, as an ecosystem, the GBR has been more resilient to past sea-level and temperature fluctuations than previously thought, but it has been highly sensitive to increased sediment input over centennial-millennial timescales

    Reliability and validity of the patient disability-oriented diagnostic nomenclature system for prosthetic dentistry

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    Purpose: The Japan Prosthodontic Society (JPS) has proposed a new diagnostic nomenclature system (DNS), based on pathogenesis and etiology, to facilitate and improve prosthodontic treatment. This systemspecifies patient disability and the causative factor (i.e. ‘‘B (disability) caused by A (causative factor)’’). The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of this DNS. Study selection: The JPS Clinical Guideline Committee assessed mock patient charts and formulated disease names using the new DNS. Fifty validators, comprising prosthodontic specialists and dental residents, made diagnoses using the same patient charts. Reliability was evaluated as the consistency of the disease names among the validators, and validity was evaluated using the concordance rate of the disease names with the reference disease names. Results: Krippendorff’s α was 0.378 among all validators, 0.370 among prosthodontic specialists, and 0.401 among dental hospital residents. Krippendorff’s α for 10 validators (3 specialists and 7 residents) with higher concordance rates was 0.524. Two validators (1 specialist and 1 resident) with the highest concordance rates had a Krippendorff’s α of 0.648. Common disease names had higher concordance rates, while uncommon disease names showed lower concordance rates. These rates did not show correlation with clinical experience of the validator or time taken to devise the disease name. Conclusions: High reliability was not found among all validators; however, validators with higher concordance rates showed better reliability. Furthermore, common disease names had higher concordance rates. These findings indicate that the new DNS for prosthodontic dentistry exhibits clinically acceptable reliability and validity

    Rapid glaciation and a two-step sea-level plunge into The Last Glacial Maximum

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    The approximately 10,000-year-long Last Glacial Maximum, before the termination of the last ice age, was the coldest period in Earth’s recent climate history1. Relative to the Holocene epoch, atmospheric carbon dioxide was about 100 parts per million lower and tropical sea surface temperatures were about 3 to 5 degrees Celsius lower2,3. The Last Glacial Maximum began when global mean sea level (GMSL) abruptly dropped by about 40 metres around 31,000 years ago4 and was followed by about 10,000 years of rapid deglaciation into the Holocene1. The masses of the melting polar ice sheets and the change in ocean volume, and hence in GMSL, are primary constraints for climate models constructed to describe the transition between the Last Glacial Maximum and the Holocene, and future changes; but the rate, timing and magnitude of this transition remain uncertain. Here we show that sea level at the shelf edge of the Great Barrier Reef dropped by around 20 metres between 21,900 and 20,500 years ago, to −118 metres relative to the modern level. Our findings are based on recovered and radiometrically dated fossil corals and coralline algae assemblages, and represent relative sea level at the Great Barrier Reef, rather than GMSL. Subsequently, relative sea level rose at a rate of about 3.5 millimetres per year for around 4,000 years. The rise is consistent with the warming previously observed at 19,000 years ago1,5, but we now show that it occurred just after the 20-metre drop in relative sea level and the related increase in global ice volumes. The detailed structure of our record is robust because the Great Barrier Reef is remote from former ice sheets and tectonic activity. Relative sea level can be influenced by Earth’s response to regional changes in ice and water loadings and may differ greatly from GMSL. Consequently, we used glacio-isostatic models to derive GMSL, and find that the Last Glacial Maximum culminated 20,500 years ago in a GMSL low of about −125 to −130 metres.Financial support of this research was provided by the JSPS KAKENHI (grant numbers JP26247085, JP15KK0151, JP16H06309 and JP17H01168), the Australian Research Council (grant number DP1094001), ANZIC, NERC grant NE/H014136/1 and Institut Polytechnique de Bordeaux

    Development of geomorphological zonation in fringing reefs : the ryukyu islands, japan

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    The formation process of coral reef zonation was summarized by drilling results and trench observations in several fringing reefs in the central Ryukyu Islands. The prototype of reef zonation emerged when the reef first reached sea level as an offshore barrier in the middle Holocene. Then, reef has expanded seaward by development of reef edge spurs under the almost stable sea level condition in the late Holocene. Contrary to the reef which first reached sea level at offshore, obscure zonal pattern is formed where the initial growth axis lies at the landward end because of no energy related gradient during reef development

    Influence of Land Development on Holocene Porites Coral Calcification at Nagura Bay, Ishigaki Island, Japan

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    To evaluate the relationships between coral calcification, thermal stress, and sedimentation and eutrophication linked to human impact (hereafter referred to as “land development”) by river discharge, we analyzed growth characteristics in the context of a paleoenvironment that was reconstructed from geochemical signals in modern and fossil (1.2 cal kyr BP and 3.5 cal kyr BP, respectively) massive Porites corals from Nagura Bay (“Nagura”) and from modern Porites corals from the estuary of the Todoroki River, Shiraho Reef (“Todoroki”). Both sites are on Ishigaki Island, Japan, and Nagura is located approximately 12 km west of Todoroki. At Nagura, the individual corals provide time windows of 13 (modern), 10 (1.2 cal kyr BP), and 38 yr in length (3.5 cal kyr BP). Here, we present the coral annual calcification for Nagura and Todoroki, and (bi) monthly resolved records of Sr/Ca (a proxy of sea surface temperature (SST)) and Ba/Ca (a proxy of sedimentation and nutrients related to land development) for Nagura. At Nagura, the winter SST was cooler by 2.8°C in the 1.2 cal kyr BP, and the annual and winter SSTs in the 3.5 cal kyr BP were cooler by 2.6°C and 4.6°C, respectively. The annual periodicity of Ba/Ca in modern coral is linked to river discharge and is associated with land development including sugar cane cultivation. Modern coral calcification also has declined with SST warming and increasing Ba/Ca peaks in winter. However, calcification of fossil corals does not appear to have been influenced by variations in Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca. Modern coral growth characteristics at Nagura and Todoroki indicate that coral growth is both spatially and temporally influenced by river discharge and land development. At Nagura, our findings suggest that land development induces negative thermal sensitivity for calcification in winter due to sugar cane harvest, which is a specifically modern phenomenon
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