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It is difficult to determine the sea floor geomorphology in the vicinity of the wave breaking zone on rocky shores. In this study, a multibeam bathymetric survey and SCUBA diving observations were conducted off a basalt sea cliff with vertical columnar joints at Keya, Fukuoka, Japan, to observe the geomorphology and environment of the abrasion platform in high resolution. The formation of abrasion platforms significant at the northern end of the cape, where the waves were concentrated. Two platforms were observed at depths of 12 m (13 m below mean sea level) and 17 m (18 m below mean sea level). The –12 m platform is covered by boulders of tens of centimeters to more than 1 m in diameter, and is formed by the erosion of the basalt sea cliff. These boulders may have been moved by storm waves and formed the –12 m platform by active abrasive erosion. On the landward area of the –17 m platform, sand and gravel are deposited between rounded boulders larger than 1 m in diameter. Scarce vegetation on the rounded boulders and sediments indicates that sediments may have been moved and displaced during storm surges. The seaward area of the –17 m platform also consists of large boulders with a diameter of 1 m or more, however, the numerous organisms attached to the surface of the boulders and rich biota around them implies that these boulders have remained stable for a long period of time. At depths greater than 20 m, the slope becomes smooth and gentle, with sand and silt. The absence of vegetation on the slope surface indicates that the sediments may move during storms. Considering the formation periods of the two abrasion platforms, the –12 m platform is considered to be a recent abrasion platform. In contrast, the –17 m platform is considered to be a relict landform of the abrasion platform that formed during the last interglacial period, owing to the gradual subduction trend of the study area. Assuming that the 104–107 m wide present abrasion platform (–12 m platform) eroded after about 8,300 years BP, when the postglacial sea level reached the present depth of approximately 10 m, the average retreat rate of the basalt sea cliff was estimated to be 1.25–1.3 cm/year.

Typhoons and associated storm waves in the northwestern Pacific Ocean commonly cause coastal disasters. The possibility remains that an even stronger typhoon than the strongest one observed to date might have occurred before. The development of a method to estimate a maximum intensity of past typhoons over thousands of years is important for paleoclimatology, paleoceanography and disaster prevention. Numerous storm wave boulders exist on reefs in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, which have been deposited to their present position by the cumulative effects of the past storm waves. These boulders can be used as proxies for the hydrodynamic conditions of the largest waves from past events. Here, we present numerical computations for storm waves and boulder transport with the boulder distribution as a constraint factor to estimate the maximum intensities of storm waves and their causative typhoon events over the past 3500 years. Though the intensities of the maximum estimated waves and associated typhoon events were slightly stronger than those recorded over the past ~70 years in the Ryukyu Islands, our results suggest that no abnormally intense typhoon has struck the Ryukyu Islands in the past 3500 years. The potential impact from tsunamis remains uncertain; however, our results are meteorologically reasonable.

Reef growth patterns and the development of associated environments have been extensively studied from reef deposits from Holocene and previous interglacial highstands. However, reefs that grew during glacial lowstands are comparatively poorly understood. Here we show the formation of reef-flat and back-reef environments following rapid sea-level fall (15–20 mm yr−1 and 20–40 m in magnitude) during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) on the present shelf edge of the Great Barrier Reef. Sedimentological and foraminiferal analyses of unconsolidated reef sediments recovered in cores 111–140 m below sea level at Hydrographers Passage during Integrated Ocean Drilling Project (IODP) Expedition 325 reveal the occurrence of a benthic foraminiferal assemblage dominated by the genera Calcarina and Baculogypsina, which is common in modern reef-flat and back-reef environments in the Great Barrier Reef and elsewhere. This assemblage is associated with higher foraminiferal proportions in reef sediments and higher proportions of well-preserved Baculogypsina tests in the same intervals, which also characterize reef-flat environments. Radiocarbon (14C–accelerator mass spectrometry) ages of reef-flat dwelling foraminifers (n = 22), which indicate the time when these foraminifers were alive, are consistent with the timing of the two-step sea-level fall into the LGM as defined by the previously published well-dated coralgal record. This foraminiferal evidence suggests the development of geomorphically mature fringing reefs with shallow back-reef lagoons during the LGM. Our results also imply that back-reef sediment accumulation rates during the LGM lowstand were comparable to those during the Holocene highstand.

To understand sea-level changes since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and their effects on coral reef systems, the shelf-edge slopes of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) were cored during the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 325. Recovered unconsolidated sediments beneath the submerged shelf edge reefs contain abundant foraminiferal tests, which record changes in depositional environments and paleo-water depths. A total of 177 sediment samples were collected from 17 holes along three transects located within two geographical areas (Noggins Pass and Hydrographers Passage), and were analyzed to determine stratigraphic changes in foraminiferal assemblages (2–0.5 mm size fraction). Results show that four foraminiferal assemblages (A, B, C and D) are delineated by multivariate analyses (Q-mode cluster analysis and non-metric multidimensional scaling: NMDS), and these assemblages correspond to a back-reef to reef margin zone (0–10 m deep; Assemblage A), an upper photic zone (10–30 m deep) associated with hard substrates (Assemblage B), an intermediate to lower photic zone (30–90 m deep) characterized by soft substrates (Assemblage C), and a lower photic zone (90–130 m deep) only found in modern shelf slopes (Assemblage D). Gradual shifts in these four foraminiferal assemblages superimposed on a two-dimensional NMDS ordination mainly reflect water-depth gradients and the relative dominance of two substrate types (hard and soft substrates). Pre-LGM (older than Marine Isotope Stage 3: ≥MIS3) sediments along transects at Hydrographers Passage were deposited at intermediate to lower photic zones. In contrast, relatively shallow-water sequences found in ≥MIS3 deposits at Noggins Pass likely owe their origin to either turbidite and/or land slide processes. The lack of Assemblage D in ≥MIS3 deposits from all transects could be related to lowering temperature and/or increasing terrestrial influences (i.e. more light attenuation). Shallowing upward sequences found in LGM (MIS 2) deposits at Hydrographers Passage are likely related to stepwise sea-level falls to the full extent of the LGM. These foraminifer-based paleoenvironmental interpretations suggest that the GBR shelf edge slopes have changed their depositional environments continuously in response to sea-level fluctuations during the last glacial cycle.

International audience; 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’s 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’s 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.

This research aims to elucidate the Holocene sea level (SL) variability on Minami Daito Island, Japan, where no previous such research has been done due to the apparent absence of any SL indicators. Here we use phreatic overgrowths on speleothems (POS) in a cave as an alternative SL indicator. The relationship between the highest modern groundwater fluctuation level (GWFL) and the highest POS level was studied, and the oldest POS calcite was dated using the radiocarbon method considering the dead carbon proportion (the “reservoir effect”). The results show that SL reached its Holocene maximum between ca. 5.1 and 4.6 ka cal BP, after which it remained more or less stable till the present day, with a possible minor sea-level drawdown of ca. 30–35 cm. Although the timing of the maximum Holocene SL coincides with mid-Holocene SL highstand observed across the tropical and subtropical Indo-Pacific, the relative stability of the SL after reaching its peak is not expected in the given subtropical setting. The SL on Minami Daito did not have a distinct highstand in the Holocene and instead followed closely the eustatic sea-level change. These findings are important in better understanding the mechanisms that control local relative SL variability and show the high value of POS as precise SL indicator.

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., ファイル公開：2021-03-01

The Yarabuoki underwater site contains seven iron grapnel anchors and Early Modern Okinawan ceramic jars and is dated to the 16th–19th centuries. The site lies at a depth of 12–32 m off the western coast of Ishigaki Island in Okinawa, Japan. Based on underwater archaeological and broadband multibeam surveys, as well as historical research of the artefacts and Early Modern Ryukyuan shipping, we discuss the possible anchor and vessel types in Ryukyu and Eastern Asia in Early Modern times. We also discuss the efficacy of low-cost ROV for assisting surveys in shallow-water environments and the value of educational programmes for promoting the management and conservation of underwater cultural heritage.

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. © 2018, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., part of Springer Nature. Japan Society for the Promotion of Science-JP16H06309,JP17H01168,JP26247085,JP15KK0151 Australian Research Council-DP1094001 National Eye Research Centre-NE/H014136/1 Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse

The spatial distribution of modern coral reefs in the Northwest Pacific (NWP) is restricted to approximately 30°N. Understanding the high-latitude reef-growth process and its correlation to climate change may provide important insights into future reef growth at even higher latitudes in response to global warming. We conducted field surveys and obtained seven cores from the raised reefs of Kodakara Island (29°N, 129°E) in the NWP to determine the changes in and response of reef growth dynamics to millennial-scale climate change through the Holocene. To reconstruct the timing of the reef growth, 37 coral ages were determined using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating. The island is characterized by three Holocene reef terraces (Terraces I to III), which were uplifted ca. 2.4 ka, 1.0–0.4 ka, and in the modern era. Three growth hiatuses occurred circa 5.9–5.8 ka, 4.4–4.0 ka, and 3.3–3.2 ka, which correlate with millennial-scale climate changes ( Hamanaka et al., 2012 ). The reef growth began at least 8 ka. Relatively rapid vertical growth of 3.6–3.3 m kyr− 1 occurred between 8 and 6 ka. The reef started growing near land and then gradually extended seaward. The reef growth around the reef slope decelerated after 6 ka and most likely coincided with the first and second hiatuses detected landward. In contrast with the reef flat, which resumed its growth after the third hiatus event, the reef mound accretion on the slope ceased definitively. Terrace I was uplifted ca. 2.4 ka. The reef growth reactivated ca. 1.3 ka, and the reef grew at a rate of 9.1 m kyr− 1 between 1.3 and 1.0 ka; this rate is the fastest growth recorded in this study. This time interval corresponds to the Medieval Climatic Anomaly (MCA). The cause of the delayed reef growth between 2.4 and 1.4 ka remains unclear, but it may imply the existence of a late Holocene hiatus due to a weaker Kuroshio Current (KC) ca. 1.7 ka and to strong El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) activity between 2 and 1.5 ka in the East Pacific. The timing of the hiatuses agrees with the weakening of the KC and the more frequent El Nino events during the positive phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), whereas the rapid growth coincides with La Nina conditions, such as the MCA, during the negative phase of the PDO. Our results indicate that the climate event at approximately 4 ka caused the largest change in the reef growth, and it may have affected reefs throughout the Pacific region. Specifically, the ENSO and PDO phases may have impacted the reef growth and KC behavior.

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 history

Although coral calcification is directly related to coral health, few studies have examined the responses of coral calcification to environmental stresses, with the exception of ocean acidification. In this study, we experimentally exposed aposymbiotic (lacking symbionts) and symbiotic primary polyps of the scleractinian coral Acropora digitifera to several seawater temperatures (27, 29, 31, and 33 °C) and salinities (26, 28, 30, 32, and 34) to investigate the effects of thermal and freshening stresses on coral calcification from the standpoint of coral-algal symbiosis. Calcification rates were higher for symbiotic versus aposymbiotic polyps in both sets of experiments, except for those reared at 31 °C and 33 °C. Calcification responses of symbiotic polyps were a non-linear function of temperature, and the threshold temperature affecting skeletal growth and bleaching was between 29 °C and 31 °C. Calcification rates of aposymbiotic polyps were also a non-linear function of temperature, with a maximum polyp weight at 31 °C, suggesting that thermal stress also did some damage to the coral host itself. In contrast, skeletal growth of both aposymbiotic and symbiotic polyps decreased linearly with increased salinity. Observations of the microstructure of polyp samples revealed a clearly cyclic feature of skeletal surfaces that was likely related to organo-mineral deposition of calcium carbonate even under lowered-salinity conditions. However, neither type of polyp reared at 33 °C evidenced this characteristic, suggesting that thermal stress had compromised the normal calcification process, which involves secretion of an organic matrix by the coral host. Our results suggest that the effects of future global warming will include a reduction in coral calcification itself and the collapse of coral-algal symbiosis, at least at the primary polyp stage. The present experiments showed that thermal stress would affect the host's physiological functionality, whereas freshening stress, which is simply the dilution of ambient seawater, would affect the mineralization process associated with coral calcification.

The relative warmth and stability of the Holocene was punctuated by several brief cold events. Whereas these cold events on a global scale are widely reported, the lack of records from regions such as the East China Sea (ECS) results in an incomplete understanding of the underlying cooling mechanism. Here, we present a coral-based paleo-SST (sea-surface temperature) reconstruction from the ECS to constrain Holocene variability in the Kuroshio Western Boundary Current and the East Asian Monsoon (EAM). Our new data confirm that cold conditions prevailed at 3.8 cal kyr BP, which is consistent with the previously-reported Pulleniatina Minimum Event (PME). While this previous reconstruction could not reveal seasonal differences, our high-resolution data indicate a differing seasonal SST response between summer and winter. This result provides an important insight into understanding the mechanism of the millennium scale cold event in the ECS, the region affected by EAM.

Recent studies have reported Holocene millennial-scale climate instability at a global scale. However, the relationship between this climate variability and coral reef growth is still unclear. Field observations and high-precision, in situ coral radiocarbon dating of the excavated trench walls of an uplifted middle-to-late Holocene coral reef on Kodakara Island, located in the pathway of the Kuroshio Current in the northwestern Pacific, show evidence of the existence of disturbances with hiatuses in coral reef growth and coral composition differences before and after the disturbances. We found three disconformities in the reef, and the dating results indicate that disturbances with hiatuses in reef growth occurred at approximately 5.9 to 5.8, 4.4 to 4.0, and 3.3 to 3.2 cal yr B.P. The results also indicate that the second and third events were associated with sea-level oscillation. The timing of the disturbances corresponds well with the periods when the Kuroshio Current was relatively weak and was associated with a relatively cold sea surface temperature, which may have enhanced the cold winter Asian monsoons, and with Holocene North Atlantic ice-rafting cold events. The coral composition clearly changed before and after the disturbances, with gradually reduced diversity resulting in a reef dominated by acroporiid coral. These data led to the hypothesis that coral reef growth was interrupted by suborbital millennial-scale global climate change induced by persistent solar activity during the Holocene in high-latitude coral reefs, such as those in the Northwest Pacific, leading to low diversity in the reefs that experienced each disturbance. Our results may provide new insights into theories of past and future coral reef formation worldwide.

This paper discusses the influence of the geological setting of islands and reefs in the Maldives on the impact of the 26 December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. Geological and geomorphological data (including orientation, location, size, ellipticity, reef-island distance, proportion of reef area to island area) were collected for completely flooded and

The Meiwa Tsunami, one of the largest tsunamis recorded in historical documents in Japan struck Ishigaki Island and neighboring islands of the Ryukyu Arc in April 1771 AD, killing more than 12 000 people. An enormous number of massive Porites coral boulders are scattered on the shore and in the reef moat of eastern Ishigaki Island. Although these boulders likely were cast ashore by the Meiwa Tsunami, a detailed examination has not yet been conducted. When the marine reservoir effect is taken into account, one of mode values of calibrated radiocarbon dates possibly corresponds to the time of the 1771 event. However, the range of calibrated radiocarbon ages indicates that the transport of the boulders cannot be ascribed solely to the tsunami. Oxygen isotope microprofiling, which indicates sea-surface temperature variation, was therefore conducted to further investigate the mechanism of transport. The results suggest that the skeletal growth of most coral colonies was interrupted in summer or autumn; hence, tropical storms and typhoons are also very likely to be agents of transport. Thus, by combining radiocarbon dating with oxygen isotope microprofiling to investigate Porites coral boulders, it is possible to separate paleotsunami boulders from those transported by storm events as far as tsunamis occurred during the non-storm season.

We have constructed a 60-year stable isotope record from a 14C-dated fossil giant clam, Tridacna gigas (6216 years BP), at its northernmost latitudinal limit in the geological past, on Kume Island, Central Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan. Stable oxygen (δ18O) and carbon (δ13C) isotopic analyses are combined with observations of growth lines seen on the inner shell layer. Sixty pairs of summer/winter growth lines, which preserve daily growth increments were observed in the inner shell layer. Two growth phases, characterized by a growth curve and isotopic profiles, are clearly recognized throughout the growth history of this specimen. No significant shifts in average values of the two isotopic ratios were detected during its growth history, although the growth rate varied widely from 1 to 15 mm/year over 60 years, including after the onset of sexual maturity. Spectral analysis of the fossil Tridacna δ18O time-series implies that decadal variability observed in the North Pacific Ocean during the past hundred years also existed 6000 years ago. Our study implies that fossil giant clams are one of the best means of inferring isotopic records of annual to decadal climate variations. Giant clams have the advantages of a dense shell, high growth rate, long lifespan, and geographically and geologically broad distributions.

The distributions of sediments and its relation to reef water turbidities were investigated in three fringing reefs along the east coast of Ishigaki Island and a patch reef named “Shimobishi” in the lagoon of Sekisei Reef. In order to quantify fine particles in sediments, we employed “SPSS (content of suspended particles in sea sediments)” method, which was originally proposed by Ohmija (1987) for quick assessment of land-derived soil distribution in reef sediments. We found highest SPSS values in a moat and channel bottom of the Miyara Bay and along the northern coast of the Todoroki River mouth in Ishigaki Island. In contrast, SPSS values were low in other three reefs including Yasurazaki, Shiraho and Shimobishi areas. Reef water turbidities showed significant correlation with SPSS values, which suggests that the major cause of reef water turbidities is resuspension of fine particles in the sediments. Accuracy and precision of the measurements can be increased by using a portable turbidimeter in the original SPSS method. The modified method has the potential for applying to a study of under-water light environment, which may influence coral-algal competitions in degrading reef conditions.

This paper describes a Holocene reef structure observed from a cutting in a modern reef on Okierabu Island in the Ryukyu Islands and proposes a process for the initiation and formation of narrow, lagoon-less fringing reef flats. Reef formation began around 7050 yBP at 11 m below present sea level. The reef was constructed by a uniform facies of in situ tabular corals and kept up with sea level rise. Geomorphological zonation has been restricted by the lack of a cross-reef energy gradient during reef formation. Sediment trapped by limestone caves abutting the shore has contributed to this characteristic. The slope break around-10 m and steep scarp of the shore create a narrow substrate that is responsible for the development of an equally narrow reef flat.

The decade of the 1990s was very likely the warmest of the second millennium. The 1990s was also characterized by one of the strongest El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events of the twentieth century, which occurred in 1997–1998 and was followed by worldwide mass coral bleaching. In this study, we examined the signal-recording ability of Porites spp. corals by comparing high-resolution coral oxygen isotope (δ18O) records from the northwestern Pacific with instrumental records of these profound events of the 1990s. Temporal changes in coral skeletal δ18O records from Ishigaki Island, Japan, showed good agreement with instrumental records of sea-surface temperature (SST) because the effect of seasonal and interannual variations in salinity on the δ18O of seawater in that region was relatively small. In the northwestern equatorial Pacific, the cooler SST and relative drought-characterizing El Nino events were particularly well recorded by corals from the Philippines. These conditions were also faithfully recorded as distinct positive anomalies in coral δ18O records from Chuuk Atoll and Pohnpei Island in Micronesia. Bleached Porites spp. corals from Ishigaki Island, as well as corals from Pandora Reef of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, showed a growth gap, indicating a substantial decrease in skeletogenesis during the 1997–1998 mass bleaching event. At Ishigaki Island and the Pacific side of the Philippine Islands, a decreasing trend in δ18Oc was found even over the relatively short period between 1980 and 2000 which may indicate an SST rise and/or surface-water freshening related to global warming. Our results demonstrate the potential of coral isotope records to serve as indicators of climatic change in the tropical and subtropical waters of the northwestern Pacific, where the number of coral records is still limited.

We present 40 year-long skeletal chronologies of tin (Sn) and copper (Cu) from an annually-banded coral (Porites sp.) collected from Pohnpei Island, Micronesia (western equatorial Pacific). Both the elements are present in antifouling marine paints and are released inadvertently into ambient seawater. Especially, Sn has often been used in the form of tributyltin (TBT). Based on a stepwise pretreatment examination, Sn and Cu both inside and outside the aragonite lattice of the coral skeleton show a potential for providing marine pollution indicators. High values of extra-skeletal Cu/Ca and Sn/Ca atomic ratios were found between late 1960s and late 1980s during a period of active use of TBT-based antifouling paints worldwide. However, a significant decrease in both the ratios in the beginning of 1990s can be attributed to regulation of the use of TBT on cargo ships by countries such as the USA, Japan and Australia.

A new approach was needed to preserve the biodiversity of the Djoudj Park within a context marked by many constraints: drought, regulation of its hydrologic system, and anthropogenic pressure. The local management plan developed in this paper aims at the responsible management and fair distribution of the available water resources in the Djoudj Park to provide a balanced response to conservation issues and the growing needs of the local communities. The opposition between an administration determined to exercise its power and the confidence of local people weary of being stripped of their rights and cultural assets required the setting up of a consensual management plan. This plan would provide a means to determine the timing and the number of sluice gates to operate, based on an efficient command of the needs for water for each activity in the park and its surroundings. This tool will allow the park authority to take full cognizance of the needs and opinions of all interest groups but also their limits while keeping the essential functions of this wetland. It is also suggested that institutional and administrative reform be carried out to associate local populations in the definition and implementation of criteria for an integrated management of the Djoudj resources.

The decade of the 1990s was very likely the warmest of the second millennium. The 1990s was also characterized by one of the strongest El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events of the twentieth century, which occurred in 1997-1998 and was followed by worldwide mass coral bleaching. In this study, we examined the signal-recording ability of Porites spp. corals by comparing high-resolution coral oxygen isotope (δO) records from the northwestern Pacific with instrumental records of these profound events of the 1990s. Temporal changes in coral skeletal δO records from Ishigaki Island, Japan, showed good agreement with instrumental records of sea-surface temperature (SST) because the effect of seasonal and interannual variations in salinity on the δO of seawater in that region was relatively small. In the northwestern equatorial Pacific, the cooler SST and relative drought-characterizing El Nino events were particularly well recorded by corals from the Philippines. These conditions were also faithfully recorded as distinct positive anomalies in coral δO records from Chuuk Atoll and Pohnpei Island in Micronesia. Bleached Porites spp. corals from Ishigaki Island, as well as corals from Pandora Reef of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, showed a growth gap, indicating a substantial decrease in skeletogenesis during the 1997-1998 mass bleaching event. At Ishigaki Island and the Pacific side of the Philippine Islands, a decreasing trend in δO was found even over the relatively short period between 1980 and 2000 which may indicate an SST rise and/or surface-water freshening related to global warming. Our results demonstrate the potential of coral isotope records to serve as indicators of climatic change in the tropical and subtropical waters of the northwestern Pacific, where the number of coral records is still limited.

Theseawardmarginofcoralreefs,wherelivingorganismsare concentrated, is the site of the most persistent waveattack, and is the place where construction must takeplace if the reef is to sourish and expand (Ladd 1961).Spurs and grooves are a signiÞcant topographic constitu-entofmanyreef-edges.Althoughtheroleoferosionversusconstruction in the formation of spurs and grooves hasbeen controversial (e.g. Cloud 1959; Goreau 1959), fewstudies have focused on the processes generating thesemicro-topographic features. Shinn et al. (1977; 1981) de-termined the vertical growth of spurs by precise drilling.Planimetrically, the orientation of spurs and grooves isorthogonal to the direction of refracted waves, and spac-ing is related to wave energy (Munk and Sargent 1948;Emery et al. 1949; Weydert 1979; Sneh and Friedman1980; Blanchon and Jones 1995). However, no researchhas been carried out on the planimetric as opposed tovertical growth of spurs.The authors present an accretion process for spur ex-pansionbased on exposures of a cutting excavated acrossa modern reef-edge on the eastern coast of Cape Agari-henna (125

Submerged tropical karst features were discovered in Nagura Bay on Ishigaki Island in the southern Ryukyu Islands, Japan. The coastal seafloor at depths shallower than ~ 130 m has been subjected to repeated and alternating subaerial erosion and sedimentation during periods of Quaternary sea-level lowstands. We conducted a broadband multibeam survey in the central area of Nagura Bay (1.85 × 2.7 km) and visualized the high-resolution bathymetric results over a depth range of 1.6–58.5 m. Various types of humid tropical karst landforms were found to coexist within the bay, including fluviokarst, doline karst, cockpit karst, polygonal karst, uvalas, and mega-dolines. Although these submerged karst landforms are covered by thick postglacial reef and reef sediments, their shapes and sizes are distinct from those associated with coral reef geomorphology. The submerged landscape of Nagura Bay likely formed during multiple glacial and interglacial periods. According to our bathymetric results and the aerial photographs of the coastal area, this submerged karst landscape appears to have developed throughout Nagura Bay (i.e., over an area of approximately 6 × 5 km) and represents the largest submerged karst in Japan.