ANSTO's research capabilities, led by the OPAL nuclear research reactor and associated instruments provide access to users investigating areas as diverse as materials, life sciences, climate change and mining/engineering.
Evolution of reef islands
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| Tawara islands, Kirabati, Central Pacific |
Low-lying reef islands appear particularly threatened by anticipated sea-level rise as a result of global warming. Determining how they formed, and whether they are continuing to accumulate sediment, is essential for their sustainable management.
The researchers have used accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C and amino-acid racemisation (AAR) dating on specific skeletal components of carbonate sediments (coral, coralline algae, foraminifera or mollusc) to accurately determine the growth rates of reef islands. Studies have been carried out for various reef islands including the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in eastern Indian Ocean, Warraber Island in central Torres Strait, Tawara in central Pacific, and Lord Howe Island and the Great Barrier Reef in Western Pacific.
Project support
AINSE Grants 03/129, 04/174, 06/198, 08/071, 09/019, 10/073 and PGRA#ALNSTU0709 & ALNSTU0910.
Project team members
Naomi Biribo (School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Univ. Wollongong), John Dawson (School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, James Cook Univ.), Dan Harris (School of Geosciences, Univ. Sydney), Quan Hua (ANSTO), Colin Murray-Wallace (School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Univ. Wollongong), Scott Smithers (School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, James Cook Univ.) and Colin Woodroffe (School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Univ. Wollongong).
Publications related to this project
Dawson, J.L., Q. Hua, and S.G. Smithers (2012), Benthic foraminifera: their importance to future reef island resilience, The Proceedings of the 12th International Coral Reef Symposium, 9-13 Jul 2012, Cairns, Australia.
Woodroffe, C.D., B.P. Brooke, M. Linklater, D.M. Kennedy, B.G. Jones, C. Buchanan, R. Mlecko, Q. Hua, and J.-x. Zhao (2010), Response of coral reefs to climate change: Expansion and demise of the southernmost Pacific coral reef, Geophysical Research Letters, 37, L15602, doi:10.1029/2010GL044 067.
Woodroffe, C.D., B. Samosorn, Q. Hua, and D.E. Hart (2007), Incremental accretion of a sandy reef island over the past 3000 years indicated by component-specific radiocarbon dating, Geophysical Research Letters, 34, L03602, doi:10.1029/2006GL028875.
Woodroffe, C.D., R.F. McLean, S.G. Smithers, and E.M. Lawson (1999), Atoll reef-island formation and response to sea-level change: West Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Marine Geology, 160, 85-104.
Abstracts related to this project
Dawson, J.L., Q. Hua, and S.G. Smithers, Benthic foraminifera: their importance to future reef island resilience, The 12th International Coral Reef Symposium, 9-13 Jul 2012, Cairns, Australia.
Dawson, J.L., Q. Hua, and S.G. Smithers, The potential application of taphonomy-AMS 14C analysis in modelling reef island geomorphic response to climate change, The 18th INQUA Congress, 20-27 Jul 2011, Bern, Switzerland.
Dawson, J.L., Q. Hua, and S.G. Smithers, Mid-late Holocene reef island accretion on the northern Great Barrier Reef: New insights using specific-component AMS-14C dating, The 18th INQUA Congress, 20-27 Jul 2011, Bern, Switzerland.
Dawson, J.L., S.G. Smithers, and Q. Hua, Taphonomy and targeted AMS radiocarbon dating of reef sediments – a potential tool for reef island management to climate change, The 22nd Pacific Science Congress - Asia Pacific Science in the 21st Century: Meeting the Challenges of Global Changes, 14-17 Jun 2011, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.