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Unraveling the Spatial Variability of Fossil Coral Reef Morphology on Aruba and the Implications for Paleo Sea Level Estimates
Chauveau, D. Boyden, P. Desfromont, F. Scardino, G. Scicchitano, G. Mijts, Eric
Bejarano, S. Dean, S. Cerrone, C. Rovere, A.
Chauveau, D.
Boyden, P.
Desfromont, F.
Scardino, G.
Scicchitano, G.
Bejarano, S.
Dean, S.
Cerrone, C.
Rovere, A.
Promotor / Advisor
Keyword
stratigraphic forward modeling
fossil coral reef
sea level
marine isotope stage 5e
Caribbean last interglacial reefs
fossil coral reef
sea level
marine isotope stage 5e
Caribbean last interglacial reefs
Location research
Date
2026-01-07
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Language
en
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Abstract
The morphology of a coral reef terrace (CRT) is a key parameter in the interpretation and quantification of past sea-level changes, but it is directly influenced by local morphodynamic and hydrodynamic conditions. Spatial differences in terrace morphology may therefore result in over- or underestimation of paleorelative sea levels and their associated uncertainties. To investigate this, we integrate high-precision field surveys from the island of Aruba (Leeward Antilles, Caribbean Sea) with a stratigraphic forward model (DionisosFlow®) to quantify the intra-island variability of the Quaternary coral reef sequence. We establish that a possible slight North-South tectonic tilt of the island may drive differences in the elevation of CRTs and the number of emerged fossil coral reefs imprinted on the coastal landscape. However, terrace geometry is primarily defined by the basement slope and wave exposure. All together, our results show that even small-scale environmental and hydrodynamic variability can introduce meter-scale errors in sea-level reconstructions derived from CRTs.
Citation
Chauveau, D., Boyden, P., Desfromont, F., Scardino, G., Scicchitano, G., Mijts, E., et al. (2026). Unraveling the spatial variability of fossil coral reef morphology on Aruba and the implications for paleo sea level estimates. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 131, e2025JF008384. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JF008384
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Journal / Book / Conference
JGR Earth Surface