Journal article
Interpreting features of carbonate geomorphology on Niue Island, a raised coral atoll
Zeitschrift fur Geomorphologie, Vol.131, pp.43-57
2003
Abstract
Remote Niue Island in the south-west Pacific is an isolated high carbonate island, formed by the uplift of a coral-capped submarine volcano over the past 500000 years. The distribution of various bedrock lithologies reveals the islands atoll origin, with in situ coral and algal limestones forming a c.70m elevated rim (former atoll reef), enclosing a c.35m central depression underlain by cemented calcareous and fossiliferous sands (former lagoon floor). Much of the latter was dolomitised by interaction with hypersaline brine as slow emergence cut off the atoll lagoon from the sea. Major features of the carbonate geomorphology are a basin-and-rim structure, steep-walled coastal chasms and well-developed cave systems with abundant speleothems. This paper examines the origin of these features, highlights problems with their interpretation and proposes some new ideas. Uplift, submarine landslides and marine erosion, and the effects of solution, are superimposed on an atoll terrain controlled by Quaternary emergence and tectonism. © 2003 Gebrüder Borntraeger.
Details
- Title
- Interpreting features of carbonate geomorphology on Niue Island, a raised coral atoll
- Authors
- J P Terry (Author)Patrick Nunn (Author)
- Publication details
- Zeitschrift fur Geomorphologie, Vol.131, pp.43-57
- Publisher
- Gebrueder Borntraeger Verlagsbuchhandlung
- Date published
- 2003
- ISSN
- 0044-2798
- Organisation Unit
- Indigenous and Transcultural Research Centre; Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research; School of Social Sciences - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Law and Society; Sustainability Research Cluster
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99450917602621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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