Development and physical characteristics of the Irish shelf-edge Macnas Mounds, Porcupine Seabight, NE Atlantic
File Type:
PDFItem Type:
Journal ArticleDate:
2024Access:
openAccessCitation:
Erica Terese Krueger, Vincent Mouchi, Xavier Monteys, Stephen McCarron, Aaron Lim, Quentin G. Crowley, Development and physical characteristics of the Irish shelf-edge Macnas Mounds, Porcupine Seabight, NE Atlantic, International Journal of Earth Sciences (Geologische Rundschau), 2024Download Item:
Krueger et al. 2024.pdf (PDF) 2.065Mb
Abstract:
Modern cold-water corals (CWCs) occur in a wide range of water depths, with Desmophyllum pertusum being one of the most common species. Pleistocene, Holocene, and modern coral mound formation by living CWC reefs have previously been described in the Porcupine Seabight from water depths greater than 700 m in the vicinity of the transitional zone between the Eastern North Atlantic Water and Mediterranean Outflow Water. Here we document occurrence of fossil corals retrieved from two cores at 370 m depth in the Macnas Mounds, a relatively shallow occurrence for mounds on the Irish shelf-edge. Both cores feature D. pertusum restricted to the upper two metres, immediately overlying an erosive surface and a coeval major down-core change in grain size from sand to mud. Radiocarbon dating of coral specimens indicates the CWC mounds initiated 7.82 Cal ky BP. Our study unequivocally documents the existence of Holocene shelf-edge coral mounds in the eastern Porcupine Seabight and highlights the possibility of other occurrences of CWCs in similar settings elsewhere in the northeast Atlantic. Given that no living CWCs were encountered in the study area, we suggest that the area previously experienced more favourable conditions for CWC mound initiation and development along the shelf-edge margin, possibly due to differing conditions in the European Slope Current which flows northward along the continental slope from south of the Porcupine Bank to the Faroe-Shetland Channel.
Sponsor
Grant Number
Science Foundation Ireland (SFI)
13/RC/2092_P2
Science Foundation Ireland (SFI)
13/RC/2092
Author's Homepage:
http://people.tcd.ie/kruegerehttp://people.tcd.ie/crowleyq
Description:
PUBLISHED
Author: Krueger, Erica Terese; Crowley, Quentin
Sponsor:
Science Foundation Ireland (SFI)Science Foundation Ireland (SFI)
Type of material:
Journal ArticleCollections:
Series/Report no:
International Journal of Earth Sciences (Geologische Rundschau)Availability:
Full text availableSubject:
Research Subject Categories::NATURAL SCIENCES, Cold-water coral, Desmophyllum pertusum, Radiocarbon dating, Porcupine Seabight, Macnas MoundsSubject (TCD):
Smart & Sustainable Planet , Cold-water coral , Macnas Mounds , Marine Environment , Marine and Ocean Sciences , NORTHEAST ATLANTIC , Porcupine Seabight , Radiocarbon DatingDOI:
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-024-02402-0The following license files are associated with this item: