Cabioch Guy auteur aut IRD Montaggioni L. auteur aut IRD Thouveny N. auteur aut IRD Frank N. auteur aut IRD Sato T. auteur aut IRD Chazottes V. auteur aut IRD Dalamasso H. auteur aut IRD Payri Claude auteur aut IRD Pichon M. auteur aut IRD Sémah Anne-Marie auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf born digital access The mainland of New Caledonia ("Grande Terre") is surrounded by one of the largest continuous barrier reef system in the world. In order to study the development history and internal structure of this system, drilling operations have been carried out at two sites (Amedee and Kendec islets), located on the barrier reef tract extending from the south-west 33 to the north-west of New Caledonia. The extracted cores are 128.50 and 148.75 m in length respectively. Lithological and paleoecological descriptions, combined with Uranium/Thorium dating, magnetostratigraphy and nannofossil-based biostratigraphy allowed a reef evolutionary scheme to be drawn. As a result of the interplay between margin subsidence and sea-level changes, 11 reef units formed successively during interglacial episodes at high sea levels in both sites. Depending on the subsidence Fate of the western shelf-margin, major building in New Caledonia appears to have started during the MIS 11 (400,000 yr) from shallow-water carbonate platform deposits older than 780,000 yr. Comparing development patterns between the New Caledonian barrier reef and the Australian Great Barrier Reef clearly indicates that both global climate and regional tectonic history have been the major controls on reef initiation and growth along both sides of the Coral Sea. Climatic conditions are likely to have not been optimal before the late Quaternary, probably resulting in luxuriant reef expansion only during the last 400,000 yr. specialized Barrier reef New caledonia Quaternary reef development and climate Chronology Coral sea 064 036 268 1-2 91-105 2008 0031-0182 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010044096 10.1016/j.palaeo.2008.07.014 0031-0182 [F B010044096] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010044096 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/intranet/publi/2008/12/010044096.pdf Accès réservé (Intranet de l'IRD) IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2009-01-09 2017-08-23 fdi:010044096 fre