Meeting Abstract
Coral reefs are among the most diverse and economically important ecosystems on the planet. Understanding the effects of previous climatic events on coral reefs can provide insight into the potential for future change. Reefs of the tropical eastern Pacific experienced a 2,500-year hiatus in coral growth and reef-framework construction during the mid- to late Holocene. The hiatus was correlated with increased variability of El Niño Southern Oscillation and its coupling with the Intertropical Convergence Zone. In this study, push-cores were extracted from uncemented reef frameworks at Kumejima, Ryukyu Islands, Japan and Kiritimati, Republic of Kiribati. Kiritimati is located in the equatorial Pacific, whereas Kumejima is located outside of the tropics in the western Pacific. The coral contents of the cores were identified, classified by taphonomic condition, and radiocarbon-dated to test the hypothesis that the hiatus was a trans-Pacific phenomenon.
