[en] Two hypotheses have been proposed to explain the origin of marine isotope stage (MIS) 11 deposits in
small Bermudian caves at þ21 m above modern sea level: (1) a þ21 m MIS 11 eustatic sea-level highstand,
and (2) a MIS 11 mega-tsunami event. Importantly, the foraminifera reported in these caves have
yet to be critically evaluated within a framework of coastal cave environments. After statistically
comparing foraminifera in modern Bermudian littoral caves and the MIS 11 Calonectris Pocket A (þ21 m
cave) to the largest available database of Bermudian coastal foraminifera, the assemblages found in
modern littoral caves – and Calonectris Pocket A – cannot be statistically differentiated from lagoons.
This observation is expected considering littoral caves are simply sheltered extensions of a lagoon
environment in the littoral zone, where typical coastal processes (waves, storms) homogenize and
rework lagoonal, reefal, and occasional planktic taxa. Fossil protoconchs of the Bermudian cave stygobite
Caecum caverna were also associated with the foraminifera. These results indicate that the MIS 11
Bermudian caves are fossil littoral caves (breached flank margin caves), where the total MIS 11 microfossil
assemblage is preserving a signature of coeval sea level at þ21 m. Brackish foraminifera
(Polysaccammina, Pseudothurammina) and anchialine gastropods (w95%, >300 individuals) indicate
a brackish anchialine habitat developed in the elevated caves after the prolonged littoral environmental
phase. The onset of sea-level regression following the þ21 m highstand would first lower the ancient
brackish Ghyben-Herzberg lens (<0.5 m) and flood the cave with brackish water, followed by drainage of
the cave to create a permanent vadose environment. These interpretations of the MIS 11 microfossils
(considering both taphonomy and paleoecology) are congruent with the micropaleontological, hydrogeological
and physical mechanisms influencing modern Bermudian coastal cave environments. In
conclusion, we reject the mega-tsunami hypothesis, concur with the þ21 m MIS 11 eustatic sea-level
hypothesis, and reiterate the need to resolve the disparity between global marine isotopic records and
the physical geologic evidence for sea level during MIS 11.
Disciplines :
Earth sciences & physical geography
Author, co-author :
van hengstum, P. J.
Scott, David
Javaux, Emmanuelle ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de géologie > Paléobotanique - Paléopalynologie - Micropaléontologie (PPM)
Language :
English
Title :
Foraminifera in elevated Bermudian caves provide further evidence for +21 m eustatic sea level during Marine Isotope Stage 11
Publication date :
2009
Journal title :
Quaternary Science Reviews
ISSN :
0277-3791
eISSN :
1873-457X
Publisher :
Pergamon Press - An Imprint of Elsevier Science, Oxford, United Kingdom
Birstein J.A., and Ljovuschkin S.I. Fauna of the brackish underground waters of Central Asia. Intern. J. Speleol. 1 3 (1965) 307-320
Cushman J.A. Shallow-water foraminifera of the Tortugas region. Papers from the Department of Marine Biology of the Carnegie Institution of Washington 17 (1922) 1-85
Cushman J.A. Foraminifera from the shallow water of the New England Coast. Cushman Laboratory for Foraminiferal Research Special Publication vol. 12 (1944) 37 p
Denitto F., Terlizzi A., and Belmonte G. Settlement and primary succession in a shallow submarine cave: spatial and temporal benthic assemblage distinctness. Mar. Ecol 28 S1 (2007) 35-46
d'Orbigny A.D. Tableau méthodique de la classe des Céphalopodes. Annal. Sci. Naturel. 7 (1826) 245-314
d'Orbigny A.D. Foraminifèrs, in sagra, R., de l'histoire physique, politique et naturelle de l'île de Cuba (1839), A Betrand, Paris
Fishbein E., and Patterson R.T. Error weighted maximum likelihood (EMWL): a new statistically based method to cluster quantitative micropaleontological data. J. Paleontol 67 (1993) 475-486
Hammer Ø., Harper D.A.T., and Ryan P.D. PAST: paleontological statistics software package for education and data analysis. Palaeontol. Electron. 4 1 (2001) 9
Hawkes A.D., Bird M., Cowie S., Grundy-Warr C., Horton B.P., Hwai A.T.S., Law L., Macgregor C., Nott J., Ong J.E., Rigg J., Robinson R., Tan-Mullins M., Sa T.T., Yasin Z., and Aik L.W. Sediments deposited by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami along the Malaysia-Thailand peninsula. Mar. Geol. 242 (2007) 169-190
Hearty P.J., Kindler P., Cheng H., and Edwards R.L. Evidence for a +20 m middle Pleistocene sea-level highstand (Bermuda and Bahamas) and partial collapse of Antarctic ice. Geology 27 (1999) 375-378
Hearty P.J., and Olson S.L. Mega-highstand or mega-tsunami? Discussion of McMurtry, et al (Elevated marine deposits in Bermuda record a late Quaternary mega-tsunami: Sed. Geol. 200, 2007:155-165). Sed. Geol. 203 3-4 (2008) 307-312
Hodell D.A., Charles C.D., and Ninnemann U.S. Comparison of interglacial stages in the South Atlantic sector of the southern ocean for the past 450 kyr: implications for Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11. Global Planet. Change 24 (2000) 7-26
Horton B.P., and Edwards R.J. The application of local and regional transfer functions to the reconstruction of Holocene sea levels, north Norfolk, England. The Holocene 15 2 (2005) 216-288
Iliffe T.M., Hart Jr. C.W., and Manning R.B. Biogeography and the caves of Bermuda. Nature 302 (1983) 141-142
Javaux, E.J., 1999. Benthic foraminifera from the modern sediments of Bermuda: implications for Holocene sea-level studies. PhD thesis, Dalhousie University, Canada.
Javaux E.J., and Scott D.B. Illustration of modern benthic foraminifera from Bermuda and remarks on distributions in other subtropical/tropical areas. Paleontol. Electron. 6 4 (2003) 29
Kaufman D.S., and Brigham-Grette J. Aminostratigraphic correlations and paleotemperature implications, Pliocene-Pleistocene high sea level deposits, northwestern Alaska. Quatern. Sci. Rev. 12 (1993) 21-33
Kitamura A., Yamamoto N., Kase T., Ohashi S., Hiramoto M., Fukusawa H., Watanabe T., Irino T., Kojitani H., Shimamura M., and Kawakami I. Potential of submarine-cave sediments and oxygen isotope composition of cavernicolous micro-bivalve as a late Holocene paleoenvironmental record. Global Planet. Change 55 4 (2007) 301-316
Labourdette R., Lascu I., Mylroie J., and Roth M. Process-like modeling of flank-margin caves: from genesis to burial evolution. J. Sed. Res. 77 (2007) 965-979
Land L.S., Mackenzie F.T., and Gould S.J. The Pleistocene history of Bermuda. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 78 (1967) 993-1006
Lewis R.D., and Tichenor H.R. Recent foraminifera at the platform margin, Doolittle's Grotto and Double Caves dive sites, San Salvador Island, Bahamas. Geol. Soc. Am. Abstr. Progr. 40 4 (2008) 21
Longly G. The biota of the Edwards Aquifer and the implications for paleozoogeography. In: Abbott P.L., and Woodruff Jr. C.M. (Eds). The Balcones Escarpment: Geology, Hydrology, Ecology and Social Development in Central Texas (1986) 51-54
Lundberg J., and McFarlane D. Isotope stage 11 sea level in the Netherlands Antilles. Geol. Soc. Am. Abstr. Progr. 9 (2002) 8
Maddocks R.F., and Iliffe T.M. Podocopid ostracoda of Bermudian caves. Stygologia 2 1/2 (1986) 26-76
McMurtry G.M., Tappin D.R., Sedwick P.N., Wilkinson I., Fietzke J., and Sellwood B. Elevated marine deposits in Bermuda record a late Quaternary megatsunami. Sed. Geol. 200 (2007) 155-165
McMurtry G.M., Tappin D.R., Sedwick P.N., Wilkinson I., Fietzke J., and Sellwood B. Reply to "Mega-highstand or megatsunami? Discussion of McMurtry, et al (Elevated marine deposits in Bermuda record a late Quaternary megatsunami: Sed. Geol. 200 (2007) 155-165 by Paul J. Hearty and Stors L. Olson, Sedimentary Geology (2007) 155-165". Sed. Geol. 203 (2008) 313-319
Mikhalevich V.I. New data on the foraminifera of the groundwaters of Middle Asia. Intern. J. Speleol. 8 (1976) 167-175
Millett F.W. Report on the recent foraminifera of the Malay Archipelago collected by Mr. A. Durrand, F.R.M.S. J. Royal. Microscop. Soc. (1899)
Moolenbeek, R.G., Faber, M.J., Iliffe, T.M., 1988. Two new species of the genus Caecum (gastropoda) from marine caves on Bermuda. Studies in Honour of Dr. Pieter Wagenaar Hummelinck. 123, 209-216.
Moore Y.H., Stoessell R.K., and Easley D.H. Fresh-water/sea-water relationship within a groundwater system, northeastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. Ground Water 30 (1992) 343-350
Montagu G. Testacea Britannica, or Natural History of British Shells, Marine, Land, and Fresh-water, Including the Most Minute (1803), J.S. Hollis, Romsey, England
Mylroie J.E., and Carew J.L. The flank margin model for dissolution cave development in carbonate platforms. Earth. Surf. Proc. Landf. 15 5 (1990) 413-424
Mylroie J.E., Mylroie J.R., and Nelson C.S. Flank margin cave development in telogenetic limestones of New Zealand. Acta Carsol. 37 1 (2008) 15-40
Novosel M., Bakran-Petricioli T., Požar-Domac A., Kužić P., and Radić I. The benthos of the northern part of the Velebit Channel (Adriatic Sea, Croatia). Natur. Croat. 2 4 (2002) 387-409
Olson S.L., and Hearty P.J. A sustained +21 m sea-level highstand during MIS 11 (400 ka): direct fossil and sedimentary evidence from Bermuda. Quatern. Sci. Rev. 28 (2009) 271-285
Patterson R.T., and Fishbein E. Re-examination of the statistical methods used to determine the number of point counts needed for micropaleontological quantitative research. J. Paleontol. 63 2 (1989) 245-248
Pohlman J.W., Iliffe T.M., and Cifuentes L.A. A stable isotope study of organic cycling and the ecology of an anchialine cave ecosystem. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 155 (1997) 17-27
Proctor C.J., and Smart P.L. A dated cave sediment record of Pleistocene transgressions on Berry Head, Southwest England. J. Quat. Sci. 6 3 (1991) 233-244
Raynaud D., Barnola J.M., Souchez R., Lorrain R., Petit J.R., Duval P., and Lipenkov V.Y. The record for marine isotope stage 11. Nature 436 7047 (2005) 39-40
Rasmussen K., and Brett C. Taphonomy of Holocene cryptic biota's from St. Croix, Virgin Islands: information loss and preservational biases. Geology 13 (1985) 551-553
Reiswig H.M. Particulate organic carbon of bottom boundary and submarine cavern waters of tropical coral reefs. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 5 (1981) 129-133
Roberts D.L., Jacobs Z., Karkanas P., and Marean C.W. Onshore expression of multiple orbitally driven Late Quaternary marine incursions on the ultra-stable southern South African coast. Quatern. Int. (2007) 167-168 (3) - 486.345
Rohling E.J., Grant K., Hemleben C., Hoogakker B.A.A., Bolshaw M., and Kucera M. High rates of sea-level rise during the last interglacial period. Nat. Geosci. 1 (2008) 38-42 10.1038/ngeo.2007.28
Roe H.M., and Patterson R.T. Distribution of thecamoebians (testate amoebae) in small lakes and ponds, Barbados, West Indies. J. Foram. Res. 36 2 (2006) 116-134
Schneider J.C., and Kruse S. A comparison of controls on freshwater lens morphology of small carbonate and siliciclastic islands: examples from barrier islands in Florida, USA. J. Hydro. 284 (2003) 253-269
Scott D.B. Brackish-water foraminifera from southern California and description of Polysaccammina ipohalina n. gen., n. sp. J. Foram. Res. 6 (1976) 312-321
Scott D.B., and Medioli F.S. Vertical zonations of marsh foraminifera as accurate indicators of former sea-levels. Nature 272 5653 (1978) 528-531
Scott, D.B., Medioli, F.S., 1980a. Quantitative studies of marsh foraminiferal distributions in Nova Scotia: implications for sea level studies. Cushman Foundation for Foraminiferal Research No. 17, 57 p.
Scott D.B., and Medioli F.S. Living vs. total foraminiferal populations: their relative usefulness in paleoecology. J. Paleont. 54 (1980) 814-831
Scott D.B., Williamson M.A., and Duffet T.M. Marsh foraminifera of Prince Edward Island: their recent distribution and application for former sea level studies. Maritime Sed. Atlan. Geol. 17 (1981) 98-129
Silén L., and Harmelin. Haplopoma sciaphilum sp.n., a cave-living bryozoan from the Skagerrak and the Mediterranean. Zoolog. Script. 5 1-4 (1976) 61-66
Sket B., and Iliffe T.M. Cave fauna of Bermuda. Int. Rev. Gesam. Hydrobio. 65 (1980) 871-882
Smart P.L., Dawns J.M., and Whitaker F. Carbonate dissolution in a modern mixing zone. Nature 335 (1988) 811-813
Stock J.A., Iliffe T.M., and Williams D. The concept "anchialine" reconsidered. Stygologia 2 1/2 (1986) 90-92
Teeuw R., Rust D., Solana A., and Deweney C. Large coastal landslides and tsunami hazard in the Caribbean. EOS 90 10 (2009) 81-88
Teeter J.W. Distribution of Holocene marine Ostracoda from Belize. In: Wantland K.F., and Pusey W.C. (Eds). Carbonate Sediments, Clastic Sediments, and Ecology. AAPG Studies in Geology vol. 2 (1975) 400-499
Vacher H.L. Dupuit-Ghyben-Herzberg analysis of strip island lenses. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 100 4 (1988) 580-591
Vacher H.L., Rowe M.P., and Garrett P. The Geological Map of Bermuda (1989), The Ministry of Works and Engineering, The Bermuda Government [map]
Vacher H.L., and Rowe M.P. Geology and hydrogeology of Bermuda. In: Vacher H.L., and Quinn T. (Eds). Geology and Hydrogeology of Carbonate Islands: Developments in Sedimentology (1997), Elsevier 35-90
van Hengstum P.J., Reinhardt E.G., Beddows P.A., Huang R.J., and Gabriel J.J. Thecamoebians (testate amoebae) and foraminifera from three anchialine cenotes: low salinity faunal transitions (1.5-4.5 psu). J. Foram. Res. 38 4 (2008) 305-317
van Hengstum P.J., Reinhardt E.G., Beddows P.A., Schwarcz H.P., and Gabriel J.J. Foraminifera and testate amoebae (thecamoebians) in an anchialine cave: surface distributions from Aktun Ha (Carwash) cave system, Mexico. Limnol. Oceanogr. 54 1 (2009) 391-396
Van Morkhoven F.P.C.M. Post-palaeozoic ostracoda: their morphology, taxonomy, and economic use vol. 2 (1963), Elsevier, Amsterdam
Ward S.N., and Day S. Cumbre Vieja Volcano-potential collapse and tsunami at La Palma, Canary Islands. Geophys. Res. Lett. 28 (2001) 3397-3400
Whitaker F.F., and Smart P.L. Active circulation of saline ground waters in carbonate platforms: evidence from the Great Bahama Bank. Geology 18 (1990) 200-203
Wilkinson, I.P., 2006. Foraminifera from the putative tsunami deposits at Castle Harbour, Bermuda. British Geological Survey Internal Report, IR/06/001R, 14 p.
Williamson W.C. On Recent Foraminifera of Great Britain (1858), Ray Society, London, England