The Philippines, situated at the apex of the Coral Triangle, is fringed by both modern and fossil coral reefs that preserve valuable records of Quaternary relative sea-level changes and tectonic deformation. This study presents a new interpretation of the formation of the Late Pleistocene coral reef terraces at Cape Bolinao in western Luzon, offering insights into sea-level history, reef development, and tectonic uplift within the northern Coral Triangle. Integrating high-resolution morphological analysis, new geochronological data, and reef stratigraphic numerical models, we delineate nine distinct reef terraces. The lowest terrace (∼4 m above mean sea level) dates to the mid-Holocene, while reef simulations replicating present-day terrace morphology constrain the highest terrace (∼155 m amsl) to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e, indicating a long-term uplift rate of 1.17 ± 0.03 mm/yr for Cape Bolinao. We propose a morpho-chronologic framework wherein a Late Pleistocene table reef developed on a gently sloping substrate and was progressively uplifted, leading to successive fringing reef terraces. This high uplift, coupled with observed tilting and deformation patterns, provides compelling evidence that subduction of the Scarborough Seamount Chain beneath Luzon Island exerts a primary control on localized forearc deformation along the Manila Subduction Zone. This work offers a key dataset for understanding Quaternary CRT development in the northern Coral Triangle and sheds light on how subduction-related processes have shaped the region's sea-level and coral reef records.
Maxwell K.V., Rovere A., Westphal H., Garas K., Guinto M., Chauveau D., Hu H.-M. and Shen C.-C. (2025) Relative sea-level changes and reef development in the northern Coral Triangle during the late Quaternary. Geomorphology 483: 109796. 10.1016/j.geomorph.2025.109796
@article{Maxwell2025,
Title = {Relative sea-level changes and reef development in the northern Coral Triangle during the late Quaternary},
Author = {Maxwell, Kathrine Valdez and Rovere, Alessio and Westphal, Hildegard and Garas, Kevin and Guinto, Mirasol and Chauveau, Denovan and Hu, Hsun-Ming and Shen, Chuan-Chou},
Editor = {},
Journal = {Geomorphology},
Year = {2025},
Pages = {109796},
Volume = {483},
Doi = {10.1016/j.geomorph.2025.109796},
Abstract = {The Philippines, situated at the apex of the Coral Triangle, is fringed by both modern and fossil coral reefs that preserve valuable records of Quaternary relative sea-level changes and tectonic deformation. This study presents a new interpretation of the formation of the Late Pleistocene coral reef terraces at Cape Bolinao in western Luzon, offering insights into sea-level history, reef development, and tectonic uplift within the northern Coral Triangle. Integrating high-resolution morphological analysis, new geochronological data, and reef stratigraphic numerical models, we delineate nine distinct reef terraces. The lowest terrace (∼4 m above mean sea level) dates to the mid-Holocene, while reef simulations replicating present-day terrace morphology constrain the highest terrace (∼155 m amsl) to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e, indicating a long-term uplift rate of 1.17 ± 0.03 mm/yr for Cape Bolinao. We propose a morpho-chronologic framework wherein a Late Pleistocene table reef developed on a gently sloping substrate and was progressively uplifted, leading to successive fringing reef terraces. This high uplift, coupled with observed tilting and deformation patterns, provides compelling evidence that subduction of the Scarborough Seamount Chain beneath Luzon Island exerts a primary control on localized forearc deformation along the Manila Subduction Zone. This work offers a key dataset for understanding Quaternary CRT development in the northern Coral Triangle and sheds light on how subduction-related processes have shaped the region's sea-level and coral reef records.},
}
TY - JOUR
AU - Maxwell, Kathrine Valdez
AU - Rovere, Alessio
AU - Westphal, Hildegard
AU - Garas, Kevin
AU - Guinto, Mirasol
AU - Chauveau, Denovan
AU - Hu, Hsun-Ming
AU - Shen, Chuan-Chou
TI - Relative sea-level changes and reef development in the northern Coral Triangle during the late Quaternary
T2 - Geomorphology
PY - 2025
SP - 109796
VL - 483
DO - 10.1016/j.geomorph.2025.109796
AB - The Philippines, situated at the apex of the Coral Triangle, is fringed by both modern and fossil coral reefs that preserve valuable records of Quaternary relative sea-level changes and tectonic deformation. This study presents a new interpretation of the formation of the Late Pleistocene coral reef terraces at Cape Bolinao in western Luzon, offering insights into sea-level history, reef development, and tectonic uplift within the northern Coral Triangle. Integrating high-resolution morphological analysis, new geochronological data, and reef stratigraphic numerical models, we delineate nine distinct reef terraces. The lowest terrace (∼4 m above mean sea level) dates to the mid-Holocene, while reef simulations replicating present-day terrace morphology constrain the highest terrace (∼155 m amsl) to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e, indicating a long-term uplift rate of 1.17 ± 0.03 mm/yr for Cape Bolinao. We propose a morpho-chronologic framework wherein a Late Pleistocene table reef developed on a gently sloping substrate and was progressively uplifted, leading to successive fringing reef terraces. This high uplift, coupled with observed tilting and deformation patterns, provides compelling evidence that subduction of the Scarborough Seamount Chain beneath Luzon Island exerts a primary control on localized forearc deformation along the Manila Subduction Zone. This work offers a key dataset for understanding Quaternary CRT development in the northern Coral Triangle and sheds light on how subduction-related processes have shaped the region's sea-level and coral reef records.
ER -
