Late Pliocene (2.9 Ma) partial recovery of shallow carbonate banks on the Queensland Plateau: signal of bank-top reentry into the photic zone during a lowering in sea level

Abstract

Shedding of shallow carbonate material toward the deep slopes and basin floors is clearly tied to the position of the carbonate bank tops relative to the photic zone. The onset of bank shedding in periplatform sediments can record either the flooding of the bank tops within the photic zone during a rise in sea level following a period of exposure, referred to in the literature as the "highstand shedding' scenario, or the reentry of the bank tops into the photic zone during a lowering of sea level following a period of drowning, referred to as the "lowstand shedding' scenario. Results from Leg 133 post-cruise research on the Pliocene sequences, drilled in six sites within different slope settings of the Queensland Plateau, seem to point out that the latter "lowstand shedding' scenario can be applied to this particular carbonate system. -from Authors