MURAL - Maynooth University Research Archive Library



    Development and physical characteristics of the Irish shelf-edge Macnas Mounds, Porcupine Seabight, NE Atlantic


    Krueger, Erica Terese and Mouchi, Vincent and Monteys, Xavier and Mc Carron, Stephen and Lim, Aaron and Crowley, Quentin G. (2024) Development and physical characteristics of the Irish shelf-edge Macnas Mounds, Porcupine Seabight, NE Atlantic. International Journal of Earth Sciences. ISSN 1437-3254

    [img] Download (2MB)
    Official URL: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID...


    Share your research

    Twitter Facebook LinkedIn GooglePlus Email more...



    Add this article to your Mendeley library


    Abstract

    Modern cold-water corals (CWCs) occur in a wide range of water depths, with Desmophyllum pertusum being one of the most common species. Pleistocene, Holocene, and modern coral mound formation by living CWC reefs have previously been described in the Porcupine Seabight from water depths greater than 700 m in the vicinity of the transitional zone between the Eastern North Atlantic Water and Mediterranean Outflow Water. Here we document occurrence of fossil corals retrieved from two cores at 370 m depth in the Macnas Mounds, a relatively shallow occurrence for mounds on the Irish shelf-edge. Both cores feature D. pertusum restricted to the upper two metres, immediately overlying an erosive surface and a coeval major down-core change in grain size from sand to mud. Radiocarbon dating of coral specimens indicates the CWC mounds initiated 7.82 Cal ky BP. Our study unequivocally documents the existence of Holocene shelf-edge coral mounds in the eastern Porcupine Seabight and highlights the possibility of other occurrences of CWCs in similar settings elsewhere in the northeast Atlantic. Given that no living CWCs were encountered in the study area, we suggest that the area previously experienced more favourable conditions for CWC mound initiation and development along the shelf-edge margin, possibly due to differing conditions in the European Slope Current which flows northward along the continental slope from south of the Porcupine Bank to the Faroe-Shetland Channel. Graphical Abstract: (Figure presented.).

    Item Type: Article
    Keywords: Cold-water coral; Desmophyllum pertusum; Radiocarbon dating; Porcupine Seabight; Macnas Mounds;
    Academic Unit: Faculty of Social Sciences > Geography
    Item ID: 18604
    Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-024-02402-0
    Depositing User: Dr. Stephen McCarron
    Date Deposited: 04 Jun 2024 08:46
    Journal or Publication Title: International Journal of Earth Sciences
    Publisher: Springer
    Refereed: Yes
    URI:
    Use Licence: This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

    Repository Staff Only(login required)

    View Item Item control page

    Downloads

    Downloads per month over past year

    Origin of downloads