Pleistocene development and facies of southern Belize shelf and barrier reef

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A sedimentological and stratigraphical study of six existing cores (total of’527 m rock penetration) from the southern Belize shelf and barrier reef would greatly enhance the understanding of late Quaternary development of this major reefal margin. Using facies analysis and radiometric dating it is intended to interpret the succession in the light of Pleistocene sea-level and climate fluctuations. I expect to identify packages of Pleistocene reef limestones, which accumulated during sea-level highstands, separated by subaerial exposure surfaces and/or siliciclastic deposists that formed during sea-level lowstands. Major questions refer to the nature of the Pleistocene antecedent topography and the timing of the start of barrier reef formation. There are indications that major barrier reef systems such as Belize, Florida, or the Australian Great Barrier Reef are comparably young, late Pleistocene features, initiated only during the exceptionally long and warm MIS (marine isotope stage) 11.