Effects of differential tectonic uplift on Late Quaternary coral reef diagenesis, Huon Peninsula, Papua New Guinea

Abstract

Mineralogical, petrological and geochemical analyses of corals and associated skeletal limestones taken from three transects across the Late Quaternary raised coral reefs of the Huon Peninsula, Papua New Guinea, show that tectonic uplift can be related to the degree of subaerial diagenesis of the reefs. Where the uplift rate is high, Pleistocene corals frequently retain their aragonite mineralogy, even though the annual rainfall is relatively high. In contrast, similar age corals from low‐uplift areas are consistently altered neomorphically to calcite. The transformation of reef skeletal limestones shows a similar, but less pronounced, trend to the corals. Chemical analysis shows that the neomorphic calcite crystals of coral skeletons from the low‐uplift areas have relatively higher Sr and Mg concentrations, compared with those in high‐uplift areas. This may indicate that neomorphism of corals in the low‐uplift terraces takes place at a relatively higher rate and an earlier stage than that in the high‐upl...