Fossil cold-water corals (Scleractinia and Gorgonacea) from the Burdwood Reef, Argentina Republic

Federico Ignacio Isla; Salvador Lamarchina; Mauricio Zamponi

doi:10.30550/j.agl/2023.34.1/2023-03-07

Authors

Federico Ignacio Isla Instituto de Geología de Costas y del Cuaternario (UNMDP-CIC), Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costera (UNMDP-CONICET), Mar del Plata, ARGENTINA
Salvador Lamarchina Instituto de Geología de Costas y del Cuaternario (UNMDP-CIC), Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costera (UNMDP-CONICET)
Mauricio Zamponi Departamento Ciencias Marinas, FCEN, UNMDP

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30550/j.agl/2023.34.1/2023-03-07

Keywords:

Cold-water corals, Scleractinia, Gorgonacea, Burdwood Bank, Argentina

Abstract

The Burdwood Bank is a rocky platform emerging from the abyssal plain to depths of 50-100 m between the South Atlantic Ocean and the Drake Passage. Regarding its geological affinity, it has a composition similar to the Staten Island (Isla de los Estados), therefore aligned to the Andes-Darwin Cordillera. This bank is crossed from south to north by the Antarctic Bottom Water; very cold and rich in nutrients. Rocks dredged from the shallower portions at its western portion are composed of carbonatic blocks. The analyses indicate fossil specimens of Desmophyllum sp. (Order Scleractinia) and Gorgonacea palmatum (Order Gorgonacea), genera living today in the region. In this sense, sectors of this western portion should be considered as an ancient reef composed mostly of cold-water corals. The major implications are assigned to oceanographic and climatic issues. During the Upper-Pleistocene lowstand, sunlight was more available at shallower depths and therefore corals were very frequent at wave-dominated areas. Sea-level variations have therefore strong influence on cold-water coral growths in the sense that nutrient availability by currents can significantly changed between glacial and interglacial periods.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Aceñolaza, F. G., Ramos, V. A., Riccardi, A. y Paterlini, M. 2010. Determinación del límite argentino de la Plataforma Continental. Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina 66 (3): 452-455.

Allega, L., Cozzolino, E. y Reta, R. 2014. Análisis de la temperatura superficial del mar en el Banco Burdwood: imágenes Aqua- Modis del período 2003-2014. En Reta, R., Guerrero, R., Molinari, G., Fenco, H., Allega, L., Cozzolino, E., Baldoni, A. (Eds.) Oceanografía del Banco Burdwood: Estado Actual del Conocimiento y Perspectivas. Unpubl. Report, INIDEP, Mar del Plata, 7-10.

Barker, P. F., 2001. Scotia Sea regional tectonic evolution: implications for mantle flow and palaeocirculation. Earth-Science Reviews 55, 1-39.

Caminos, R. y Nullo, F. 1979. Descripción Geológica de la Hoja 67 e, Isla de los Estados. Territorio Nacional de Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur. Servicio Geológico Nacional. Boletín 5, Buenos Aires, 52 pp.

Clark Ross, J. 1847. A voyage of discovery and research in the Southern and Antarctic regions during the years 1839-43. London, J. Murray, Albermarble St., volume 2, 447 pp.

Diraisson, M., Cobbold, P.R., Gapais, D. M., Rossello, E. A. y Le Corre, C. 2000. Cenozoic crustal thickening, wrenching and rifting in the foothills of southernmost Andes. Tectonophysics 316: 91-119.

Eisele, M., Hebbeln, D. y Wienberg, C. 2008. Growth history of a cold-water coral covered carbonate mound. Galway Mound, Porcupine Seabight, NE-Atlantic. Marine Geology 253: 160-169.

Flögel. S., Dullo, W. Ch., Pfannkuche, O., Kiriakoulakis, K. y Rüggeberg, A. 2014. Geochemical and physical constraints for the occurrence of living cold-water corals. Deep-Sea Research II 99, 19-26.

Försterra, G., Häussermann, V., Laudien, J., Jantzen, C., Sellanes, J. y Muñoz, P., 2014. Mass die off of the cold-water coral Desmophyllum dianthus in the Chilean Patagonian fjord region. Bulletin of Marine Science 90(3):000–000. 2014.

Disponible en: http://dx.doi.org/10.5343/bms.2013.1064

Gordillo, S., Bujalesky, G. G., Pirazzoli, P.A., Rabassa, J. O. y Saliege, J. F. 1992. Holocene raised beaches along northern coast of the Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology 99, 41?54.

Goodell, H. G., 1964. Marine Geology of the Drake Passage, Scotia Sea and South Sandwich Trench. USNS Eltanin, Marine Geology, Cruises 1-8; 14 pp.

Guerrero, G. y Fenco, H., 2014. Campo de Corrientes en superficie a partir de OSCAR. En Reta, R., Guerrero, R., Molinari, G., Fenco, H., Allega, L., Cozzolino, E., Baldoni, A. (Eds.) Oceanografía del Banco Burdwood: Estado Actual del Conocimiento y Perspectivas. Unpubl. Report, INIDEP, Mar del Plata, 5-6.

Guilderson, T.P., Burckle, L., Hemming, S. y Peltier, W.R. 2000. Late Pleistocene sea level variations derived from the Argentine Shelf. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 1, 2000G000098.

Hovland, M., Croker, P. F. y Martin, M. 1994. Fault-associated seabed mounds (carbonate knolls?) off Western Ireland and North-west Australia. Marine and Petroleum Geology 11 (2): 232-246.

Hovland, M. y Thomsen, E. 1997. Cold-water corals: are they hydrocarbon seep related? Marine Geology 137: 159–164

López-González, P., Rodríguez, E. y Vert, N. 2003. Biogeography and ecology of Cnidaria. En: Arntz, W. and Brey, T. (Eds) Expedition ANTARKTIS XIX/5

(LAMPOS) of RV Polarstern in 2002. Ber Polarforsch Meeresforsch 462: 13-18.

Margolin, A. R., Robinson, L.F., Burke, A., Waller, R. G., Scanlon, K. M., Roberts,

M. L., Auro, M. E. y Van de Fliert, T. 2014. Temporal and spatial distributions of cold-water corals in the Drake Passage: Insights from the last 35,000 years. Deep-Sea Research II 99: 237-248.

.Øvrebø, L. K., Haughton, P. D. W. y Shannon, P. M., 2006. A record of fluctuating bottom currents on the slopes west of the Porcupine Bank, offshore Ireland. Implications for Late Quaternary climate forcing. Marine Geology 225: 279-309.

Ponce, J. F. y Rabassa, J. 2012. Geomorfología glaciar de la Isla de los Estados, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. Revista de la Sociedad Geológica de España 25 (1-2): 67-84.

Raddatz, J., Rüggeberg, A., Liebetrau, V., Foubert, A., Hathorne, E. C., Fietzke, J., Eisenhauer, A. y Dullo, W. Ch. 2014. Environmental boundary conditions of cold-water coral mound growth over the last 3 million years in the Porcupine

Seabight, Northeast Atlantic. Deep-Sea Research II 99: 227-236.

Roberts, J. M., Wheeler, A. J., Freiwald, A. y Cairns, S. D. 2009. Cold-water corals: The Biology and Geology of Deep-Sea coral habitats. Cambridge University Press, 334 pp.

Schejter, L. 2008. Informe de Campaña Antártica NPB-08-05. R/V IB “Nathaniel B. Palmer” (Estados Unidos). Fecha: 19 de abril al 25 de mayo de 2008. INIDEP, Informe de Campaña 012, 32 pp.

Schejter L, Rimondino C, Chiesa I, D? ?az de Astarloa, J. M., Doti, B., Elías, R., Escolar, M., Genzano, G. López Gappa, J., Tatián, M., Zelaya, D. G., Cristobo, J., Perez, C. D., Cordeiro, R. T. y Bremec, C. S. 2016. Namuncurá MPA: an

oceanic hot spot of benthic biodiversity at Burdwood bank, Argentina. Polar Biology DOI 10.1007/s00300-016-1913-2.

Van der Land, C., Eisele, M., Mienis, F., de Haas, H., Hebbeln, D., Reijmer, J. J. G. y van Weering, T. C. E. 2014. Carbonate mound development in contrasting settings on the Irish margin. Deep-Sea Research II 99: 297-306.

Vilas, F., Arche, A., Ferrero, M. e Isla, F. I. 1999. Subantarctic macrotidal flats, cheniers and beaches in San Sebastián Bay, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. Marine Geology 160: 301-326.

Waller, R. G., Scanlon, K. M. y Robinson, L.F. 2011. Cold-Water coral distributions in the Drake Passage Area from towed camera observations. Initial interpretations. PLoS ONE 6(1): e16153. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0016153

Waller R. G. y Robinson L. F. 2012. Southern ocean corals: Cabo de Hornos. Coral Reefs 31: 205.

Zamponi, M. O. 2008. La corriente de Malvinas: Una vía de dispersión para cnidarios bentónicos de aguas frías ? Revista Real Academia Galega de Ciencias XXVII: 183-203.