Elevation, Facies and Timing of Coral Terraces in Sumba Island: a Revisit

Project Overview

The Sumba fossil reef terraces along the northern coast of the island are used as benchmarks for sea-level reconstruction. However, both their ages and the tectonic structures that uplifted them are poorly constrained. We are revisiting the coral terraces in the island, in a joint effort involving tectonics, geomorphology, carbonate sedimentology and geochronology. Such work is important for understanding plate deformation and seismic hazard in the transition zone from subduction to collision, which is disproportionally understudied compared to its tectonic cousins to the east or west.

Project Years

2014, 2015, 2016