Geomorphological development of coral reefs, southern Great Barrier Reef: an integrated record of Holocene palaeoecology and palaeoclimate from cores (2012-2018)

The Great Barrier Reef (GBR), one of Australia's most significant ecological, economic and cultural assets, is threatened by anthropogenic environmental changes yet we know very little about how reef communities or whole reefs responded to the most recent environmental changes over the last ~8000 yrs. This project will recover shallow cores from the southern GBR to construct a composite record of ecological and geomorphological responses to changing sea-level and environment (climate, water quality) as recorded in the geochemistry of the skeletons of reef builders such as corals. This project will aid prediction of future reef behaviour while informing current climate models.