Lagoonal reef accretion and holocene sea-level history from three atolls in the Cook Islands, Central South Pacific

Radiocarbon ages of corals from cores collected at nine drill sites in the lagoons of three atolls (Pukapuka, Rakahanga, Aitutaki, Cook Islands) provide a history of lagoon sedimentation in response to Holocene sea-level rise and stabilization. Holocene lagoonal reefs were established between 8700 and 7800 years B.P. on 130,000-200,000 year-old reef platforms that are presently 7 to 22 m below the floor of the lagoons. Comparison of radiocarbon ages of the deepest corals to published sea-level curves indicate that Holocene reefs colonized these substrates rapidly (