A reappraisal of the diversity of geomorphological and genetic processes of New Caledonian coral reefs: a synthesis from optical remote sensing, coring and acoustic multibeam observations

The diversity of oceanic and continental reef structures of New Caledonia is reviewed, taking into account their geological history and in particular, that since the last interglacial period. To guide this review, a new path is provided by following the diversity of units that have been mapped and characterized using high spatial resolution optical remote sensing data for the main New Caledonian coral reef complexes (banks, atolls, uplifted reefs, drowned reefs, fringing reefs, barrier reefs, patch reefs) and their individual reef-forming units. This interpretation, based on geomorphology, depth, and exposure has provided 161 unit types distributed across 4,537 km2 of reef area and 31,336 km2 of non-reef area. In addition to shallow reefs (0–30 m) described by optical remote sensing, the bathymetry of deep slopes between −20 to −1,000 m were recently mapped using multibeam acoustic data providing additional data to explain the morphological diversity. With the detailed three-dimensional topographic information acquired, hitherto unrecognized marine terraces and faulting became visible, indicating different episodes of formation of the barrier reef and of sea level variations. Finally, dating and coring corals provided a more accurate understanding of the genesis of the present reef structures. In contrast with the synoptic remote sensing data, cores provided only point data, but allowed the addition of a precise temporal dimension to the description of New Caledonian reefs. Cores provided a significant body of the information necessary for the establishment of models of reef settlement and development during the last interglacial ages in the New Caledonian region. The combined examination of the different sources of data, and the exhaustive description of remotely sensed reef units, allow a qualitative synoptic parallel to be drawn between the morphology of modern reefs and the contrasting patterns of reef growth, subsidence, and uplift rates occurring around New Caledonia.