Abstract
Geochemical proxies in the skeletons of corals used for the purpose of reconstructing environmental records have typically been obtained from relatively fast-growing corals (usually >8 mm yr-1) and from only a few key genera (most commonly Porites and Montastraea). In many areas, however, there are no suitable fast-growing corals available for such reconstructions. Here, we investigate the potential of Siderastrea radians, a slow-growing Atlantic and Caribbean zooxanthellate coral, as an archive of sea surface temperature (SST) and salinity over the period from 1891 to 2002. Sampling the skeleton of three corals from the Cape Verde Islands, we were able to reproduce a clear seasonal signal, but with limited correlation to monthly SST, arising from inadequate chronologic constraint of the individual samples. The SST-δ18O calibration slopes for different sampling scales on several cores can range from about-9°C%-1 to +2°C% -1 (compared to other published values of around-5 to-4°C% -1). Careful treatment produced a δ18O-SST calibration equation where SST(°C) = 12.56(±1.20)-3.86(±0.39) *(δc-(δw). The recognition of the limitations of calibration at such small growth rates due to skeletal complexity and suspicion of environmental interferences suggests the need for careful consideration in the interpretation of climate proxy results from S. radians and other slow-growing corals.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | Q09007 |
| Journal | Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 2006 |
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Keywords
- Cape verde islands
- Coral
- Isotopes
- Paleoclimate
- Sampling strategy
- Siderastrea
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Geochemistry and Petrology
- Geophysics
Cite this
Calibration of stable oxygen isotopes in Siderastrea radians (Cnidaria : Scleractinia): Implications for slow-growing corals. / Moses, Christopher S.; Swart, Peter K; Dodge, Richard E.
In: Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, Vol. 7, No. 9, Q09007, 09.2006.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Calibration of stable oxygen isotopes in Siderastrea radians (Cnidaria
T2 - Scleractinia): Implications for slow-growing corals
AU - Moses, Christopher S.
AU - Swart, Peter K
AU - Dodge, Richard E.
PY - 2006/9
Y1 - 2006/9
N2 - Geochemical proxies in the skeletons of corals used for the purpose of reconstructing environmental records have typically been obtained from relatively fast-growing corals (usually >8 mm yr-1) and from only a few key genera (most commonly Porites and Montastraea). In many areas, however, there are no suitable fast-growing corals available for such reconstructions. Here, we investigate the potential of Siderastrea radians, a slow-growing Atlantic and Caribbean zooxanthellate coral, as an archive of sea surface temperature (SST) and salinity over the period from 1891 to 2002. Sampling the skeleton of three corals from the Cape Verde Islands, we were able to reproduce a clear seasonal signal, but with limited correlation to monthly SST, arising from inadequate chronologic constraint of the individual samples. The SST-δ18O calibration slopes for different sampling scales on several cores can range from about-9°C%-1 to +2°C% -1 (compared to other published values of around-5 to-4°C% -1). Careful treatment produced a δ18O-SST calibration equation where SST(°C) = 12.56(±1.20)-3.86(±0.39) *(δc-(δw). The recognition of the limitations of calibration at such small growth rates due to skeletal complexity and suspicion of environmental interferences suggests the need for careful consideration in the interpretation of climate proxy results from S. radians and other slow-growing corals.
AB - Geochemical proxies in the skeletons of corals used for the purpose of reconstructing environmental records have typically been obtained from relatively fast-growing corals (usually >8 mm yr-1) and from only a few key genera (most commonly Porites and Montastraea). In many areas, however, there are no suitable fast-growing corals available for such reconstructions. Here, we investigate the potential of Siderastrea radians, a slow-growing Atlantic and Caribbean zooxanthellate coral, as an archive of sea surface temperature (SST) and salinity over the period from 1891 to 2002. Sampling the skeleton of three corals from the Cape Verde Islands, we were able to reproduce a clear seasonal signal, but with limited correlation to monthly SST, arising from inadequate chronologic constraint of the individual samples. The SST-δ18O calibration slopes for different sampling scales on several cores can range from about-9°C%-1 to +2°C% -1 (compared to other published values of around-5 to-4°C% -1). Careful treatment produced a δ18O-SST calibration equation where SST(°C) = 12.56(±1.20)-3.86(±0.39) *(δc-(δw). The recognition of the limitations of calibration at such small growth rates due to skeletal complexity and suspicion of environmental interferences suggests the need for careful consideration in the interpretation of climate proxy results from S. radians and other slow-growing corals.
KW - Cape verde islands
KW - Coral
KW - Isotopes
KW - Paleoclimate
KW - Sampling strategy
KW - Siderastrea
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34249106943&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=34249106943&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1029/2005GC001196
DO - 10.1029/2005GC001196
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:34249106943
VL - 7
JO - Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems
JF - Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems
SN - 1525-2027
IS - 9
M1 - Q09007
ER -