Reconstruction of deglacial sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific from selective analysis of a fossil coral

The Sr/Ca of coral skeletons demonstrates potential as an indicator of sea surface temperatures (SSTs). However, the glacial‐interglacial SST ranges predicted from Sr/Ca of fossil corals are usually higher than from other marine proxies. We observed infilling of secondary aragonite, characterised by...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical research letters 2005-09, Vol.32 (17), p.L17609-n/a
Main Authors: Allison, Nicola, Finch, Adrian A., Tudhope, Alexander W., Newville, Matthew, Sutton, Stephen R., Ellam, Robert M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Corals
Deglaciation
Fossils
Geochemical tracers
New Guinea
Paleoceanography
Papua New Guinea
Reconstruction
Sea surface temperature
Strontium
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Summary:The Sr/Ca of coral skeletons demonstrates potential as an indicator of sea surface temperatures (SSTs). However, the glacial‐interglacial SST ranges predicted from Sr/Ca of fossil corals are usually higher than from other marine proxies. We observed infilling of secondary aragonite, characterised by high Sr/Ca ratios, along intraskeletal pores of a fossil coral from Papua New Guinea that grew during the penultimate deglaciation (130 ± 2 ka). Selective microanalysis of unaltered areas of the fossil coral indicates that SSTs at ∼130 ka were ≤1°C cooler than at present in contrast with bulk measurements (combining infilled and unaltered areas) which indicate a difference of 6–7°C. The analysis of unaltered areas of fossil skeletons by microprobe techniques may offer a route to more accurate reconstruction of past SSTs.
ISSN:0094-8276
1944-8007
DOI:10.1029/2005GL023183