Sea-Surface Temperature from Coral Skeletal Strontium/Calcium Ratios

Beck, J. Warren; Edwards, R. Lawrence; Ito, Emi; Taylor, Frederick W.; Récy, Jacques; Rougerie, Francis; Joannot, Pascale; Hénin, Christian

doi:10.1126/science.257.5070.644

Cited by 701 publications

(489 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…S9). The Sr/Ca ratios in coral skeletons are an established proxy for SST variability 10,11,[25][26][27][28] . Here we present a monthly resolved Sr/Ca-based SST reconstruction for a time window of 22 years generated from our HS1 coral (Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, seasonally resolved records from fossil shallow-water corals were successfully used to reconstruct interannual ENSO variability in the tropical Pacific during the last glacial 9 , but represent short intervals older than 38,000 years only. A few coral records are available for intervals of the last glacial termination [10][11][12][13][14] , but are too short to document significant interannual ENSO variability. In modern observations, ENSO variability is described by monitoring tropical Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) 15 .…”

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confidence: 99%

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Pronounced interannual variability in tropical South Pacific temperatures during Heinrich Stadial 1

et al. 2012

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The early last glacial termination was characterized by intense North Atlantic cooling and weak overturning circulation. This interval between similar to 18,000 and 14,600 years ago, known as Heinrich Stadial 1, was accompanied by a disruption of global climate and has been suggested as a key factor for the termination. However, the response of interannual climate variability in the tropical Pacific (El Niño-Southern Oscillation) to Heinrich Stadial 1 is poorly understood. Here we use Sr/Ca in a fossil Tahiti coral to reconstruct tropical South Pacific sea surface temperature around 15,000 years ago at monthly resolution. Unlike today, interannual South Pacific sea surface temperature variability at typical El Niño-Southern Oscillation periods was pronounced at Tahiti. Our results indicate that the El Niño-Southern Oscillation was active during Heinrich Stadial 1, consistent with climate model simulations of enhanced El Niño-Southern Oscillation variability at that time. Furthermore, a greater El Niño-Southern Oscillation influence in the South Pacific during Heinrich Stadial 1 is suggested, resulting from a southward expansion or shift of El Niño-Southern Oscillation sea surface temperature anomalies

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Pronounced interannual variability in tropical South Pacific temperatures during Heinrich Stadial 1

et al. 2012

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“…Most of these are based on the temperature-dependent incorporation of divalent cations into coral skeletal aragonite. The use of coralline Sr/Ca ratios as a temperature proxy has received the most attention (Smith et al, 1979;Beck et al, 1992) though several other coral temperature proxies also have been proposed, most notably Mg/Ca ratios (Oomori et al, 1983;Mitsuguchi et al, 1996) and U/Ca ratios (Min et al, 1995;Shen and Dunbar, 1995). Other potential coral paleothermometers include B and F (Hart and Cohen, 1996) which occur as trace elements in seawater and coral ((1 ppm).…”

Section: Paleothermometrymentioning

confidence: 99%

New views of tropical paleoclimates from corals

Gagan

Ayliffe

Beck

et al. 2000

Quaternary Science Reviews

455

287

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Corals o!er a rich archive of past climate variability in tropical ocean regions where instrumental data are limited and where our knowledge of multi-decadal climate sensitivity is incomplete. In the eastern equatorial Paci"c, coral isotopic records track variations in ENSO-related changes in sea-surface temperature; further west, corals record variability in sea-surface temperature and rainfall that accompanies zonal displacement of the Indonesian Low during ENSO events. These multi-century records reveal previously unrecognised ENSO variability on time scales of decades to centuries. Outside the ENSO-sensitive equatorial Paci"c, long-term trends towards recent warmer/wetter conditions suggest the tropics respond to global forcings. New coral paleothermometers indicate that surface-ocean temperatures in the tropical southwestern Paci"c were depressed by 4}63C during the Younger Dryas climatic event and rose episodically during the next 4000 yr. High temporal-resolution measurements of Sr/Ca and O in corals provide information about the surface-ocean hydrologic balance and can resolve the seasonal balance between precipitation and evaporation. Radiocarbon measurements in corals, coupled with ocean circulation models, may be used to reconstruct near-surface ocean circulation, past mixing rates, and the distribution of fossil fuel CO in the upper ocean. Most recently, seasonal to interannual variations in the radiocarbon of corals from the equatorial Paci"c have been linked to the redistribution of surface waters associated with the ENSO.

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“…Coupled high precision radiocarbon and uranium series dates from surface corals constrain the history of atmospheric ⌬ 14 C beyond the tree ring calibration (Bard et al, 1993;Bard et al, 1990;Edwards et al, 1993). In addition, TIMS dates provide precise ages for coral tracer-based studies of past oceanographic conditions (Beck et al, 1997;Beck et al, 1992;Gagan et al, 1998;Guilderson et al, 1994;McCulloch et al, 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

U-Th dating of deep-sea corals

Cheng

Adkins

Edwards

et al. 2000

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta

217

162

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Abstract- 230 Th, 232 Th, 234 U and 238 U compositions of several deep-sea solitary corals, mainly the species Desmophyllum cristagalli, were determined by thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS). It is possible to obtain high precision ages on modern pristine corals that have low [ 232 Th] (5 to a few hundred ppt). However, because older deep-sea corals tend to have higher [ 232 Th] compared to surface corals, and the initial 230 Th/ 232 Th ratio is uncertain, older deep-sea corals have larger age uncertainties (Ϯseveral hundred years for samples with a few thousand ppt 232 Th). Therefore, the key hurdle for precise U-Th dating is to remove or account for contaminants which contain elevated 232 Th and associated 230 Th not due to closed system decay within the coral lattice. A modification of the trace metal cleaning methods used for foraminifera and surface corals can significantly reduce this contamination. By counting the visible growth bands and measuring the mean age of a single septum, the extension rate of D. cristagalli was estimated to be between 0.1 and 3.1 mm/year. In a mean sense, bands appear to be precipitated annually, but this estimate has a large uncertainty. If appropriate tracer calibrations can be established, these corals are therefore suitable to record decadal or sub-decadal oceanographic changes over the course of their lifetime. The ␦ 234 U values of all modern samples from different localities and different depths are similar (mean 145.5 Ϯ 2.3‰) and indistinguishable from the data obtained from surface corals. At a precision of about Ϯ2‰, we find no structure in the oceanic profile of ␦ 234 U ratios over the top 2000 m of the water column.

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Sea-Surface Temperature from Coral Skeletal Strontium/Calcium Ratios

Cited by 701 publications

References 18 publications

Pronounced interannual variability in tropical South Pacific temperatures during Heinrich Stadial 1

Pronounced interannual variability in tropical South Pacific temperatures during Heinrich Stadial 1

New views of tropical paleoclimates from corals

U-Th dating of deep-sea corals

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