Open AccessSr/Ca and δ 18 O in a fast‐growing Diploria strigosa coral: Evaluation of a new climate archive for the tropical Atlantic
Author(s) -
Hetzinger Steffen,
Pfeiffer Miriam,
Dullo WolfChristian,
Ruprecht Eberhard,
GarbeSchönberg Dieter
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
geochemistry, geophysics, geosystems
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.928
H-Index - 136
ISSN - 1525-2027
DOI - 10.1029/2006gc001347
Subject(s) - coral , tropical atlantic , oceanography , sea surface temperature , climatology , geology , anomaly (physics) , north atlantic oscillation , environmental science , physics , condensed matter physics
This study provides the first monthly resolved, 41‐year record of geochemical variations ( δ 18 O and Sr/Ca) in a fast‐growing Diploria strigosa brain coral from Guadeloupe, Caribbean Sea. Linear regression yields a significant correlation of coral Sr/Ca ( δ 18 O) with instrumental sea surface temperature (SST) on both monthly and mean annual scales (e.g., r = −0.59 for correlation between Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA) SST and Sr/Ca, and r = −0.66 for δ 18 O; mean annual scale, p < 0.0001). The generated coral Sr/Ca ( δ 18 O)‐SST calibration equations are consistent with each other and with published equations using other coral species from different regions. Moreover, a high correlation of coral Sr/Ca and δ 18 O with local air temperature on a mean annual scale (r = −0.78 for Sr/Ca; r = −0.73 for δ 18 O; p < 0.0001) demonstrates the applicability of geochemical proxies measured from Diploria strigosa corals as reliable recorders for interannual temperature variability. Both coral proxies are highly correlated with annual and seasonal mean time series of major SST indices in the northern tropical Atlantic (e.g., r = −0.71 for correlation between the index of North Tropical Atlantic SST anomaly and Sr/Ca, and r = −0.70 for δ 18 O; mean annual scale, p < 0.001). Furthermore, the coral proxies capture the impact of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation on the northern tropical Atlantic during boreal spring. Thus fast‐growing Diploria strigosa corals are a promising new archive for the Atlantic Ocean.