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Prebomb to Postbomb 14 C History From the West Side of Palawan Island: Insights Into Oceanographic Changes in the South China Sea
Author(s) -
Wu Yang,
Fallon Stewart J.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: oceans
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9291
pISSN - 2169-9275
DOI - 10.1029/2019jc015979
Subject(s) - oceanography , coral , east asian monsoon , lobata , porites , monsoon , geology , sea surface temperature , geography , intrusion , climatology , ocean current , medicine , alternative medicine , geochemistry , pathology , pueraria
Compared to the natural production of 14 C, thermonuclear tests have produced a globally abnormal 14 C signal. To examine and reconstruct ocean circulation in the South China Sea (SCS), we generated a prebomb to postbomb 14 C time series from a Porites lobata coral from the west side of Palawan Island, Philippines. Results show a diluted early bomb 14 C intrusion in late 1955. We use this record to extend our understanding of the surface ocean circulation in and around the SCS by tracing 14 C labeled water from nuclear test sites. Our postbomb Δ 14 C peaked at 154‰ in 1975, which lags ~10 years from the atmospheric peak, consistent with other marine records. This coral record also displayed clear seasonal Δ 14 C cycles indicating different surface waters passed the Palawan Island coral site due to seasonal variations of the East Asian Monsoon.