Collaborative Research: Development and Application of a Rayleigh-Based Approach to Coral Thermometry

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole MA

Investigators

Abstract

This award will provide funds to refine a Rayleigh-based geochemical thermometer (RBGT) for coral biomineralization based on high-precision analyses of multiple elemental ratios (e.g. Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca) and experimentally determined partition coefficients so that it can be broadly applied across coral species in a wide range of warm and cold-water environments. Three main objectives of this research include a description of element partitioning during aragonite precipitation as a function of temperature and crystal growth rate, determination of the accuracy of the RBGT by analyzing short sections of coral skeletons that have matching in-situ temperature records and application of the RBGT to construct a continuous, seasonally resolved record of Atlantic sea surface temperatures during the peak of the Little Ice Age ~1640-1670 AD. The Broader Impacts include research to improve interpretation of the geochemical archive in corals to better reconstruct past ocean temperatures for model input and future global change predictions. This project also includes a young PI who has recently started a new faculty position.