The relationship between the ratio of strontium to calcium and sea-surface temperature in a modern Porites astreoides coral: Implications for using P. astreoides as a paleoclimate archive

Description of impact

This US Geological Survey monograph considered how robust Porites astreoides could be as a climate archive

Who is affected

Other scientists looking to create robust climate records into prehistory

Narrative

The document discusses the relationship between the ratio of strontium to calcium and sea-surface temperature in a modern Porites astreoides coral. It investigates the potential of using these corals as a paleoclimate archive in the Caribbean and western tropical Atlantic Ocean. The study analyzes the Sr/Ca ratio in a P. astreoides colony growing offshore of the southeast coast of Florida and finds a strong inverse relationship between Sr/Ca and sea-surface temperature. The results suggest that Sr/Ca in P. astreoides has high potential for developing subannually resolved modern and recent Holocene sea-surface temperature records.

Impact status	Open
Impact date	13 Nov 2015
Category of impact	Environmental Impact
Impact level	Change adopted - end stage