Published August 2000 | Version v1
Journal article

Reef coral δ18O thermometer in Hainan island waters, south China sea

  • 1. China Science and Technology Univ., Hefei (China). Dept. of Earth and Space Sciences
  • 2. Academia Sinica, Beijing (China). Research Center of Mineral Resources Exploration
  • 3. Academia Sinica, Guangzhou (China). South China Sea Inst. of Oceanography

Description

An 18-year-long (1981-1998) study was conducted in Hainan Island waters (22 degree 22'N, 110 degree 39'E) to determine the relationship between δ18O in skeletal aragonite carbonate and sea surface temperature (SST) in porites lutea of reef-building corals. δ18O values in skeletal aragonite carbonate were measured by means of mass spectrometry. Coral samples grew at 5 m depth at Longwan Bay. Monthly measurements of the SST from 1960 to 1998 were taken at Qinglan Bay adjacent to the place of the collected samples. The thermometer shows that SST = -4.16 δ18OPDB + 4.9 (r = 0.80) and dδ18O/dT = -0.24 per mil/degree C. The δ18O thermometer is strongly influenced by the rainfall and runoff. Using the thermometer, the SST in the past hundred years with monthly resolution will be reconstructed and the climatic change in the northern area of South China Sea will be hind cast

Additional details

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Nuclear Science and Techniques
Journal Volume
11
Journal Issue
3
Journal Page Range
p. 162-165
ISSN
1001-8042