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© 2024. This work is published under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Deep-sea corals have the potential to provide high-resolution paleotemperature records to evaluate oceanographic changes in settings that are vulnerable to current and future ocean warming. The isotopic records preserved in coral skeletal carbonate, however, are limited by their large offsets from isotopic equilibrium with seawater. These “vital effects” are the result of biological influences (kinetic and metabolic) on the calcification of coral skeletons and are well known to drive oxygen and carbon stable isotope ratios (δ18O and δ13C, respectively) away from isotopic equilibrium with environmental variables. In this study, two calcitic stylasterid corals (Errina fissurata) are sampled via cross sections through their primary growth axes to create skeletal δ18O and δ13C maps. The maps reveal a consistent trend of increasing isotopic values toward the innermost portion of the cross sections, with minimal spatial change in carbonate mineralogy, the average center values being 1 ‰ and 3 ‰ closer to seawater δ18O and δ13C equilibrium values, respectively. We investigate possible mechanisms for these isotopic trends, including potential growth patterns that would drive spatial isotopic trends. Our results highlight the diversity of the stylasterid coral family, and because of our unique sampling strategy, we can prescribe that E. fissurata corals with minimal mineralogical variability be sampled from the center portions of their stems to achieve accurate paleotemperature reconstructions.

Details

Title
Deep-sea stylasterid δ18O and δ13C maps inform sampling scheme for paleotemperature reconstructions
Author
King, Theresa M 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Rosenheim, Brad E 1 ; James, Noel P 2 

 College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA 
 Department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, K7L 3N6, Canada 
Pages
5361-5379
Publication year
2024
Publication date
2024
Publisher
Copernicus GmbH
ISSN
17264170
e-ISSN
17264189
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3133630214
Copyright
© 2024. This work is published under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.