Jiménez-Arroyo, Ángel L.

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    Sea surface temperature reconstruction (Sr/Ca) from modern and fossil Caribbean holocene corals
    (2018-05) Jiménez-Arroyo, Ángel L.; Ramírez-Martínez, Wilson R.; College of Arts and Sciences - Sciences; Santos, Hernán; Hughes, Stephen; Rodríguez, Lizzette; Department of Geology; Arcelay, Enid
    Previous studies suggest that recent global temperature rise has been driven by both anthropogenic activity and natural variability. The study of pre-historic climate change without anthropogenic influences should place natural climate variability into context. The focus of this study is to interpret tropical Sea Surface Temperature (SST) based on measured Sr/Ca ratios, through the Holocene from ~9.0 K ± 200 - 5.6 K ± 29 ybp from five (5) fossil Orbicella complex sp. corals collected from different facies in a well-preserved reef (Cañada Honda) located on the slopes of Enriquillo Lake Valley, Dominican Republic. A Sr/Ca-Temperature calibration curve was developed using a modern Orbicella complex sp. coral from Barahona Bay, ~70 Km from the fossil Cañada Honda Reef. Temperatures derived from previous Sr/Ca data sets were re-calculated with our equation. Coral growth rates based on measurements from radiographs indicate slow growth of fossil corals (1.32 - 1.98 mm/year, n=5) relative to the modern Barahona location coral that show a growth rate of 7.34 mm/year. U-Th analyses indicate a mid-Holocene for the age corals (8,365 ± 25 - 5,690 ± 29 ybp, n=5). Original aragonite mineralogy of the coral skeleton (i.e. no neomorphism to calcite) was corroborated by XRD analyses. The resulting Sr/Ca-Temperature calibration equation is Sr/Ca = -0.0676*SST + 10.7867. The SST average values obtained were 27.8 ± 1.1 (°C) for modern coral, (18.79 ± 1.2 to 26.86 ± 2.0 °C) for fossil corals, and they provide snapshots of SST for early to mid-Holocene ages.