Stable isotope analysis of Porites coral core EILAT-1

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Hauptverfasser: Felis, Thomas, Loya, Y, Wefer, Gerold
Format: Dataset Open Access
Sprache:en
Veröffentlicht: PANGAEA 1998
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author Felis, Thomas
Loya, Y
Wefer, Gerold
author_facet Felis, Thomas
Loya, Y
Wefer, Gerold
collection Datos científicos de ciencias marinas y ambientales
contents The environmental interpretation of the 13C/12C variations in the skeletons of massive corals is still a matter of debate. A 19-year seasonal skeletal 13C/12C record of a shallow-water Pontes coral from the northern Red Sea (Gulf of Aqaba) documents interannual events of extraordinarily large plankton blooms, indicated by anomalous 13C depletions in the coral skeleton. These blooms are caused by deep vertical water mass mixing, convectively driven in colder winters, which results in increased supplies of nutrients to the surface waters. The deep vertical mixings can sometimes be driven by the cooling occurring throughout the Middle East after large tropical volcanic eruptions. We therefore have evidence in our coral skeletal 13C/12C record for an indirect volcanic signal of the eruptions of El Chichón (1982) and Mount Pinatubo (1991). Deep mixing induced 13C/12C variations of the dissolved inorganic carbon in the surface waters can be neglected at this location. We therefore suggest that the 13C skeletal depletions can be best explained by changes in the coral's autotrophy-heterotrophy diet, through increased heterotrophic feeding on Zooplankton during the blooms. Increased feeding on 13C-depleted Zooplankton or increased heterotrophy at the expense of autotrophy can both result in a 13C-depleted coral skeleton. However, this suggestion requires more testing. If our conclusions are substantiated, seasonal skeletal 13C/12C records of corals which change from autotrophy under normal conditions to increased heterotrophy during bloom events may be used as indicators of ocean paleoproductivity at interannual resolution, available from no other source.
format Dataset Open Access
id pangaea_https___doi_org_10_1594_PANGAEA_65774
institution PANGAEA
language en
publishDate 1998
publisher PANGAEA
record_format pangaea
spellingShingle Stable isotope analysis of Porites coral core EILAT-1
Felis, Thomas
Loya, Y
Wefer, Gerold
Age; AGE; Calculated; DifferentSites; DISTANCE; Drill, hydraulic; DRILLHY; EILAT-1; GeoB; Geosciences, University of Bremen; Mass spectrometer Finnigan MAT 251; Northern Gulf of Aqaba (Eilat/Israel, Red Sea); Porites sp., δ13C; Porites sp., δ18O
The environmental interpretation of the 13C/12C variations in the skeletons of massive corals is still a matter of debate. A 19-year seasonal skeletal 13C/12C record of a shallow-water Pontes coral from the northern Red Sea (Gulf of Aqaba) documents interannual events of extraordinarily large plankton blooms, indicated by anomalous 13C depletions in the coral skeleton. These blooms are caused by deep vertical water mass mixing, convectively driven in colder winters, which results in increased supplies of nutrients to the surface waters. The deep vertical mixings can sometimes be driven by the cooling occurring throughout the Middle East after large tropical volcanic eruptions. We therefore have evidence in our coral skeletal 13C/12C record for an indirect volcanic signal of the eruptions of El Chichón (1982) and Mount Pinatubo (1991). Deep mixing induced 13C/12C variations of the dissolved inorganic carbon in the surface waters can be neglected at this location. We therefore suggest that the 13C skeletal depletions can be best explained by changes in the coral's autotrophy-heterotrophy diet, through increased heterotrophic feeding on Zooplankton during the blooms. Increased feeding on 13C-depleted Zooplankton or increased heterotrophy at the expense of autotrophy can both result in a 13C-depleted coral skeleton. However, this suggestion requires more testing. If our conclusions are substantiated, seasonal skeletal 13C/12C records of corals which change from autotrophy under normal conditions to increased heterotrophy during bloom events may be used as indicators of ocean paleoproductivity at interannual resolution, available from no other source.
title Stable isotope analysis of Porites coral core EILAT-1
topic Age; AGE; Calculated; DifferentSites; DISTANCE; Drill, hydraulic; DRILLHY; EILAT-1; GeoB; Geosciences, University of Bremen; Mass spectrometer Finnigan MAT 251; Northern Gulf of Aqaba (Eilat/Israel, Red Sea); Porites sp., δ13C; Porites sp., δ18O
url https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.65774