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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lauchstedt, Andreas, Pandolfi, John M, Kiessling, Wolfgang
Format: Dataset Open Access
Language:en
Published: PANGAEA 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.879342
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Table of Contents:
  • Global mean temperature is thought to have exceeded that of today during the last interglacial episode (LIG, ~125,000 yrs BP) but robust paleoclimate data are still rare in low latitudes. Occurrence data of tropical reef corals may provide new proxies of low latitude sea-surface temperatures. Using modern reef coral distributions we developed a geographically explicit model of sea surface temperatures. Applying this model to coral occurrence data of the LIG provides a latitudinal U-shaped pattern of temperature anomalies with cooler than modern temperatures around the equator and warmer subtropical climes. Our results agree with previously published estimates of LIG temperatures and suggest a poleward broadening of the habitable zone for reef corals during the LIG.