Sea-surface temperature from coral skeletal strontium/calcium ratios. Beck, J., W., Edwards, R., L., Ito, E., Taylor, F., W., Recy, J., Rougerie, F., Joannot, P., & Henin, C. Science (New York, N.Y.), 257(5070):644-7, 7, 1992.
Sea-surface temperature from coral skeletal strontium/calcium ratios. [pdf]Paper  Sea-surface temperature from coral skeletal strontium/calcium ratios. [link]Website  abstract   bibtex   
Seasonal records of tropical sea-surface temperature (SST) over the past 10(5) years can be recovered from high-precision measurements of coral strontium/calcium ratios with the use of thermal ionization mass spectrometry. The temperature dependence of these ratios was calibrated with corals collected at SST recording stations and by (18)O/(16)O thermometry. The results suggest that mean monthly SST may be determined with an apparent accuracy of better than 0.5 degrees C. Measurements on a fossil coral indicate that 10,200 years ago mean annual SSTs near Vanuatu in the southwestern Pacific Ocean were about 5 degrees C colder than today and that seasonal variations in SST were larger. These data suggest that tropical climate zones were compressed toward the equator during deglaciation.

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