Coral growth-rate insensitive Sr/Ca as a robust temperature recorder at the extreme latitudinal limits of Porites

Abstract

Oxygen isotope values of low-growth coral (<5 mm/yr) skeletons may reflect kinetic effects, which is problematic for sea surface temperature (SST) reconstruction. Here, we report a Sr/Ca-based SST reconstruction for a temperate Porites coral collected from Kyushu, Japan, near the northern latitudinal extent of hermatypic corals. Results indicate that Sr/Ca variations in a low-growth coral remain independent from growth rate, in contrast to the oxygen isotope ratios of the same coral. © 2013, GEOCHEMICAL SOCIETY OF JAPAN. All rights reserved.