Summary: | Deep-sea corals are a promising new archive of paleoclimate. Coupled radiocarbon and U-series dates allow (super 14) C to be used as a tracer of ocean circulation rate in the same manner as it is used in the modern ocean. Diagnetic alteration of coral skeletons on the seafloor requires a thorough cleaning of contaminating phases of carbon. In addition, 10% of the coral must be chemically leached prior to dissolution to remove adsorbed modern CO (sub 2) . A survey of modern samples from the full Delta (super 14) C gradient in the deep ocean demonstrates that the coralline CaCO (sub 3) records the radiocarbon value of the dissolved inorganic carbon.
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