On the relationship between coral δ13C and Caribbean climate

A coral (Orbicella faveolata) δ13C isotope ratio record off the southwest coast of Puerto Rico is used to indicate regional ocean–atmosphere conditions over the 20th century. The coral δ13C record is correlated positively with North Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) and local evaporation. Spati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International Journal of Climatology
Main Authors: Winter, Amos, Jury, Mark, Sammarco, Paul W., Zanchettin, Davide
Other Authors: Winter, Amo
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2018
Subjects:
Caribbean
climate variability and trend
coral proxy record
Atmospheric Science
Settore GEO/12 - Oceanografia e Fisica dell'Atmosfera
Pacific
North Atlantic
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10278/3704775
https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.5772
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1097-0088
Description
Summary:A coral (Orbicella faveolata) δ13C isotope ratio record off the southwest coast of Puerto Rico is used to indicate regional ocean–atmosphere conditions over the 20th century. The coral δ13C record is correlated positively with North Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) and local evaporation. Spatial correlation maps show a broad area of influence by SST, sea-level pressure and evaporation to the northeast of Puerto Rico. The composite maps reflect a strengthening of the North Atlantic anticyclone and east Pacific counter-currents during years of enhanced coral growth. The coral δ13C record presented here corresponds with a local cloud cover increase of ~10% in parallel with a 0.5 °C rise of local SST since 1900. Environmental conditions tend to lead coral growth in a knock-on effect as seen in local SST, cloud cover and evaporation data. The coral community may thus be a sentinel of both multi-year fluctuations and centennial trends in Central Caribbean climate.

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