Vanuatu Fossil Coral Sea Surface Temperature Reconstruction for 4200 YrBP: readme file ----------------------------------------------------------------------- World Data Center A- Paleoclimatology ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: PLEASE CITE CONTRIBUTORS WHEN USING THIS DATA!!!!! NAME OF DATA SET: Vanuatu Fossil Coral SST Reconstruction for 4200 YrBP LAST UPDATE: 9/00 (Original Receipt by WDCA Paleo) CONTRIBUTORS: Thierry Correge, Thierry Delcroix, Jacques Recy, Warren Beck, Guy Cabioch, and Florence Le Cornec. IGBP PAGES/WDCA CONTRIBUTION SERIES NUMBER: 2000-060 SUGGESTED DATA CITATION: Correge, T., et al., 2000, Vanuatu Fossil Coral SST Reconstruction for 4200 YrBP, IGBP PAGES/World Data Center-A for Paleoclimatology Data Contribution Series # 2000-060. NOAA/NGDC Paleoclimatology Program, Boulder CO, USA. ORIGINAL REFERENCE: Correge, T., Delcroix, T., Recy, J., Beck, W., Cabioch, G., and Le Cornec, F., 2000, Evidence for stronger El Nino- Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events in a mid-Holocene massive coral. Paleoceanography, 15(4), 465-470 GEOGRAPHIC REGION: Vanuatu, western equatorial Pacific. PERIOD OF RECORD: 47-year floating series at ~4200 Years Before Present. LIST OF FILES: Readme.Vanuatu.4200BP.txt (this file), vanuatu.4200bp.sst.txt, (contains month number and Sea Surface Temperature in degrees C), vanuatu.4200bp.SrCaU.txt. FUNDING SOURCE: Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement, France DESCRIPTION: Vanuatu Fossil Coral SST Reconstruction, 4200 YrBP. Latitude: 15 40'S Longitude: 167 00'E Paleobathymetry estimated at 10-15 m. SST reconstruction is based on the analysis of Sr/Ca and U/Ca ratios in corals. For the present study, precision on the Sr/Ca paleothermometer was ±1.3 deg C, and ±0.9 deg C for the U/Ca paleothermometer. The data consist of reconstructed Sea Surface Temperatures extrapolated from analyses of trace element ratios in a fossil coral head. A date of 4166 ±15 calendar yr BP was obtained by the U/Th series technique for the coral. This date corresponds to the cold episode centered around sample #464. A fossil coral from Tasmaloum (Vanuatu) was found between 0.80 and 1.20 m depth in drill core 9A, collected at an altitude of +4.66 m above sea level. Owing to the calculated uplift rate the paleodepth of the Porites can be estimated ~10-15 m. at 4150 years B.P. The surrounding coral assemblages indicate an open shallow marine environment. Sr/Ca and U/Ca analyses were converted to SST, using the following equations: Sr/Ca (10-3 M) = 10.73 - 0.0657SST R = 0.79 U/Ca (10-6 M) = 2.106 - 0.0367SST R = 0.89 In > 98% of the samples analyzed, Sr and U reconstructed SST agree well within error. A 47-year-long composite SST curve was then constructed, and monthly SST values were extrapolated. File vanuatu.4200bp.SrCaU.txt: Raw Sr/Ca and U/Ca data. - sample #1 is the youngest, i.e. the one with an estimated age of 4128±15 BP. - there are some data missing. For U/Ca, it is due to the sample size. When it is too small, we cannot measure U accurrately, and although we got U values, they usually have a %RSD attached to them which is higher than 1%, and I don't feel they are precise enough to be used. For Sr/Ca, we experienced several problems with our machine. When the Sr data looked dubious (i.e. when we had poor stability in the in-house coral standard we analyze during each run) we re-ran the Sr and Ca analyses. In most cases, the two runs agreed within error. When there was a discrepancy between the two runs, we ran the samples a third time (when sample size permitted). Missing Sr/Ca data are those samples too small to allow for a third run. These are raw data. They were then translated into temperature data using the equations presented in the article, averaged and resampled at monthly interval using the Analyseries program.