Evaluating climate indices and their geochemical proxies measured in corals

• DOI: 10.1007/s003380050245
• Publication Date: 2002-08-25T09:25:39Z
• Authors: R. G. Fairbanks; M. N. Evans; J. L. Rubenstone; R. A. Mortlock; K. Broad; M. D. Moore; C. D. Charles
• Keywords: Proxy (statistics); Ocean Acidification; Ocean chemistry

Standard ocean/climate indices such as the Nino-3 sea surface temperature (SST) index, based on sparse instrumental data, and atmospheric indices such as the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), may now be substituted and/or extended by coral-based indices. Several elements or their isotopes are incorporated in coral aragonitic skeletons at predictable concentrations, some of which are temperature or salinity dependent. The availability of century-old corals, at key oceanographic sites, permits the establishment of a network of proxy climate indices.