Late Quaternary sea-surface temperatures in the western Coral Sea: Implications for the growth of the Australian Great Barrier Reef

Abstract

Research Article| August 01, 2005 Late Quaternary sea-surface temperatures in the western Coral Sea: Implications for the growth of the Australian Great Barrier Reef K.T. Lawrence; K.T. Lawrence 1 Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Box 1846, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar T.D. Herbert T.D. Herbert 1 Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Box 1846, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information K.T. Lawrence 1 Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Box 1846, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA T.D. Herbert 1 Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Box 1846, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 07 Feb 2005 Revision Received: 09 Apr 2005 Accepted: 25 Apr 2005 First Online: 03 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 The Geological Society of America, Inc. Geology (2005) 33 (8): 677–680. https://doi.org/10.1130/G21595AR.1 Article history Received: 07 Feb 2005 Revision Received: 09 Apr 2005 Accepted: 25 Apr 2005 First Online: 03 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation K.T. Lawrence, T.D. Herbert; Late Quaternary sea-surface temperatures in the western Coral Sea: Implications for the growth of the Australian Great Barrier Reef. Geology 2005;; 33 (8): 677–680. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G21595AR.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Recent chronostratigraphic evidence suggests that the central Australian Great Barrier Reef formed within the past 780 k.y. Periplatform sediments of the same age recovered from the western Coral Sea record a progressive decrease in the δ18O of planktonic foraminifera to the present. Several investigators have proposed that this trend represents an appreciable late Pleistocene warming (∼4 °C) of ocean surface temperatures, which they posit catalyzed the growth of the Great Barrier Reef. Contrary to this hypothesis, we demonstrate using alkenone paleothermometry (⁠ \(U_{37}^{k{^\prime}}\) ⁠) on sediments from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 820 that sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) in the western Coral Sea changed by ∼1.5 °C or less during the past ∼800 k.y. If the central Great Barrier Reef rose in the late Quaternary, it was therefore not due to a warming of SSTs. We explore whether a major moisture balance change and/or diagenetic alteration of calcareous microfossils can explain the higher δ18O values observed at depth in the planktonic δ18O record at ODP Site 820. Our results suggest that diagenesis provides a large isotopic overprint. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.