Research Article| July 01, 2001 Accelerated Pleistocene coral extinctions in the Caribbean Basin shown by uranium-lead (U-Pb) dating Stephen R. Getty; Stephen R. Getty 1Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Yemane Asmerom; Yemane Asmerom 1Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Terrence M. Quinn; Terrence M. Quinn 2College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Ann F. Budd Ann F. Budd 3Department of Geoscience, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Stephen R. Getty 1Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131, USA Yemane Asmerom 1Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131, USA Terrence M. Quinn 2College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701, USA Ann F. Budd 3Department of Geoscience, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, USA Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 25 Oct 2000 Revision Received: 21 Mar 2001 Accepted: 28 Mar 2001 First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (2001) 29 (7): 639–642. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2001)029<0639:APCEIT>2.0.CO;2 Article history Received: 25 Oct 2000 Revision Received: 21 Mar 2001 Accepted: 28 Mar 2001 First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Stephen R. Getty, Yemane Asmerom, Terrence M. Quinn, Ann F. Budd; Accelerated Pleistocene coral extinctions in the Caribbean Basin shown by uranium-lead (U-Pb) dating. Geology 2001;; 29 (7): 639–642. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2001)029<0639:APCEIT>2.0.CO;2 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 Ages of corals and shallow-marine sequences define rates of marine invertebrate evolution, tectonic uplift, and paleoclimate change, yet accurate ages are difficult to obtain prior to the late Pleistocene. We report a new approach for combining uranium-lead (U- Pb) and uranium-series dating for middle Pleistocene corals from the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. Two corals have 230Th/238U in secular equilibrium, small excesses in δ234U, and 206Pb*/238U ages of 1.02 ± 0.07 Ma and 1.288 ± 0.034 Ma. The latter coral age dates a recognized geomagnetic event to ca. 1.3 Ma, a time at which no polarity events had been identified. The new ages also show that the major coral extinction in the Caribbean Basin occurred shortly after 1.0–0.9 Ma, much more recently than previously thought. This coral extinction now coincides with the global change at 1.0–0.8 Ma to the current pattern of glacial-interglacial cycles and amplified changes in sea level. These factors may have provided a new, strong environmental mechanism for rapid habitat modification and coral extinction. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.