eprintid: 10166027
rev_number: 8
eprint_status: archive
userid: 699
dir: disk0/10/16/60/27
datestamp: 2023-03-07 15:59:47
lastmod: 2023-03-07 15:59:47
status_changed: 2023-03-07 15:59:47
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
sword_depositor: 699
creators_name: Zinke, J
creators_name: Cantin, NE
creators_name: DeLong, KL
creators_name: Palmer, K
creators_name: Boom, A
creators_name: Hajdas, I
creators_name: Duprey, N
creators_name: Martínez-García, A
creators_name: Rose, NL
creators_name: Roberts, SL
creators_name: Yang, H
creators_name: Roberts, LR
creators_name: Cundy, AB
creators_name: Gaca, P
creators_name: Milton, JA
creators_name: Frank, G
creators_name: Cox, A
creators_name: Sampson, S
creators_name: Tyrrell, G
creators_name: Agg, M
creators_name: Turner, SD
title: North Flinders Reef (Coral Sea, Australia) Porites sp. corals as a candidate Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point for the Anthropocene Series
ispublished: inpress
divisions: UCL
divisions: B03
divisions: C03
divisions: F26
divisions: F21
divisions: K56
keywords: Ba/Ca, carbon isotopes, nitrogen isotopes, oxygen isotopes, plutonium, Porites sp., radiocarbon,
Sr/Ca
note: © The Author(s) 2023.
Creative Commons License (CC BY 4.0)
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
abstract: Corals are unique in the suite of proposed Anthropocene Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) archives, as living organisms that produce aragonite exoskeletons preserved in the geological record that contain highly accurate and precise (<±1 year) internal chronologies. The GSSP candidate site North Flinders Reef in the Coral Sea (Australia) is an offshore oceanic reef, and therefore less vulnerable to local human influences than those closer to the coast. Here, we present geochemical records from two Porites sp. corals sampled at an annual to pluri-annual (i.e. 3–5 years) resolution that shows clear global and regional human impacts. Atmospheric nuclear bomb testing by-products (14C,239+240Pu) show a clear increase in the Flinders Reef corals coincident with well-dated nuclear testing operations. By contrast, the radionuclides 241Am and 137Cs are present at low or undetectable levels, as are spheroidal carbonaceous fly-ash particles. Coral δ13C shows centennial variability likely influenced by growth effects in the 18th century and with a progression to lower values starting in 1880 and accelerating post-1970. The latter may be related to the Suess Effect resulting from 13C-depleted fossil fuel burning. Coral δ15N decreased between 1710 and 1954 with a reversal post-1954. Coral temperature proxies indicate prominent centennial variability with equally warm conditions in the 18th and end of 20th century. However, the exact mechanisms responsible for the mid-20th century changes in these parameters need to be scrutinised in further detail. Plain Language summary: This work proposes a candidate natural archive for the official marker of the Anthropocene that geologists will use to mark this important interval in time. Our candidate is a live coral from North Flinders Reef in the Coral Sea (Australia), located 150 km east of the Great Barrier Reef, a location that is remote from direct local human influences. Corals are a unique archive of tropical ocean change because they incorporate the geochemical signature from seawater into their limestone skeleton during their long life-spans. Here we investigated a number of geochemical markers in yearly growth layers of the corals to define several markers for the Anthropocene based on changes in temperature, water chemistry, chemicals from pollution and fertilisers, radioactive products from nuclear bomb testing, and by-products from burning fossil fuels. We have detected clear human influences in several of these markers.
date: 2023-01-01
date_type: published
publisher: SAGE Publications
official_url: https://doi.org/10.1177/20530196221142963
oa_status: green
full_text_type: pub
language: eng
primo: open
primo_central: open_green
verified: verified_manual
elements_id: 2008222
doi: 10.1177/20530196221142963
lyricists_name: Rose, Nikolas
lyricists_name: Yang, Handong
lyricists_name: Turner, Simon
lyricists_name: Roberts, Lucy
lyricists_id: NROSE35
lyricists_id: HYANG48
lyricists_id: SDTUR68
lyricists_id: LRROB14
actors_name: Flynn, Bernadette
actors_id: BFFLY94
actors_role: owner
full_text_status: public
publication: Anthropocene Review
citation:        Zinke, J;    Cantin, NE;    DeLong, KL;    Palmer, K;    Boom, A;    Hajdas, I;    Duprey, N;                                                         ... Turner, SD; + view all <#>        Zinke, J;  Cantin, NE;  DeLong, KL;  Palmer, K;  Boom, A;  Hajdas, I;  Duprey, N;  Martínez-García, A;  Rose, NL;  Roberts, SL;  Yang, H;  Roberts, LR;  Cundy, AB;  Gaca, P;  Milton, JA;  Frank, G;  Cox, A;  Sampson, S;  Tyrrell, G;  Agg, M;  Turner, SD;   - view fewer <#>    (2023)    North Flinders Reef (Coral Sea, Australia) Porites sp. corals as a candidate Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point for the Anthropocene Series.                   Anthropocene Review        10.1177/20530196221142963 <https://doi.org/10.1177/20530196221142963>.    (In press).    Green open access   
 
document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10166027/1/20530196221142963.pdf