Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Assessing The Paleoclimatic Utility Of The Indo-Pacific Coral Genus Diploastrea In A 225-Year Oxygen Isotope Record From Fiji, Stefan Bagnato

Geology Theses and Dissertations

In the Western Pacific there remains, both spatially and temporally, a sparse record of surface ocean conditions and very few long paleoclimate records able to extend our understanding of this important region. The coral genus Porites is the common coral currently used for Pacific paleoclimate studies and has proven to be very useful. The massive coral Diploastrea, due to its slow growth rate and dense structure, may preserve temporally longer geochemical proxy records than Porites colonies of the same length. Its long lifespan and fossil history give this genus great potential; however no assessment has been made of the paleoclimatic …