Huon Peninsula, Papua New Guinea Fossil and Living Coral Isotope (delta 18O) Data for 130,000 years BP to Present
Description
Results of analysis of cores collected from 'fossil' massive Porites corals exposed in the raised reefs of the Huon Peninsula, Papua New Guinea (see below for age estimate), and living corals. The cores were collected vertically down the axis of maximum growth of the colony. Cores were subsampled into 1mm growth increments, resulting in an average of 12 samples/annual growth increment. These samples were analysed for d18O, then the data interpolated to seasonal resolution (presented here). In this region, seasonal and interannual variations in skeletal d18O are due to the combined effects of changes in precipitation/evaporation balance and temperature; see Tudhope et al., 1995, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 136, 575, and Tudhope et al., 2001, Science, 291, 1511-1517 for further discussion of climatic interpretation.