Anomalous Ba/Ca signals associated with low temperature stresses in Porites corals from Daya Bay,northern South China Sea  

作　　者：Tianran Chen Kefu Yu Shu Li Tegu Chen Qi Shi 

机构地区：[1]Key Laboratory of Marginal Sea Geology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China

出　　处：《Journal of Environmental Sciences》2011年第9期1452-1459,共8页环境科学学报（英文版）

基　　金：supported by the "Strategic Priority Research Program" of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No.XDA05080300);the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.40830852,41025007,41106054);the National Basic Research Program (973) of China (No.2007CB815905,2010CB950101);the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No.SQ201009)

摘　　要：Barium to calcium （Ba/Ca） ratio in corals has been considered as a useful geochemical proxy for upwelling,river flood and other oceanic processes.However,recent studies indicated that additional environmental or biological factors can influence the incorporation of Ba into coral skeletons.In this study,Ba/Ca ratios of two Porites corals collected from Daya Bay,northern South China Sea were analyzed.Ba/Ca signals in the two corals were ‘anomalous’ in comparison with Ba behaviors seen in other near-shore corals influenced by upwelling or riverine runoff.Our Ba/Ca profiles displayed similar and remarkable patterns characterized by low and randomly fluctuating background signals periodically interrupted by sharp and large synchronous peaks,clearly indicating an environmental forcing.Further analysis indicated that the Ba/Ca profiles were not correlated with previously claimed environmental factors such as precipitation,coastal upwelling,anthropogenic activities or phytoplankton blooms in other areas.The maxima of Ba/Ca appeared to occur in the period of Sr/Ca maxima,coinciding with the winter minimum temperatures,which suggests that the anomalous high Ba/Ca signals were related to winter-time low sea surface temperature.We speculated that the Ba/Ca peaks in corals of the Daya Bay were most likely the results of enrichment of Ba-rich particles in their skeletons when coral polyps retracted under the stresses of anomalous winter low temperatures.In this case,Ba/Ca ratio in relatively high-latitude corals can be a potential proxy for tracing the low temperature stress.Barium to calcium （Ba/Ca） ratio in corals has been considered as a useful geochemical proxy for upwelling,river flood and other oceanic processes.However,recent studies indicated that additional environmental or biological factors can influence the incorporation of Ba into coral skeletons.In this study,Ba/Ca ratios of two Porites corals collected from Daya Bay,northern South China Sea were analyzed.Ba/Ca signals in the two corals were ‘anomalous’ in comparison with Ba behaviors seen in other near-shore corals influenced by upwelling or riverine runoff.Our Ba/Ca profiles displayed similar and remarkable patterns characterized by low and randomly fluctuating background signals periodically interrupted by sharp and large synchronous peaks,clearly indicating an environmental forcing.Further analysis indicated that the Ba/Ca profiles were not correlated with previously claimed environmental factors such as precipitation,coastal upwelling,anthropogenic activities or phytoplankton blooms in other areas.The maxima of Ba/Ca appeared to occur in the period of Sr/Ca maxima,coinciding with the winter minimum temperatures,which suggests that the anomalous high Ba/Ca signals were related to winter-time low sea surface temperature.We speculated that the Ba/Ca peaks in corals of the Daya Bay were most likely the results of enrichment of Ba-rich particles in their skeletons when coral polyps retracted under the stresses of anomalous winter low temperatures.In this case,Ba/Ca ratio in relatively high-latitude corals can be a potential proxy for tracing the low temperature stress.

关 键 词：Ba/Ca barium Porites coral cold water stress northern South China Sea 

分 类 号：P532[天文地球—古生物学与地层学] TN957.51[天文地球—地质学]