Houtman Abrolhos Coral Isotope Data: Readme file --------------------------------------------------------------------- NOAA Paleoclimatology Program and World Data Center A - for Paleoclimatology --------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: PLEASE CITE ORIGINAL REFERENCE WHEN USING THIS DATA!!!!! NAME OF DATA SET: Houtman Abrolhos Coral Isotope Data LAST UPDATE: 7/1999 (Original Receipt by WDCA Paleo) CONTRIBUTORS: Henning Kuhnert, Juergen Paetzold, Gerold Wefer: Fachbereich Geowissenschaften, Universitaet Bremen, Bremen, Germany; Bruce Hatcher: Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada; Karl-Heinz Wyrwoll: Department of Geology and Geography, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Australia; Anton Eisenhauer: Geochemisches Institut, Universitaet Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany; Lindsay Collins, Zhong Rong Zhu: School of Applied Geology, Curtin University of Technology, Bentley, Australia IGBP PAGES/WDCA CONTRIBUTION SERIES NUMBER: 1999-037 SUGGESTED DATA CITATION: Kuhnert, H., et al, 1999, Houtman Abrolhos Coral Isotope Data, IGBP PAGES/World Data Center A-Paleoclimatology Data Contribution Series #1999-037. NOAA/NGDC Paleoclimatology Program, Boulder CO, USA. ORIGINAL REFERENCE: Kuhnert H, Pätzold J, Hatcher B, Wyrwoll K-H, Eisenhauer A, Collins LB, Zhu ZR, Wefer G (1999): A 200-year coral stable oxygen isotope record from a high-latitude reef off Western Australia. Coral Reefs, 18: 1-12 GEOGRAPHIC REGION: Subtropical eastern Indian Ocean, Houtman Abrolhos islands, west Australia PERIOD OF RECORD: 1795-1994 A.D FUNDING SOURCES: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Ma 821/11-1); Australian Research Council LIST OF FILES: readme.abrolhos.txt (this file), tab-delimited ASCII data file abrolhos.data.txt. ASCII, 7 columns, TAB-delimited, end of line: CR+LF (DOS-text) LONGITUDE: 113°46.1'E LATITUDE: 28°27.7'S WATER DEPTH: 5 m CORAL SPECIES: Porites lutea CORE LENGTH: 3 m, covering the period 1795-1994 A.D. DATE OF COLLECTION: 27-28 May 1994 DESCRIPTION: VARIABLES AND UNITS: Column #1: core depth in mm Column #2: delta C-13 vs V-PDB Column #3: delta O-18 vs V-PDB Column #4: assigned date in years A.D. Column #5: same as #4, but interpolated to bimonthly data Columns #6 and #7: same as #2 and #3, but interpolated to bimonthly values. All isotope data are reported in per mil versus the Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite standard (V-PDB). PRECISION: Internal precisions (1 SD) are 0.02 per mil for delta O-18, and 0.015 per mil for delta C-13. External precisions (1 SD) of an internal laboratory standard (Solnhofen limestone) are 0.07 per mil for delta O-18, and 0.05 per mil for delta C-13. SAMPLING RESOLUTION: The coral core was originally sampled in half-yearly resolution. For the published chronology additional samples were taken (2-3 new samples between two "old" samples). Average sampling density is 7.7 samples per year. The bimonthly data were interpolated with an Excel-macro. AGE MODEL: The following is cited from Kuhnert et al. (1999): "A first rough age assignment was based on the density banding pattern evident in x-radiographs over most portions of the coral core. Each couplet of one low- and one high-density band represents the growth of one year. The higher-resolving age model is based on the assumption, that coral d18O primarily depends on temperature. In the d18O data deriving from an annual banding couplet the highest value was assigned to the mid of September, the coldest month on average. The chronology is thus tied to one point within each year; the ages of the other sampling points were linearly interpolated according to their spatial distances along the sampling profile. In skeletal portions with unclear density banding pattern the stratigraphy is solely based on cyclic variations in coral d18O. Each cycle was assumed to represent an annual cycle, as long as it occurred over a skeletal portion extending between 10 and 20 mm. Assignments of sub-annual dates were performed as described above. Errors are estimated to be ±1 year per 100 years (due to unclear banding and d18O cycles near 1853 and 1869, respectively)." CONTACT: Henning Kuhnert, Universitaet Bremen, Fachbereich Geowissenschaften, Postfach 330440, 28334 Bremen, Germany. Phone: +49 (0)421 2187769, Fax: +49 (0)421 2183116, Email: hkuhnert@uni-bremen.de.