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CORAL DEPOSITS  

DEFINITION

  • Corals are generally members of the order Scleractinia, which have hard calcerous skeletons supporting softer tissues. For paleoclimatic studies, the important coral subgroup is the reef-building, massive corals known as hermatypic corals. Coral growth rates vary and are sensitive to sea surface temperatures (SSTs). Dating coral growth has shown high correspondance between large excursions of oxygen-18 (del18O) and El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. Coral growth studies have led to new information about paleo-SSTs, rainfall, river runoff, ocean circulation, and tropical wind systems.

BROADER CONCEPT

URI

https://gcmd.earthdata.nasa.gov/kms/concept/296b7bc4-c031-48ea-bb6d-99f7c971c953

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