Accurate reconstruction of SSTs from coral skeletal Sr/Ca: understanding Sr and Ca transport across coral tissues

珊瑚骨骼的化学记录了珊瑚生存时的气候信息，即骨骼的锶/钙受海水温度的影响。对珊瑚化石骨架的分析为重建过去的海洋温度，从而预测过去的气候提供了一个极好的机会。然而，骨骼锶/钙也受到生物过程的影响，不同生长速率的珊瑚沉积不同的骨骼锶/钙，相当于重建海水温度的误差高达~3℃。在这项研究中，我们将找出快生长和慢生长珊瑚之间锶/钙差异的原因。我们设计了一个研究计划，研究锶和钙是如何通过珊瑚组织运输到钙化部位的。我们将培养珊瑚，并使用生化抑制剂关闭各种离子传输机制，以确定骨骼化学是如何受到影响的。我们将确定快速和缓慢生长的珊瑚之间的每种机制是如何变化的，并将开发一种方法来纠正珊瑚之间离子传输过程的差异，从而能够根据骨骼的锶/钙准确地重建SST。

The chemistry of coral skeletons records climatic information at the time the coral lived i.e. skeletal Sr/Ca is affected by seawater temperature. The analysis of fossil coral skeletons offers an excellent opportunity to reconstruct past ocean temperatures and therefore to predict past climates. However skeletal Sr/Ca is also affected by biological processes and corals of different growth rates deposit different skeletal Sr/Ca equating to errors in reconstructed seawater temperature of up to ~3 degrees C. In this research we will identify the cause of the Sr/Ca variations between fast and slow growing corals. We have devised a research programme to study how Sr and Ca are transported across the coral tissue to the calcification site. We will culture corals and use biochemical inhibitors to switch off various ion transport mechanisms to determine how skeletal chemistry is affected. We will identify how each mechanism varies between fast and slow growing corals and will develop a methodology to correct for variations in ion transport processes between corals, allowing the accurate reconstruction of SSTs from skeletal Sr/Ca.