New insights into rapid climate events from Galapagos and Southern Ocean deep-sea corals

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The unprecedented rise in greenhouse gases over recent decades has emphasised the importance of examining the links between carbon and climate during intervals of rapid warming. The last glacial termination (~18-10 ka) witnessed rapid (decadal) increases in atmospheric pCO2 and temperature, thus presenting a unique opportunity to examine the links between the carbon cycle and global climate on timescales relevant to the modern day. The ocean doubtless plays an important role but a major challenge remains finding suitable archives that record how the deep sea behaves. Deep-sea corals offer a solution to this problem. Unlike reef-forming corals found in shallow tropical areas, deep-sea corals do not have algal symbionts so they are not restricted to shallow waters. This project offers the opportunity to establish high resolution deep-sea climate records from Stylasterid corals. Stylasterid corals are widespread in the global ocean, and their geochemistry reflects their growth conditions- however they have not been previously been used in studies of the past - opening up an exciting new field of research. The aim will be to develop and use the skeletons of fossil deep-sea Stylasterid corals to provide unique insights into the oceanic processes in the past with a focus on the last deglacial transition. The PhD will include development of geochemical proxies and radiometric dating techniques, reconstructions of past oceanographic conditions and interpretations in light of global climate and environmental change.