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

近几十年来，温室气体史无前例的上升，突显了在快速变暖期间研究碳与气候之间联系的重要性。上一次冰川终止(约18-10ka)见证了大气二氧化碳和温度的快速(十年)上升，从而为在与现代相关的时间尺度上研究碳循环和全球气候之间的联系提供了一个独特的机会。海洋无疑扮演着重要的角色，但一个主要的挑战仍然是寻找合适的档案来记录深海的行为。深海珊瑚为这个问题提供了一个解决方案。与热带浅海地区发现的造礁珊瑚不同，深海珊瑚没有藻类共生体，因此它们并不局限于浅水。该项目提供了利用类星体珊瑚建立高分辨率深海气候记录的机会。Stylasterid珊瑚广泛存在于全球海洋，它们的地球化学反映了它们的生长条件--然而，它们以前从未被用于过去的研究--开辟了一个令人兴奋的新研究领域。其目的将是开发和利用深海Stylasterid珊瑚化石的骨骼，以提供对过去海洋过程的独特见解，重点是最后一次去冰川过渡。博士学位将包括开发地球化学指标和放射性测年技术，重建过去的海洋条件，并根据全球气候和环境变化进行解释。

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.