Phosphorus in cold-water corals as a proxy for seawater nutrient chemistry.
Phosphorus is a key macronutrient being strongly enriched in the deep ocean as a result of continuous export and remineralization of biomass from primary production. We show that phosphorus incorporated within the skeletons of the cosmopolitan cold-water coral Desmophyllum dianthus is directly proportional to the ambient seawater phosphorus concentration and thus may serve as a paleo-oceanographic proxy for variations in ocean productivity as well as changes in the residence times and sources of deep-water masses. The application of this tool to fossil specimens from the Mediterranean reveals phosphorus-enriched bottom waters at the end of the Younger Dryas period.
Montagna
Paolo
P
Istituto Centrale per la Ricerca Scientifica e Technologica Applicata al Mare (ICRAM), Via di Casalotti 300, 00166, Rome, Italy. p.montagna@icram.org
McCulloch
Malcolm
M
Taviani
Marco
M
Mazzoli
Claudio
C
Vendrell
Begoña
B
D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D002113:Calcification, Physiologic; D002118:Calcium / Q000032:analysis; D005580:Fossils; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry; D008522:Mediterranean Sea; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000032:analysis*; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*
D010758:Phosphorus; D002118:Calcium