


Saturday, January 8, 2011

Carbon isotope signatures in coral skeletons

Just carbon isotopes in ocean water represent the atmospheric carbon signature above, coral skeletons are reliable proxies for atmospheric changes. Taken from Swart, et al. (2010), coral skeletons from around the world show the same declining 13C/12C carbon ratio as the atmosphere above. Data from 1800 to 2000.

Short refresher on carbon isotopes: Burning of fossil fuels adds huge amounts 12C to the atmosphere which should yield declining 13C/12C ratios.