Anomalous Ba/Ca signals associated with low temperature stresses in Porites corals from Daya Bay, northern South China Sea.

Barium to calcium (Ba/Ca) ratio in corals has been considered as a useful geochemical proxy for upwelling, river flood and other oceanic processes. However, recent studies indicated that additional environmental or biological factors can influence the incorporation of Ba into coral skeletons. In this study, Ba/Ca ratios of two Porites corals collected from Daya Bay, northern South China Sea were analyzed.

Interannual variation of rare earth element abundances in corals from northern coast of the South China Sea and its relation with sea-level change and human activities.

Here we present interannual rare earth element (REE) records spanning the last two decades of the 20th century in two living Porites corals, collected from Longwan Bay, close to the estuarine zones off Wanquan River of Hainan Island and Hong Kong off the Pearl River Delta of Guangdong Province in the northern South China Sea. The results show that both coral REE contents (0.5-40 ng g⁻¹ in Longwan Bay and 2-250 ng g⁻¹ in Hong Kong for La-Lu) are characterized with a declining trend, which are significantly negative correlated with regional sea-level rise (9.

[Latest forty two years' sea surface temperature change of Weizhou Island and its influence on coral reef ecosystem].

Weizhou Island (109 degrees 00'-109 degrees 15'E, 21 degrees 00'-21 degrees 10'N) locates in the north coral reef distribution belt of the South China Sea. In such relatively high latitude area, sea surface temperature (SST) is an important factor affecting the development of coral reef ecosystem. Measurements of the latest 42 years' SST of Weizhou Island showed that with 3-4 years and 7-8 years fluctuating cycles, the SST almost had a synchronous increase with global warming, especially since the later 1980s.