Research Project
Researchers: Professor Jianxin Zhao (Principal investigator, Principal or Chief Investigator) , Professor Jianxin Zhao (Principal investigator, Principal or Chief Investigator)
Full description This project will investigate how coral communities along the Great Barrier Reef have historically responded to acute (e.g. cyclones) and chronic (e.g. water quality) disturbances using pioneering high-precision geological dating and palaeoecological techniques, combined with high-resolution geochemical analysis of coral records. This project will determine high resolution chronological records on different time scales over the past 1-2 millennia of parameters such as: 1. Sea-level based on high-precision dating and elevation survey of well-preserved microatolls; 2. Salinity and pH value based on high-precision boron isotope analyses of selected coral cores in conjunction with back-reef sediment cores; 3. Cyclone frequency based on precise dating of transported reef blocks, cyclone ridges and lagoon sediment cores; 4. Sea-surface temperature based on geochemical proxy analyses (Sr/Ca, Mg/Ca, 18O/16O) of U-series-dated coral cores. 5. Variation in coral reef community structure and coral calcification rates.
