Has nitrogen supply to coral reefs in the south Pacific Ocean changed over the past 50 thousand years?

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dc.contributor.authorErler, DVen_AU
dc.contributor.authorShepherd, BOen_AU
dc.contributor.authorLinsley, BKen_AU
dc.contributor.authorNothdurft, LDen_AU
dc.contributor.authorHua, Qen_AU
dc.contributor.authorLough, JMen_AU
dc.date.accessioned2021-07-30T04:34:41Zen_AU
dc.date.available2021-07-30T04:34:41Zen_AU
dc.date.issued2019-03-28en_AU
dc.date.statistics2021-07-21en_AU
dc.description.abstractTropical islands can facilitate surface ocean biological productivity by enhancing the supply of nitrogen to the euphotic zone. Yet in the world's most oligotrophic oceanic region, the South Pacific Subtropical Gyre (SPSG), this “island mass effect” appears diminished. If this is the case, where did island coral reefs in the SPSG get their nitrogen from, and has this changed over time? Here we use coral skeleton isotopes (δ15N and δ18O) and element/Ca ratios to identify the sources of nitrogen to a late Pleistocene coral reef in the SPSG (Cook Islands); we then compare these results to modern corals in the same region. The supply of nitrogen to the late Pleistocene reef appears dominated by upwelling of subsurface nitrogen during cool dry events, supplemented with nitrogen from island-induced N2 fixation (27 ± 3%) during warm wet periods. For the modern corals, N2 fixation supplies nitrogen to the island reefs during cool dry periods with groundwater providing nitrogen during wet periods. We propose that the subsurface supply of nitrogen to the modern reefs has declined as a result of reduced upwelling but this supply has been replaced with increasing nitrogen discharge from groundwater and an increase in island-induced N2 fixation. ©2019 American Geophysical Unionen_AU
dc.identifier.citationErler, D. V., Shepherd, B. O., Linsley, B. K., Nothdurft, L. D., Hua, Q., & Lough, J. M. (2019). Has nitrogen supply to coral reefs in the south Pacific Ocean changed over the past 50 thousand years?. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 34(4), 567-579. doi:10.1029/2019PA003587en_AU
dc.identifier.issn2572-4525en_AU
dc.identifier.issue4en_AU
dc.identifier.journaltitlePaleoceanography and Paleoclimatologyen_AU
dc.identifier.pagination567-579en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1029/2019PA003587en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://apo.ansto.gov.au/dspace/handle/10238/11183en_AU
dc.identifier.volume34en_AU
dc.language.isoenen_AU
dc.publisherJohn Wiley & Sons, Incen_AU
dc.subjectCoral reefsen_AU
dc.subjectPacific Oceanen_AU
dc.subjectNitrogenen_AU
dc.subjectIsotopesen_AU
dc.subjectGround wateren_AU
dc.subjectPleistocene epochen_AU
dc.titleHas nitrogen supply to coral reefs in the south Pacific Ocean changed over the past 50 thousand years?en_AU
dc.typeJournal Articleen_AU
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