Coral radiocarbon constraints on the source of the Indonesian throughflow
- Geosciences Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California (United States)
- Department of Geological and Geophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey (United States)
- Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California (United States)
Radiocarbon variability in {ital Porites} spp. corals from Guam and the Makassar Strait (Indonesian Seaway) was used to identify the source waters contributing to the Indonesian throughflow. Time series with bimonthly resolution were constructed using accelerator mass spectrometry. The seasonal variability ranges from 15 to 60{per_thousand}, with large interannual variability. {Delta}{sup 14}C values from Indonesia and Guam have a nearly identical range. Annual mean {Delta}{sup 14}C values from Indonesia are 50 to 60{per_thousand} higher than in corals from Canton in the South Equatorial Current [{ital Druffel}, 1987]. These observations support a year-round North Pacific source for the Indonesian throughflow and imply negligible contribution by South Equatorial Current water. The large seasonality in {Delta}{sup 14}C values from both sites emphasizes the dynamic behavior of radiocarbon in the surface ocean and suggests that {Delta}{sup 14}C time series of similar resolution can help constrain seasonal and interannual changes in ocean circulation in the Pacific over the last several decades.{copyright} 1997 American Geophysical Union
- OSTI ID:
- 560685
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research Journal Issue: C6 Vol. 102; ISSN JGREA2; ISSN 0148-0227
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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