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BOMB-PRODUCED RADIOCARBON ACROSS THE SOUTH PACIFIC GYRE—A NEW RECORD FROM AMERICAN SAMOA WITH UTILITY FOR FISHERIES SCIENCE

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 July 2021

Allen H Andrews Open the ORCID record for Allen H Andrews [Opens in a new window] ,
Nancy G Prouty Open the ORCID record for Nancy G Prouty [Opens in a new window]  and
Olivia M Cheriton
Allen H Andrews
Affiliation:
University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Oceanography, 1000 Pope Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
Nancy G Prouty*
Affiliation:
U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal & Marine Science Center, 2885 Mission Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA
Olivia M Cheriton
Affiliation:
U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal & Marine Science Center, 2885 Mission Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Email: nprouty@usgs.gov
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Abstract

Coral skeletal structures can provide a robust record of nuclear bomb produced 14C with valuable insight into air-sea exchange processes and water movement with applications to fisheries science. To expand these records in the South Pacific, a coral core from Tutuila Island, American Samoa was dated with density band counting covering a 59-yr period (1953–2012). Seasonal signals in elemental ratios (Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca) and stable carbon (δ13C) values across the coral core corroborated the well-defined annual band structure and highlighted an ocean climate shift from the 1997–1998 El Niño. The American Samoa coral 14C measurements were consistent with other regional records but included some notable differences across the South Pacific Gyre (SPG) at Fiji, Rarotonga, and Easter Island that can be attributed to decadal ocean climate cycles, surface residence times and proximity to the South Equatorial Current. An analysis of the post-peak 14C decline associated with each coral record indicated 14C levels are beginning to merge for the SPG. This observation, coupled with otolith measurements from American Samoa, reinforces the perspective that bomb 14C dating can be performed on fishes and other marine organisms of the region using the post-peak 14C decline to properly inform fisheries management in the South Pacific.

Keywords

chronologycoralfishradiocarbonskeletal analysis

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Type
Research Article
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Radiocarbon , Volume 63 , Issue 6 , December 2021 , pp. 1591 - 1605
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© USGS, 2021. This is a work of the US Government and is not subject to copyright protection within the United States. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Arizona Board of Regents

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