Coral-based reconstructions of Caribbean climate and river discharge histories

The Orinoco River discharge plume results in seasonally increased levels of nutrient concentrations as shown on the satellite image. Black dot denotes location of sampling site in Tobago. (Image courtesy of Dr. Frank Muller-Karger, University of South Florida Remote Sensing Laboratory - modified from here)

Recently collected century-long coral records from Tobago are expected to yield information on climate variability and discharge history of the Orinoco River. Seasonally resolved proxy time series are expected to shed light on intraannual to decadal scale climate cycles and the relationship between tropical climate variability and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Furthermore, we anticipate achieving a reconstruction of the dynamics of the Innertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), which has a strong influence on water budget of the Orinoco. A long-term reconstruction of Orinoco sediment discharge will also allow the reconstruction of land use change (e.g. logging, agriculture). We are conducting this project in collaboration with Jennie Mallela (University of Canberra, Australia) and Jens Zinke (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands).