Galapagos Coral Geochemistry and Growth Metrics from Four Records

Wolf Island in the Galapagos Islands provides the location for four coral records (WLF03, WLF04, WLF05, WLF10) containing trace element and growth data. The dataset includes monthly-resolution trace metal (Sr/Ca, Mg/Ca, Ba/Ca) and skeletal density data, plus annual metrics for extension and calcification rates. It was contributed by Emma V. Reed of the University of Arizona, with some data previously published in a 2018 study.

Use Cases

• Calibrating sea surface temperature proxies based on Sr/Ca ratios mentioned in the description.
• Investigating relationships between coral skeletal density and trace element incorporation described in the data.
• Analyzing intra-annual variability in coral geochemistry using the provided monthly-resolution data.
• Comparing growth metrics (calcification, extension) between different coral colonies and a subfossil core as noted in the description.

Strengths

• Includes data from four distinct coral records, with two (WLF04, WLF05) from a U/Th-dated subfossil colony.
• Provides both monthly-resolution (trace elements, density) and annual-resolution (trace elements, density, extension, calcification) data versions.
• Analytical precisions are documented in the metadata for each record, and data are corrected to an internal coral standard.

Limitations

• Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data are not averaged between overlapping transects, resulting in multiple time series rather than a single continuous record.

Provenance

Source

University of Arizona, contributed by Emma V. Reed via paperswithcode.

Collection Method

Coral cores and samples collected from Wolf Island, Galapagos, with trace element analysis and growth metric calculation.

Geography

Wolf Island, Galapagos Islands