Tudhope Alexander W.

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Tudhope
First Name
Alexander W.
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  • Article
    Coral record of younger dryas chronozone warmth on the Great Barrier Reef
    (American Geophysical Union, 2020-12-11) Brenner, Logan D. ; Linsley, Braddock K. ; Webster, Jody M. ; Potts, Donald C. ; Felis, Thomas ; Gagan, Michael K. ; Inoue, Mayuri ; McGregor, Helen V. ; Suzuki, Atsushi ; Tudhope, Alexander W. ; Esat, Tezer M. ; Thomas, Alexander L. ; Thompson, William G. ; Fallon, Stewart ; Humblet, Marc ; Tiwari, Manish ; Yokoyama, Yusuke
    The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is an internationally recognized and widely studied ecosystem, yet little is known about its sea surface temperature (SST) evolution since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) (~20 kyr BP). Here, we present the first paleo‐application of Isopora coral‐derived SST calibrations to a suite of 25 previously published fossil Isopora from the central GBR spanning ~25–11 kyr BP. The resultant multicoral Sr/Ca‐ and δ18O‐derived SST anomaly (SSTA) histories are placed within the context of published relative sea level, reef sequence, and coralgal reef assemblage evolution. Our new calculations indicate SSTs were cooler on average by ~5–5.5°C at Noggin Pass (~17°S) and ~7–8°C at Hydrographer's Passage (~20°S) (Sr/Ca‐derived) during the LGM, in line with previous estimates (Felis et al., 2014, https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms5102). We focus on contextualizing the Younger Dryas Chronozone (YDC, ~12.9–11.7 kyr BP), whose Southern Hemisphere expression, in particular in Australia, is elusive and poorly constrained. Our record does not indicate cooling during the YDC with near‐modern temperatures reached during this interval on the GBR, supporting an asymmetric hemispheric presentation of this climate event. Building on a previous study (Felis et al., 2014, https://doi.org10.1038/ncomms5102), these fossil Isopora SSTA data from the GBR provide new insights into the deglacial reef response, with near‐modern warming during the YDC, since the LGM.
  • Article
    Interlaboratory study for coral Sr/Ca and other element/Ca ratio measurements
    (John Wiley & Sons, 2013-09-23) Hathorne, Ed C. ; Gagnon, Alexander C. ; Felis, Thomas ; Adkins, Jess F. ; Asami, Ryuji ; Boer, Wim ; Caillon, Nicolas ; Case, David H. ; Cobb, Kim M. ; Douville, Eric ; deMenocal, Peter B. ; Eisenhauer, Anton ; Garbe-Schonberg, Dieter ; Geibert, Walter ; Goldstein, Steven L. ; Hughen, Konrad A. ; Inoue, Mayuri ; Kawahata, Hodaka ; Kolling, Martin ; Cornec, Florence L. ; Linsley, Braddock K. ; McGregor, Helen V. ; Montagna, Paolo ; Nurhati, Intan S. ; Quinn, Terrence M. ; Raddatz, Jacek ; Rebaubier, Helene ; Robinson, Laura F. ; Sadekov, Aleksey ; Sherrell, Robert M. ; Sinclair, Dan ; Tudhope, Alexander W. ; Wei, Gangjian ; Wong, Henri ; Wu, Henry C. ; You, Chen-Feng
    The Sr/Ca ratio of coral aragonite is used to reconstruct past sea surface temperature (SST). Twenty-one laboratories took part in an interlaboratory study of coral Sr/Ca measurements. Results show interlaboratory bias can be significant, and in the extreme case could result in a range in SST estimates of 7°C. However, most of the data fall within a narrower range and the Porites coral reference material JCp-1 is now characterized well enough to have a certified Sr/Ca value of 8.838 mmol/mol with an expanded uncertainty of 0.089 mmol/mol following International Association of Geoanalysts (IAG) guidelines. This uncertainty, at the 95% confidence level, equates to 1.5°C for SST estimates using Porites, so is approaching fitness for purpose. The comparable median within laboratory error is <0.5°C. This difference in uncertainties illustrates the interlaboratory bias component that should be reduced through the use of reference materials like the JCp-1. There are many potential sources contributing to biases in comparative methods but traces of Sr in Ca standards and uncertainties in reference solution composition can account for half of the combined uncertainty. Consensus values that fulfil the requirements to be certified values were also obtained for Mg/Ca in JCp-1 and for Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca ratios in the JCt-1 giant clam reference material. Reference values with variable fitness for purpose have also been obtained for Li/Ca, B/Ca, Ba/Ca, and U/Ca in both reference materials. In future, studies reporting coral element/Ca data should also report the average value obtained for a reference material such as the JCp-1.
  • Article
    Intensification of the meridional temperature gradient in the Great Barrier Reef following the Last Glacial Maximum
    (Nature Publishing Group, 2014-06-17) Felis, Thomas ; McGregor, Helen V. ; Linsley, Braddock K. ; Tudhope, Alexander W. ; Gagan, Michael K. ; Suzuki, Atsushi ; Inoue, Mayuri ; Thomas, Alexander L. ; Esat, Tezer M. ; Thompson, William G. ; Tiwari, Manish ; Potts, Donald C. ; Mudelsee, Manfred ; Yokoyama, Yusuke ; Webster, Jody M.
    Tropical south-western Pacific temperatures are of vital importance to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), but the role of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the growth of the GBR since the Last Glacial Maximum remains largely unknown. Here we present records of Sr/Ca and δ18O for Last Glacial Maximum and deglacial corals that show a considerably steeper meridional SST gradient than the present day in the central GBR. We find a 1–2 °C larger temperature decrease between 17° and 20°S about 20,000 to 13,000 years ago. The result is best explained by the northward expansion of cooler subtropical waters due to a weakening of the South Pacific gyre and East Australian Current. Our findings indicate that the GBR experienced substantial meridional temperature change during the last deglaciation, and serve to explain anomalous deglacial drying of northeastern Australia. Overall, the GBR developed through significant SST change and may be more resilient than previously thought.