Temporal and spatial variability of the oxygen isotopic composition of massive corals from the South China Sea: Influence of the Asian monsoon

Coral colonies of Porites lutea and P. lobata were collected from areas to the east and south offshore of Hainan Island, South China Sea. Oxygen isotope ratios, 18O/16O, were analyzed along the major axis of growth at a resolution of 25–28 samples within an annual band from three colonies, giving data series lengths of 15, 20 and 30 years. Coral δ18O correlates well with sea surface temperature (SST) throughout most years, particularly when the Asian winter monsoon prevails over the region. Due to the same seasonal phases of SST and sea surface salinity (SSS), it is estimated that most of the seasonal features of coral δ18O are controlled by changes in SST with a significant contribution of SSS. This indicates the importance of temperature, as determined by the Asian winter monsoon, as a control on seasonal coral δ18O variations in the South China Sea. Given the fact that annual SSS maxima show minor inter-annual changes, the inter-annual change of annual coral δ18O maximum mainly reflects the SST induced by the winter monsoon. While the coral δ18O is mainly controlled by SST, deviations of the δ18O from SST correlate statistically with sea surface salinity, particularly for summer extreme events when SST reaches its annual maximum with minor inter-annual change. Therefore, we suggest that the inter-annual variation of the annual coral δ18O minima is mainly controlled by seawater composition. Seawater composition analysis indicates that its δ18O and salinity are simultaneously affected by freshwater inputs primarily from precipitation, which is mainly supplied by the Asian summer monsoon. Thus seasonal alternations of the winter and summer monsoon mainly control the coral δ18O, thereby allowing reconstruction of these monsoonal variables. The three coral records consistently reveal clear inter-decadal trends in δ18O — a gradual increase from 1968 to 1987, and a subsequent decrease from 1987 to 2003. These inter-decadal trends are roughly consistent with salinity changes — but not with temperature and precipitation, suggesting that seawater composition controlled by freshwater inputs from distant source areas, rather than from local precipitation, is responsible for the trends in seawater composition and coral δ18O over the last 30 years. Comparison of the three coral records indicates that spatial variations in coral δ18O coincide with variations in seawater salinity and local precipitation, but not with temperature. This confirms the dominant role of seawater composition, mainly controlled by monsoonal precipitation, on the spatial variability of coral δ18O in the South China Sea.