Norwegian corals: radiocarbon and stable isotopes in Lophelia pertusa

Abstract

The ahermatypic coral Lophelia pertusa which produces aragonitic skeletons is widely distributed along the Norwegian coast. Specimens from a number of localities have been analyzed for oxygen and stable carbon isotope composition and 14 C age. Stable isotope ratios of recent corals provide information on growth rate and seasonality of oceanographic conditions. Lophelia can be useful in paleoenvironmental reconstructions. 14 C dates of fossil Lophelia from Drøak in the Oslofjord, collected from 20 m ahove and 40 m below present day sea‐level, indicate regional extinction between 8700 and 7800 years ago. We suggest that the extinction resulted from the cut‐off of deep waters by a rising sill in connection with the postglacial shoreline displacement. Radiocarbon dating of coral bushes suggests a fairly rapid growth rate as older and younger parts of recent corals do not reveal any difference in activity despite the short time scale of the history of bomb‐produced 14 C in the oceans.