This dataset is the U-series data for Pelorus Island as described in Roff et al (2013) Palaeoecological evidence of a historical collapse of corals at Pelorus Island, inshore Great Barrier Reef, following European settlement. Proceedings of the Royal Society Series B 10.1098/rspb.2012.2100
Methods:
We surveyed three leeward reef sites at Pelorus Island (figure 1). At each site, four belt transects (1 m width, 20 m length) were surveyed on SCUBA at 4–6 m depth. Surficial death assemblages were collected by hand on SCUBA at eight points (n = ?40 fragments per point) at random across a single 20 m transect at each site. From these collections, fragments of the dominant genus/growth form present in death assemblages were identified, and samples were selected for U-series dating haphazardly (i.e. with no bias for taphonomic state of fragments). Sample fragments were sectioned laterally, and a sub-sample (2–3 g) of skeleton was taken from the cleanest section (i.e. unaffected by internal bioerosion) in closest proximity to the growth margin. Approximately 1 g of carefully cleaned material from each sub-sample was used for thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) and multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (MC-ICPMS) U-series dating (Roff et al 2013 for more information)
Format of the data:
The dataset comprises of U-Th data obtained using thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (TIMS) and multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC ICP-MS). Data is presented in a table in a word file () with values for uranium concentration (U ppm), 232Th concentration (ppb), measured 230Th/232Th (activity ratio), 230Th/238U (activity ratio), ?234U (activity ratio), uncorrected and corrected 230Th age (in years), time of chemistry (years AD) and corrected 230Th age (years AD).
References:
Roff et al (2013) Palaeoecological evidence of a historical collapse of corals at Pelorus Island, inshore Great Barrier Reef, following European settlement. Proceedings of the Royal Society Series B 10.1098/rspb.2012.2100
Data Location:
This dataset is filed in the eAtlas enduring data repository at: data\NERP-TE\1.3_Coral-cores