Monthly sea surface temperature records reconstructed by δ~(18)O of reef-building coral in the east of Hainan Island, South China Sea

Stable oxygen isotopic compositions of a coral colony of Porites lutea obtained on acore allowed the reconstruction of a 56-a (1943-1998) proxy record of the sea surface tempera-tures. This coral δ~(18)O data are from the east of Hainan Island water (22°20＇N, 110°39＇E), SouthChina Sea. The relationship between δ~(18)O in the skeletal aragonite carbonate and the sea surfacetemperature (SST) is SST=-5.36 δ~(18)O_(PDB)-3.51 (r=0.73, n=470), dδ~(18)O/d(SST)=-0.187‰/℃; and the thermometer was set at monthly resolution. The 56-a (1943-1998) proxy record of thesea surface temperatures reflected the same change trend in the northern part of South China Seaas the air temperature change trend in China.