Principal investigator: Dr Ron Uken (University of KwaZulu-Natal)
Title: Sampling and analysis of coral core from the Sodwana coral reef system to determine decadal variations in sea surface temperature, geochemistry and climate.
Project summary: The aim of the project is to develop an understanding of the coral growth record in the Sodwana Bay area and provide a detailed record of decadal oceanographic variability and the link to atmospheric climate records. The Sodwana corals are at the southern-most limit of the Western Indian Ocean coral reef system and thus are considered sensitive to environmental variations and global climate change. This study linked to other published coral studies from further north will provide important information on past fluctuations in the Agulhas Current and the Western Indian Ocean region as a whole.
Students: Maria Ovichkina (Post Doc): Calcareous nannoplankton and foraminiferans of eastern South African Cainozoic deposits as a tool for reconstructing the palaeoenvironmental evolution of the region.
