Relationship between coral growth rate and sea surface temperature in the northern part of South China Sea during the past 100 a

To research the relationship between coral growth rate and sea surface temperature ( Tss), 5 cores of living Porites lutea were collected from the Xisha Islands and the southern Hainan Island waters and measured. The results of the study show that there is an obviously positive correlation between the coral growth rates and the Tss records from the northern part of South China Sea. The annual growth rates of the five samples of Porites lutea during the past 100 a are in the range of 7-15 mm/a, and their mean value is 11 mm/a. The correlation coefficients between the coral growth rates and the Tss records from the waters during 1961-1993 are in the range of 0. 77-0.89. As a result, a thermometer of the coral growth rate is established. A hindcasting Tss in the waters from 1993 to 1961 has been obtained with an error of about 0.12-0.17℃ . Based upon the calculated result, the rising rate of Tss in the northern part of South China Sea during the past 100 a is 0. 20℃ , which is higher than that of the air