Ba/Ca of stylasterid coral skeletons records dissolved seawater barium concentrations

The concentration of dissolved barium in seawater ([Ba]_SW) is influenced by both primary productivity and ocean circulation patterns. Reconstructing past subsurface [Ba]_SW can therefore provide important information on processes which regulate global climate. Previous Ba/Ca measurements of scleractinian and bamboo deep-sea coral skeletons exhibit linear relationships with [Ba]_SW, acting as archives for past Ba cycling. However, skeletal Ba/Ca ratios of the Stylasteridae – a group of widely distributed, azooxanthellate, hydrozoan coral – have not been previously studied.

Here, we present Ba/Ca ratios of modern stylasterid (aragonitic, calcitic and mixed mineralogy) and azooxanthellate scleractinian skeletons, paired with published proximal hydrographic data. We find that [Ba]_SW and sample mineralogy are the primary controls on stylasterid Ba/Ca, while seawater temperature exerts a weak secondary control. [Ba]_SW also exerts a strong control on azooxanthellate scleractinian Ba/Ca. However, Ba-incorporation into scleractinian skeletons varies between locations and across depth gradients, and we find a more sensitive relationship between scleractinian Ba/Ca and [Ba]_SW than previously reported.

Paired Sr/Ca measurements suggest that this variability in scleractinian Ba/Ca may result from the influence of varying degrees of Rayleigh fractionation during calcification. We find that these processes exert a smaller influence on Ba-incorporation into stylasterid coral skeletons, a result consistent with other aspects of their skeletal geochemistry. Stylasterid Ba/Ca ratios are therefore a powerful, novel archive of past changes in [Ba]_SW, particularly when measured in combination with temperature sensitive tracers such as Li/Mg or Sr/Ca. Indeed, with robust [Ba]_SW and temperature proxies now established, stylasterids have the potential to be an important new archive for palaeoceanographic studies.