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4518851 
Journal Article 
Phosphorus in cold-water corals as a proxy for seawater nutrient chemistry 
Montagna, P; Mcculloch, M; Taviani, M; Mazzoli, C; Vendrell, B 
2006 
1 
Science
ISSN: 0036-8075
EISSN: 1095-9203 
312 
5781 
1788-1791 
English 
16794077 
Phosphorus is a key macronutrient being strongly enriched in the deep ocean as a result of continuous export and remineralization of biomass from primary production. We show that phosphorus incorporated within the skeletons of the cosmopolitan cold-water coral Desmophyllum dianthus is directly proportional to the ambient seawater phosphorus concentration and thus may serve as a paleo-oceanographic proxy for variations in ocean productivity as well as changes in the residence times and sources of deep-water masses. The application of this tool to fossil specimens from the Mediterranean reveals phosphorus-enriched bottom waters at the end of the Younger Dryas period.