Abstract ATM-9409779 Dunbar, Robert B. William Marsh Rice University Title: Recent Climate Variability in the Western Indian Ocean and East Africa: Exploring the Potential of Isotopic Records in Kenyan Corals This SGER award supports the collection and geochemical analysis of coral cores from the reefs of Kenya. In this region, monsoon winds drive seasonal reversals in surface ocean currents. The associated movement, breakup, and reformation of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) imposes two rainy seasons each year. Interannual to decadal changes in the ocean-atmosphere of this region (e.g. winds, rainfall, surface currents and temperature, thermocline depth) relate closely to large-scale climate systems, notably the Indian monsoon and the El Nino/Southern Oscillation. Coral geochemical records have the potential to document such variability over the past several centuries with near-monthly resolution. This project will explore the feasibility of developing such long-term records.
