9510062 Cole This project will examine stable isotopes in corals collected off Venezuela to look for evidence of changes in ocean circulation and temperature which may correlate with rainfall patterns in Brazil and sub-Saharan Africa. If so, the coral record can be used to extend rainfall records to prehistoric times, in order to discern cyclic or long-term changes. The project also implicitly tests assumptions about the role of cross- equatorial heat transport in controlling tropical Atlantic climate. ***
