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Sclerochronology is the study of periodic physical and chemical features in the hard tissues of animals that grow by accretion, including invertebrates and coralline red algae, and the temporal context in which they formed. It is particularly useful in the study of marine paleoclimatology. The term was coined in 1974 following pioneering work on nuclear test atolls by Knutson and Buddemeier and comes from the three Greek words ''skleros'' (hard), ''chronos'' (time) and ''logos'' (science), which together refer to the use of the hard parts of living organisms to order events in time. It is, therefore, a form of
The science of sclerochronology as applied to hard parts of various organism groups is now routinely used for paleoceanographic and paleoclimate reconstructions. The study includes isotopic and elemental proxies, sometimes termed sclerochemistry.
Improvements in imaging techniques have now realised the potential to decipher coral banding at daily resolution, although biological 'vital' effects may blur the climate signal at such a high resolution.Juillet-Leclerc, A., Reynaud, S., Rollion-Bard, C., Cuif, J. P., Dauphin, Y., Blamart, D., Ferrier-Pagès, C., and Allemand, D. 2009. Oxygen isotopic signature of the skeletal microstructures in cultured corals: Identification of vital effects. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 73, 5320-5332.
Coral Clocks
Subfields of paleontology Histology
stratigraphy
Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock (geology), rock layers (Stratum, strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary rock, sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks.
Stratigrap ...
. Sclerochronology focuses primarily upon growth
Growth may refer to:
Biology
* Auxology, the study of all aspects of human physical growth
* Bacterial growth
* Cell growth
* Growth hormone, a peptide hormone that stimulates growth
* Human development (biology)
* Plant growth
* Secondary growth ...
patterns reflecting annual, monthly, fortnightly, tidal, daily, and sub-daily (ultradian) increments of time.
The regular time increments are controlled by biological clocks, which, in turn, are caused by environmental and astronomical pacemakers.
Familiar examples include:
*annual bandings in reef coral skeleton
A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...
s
* annual, fortnightly, daily and ultradian growth increments in mollusk shells
* annual bandings in the ear bones of fish, called otoliths.
Sclerochronology is analogous to dendrochronology
Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atmos ...
, the study of annual rings in trees, and equally seeks to deduce organismal life history traits as well as to reconstruct records of environmental and climatic change through space and time.Use in paleoclimatic study
The science of sclerochronology as applied to hard parts of various organism groups is now routinely used for paleoceanographic and paleoclimate reconstructions. The study includes isotopic and elemental proxies, sometimes termed sclerochemistry.
Improvements in imaging techniques have now realised the potential to decipher coral banding at daily resolution, although biological 'vital' effects may blur the climate signal at such a high resolution.Juillet-Leclerc, A., Reynaud, S., Rollion-Bard, C., Cuif, J. P., Dauphin, Y., Blamart, D., Ferrier-Pagès, C., and Allemand, D. 2009. Oxygen isotopic signature of the skeletal microstructures in cultured corals: Identification of vital effects. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 73, 5320-5332.
See also
* PaleoceanographyReferences
External links
{{Wikibooks, Historical Geology, SclerochronologyCoral Clocks
Subfields of paleontology Histology