Paleo Slide Set: Coral Paleoclimatology
Bird's eye view of Cariaco Basin, Venezuela (11N, 65W).

One of the most exciting new fields of science is global change. Global change refers to 
transformations in any aspect of the earth system and it is a discipline that brings together 
biologists, chemists, geologists, physicists, and social scientists. One of the most pressing 
issues in global change is the impact of human activities on the environment.

What do corals have to do with global change? A central principle of geology is called 
uniformitarianism; this doctrine states past geologic events can be explained by processes 
observable today, that, in effect, The present is the key to the past. Paleoclimatologists, 
however, believe that the converse of this statement is also true, that the past is the key 
to the present and even the future. Coral records give us important clues about how the tropical 
climate system operates, which, in turn, will make it possible for scientists to predict future 
global change. Long paleoclimatic records also supply information about the natural range of 
climatic variation and provide a baseline against which anthropogenic (man-made) climate change 
can be detected. Paleoclimatologists come here, to warm shallow waters perfect for coral growth, 
to unlock the earth's climate history.

Photo Credits:
Julie Cole
INSTAAR, University of Colorado at Boulder