Growth records in Porites coral cores from the Arabian Gulf, Saudi Arabia

As part of the long term environmental assessment of the 1991 Gulf War, the Australian Institute of Marine Science was requested to conduct growth studies and chemistry studies on coral cores collected offshore from Saudi Arabia.Short coral cores were collected from 28 Porites coral colonies at four reef sites (Jurayd, Jana, Karan and Gosp-4) in the Arabian Gulf in January-February 2003. The coral cores were mounted, sliced and X-rayed to reveal annual density banding patterns. Annual density bands were dated from the time of collection using X-ray positive prints and skeletal density measured by gamma densitometry. Densitometry of the core slices also provided annual coral growth characteristics: average skeletal density, extension and calcification rates.
The specific questions addressed by this study were:1. What are average growth characteristics at the four sites and are there significant differences between sites?2. How do growth characteristics for Porites in the Arabian Gulf compare with typical values for these species?3. Have coral growth characteristics in the Arabian Gulf changed over time?4. Are Porites corals in the Arabian Gulf extending and calcifying at rates expected from average water temperatures of the region?
Annual bands in fifteen of the coral cores were dated with high confidence and considered suitable for subsequent chemical analysis for hydrocarbons and related biomarkers. Chemical analyses are described in the metadata record "Trace analysis of hydrocarbons in Porites coral cores from the Arabian Gulf, Saudi Arabia".