Mid-Late Holocene coral calcification dynamics: Deciphering climatic and environmental effects

Over the past four decades, a marked decrease in coral calcification has occurred across the world's tropical reefs, closely linked to climate change and human-activity impacts. However, how natural and human-induced factors influence coral calcification remains unclear due to a limited understanding of the geological past. This study addresses this gap by investigating the calcification parameters of 82 Porites corals from the northern South China Sea, with growth periods covering distinct climatic epochs during the Mid-Late Holocene, including the Holocene Climate Optimum, 4.2 ka BP event, Medieval Climate Anomaly, Little Ice Age, and Current Warm Period. Our findings show a gradual increase in coral skeletal density towards the present, and varied linear extension and calcification rates between warm and cold phases and between pre- and post-industrial periods. This suggests that temperature plays a pivotal role in controlling coral calcification, with contingent ..., , , # Data from: Mid-Late Holocene coral calcification dynamics: Deciphering climatic and environmental effects

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.qbzkh18t8](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.qbzkh18t8) 

 Guangchao Deng^1, 2^, Xuefei Chen^1*^, Wenfeng Deng^1^, Huiling Kang^1^, Jian-xin Zhao^3^, Gangjian Wei^1*^

1 State Key Laboratory of Isotope Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China

2 College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

3 Radiogenic Isotope Facility, School of Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Queensland, Australia

This dataset consists of DataSet__Proceedings_B.xlsx which represent coral skeletal growth parameters extracted from nearshore reef-building corals located on the eastern coast of Hainan Island. The parameters include linear extension rate, skeletal density, and calcification rate, covering a time span from 53...,