Insights from barium variability in a Siderastrea siderea coral in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico

Mudith M Weerabaddana; Kristine L DeLong; Amy J Wagner; Deborah W Y Loke; K Halimeda Kilbourne; Niall Slowey; Hsun-Ming Hu; Chuan-Chou Shen

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112930

Insights from barium variability in a Siderastrea siderea coral in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico

Mar Pollut Bull. 2021 Dec;173(Pt A):112930. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112930. Epub 2021 Sep 27.

Authors

Mudith M Weerabaddana¹, Kristine L DeLong², Amy J Wagner³, Deborah W Y Loke⁴, K Halimeda Kilbourne⁵, Niall Slowey⁶, Hsun-Ming Hu⁷, Chuan-Chou Shen⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Geography and Anthropology, Louisiana State University, 227 Howe-Russell Geoscience Complex, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA; Plentzia Marine Station, University of the Basque Country, 48620 Plentzia, Bizkaia, Basque Country, Spain. Electronic address: mudithw@email.arizona.edu.
² Department of Geography and Anthropology, Louisiana State University, 227 Howe-Russell Geoscience Complex, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA; Coastal Studies Institute, Louisiana State University, 331 Howe-Russell Geoscience Complex, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA. Electronic address: kdelong@lsu.edu.
³ Department of Geology, California State University, 6000 J. Street, Sacramento, CA 95819, USA. Electronic address: amy.wagner@csus.edu.
⁴ Department of Geography and Anthropology, Louisiana State University, 227 Howe-Russell Geoscience Complex, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
⁵ Chesapeake Bay Marine Laboratory, University of Maryland, P.O. Box 775, Cambridge, MD 21613, USA. Electronic address: kilbourn@umces.edu.
⁶ Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3146, USA. Electronic address: slowey@tamu.edu.
⁷ High-precision Mass Spectrometry and Environment Change Laboratory (HISPEC) and Research Center for Future Earth, Department of Geosciences, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei 10617, Taiwan, ROC.
⁸ High-precision Mass Spectrometry and Environment Change Laboratory (HISPEC) and Research Center for Future Earth, Department of Geosciences, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei 10617, Taiwan, ROC. Electronic address: river@ntu.edu.tw.

PMID: 34592503
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112930

Abstract

Coral Ba/Ca is a proxy for seawater barium concentration that varies with upwelling, terrigenous input, and marine productivity whereas coral Sr/Ca varies with temperature. We examine monthly coral Ba/Ca and Sr/Ca before and during offshore oil exploration in a Siderastrea siderea coral from West Flower Garden Bank located on the continental shelf edge in the Gulf of Mexico. Coral Ba/Ca variations lack pulses driven by upwelling or river outflow and are not in sync with coral Sr/Ca that exhibit a different seasonal pattern. Seasonal variations in chlorophyll-a concentration negatively correlate with coral Ba/Ca explaining 25% of that variability. A significant increase in mean coral Ba/Ca of 1.76 μmol/mol between 1931-1944 and 1976-2004 corresponds to the increase in the United States barite production and consumption primarily used in offshore oil drilling, which escalated in the 1970s, suggesting oil drilling operations are increasing seawater Ba concentration in the Gulf of Mexico.

Keywords: Barite; Coral Ba/Ca; Coral Sr/Ca; Drilling mud; Flower Garden Banks; Productivity.

MeSH terms

Animals
Anthozoa*
Barium / analysis
Coral Reefs
Gulf of Mexico
Rivers
Seawater

Substances

Barium