Elemental systematics of the calcitic skeleton of Corallium rubrum and implications for the Mg/Ca temperature proxy

The high-Mg calcite skeleton of Corallium rubrum was analyzed from living colonies collected from a wide range of depths (15 m to 607 m) and environmental settings in the Mediterranean Sea. An overarching goal was to better understand the calcification process and incorporation of elements into the slow-growing skeleton of both shallow and deep-water specimens, and more specifically, to clarify the veracity of geochemical proxies for...