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Paper Published in Geophysical Research Letters

May 16, 2026

Watanabe, T. K., Ito, S., Nurhidayati, A. U., Cahyarini, S. Y., & Pfeiffer, M. (2026). Coral reefs in the Indonesian seas threatened by heat and cold stress. Geophysical Research Letters, 53, e2025GL121003. DOI: 10.1029/2025GL121003

Press Release (CAU Kiel/Kiel University)

Paper Published in Climate of the Past

January 28, 2025

Link to Article

Pfeiffer, M., Takayanagi, H., Reuning, L., Watanabe, T. K., Ito, S., Garbe-Schönberg, D., Watanabe, T., Shen, C.-C., Brummer, G.-J. A. & Cahyarini, S. Y. A sub-fossil coral Sr/Ca record documents meridional variability of the Intertropical Convergence Zone in the eastern Indian Ocean. Clim. Past. 21(1). 211–237 (2025). DOI: 10.5194/cp-21-211-2025.

Paper Published in Science of The Total Environments

December 10, 2024

Link to Article

Naciri, W., Boom, A., Watanabe, T. K., Garbe-Schönberg, D., Hathorne, E., Nagarajan, R., Browne, N., McIlwain, J. & Zinke, J. Paired coral Sr/Ca and δ18O records reveal increasing ENSO influence on Malaysian Borneo's hydroclimate. Sci. Total Environ. 955, 176943 (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.176943.

Paper Published in Scientific Reports

December 07, 2022

Link to Article

Press Release (Hokkaido Univ.)

Watanabe, T. K., Phan, T. T., Yamazaki, A., Chiang, H.-W., Shen, C.-C., Doan, L. D. & Watanabe, T. Nonstationary footprints of ENSO in the Mekong River Delta hydrology. Sci. Rep. 12, 21186 (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-20597-7.

Research Interests

Specialities:

Paleoceanography, Paleoclimatology,

Geochemistry, Sclerochronology, Ecophysiology

My research interests are the relationships between human activity and climate/ocean systems. My approach is to establish ultra-high-resolution archives using biogenic carbonates (e.g., coral and bivalves).

Please see also Publications and CV.

Materials, Methods, and Targets:

- Biogenic carbonates (coral, bivalve)

- Oxygen isotopes, Strontium-Calcium ratio (Sr/Ca), Barium-Calcium ratio (Ba/Ca), U-Th dating

- IR-MS, ICP-OES, ICP-MS, Laser-ablation

- Upwelling, Monsoon, Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), ENSO

- Climate reconstruction that affects human behaviour

- Advanced statistical analysis (spatiotemporal)

- 2D analysis using X-radiographs and a luminescence-scanned image

- 3D analysis using micro-CT images

- Observation using SEM and digital microscopes

Study sites:

- The Arabian Sea, The Red Sea, Oman

- The Indian Ocean, The Indonesian Seas, Belitung Island (Indonesia)

- The Western Atlantic Ocean, Canary Islands, Cape Verde

- The Northwestern Pacific, Amami Islands (Japan)

- Hawaii

- Mesophotic zone