Thorium-Uranium dating of cold-water corals from Brittlestar and Dragon Mound, Western Mediterranean Sea

This data presents high precision Th/U ages from cold-water corals obtained from sediment cores up to 70 m long and collected by the sea floor drill rig MARUM-MeBo70 in the western Mediterranean Sea. The drill records provided new insights into the initiation of the Mediterranean coral mounds as the base of the 60-m-high Dragon mound was penetrated and dated to the Mid-Pleistocene (~390 ka). The coral ages document mound development pulses, which are remarkably coherent with precession-driven changes in African hydroclimate. The data supports studies on the relevance of past changes in continental hydroclimate and their implications on oceanic processes including the complex processes leading to the aggradation of cold-water coral mounds.