在安托尼奥里发现石笋之前,珊瑚和一种微小的海洋生物——孔虫的化石是过去年代海面高低的最佳指示器。珊瑚需要光线才能生存,因此只能在温暖的浅水域中生长,比如今天的加勒比群岛附近海域。因此,一旦发现已成化石的珊瑚,就可知道这里的海面曾经最多只有几米深。这个“曾经”究竟是多久以前呢?只需用碳14测年法检查珊瑚化石,就可以知道答案。 Before the stalactites were discovered in António, the fossils of corals and a tiny marine organism - the foraminifera - were the best indicators of the sea level of the past years. Corals need light to survive, so they grow only in warm shallow waters, such as today’s waters off the Caribbean Islands. Therefore, once the fossilized coral has been found, we can see that the sea here once was only a few meters deep. How long ago did this “ever” be? The answer is to be answered by examining coral fossils by carbon dating.