Hawaiian coral reefs

I have always wondered about the age of Hawaiian coral reefs because after visiting Oahu i could not help but think about how long these reefs have been around. How do scientists know the age of the coral reefs in Hawaii?  What evidence do scientists have about the age of  Hawaiian coral reefs?

Hi Shani,

I would like to address the research question regarding Salton Sea. The best way to determine the age of Salton Sea is by the analysis of  scale samples of fish that could have been around a long time. Scientists know the age of  Salton Sea because of the research of the Orangemouth corvinam Cynoscion xanthulus in 1957.   I used background information from a research report "Age and Growth of Orangemouth Corvina in the Salton Sea, CA" in my answer.

Sources: http://www.tws-west.org/transactions/Anderson.pdf

I would like to address the research question how old are the pyramids based on the material used to build. The best way to determine the age of the pyramid material would be to use carbon dating function. Scientists know the age of  the material used to build the pyramids because of the following research which describes the way carbon dating is used. You Basicially all living creatures take in carbon-14 throughout its lifetime and stops taking in carbon-14 when it dies. So you would have to count the carbob-14 in a living speciment and record the rate of disintegration. I used background information from PBS.org on pyramids by MARK LEHNER, Archaeologist, Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, and Harvard Semitic Museum in my answer.

Source: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pyramid/explore/howold2.html