Experimental setup
A transect across a sample of tropical coral Acropora polystoma , cultured in artificial seawater in a closed coral mesocosm at the Coral Reef Laboratory, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton18 is also included in the package as an example of an ablation line and is identified hereon as “coral-6”. As polished coral sections can be irregular in shape, thickness and porosity, it is possible for the laser to ablate fully through at a thinner location or traverse a boundary between the sample and its mounting resin. In this example, the ablation line passes over a thinner section of coral and consequently the laser fully ablates through before the end of the analysis time.