Stable isotope compositions and trace element concentrations in freshwater bivalve shells (Uniosp.) as indicators of environmental changes at Tiszapüspöki, eastern Hungary

Abstract

Stable carbon and oxygen isotope compositions of living Unio shells and oxygen isotope compositions of water samples were determined in order to demonstrate how the shells' compositions can reflect environmental conditions. With this information in hand, fossil shell fragments from a sedimentary section at Tiszapüspöki covering the period of about 3.5 to 10 ky BP were analyzed for their stable isotope as well as trace element compositions. Beside the determination of sedimentary facies effects on the geochemical compositions, the combined evaluation of isotopic and trace element records allowed us to detect past environmental changes at a millennial scale. The data indicate that the period of 6 to 8 ky BP was characterized by humid summers that -on the basis of comparison with an Alpine speleothem record -was associated with a generally warmer climate and increased winter precipitation in the Alps.

Detection of diagenetic alteration in bones and teeth for migration and dietary studies — a combined FTIR and C-N–O-Sr isotope study on tenth century CE cemeteries in northern and northeastern Hungary

“…Secondary carbonate is precipitated as a product of alteration induced by groundwater infiltration, primarily in the warmer seasons (Újvári et al 2019). Summer temperatures range from 19 to 22 °C in the area (Demény et al 2012;Újvári et al 2019), which serve as an upper limit of soil-related carbonate formation. The lower limit is the annual average of 10-11 °C (Czuppon et al 2018;Újvári et al 2019).…”