The BivalveGlycymeris pilosaas an Archive of¹⁴C in the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

This study combines radiocarbon (14C) analysis and sclerochronology research, an approach that to the best of our knowledge, has not yet been applied using bivalves from the Mediterranean Sea. We analyzed shells from the North Adriatic Sea: live- and dead-collected specimens of the infaunal bivalveGlycymeris pilosaand two dead-collected specimens ofGlycymerissp. According to crossdating results, growth increment time series obtained from acetate peels of the dead-collectedG. pilosa(S3FP11) indicate the potential for creating longer chronologies from live and dead-collected specimens. The greatest longevity was seen in the dead-collectedGlycymerissp. specimen S3F3, estimated to be ~130 years (started growing AD 1678–1742 and died AD 1826–1860), indicating the potential to extendGlycymerisgrowth increment chronologies to past centuries. The highest ∆14C values obtained corresponded to the calendar year 1974. The14C record obtained fromG. pilosacorrelates well with the modeled surface ocean (mixed-layer) bomb pulse curve (Reimer et al. 2009). Based on the results obtained from the shell growth increment assigned to AD 1950, the reservoir age and reservoir correction (ΔR) are 264±23 years and –6±32 years, respectively.

Unraveling the potential of cold-water carbonates as geochemical archives for paleoceanographic reconstructions

“…These vital effects can be resolved using coupled Δ47 and Δ48 measurements. Simultaneous measurements of Δ47 and Δ48 on a single phase allows to identify carbonates that did not precipitate in equilibrium with their parent solution as well as identifying the responsible kinetic fractionation processes (Bajnai et al, 2020) 1.6.10 Radioactive carbon dating ( 14 C) Radioactive carbon dating is a technique that is readily used with bivalves for dating purposes up to 50,000 years (Peharda et al, 2019;Kubota et al, 2018;Rixhon et al, 2018;Ambrose et al, 2015;Gordillo et al, 2015;Etayo-Cadavid et al, 2019). The technique is based upon the fact, that dead organism loose 14 C after their death due to radioactive decay.…”