Precise Temporal Correlation of Holocene Mollusk Shells Using Sclerochronology
نویسندگان
چکیده
Annual growth bands of mollusk shells record several types of paleoenvironmental information, including geochemical proxies for water properties and morphological characteristics of growth and mortality. Sclerochronology, the marine counterpart of dendrochronology, offers a way to link individual shells together to form long continuous records of such parameters. It also allows for precise dating of recent shells and identification of contemporaneous fossil individuals. The longevity of the ocean quahog Arctica slandica (commonly >100 yr) makes this species well suited for clerochronology. Band width records of contemporaneous A. isandica specimens from the same region exhibit high correlations r 5 0.60–0.80 for spans of >30 bands), indicating some common nvironmental influences on shell growth. By adopting several trict criteria, fossil (dead-collected) shells can be linked into omposite sclerochronologies. A seven-shell 154-yr chronology as constructed for Georges Bank using three live-collected and our dead-collected shells. Band width matching indicates that the ead-collected individuals died in A.D. 1950, 1971, 1978, and 989. Sclerochronological age assignments were verified using spartic acid racemization dating. Construction of a 1000-yr clerochronology is judged to be feasible using the described ethods. © 2000 University of Washington.
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