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A molluscan perspective on hydrological cycle dynamics in northwestern Europe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 March 2014

E.A.A. Versteegh ,
H.B. Vonhof ,
S.R. Troelstra  and
D. Kroon
E.A.A. Versteegh*
Affiliation:
Institute of Earth Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands
H.B. Vonhof
Affiliation:
Institute of Earth Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands
S.R. Troelstra
Affiliation:
Institute of Earth Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands
D. Kroon
Affiliation:
University of Edinburgh, School of GeoSciences, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JW, United Kingdom
*
Earth System Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium. Email: emma.versteegh@vub.ac.be
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Abstract

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Shell aragonite δ180 values of unionid freshwater mussels are applied as a proxy for past river discharges in the rivers Rhine and Meuse, using a set of nine shells from selected climatic intervals during the late Holocene. A single Meuse shell derives from the Subboreal and its δ180 values are similar to modern values. The Rhine specimens represent the Subboreal, the Roman Warm Period and the Medieval Warm Period (MWP). These shells also show averages and ranges of aragonite δ180 values similar to modern specimens. This indicates that environmental conditions such as Rhine river dynamics, Alpine meltwater input and drought severity during these intervals were similar to the 20th century. These shells do not record subtle centennial to millennial climatic variation due to their relatively short lifespan and the large inter-annual and intra-seasonal variation in environmental conditions. However, they are very suitable for studying seasonal to decadal scale climate variability. The two shells with the longest lifespan appear to show decadal scale variability in reconstructed water δ180 values during the MWP, possibly forced by the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), which is the dominant mode of variability influencing precipitation regimes over Europe.

Keywords

bivalveNAOsclerochronologyUnioUnionidae
Type
Research Article
Information
Netherlands Journal of Geosciences , Volume 89 , Issue 1 , July 2010 , pp. 51 - 60
Copyright
Copyright © Stichting Netherlands Journal of Geosciences 2010

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