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The Bivalve Glycymeris pilosa as an Archive of 14C in the Mediterranean Sea
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 January 2019
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 bivalve Glycymeris pilosa and two dead-collected specimens of Glycymeris sp. According to crossdating results, growth increment time series obtained from acetate peels of the dead-collected G. pilosa (S3FP11) indicate the potential for creating longer chronologies from live and dead-collected specimens. The greatest longevity was seen in the dead-collected Glycymeris sp. specimen S3F3, estimated to be ~130 years (started growing AD 1678–1742 and died AD 1826–1860), indicating the potential to extend Glycymeris growth increment chronologies to past centuries. The highest ∆14C values obtained corresponded to the calendar year 1974. The 14C record obtained from G. pilosa correlates 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.
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- © 2019 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona
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