The bivalve Glycymeris planicostalis as a high-resolution paleoclimate archive for the Rupelian (Early Oligocene) of central Europe

Current global warming is likely to result in a unipolar glaciated world with unpredictable repercussions on atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns. These changes are expected to affect seasonal extremes and the year-to-year variability of seasonality. To better constrain the mode and tempo of...

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Published in:Climate of the Past
Main Authors: E. O. Walliser, B. R. Schöne, T. Tütken, J. Zirkel, K. I. Grimm, J. Pross
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-653-2015
https://doaj.org/article/c97b27f41e6347de8211bde759c2f2bd
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spelling ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:c97b27f41e6347de8211bde759c2f2bd 2023-05-15T18:01:07+02:00 The bivalve Glycymeris planicostalis as a high-resolution paleoclimate archive for the Rupelian (Early Oligocene) of central Europe E. O. Walliser B. R. Schöne T. Tütken J. Zirkel K. I. Grimm J. Pross 2015-04-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-653-2015 https://doaj.org/article/c97b27f41e6347de8211bde759c2f2bd EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.clim-past.net/11/653/2015/cp-11-653-2015.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1814-9324 https://doaj.org/toc/1814-9332 1814-9324 1814-9332 doi:10.5194/cp-11-653-2015 https://doaj.org/article/c97b27f41e6347de8211bde759c2f2bd Climate of the Past, Vol 11, Iss 4, Pp 653-668 (2015) Environmental pollution TD172-193.5 Environmental protection TD169-171.8 Environmental sciences GE1-350 article 2015 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-653-2015 2022-12-31T13:31:37Z Current global warming is likely to result in a unipolar glaciated world with unpredictable repercussions on atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns. These changes are expected to affect seasonal extremes and the year-to-year variability of seasonality. To better constrain the mode and tempo of the anticipated changes, climatologists require ultra-high-resolution proxy data of time intervals in the past, e.g., the Oligocene, during which boundary conditions were similar to those predicted for the near future. In the present paper, we assess whether such information can be obtained from shells of the long-lived bivalve mollusk Glycymeris planicostalis from the late Rupelian of the Mainz Basin, Germany. Our results indicate that the studied shells are pristinely preserved and provide an excellent archive for reconstructing changes of sea surface temperature on seasonal to interannual timescales. Shells of G. planicostalis grew uninterruptedly during winter and summer and therefore recorded the full seasonal temperature amplitude that prevailed in the Mainz Basin ~ 30 Ma. Absolute sea surface temperature data were reconstructed from δ 18 O shell values assuming a δ 18 O water signature that was extrapolated from coeval sirenian tooth enamel. Reconstructed values range between 12.3 and 22.0 °C and agree well with previous estimates based on planktonic foraminifera and shark teeth. However, temperatures during seasonal extremes vary greatly on interannual timescales. Mathematically re-sampled (i.e., corrected for uneven number of samples per annual increment) winter and summer temperatures averaged over 40 annual increments of three specimens equal 13.6 ± 0.8 and 17.3 ± 1.2 °C, respectively. Such high-resolution paleoclimate information can be highly relevant for numerical climate studies aiming to predict possible future climates in a unipolar glaciated or, ultimately, polar-ice-free world. Article in Journal/Newspaper Planktonic foraminifera Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Climate of the Past 11 4 653 668
institution Open Polar
collection Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles
op_collection_id ftdoajarticles
language English
topic Environmental pollution
TD172-193.5
Environmental protection
TD169-171.8
Environmental sciences
GE1-350
spellingShingle Environmental pollution
TD172-193.5
Environmental protection
TD169-171.8
Environmental sciences
GE1-350
E. O. Walliser
B. R. Schöne
T. Tütken
J. Zirkel
K. I. Grimm
J. Pross
The bivalve Glycymeris planicostalis as a high-resolution paleoclimate archive for the Rupelian (Early Oligocene) of central Europe
topic_facet Environmental pollution
TD172-193.5
Environmental protection
TD169-171.8
Environmental sciences
GE1-350
description Current global warming is likely to result in a unipolar glaciated world with unpredictable repercussions on atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns. These changes are expected to affect seasonal extremes and the year-to-year variability of seasonality. To better constrain the mode and tempo of the anticipated changes, climatologists require ultra-high-resolution proxy data of time intervals in the past, e.g., the Oligocene, during which boundary conditions were similar to those predicted for the near future. In the present paper, we assess whether such information can be obtained from shells of the long-lived bivalve mollusk Glycymeris planicostalis from the late Rupelian of the Mainz Basin, Germany. Our results indicate that the studied shells are pristinely preserved and provide an excellent archive for reconstructing changes of sea surface temperature on seasonal to interannual timescales. Shells of G. planicostalis grew uninterruptedly during winter and summer and therefore recorded the full seasonal temperature amplitude that prevailed in the Mainz Basin ~ 30 Ma. Absolute sea surface temperature data were reconstructed from δ 18 O shell values assuming a δ 18 O water signature that was extrapolated from coeval sirenian tooth enamel. Reconstructed values range between 12.3 and 22.0 °C and agree well with previous estimates based on planktonic foraminifera and shark teeth. However, temperatures during seasonal extremes vary greatly on interannual timescales. Mathematically re-sampled (i.e., corrected for uneven number of samples per annual increment) winter and summer temperatures averaged over 40 annual increments of three specimens equal 13.6 ± 0.8 and 17.3 ± 1.2 °C, respectively. Such high-resolution paleoclimate information can be highly relevant for numerical climate studies aiming to predict possible future climates in a unipolar glaciated or, ultimately, polar-ice-free world.
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author E. O. Walliser
B. R. Schöne
T. Tütken
J. Zirkel
K. I. Grimm
J. Pross
author_facet E. O. Walliser
B. R. Schöne
T. Tütken
J. Zirkel
K. I. Grimm
J. Pross
author_sort E. O. Walliser
title The bivalve Glycymeris planicostalis as a high-resolution paleoclimate archive for the Rupelian (Early Oligocene) of central Europe
title_short The bivalve Glycymeris planicostalis as a high-resolution paleoclimate archive for the Rupelian (Early Oligocene) of central Europe
title_full The bivalve Glycymeris planicostalis as a high-resolution paleoclimate archive for the Rupelian (Early Oligocene) of central Europe
title_fullStr The bivalve Glycymeris planicostalis as a high-resolution paleoclimate archive for the Rupelian (Early Oligocene) of central Europe
title_full_unstemmed The bivalve Glycymeris planicostalis as a high-resolution paleoclimate archive for the Rupelian (Early Oligocene) of central Europe
title_sort bivalve glycymeris planicostalis as a high-resolution paleoclimate archive for the rupelian (early oligocene) of central europe
publisher Copernicus Publications
publishDate 2015
url https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-653-2015
https://doaj.org/article/c97b27f41e6347de8211bde759c2f2bd
genre Planktonic foraminifera
genre_facet Planktonic foraminifera
op_source Climate of the Past, Vol 11, Iss 4, Pp 653-668 (2015)
op_relation http://www.clim-past.net/11/653/2015/cp-11-653-2015.pdf
https://doaj.org/toc/1814-9324
https://doaj.org/toc/1814-9332
1814-9324
1814-9332
doi:10.5194/cp-11-653-2015
https://doaj.org/article/c97b27f41e6347de8211bde759c2f2bd
op_doi https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-653-2015
container_title Climate of the Past
container_volume 11
container_issue 4
container_start_page 653
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