TY - JOUR
T1 - δ18O of Fissurella maxima as a proxy for reconstructing Early Holocene sea surface temperatures in the coastal Atacama desert (25°S)
AU - Flores, Carola
AU - Gayo, Eugenia M.
AU - Salazar, Diego
AU - Broitman, Bernardo R.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding: This work was supported by the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FONDECYT #1151203 , 11150210 , 3170913 , 1181300 ); and the Fund for Research Centers in Priority Areas (FONDAP/CONICYT 151100 (to CR 2 )). Special thanks to Laura Farías, Marcelo Rivadeneira and Patricio Manríquez for their support during shell sample processing (lab space and analytical tools). Thanks to Macarena Troncoso; to Heather Thakar for her comments and help, to Laura Olguín for helping gathering shell samples, and Matthieu Carré for his help regarding ice sheet corrections. We also acknowledge the Faculty of Environmental Sciences of the Universidad de Concepción for hosting a sabbatical leave that was supported by the Millenium Scientific Initiative through the Center for the Study Multiple Drivers on Marine Socio–Ecological Systems (MUSELS). Finally, we are thankful to Mario Vallejos and Leopoldo González from Taltal and Paposo, who helped to collect modern samples of F. maxima shells and to install in situ thermometers.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2018/6/15
Y1 - 2018/6/15
N2 - Fissurella maxima is a keyhole limpet that is abundant and well preserved in archaeological shell midden sites along the coast of Chile, making it an appropriate species to use for reconstructions of past sea surface temperature (SST). In the present study we evaluate the potential of F. maxima shells as a proxy of SST by analysing δ18O of modern shells collected alive from the Atacama desert (area of Taltal, 25°S) and archaeological shells from two Early Holocene rockshelter sites: 224A and Paposo Norte 9. Reconstructed SST from modern F. maxima shells were related to SST obtained from in situ thermometers, supporting the use of this mollusc species as a paleotemperature archive. Mean SST reconstructed from Early Holocene archaeological shells (14.13 °C) was 2.86 °C cooler than mean temperature recorded in modern shells (16.99 °C). Mean SST reconstructed from modern shells was ~1.04 °C warmer than the mean temperature of in situ thermometers (15.95°C). Hence the paleo–SST data from archaeological sites 224A and Paposo Norte 9 enrich the Early Holocene nearshore paleoceanographic scenario of the Pacific coast of South America, with mean SST cooler than present-day SST. Our results validate the use of F. maxima shells as a SST proxy and contribute to a better understanding of the latitudinal distribution of the coastal upwelling regime during the Early Holocene, temporal changes in the structure of the Humboldt Current along the Holocene, and its influence on human adaptation through the prehistory of South America.
AB - Fissurella maxima is a keyhole limpet that is abundant and well preserved in archaeological shell midden sites along the coast of Chile, making it an appropriate species to use for reconstructions of past sea surface temperature (SST). In the present study we evaluate the potential of F. maxima shells as a proxy of SST by analysing δ18O of modern shells collected alive from the Atacama desert (area of Taltal, 25°S) and archaeological shells from two Early Holocene rockshelter sites: 224A and Paposo Norte 9. Reconstructed SST from modern F. maxima shells were related to SST obtained from in situ thermometers, supporting the use of this mollusc species as a paleotemperature archive. Mean SST reconstructed from Early Holocene archaeological shells (14.13 °C) was 2.86 °C cooler than mean temperature recorded in modern shells (16.99 °C). Mean SST reconstructed from modern shells was ~1.04 °C warmer than the mean temperature of in situ thermometers (15.95°C). Hence the paleo–SST data from archaeological sites 224A and Paposo Norte 9 enrich the Early Holocene nearshore paleoceanographic scenario of the Pacific coast of South America, with mean SST cooler than present-day SST. Our results validate the use of F. maxima shells as a SST proxy and contribute to a better understanding of the latitudinal distribution of the coastal upwelling regime during the Early Holocene, temporal changes in the structure of the Humboldt Current along the Holocene, and its influence on human adaptation through the prehistory of South America.
KW - Fissurella maxima
KW - Oxygen stable isotope
KW - Paleotemperature calibration
KW - Shell carbonate
KW - South–east Pacific coast
KW - Temperature reconstruction
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85044990573&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.palaeo.2018.03.031
DO - 10.1016/j.palaeo.2018.03.031
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85044990573
SN - 0031-0182
VL - 499
SP - 22
EP - 34
JO - Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
JF - Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
ER -