Shell-based chronologies for the Irish Sea

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Main Authors: Butler, Paul G, Richardson, Christopher A, Scourse, James D, Wanamaker, Alan D, Shammon, Theresa M, Bennell, James
Format: Dataset Open Access
Language:en
Published: PANGAEA 2010
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author Butler, Paul G
Richardson, Christopher A
Scourse, James D
Wanamaker, Alan D
Shammon, Theresa M
Bennell, James
author_facet Butler, Paul G
Richardson, Christopher A
Scourse, James D
Wanamaker, Alan D
Shammon, Theresa M
Bennell, James
collection Datos científicos de ciencias marinas y ambientales
contents We demonstrate here that the growth increment variability in the shell of the long-lived bivalve mollusc Arctica islandica can be interpreted as an indicator of marine environmental change in the climatically important North Atlantic shelf seas. Multi-centennial (up to 489-year) chronologies were constructed using five detrending techniques and their characteristics compared. The strength of the common environmental signal expressed in the chronologies was found to be fully comparable with equivalent statistics for tree-ring chronologies. The negative exponential function using truncated increment-width series from which the first thirty years have been removed was chosen as the optimal detrending technique. Chronology indices were compared with the Central England Temperature record and with seawater temperature records from stations close to the study site in the Irish Sea. Statistically significant correlations were found between the chronology indices and (a) mean air temperature for the 14-month period beginning in the January preceding the year of growth, (b) mean seawater temperatures for February-October in the year preceding the year of growth (c) late summer and autumn air temperatures and sea surface temperatures for the year of growth and (d) the timing of the autumn decline in SST. Changes through time in the correlations with air and seawater temperatures and changes towards a deeper water origin for the shells in the chronology were interpreted as an indication that shell growth may respond to stratification dynamics.
format Dataset Open Access
id pangaea_https___doi_org_10_1594_PANGAEA_816231
institution PANGAEA
language en
publishDate 2010
publisher PANGAEA
record_format pangaea
spellingShingle Shell-based chronologies for the Irish Sea
Butler, Paul G
Richardson, Christopher A
Scourse, James D
Wanamaker, Alan D
Shammon, Theresa M
Bennell, James
Dredge; DRG; Irish Sea; Isle_of_Man
We demonstrate here that the growth increment variability in the shell of the long-lived bivalve mollusc Arctica islandica can be interpreted as an indicator of marine environmental change in the climatically important North Atlantic shelf seas. Multi-centennial (up to 489-year) chronologies were constructed using five detrending techniques and their characteristics compared. The strength of the common environmental signal expressed in the chronologies was found to be fully comparable with equivalent statistics for tree-ring chronologies. The negative exponential function using truncated increment-width series from which the first thirty years have been removed was chosen as the optimal detrending technique. Chronology indices were compared with the Central England Temperature record and with seawater temperature records from stations close to the study site in the Irish Sea. Statistically significant correlations were found between the chronology indices and (a) mean air temperature for the 14-month period beginning in the January preceding the year of growth, (b) mean seawater temperatures for February-October in the year preceding the year of growth (c) late summer and autumn air temperatures and sea surface temperatures for the year of growth and (d) the timing of the autumn decline in SST. Changes through time in the correlations with air and seawater temperatures and changes towards a deeper water origin for the shells in the chronology were interpreted as an indication that shell growth may respond to stratification dynamics.
title Shell-based chronologies for the Irish Sea
topic Dredge; DRG; Irish Sea; Isle_of_Man
url https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.816231