Antarctic seawater temperature evaluation based on stable isotope measurements on Adamussium colbecki shells: kinetic effects vs. isotopic equilibrium

A year-long controlled growth experiment of 60 specimens of the Antarctic bivalve Adamussium colbecki was conducted in Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea) to evaluate its reliability as a suitable archive of water mass properties. Nine shells were sub-sampled for stable oxygen and carbon isotope analysis to study the inter and intra specimen variations. Slow-growing A. colbecki precipitate their calcitic shells close to the expected oxygen and carbon isotopic equilibrium, whereas the fast-growing individuals are strongly influenced by biogenetic and kinetic effects. The equation of Kim and O'Neil (1997) is considered a fair approximation for the δ18O-temperature relationship in slow-growing individuals. The reconstructed temperature is closer to the mean experimental summer temperature than the annual one. This fact is interpreted as reflecting a possible winter decrease of shell growth, the salinity variation and the corrections for negative temperature on calibrating the δ18O-temperature relationship. Our results support the hypothesis that A. colbecki might represent a good archive for encoding Antarctic Shelf water summer temperature information. Further improvements in adopting A. colbecki as a paleotemperature archive will require the evaluation of the seasonal variability in shell growth rate through culturing slow-growing A. colbecki individuals at near-freezing temperatures to calibrate a species-specific δ18O-temperature equation.

► Intra and inter specimen investigation on A. colbecki isotope equilibrium ► Slow-growing shells are mineralize homogenously in isotopic equilibrium. ► Kim and O'Neil's equation approximates well the A. colbecki δ18O-temperature relation. ► Mean temperature estimation analytical error is ± 0.5 °C and specimen variability is ± 1 °C. ► A. colbecki is potentially a good summer temperature proxy for Antarctic Shelf waters.