Stable isotope composition of subfossil Cerastoderma glaucum shells from the Szczecin Bay brackish deposits and its palaeogeographical implications (South Baltic Coast, Poland)

The environmental conditions of the Szczecin Bay, which existed prior to Szczecin Lagoon, have been reconstructed on the basis of the stable carbon and oxygen isotope (18O and 13C) analysis and radiocarbon dates obtained for subfossil shells of Cerastoderma (Cardium) glaucum. The shells in the collected core were well preserved in their life positions, representing a geochemical record of past temperature variation over the middle Holocene. Three major periods with different thermal conditions have been distinguished in the interval ~ 6000–4300 cal yr BP, when the important Littorina regional transgression took place. During the first period, 6000–5250 cal yr BP, water temperature decreased by 1.4°C, and then remained constant over the second period (5250–4750 cal yr BP). In contrast, during the third period (4750–4300 cal yr BP) both δ-values were highly variable and the mean summer temperature (March–November) increased by about 3.5°C. During first two periods, δ18O and δ13C were significantly correlated, indicating stability of the environmental conditions.