The local marine reservoir effect at Kalba (UAE) between the Neolithic and Bronze Age: An indicator of sea level and climate changes

We investigate the local marine reservoir effect at Kalba, United Arab Emirates (UAE), between the Neolithic and Bronze Age with respect to possible changes through time and mollusk species diversity. Two distinctive species living in close proximity to the mangrove of Khor Kalba provide insights into ocean circulation patterns in this coastal environment. The species selected are the bivalve Anadara uropigimelana, and the gastropod Terebralia palustris. They have been an important local food resource for humans since at least the Neolithic. Our results show that for the Neolithic and Bronze Age, the reservoir effects ΔR are quite different for the species selected. For Anadara spp. the ΔR decreases from 576 ± 90 to 112 ± 44 years, while for Terebralia spp. the reduction ranges from 389 ± 66 to −19 ± 36 years. These results are coeval with other multi-proxies (stalagmite records and sea level changes) for the middle Holocene, and suggest that the main cause of the decreasing reservoir effect is a changing - in this case declining - sea level and an increasingly drier climate.