Stable isotopes and sclerochronology of the bivalve Mesodesma donacium: Potential application to Peruvian paleoceanographic reconstructions

The difference from the commonly used Grossman and Ku (1986) [Grossman, E.L., Ku, T.L., 1986. Oxygen and carbon fractionation in biogenic aragonite: temperature effect. Chemical Geology 59, 59-74] equation suggests the potential existence of a species dependence of vital effect within bivalves. This preliminary equation allows monthly-scale SST reconstructions with a ± 1.5 °C precision using M. donacium archaeological shells from southern Peru, giving potential insights into the problem of past ENSO behaviour.