Overview
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Explore the role of marine mollusks as indicators of past climate conditions in this 59-minute lecture. Delve into the importance of climate reconstructions and models during periods of high atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Discover how biogenic carbonate producers like clams and snails serve as ideal archives for environmental and ecosystem changes on a human timescale. Learn about the preservation of mollusk shells and their potential to reveal information about extreme weather events and seasonality under various climate states. Examine research methodologies, including shell preservation measurement, reconstructions, and lab culture techniques. Investigate case studies involving Arctic icelandica, Pliocene reconstructions, and modern bivalves. Gain insights into chemical variability, growth rates, and the implications for paleobiology. Conclude with a preview of future research directions and participate in a question-and-answer session with the speaker.
Syllabus
Introduction
Past climates
Variability in climate
The fantastic project
Why mollusks
My research
Measuring shell preservation
Reconstructions
Lab culture
Arctic icelandica
Seasonality reconstructions
Pliocene
Initial results
Electron backscatter diffraction
Future work
Chemical variability
Media attention
Paleobiology
Modern shells
Modern bivalves
Strontium calcium
Implications
Giant sea snail
Growth rate
Project preview
Questions
Question
Answer from Nick
Conclusion
Taught by
Seds Online