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An Aquaculture-Based Method For Calibrated Bivalve Isotope Paleothermometry, Alan D. Wanamaker Jr., Karl J. Kreutz, Harold W. Borns Jr., Douglas S. Introne, Scott Feindel, Bruce J. Barber

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

To quantify species- specific relationships between bivalve carbonate isotope geochemistry ( delta O-18(c)) and water conditions ( temperature and salinity, related to water isotopic composition [delta O-18(w)]), an aquaculture-based methodology was developed and applied to Mytilus edulis ( blue mussel). The four- by- three factorial design consisted of four circulating temperature baths ( 7, 11, 15, and 19 degrees C) and three salinity ranges ( 23, 28, and 32 parts per thousand ( ppt); monitored for delta O-18(w) weekly). In mid- July of 2003, 4800 juvenile mussels were collected in Salt Bay, Damariscotta, Maine, and were placed in each configuration. …