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A first look at oxygen isotope records from modern and Holocene-aged gastropod (Stenomelania) shells from Lake Kutubu,Papua New Guinea |
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| Authors: | Kelsie Long Larissa Schneider Ian S Williams Stewart J Fallon Hilary Stuart-Williams Simon Haberle |
| Institution: | 1. School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia;2. Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia;3. Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia;4. School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia |
| Abstract: | The oxygen isotopic composition of Stenomelania gastropod shells was investigated to reconstruct Holocene palaeoclimate change at Lake Kutubu in the southern highlands of Papua New Guinea. Oxygen isotope (δ18O) values recorded in aquatic gastropod shells change according to ambient water δ18O values and temperature. The gastropod shells appear to form in oxygen isotopic equilibrium with the surrounding water and record a shift in average shell oxygen isotopic composition through time, probably as a result of warmer/wetter conditions at ca. 600–900 and 5900–6200 cal a bp. Shorter term fluctuations in oxygen isotope values were also identified and may relate to changes in the intensity or source of rainfall. Further δ18O analyses of gastropod shells or other carbonate proxies found in the Lake Kutubu sediments are warranted. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
| Keywords: | gastropod shells oxygen isotopes palaeoclimate Papua New Guinea Steno melania |