Growth Analysis of Saxidomus gigantea as a Paleoclimate Proxy for... | Freya Cordell | RRS Live 2025 скачать в хорошем качестве

Growth Analysis of Saxidomus gigantea as a Paleoclimate Proxy for... | Freya Cordell | RRS Live 2025

Freya Cordell is a Junior Environmental Policy, Geology, Philosophy major in the Randall Research Scholars Program (RRSP). Their research project presentation, "Growth Analysis of Saxidomus gigantea as a Paleoclimate Proxy for Sea Ice Flux," was completed under the advisement of Fred Andrus from the Geological Sciences Department. Project Description: The discovery of ancient bones of ice-dependent species in the Aleutian Islands has provoked speculation that seasonal sea ice reached the southern Bering sea during the late Holocene. However, this is significantly farther south than sea ice has been believed to occur. This project utilizes sclerochronology (the study of periodicity in hard tissue) of ancient and modern samples of Saxidomas gigantea, a clam species, to recreate past seasonality in the region. Specifically, because the clam’s growth is temperature-dependent, comparing growth season lengths between samples indicates the feasibility of the presence of sea ice. Oxygen isotope analysis is used to confirm the role of temperature in growth, and specific growth increment analysis will be used for further insight into the details of the clams’ growth. The synthesis of such paleoclimate data is pivotal to understanding how drastically anthropogenic warming is causing sea ice loss to extend beyond regular climatic shifts.