Minute co-variations of Sr/Ca ratios and microstructures in the aragonitic shell of Cerastoderma edule (Bivalvia) – Are geochemical variations at the ultra-scale masking potential environmental signals?

Abstract It remains a challenging task to reconstruct water temperatures from Sr/Ca ratios of bivalve shells. Although in many aragonitic species, Sr/Ca is negatively correlated to temperature – which is expected based on abiogenic precipitation experiments, the incorporation of Sr into the shell of bivalves is strongly controlled by physiological processes and occurs away from the predicted thermodynamic equilibrium. Strontium-to-calcium ratios of aragonitic shells remain far below that of the ambient water. Moreover, Sr concentrations vary considerably among shell portions consisting of different microstructures and/or organic content. Values observed at annual growth lines and within the…