Unlocking sub-annual hydroclimate and temperature variability through land snail shell records.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Unlocking sub-annual hydroclimate and temperature variability through land snail shell records.
Authors: Zong, Xiulan1,2 (AUTHOR), Guo, Jingjing1,2 (AUTHOR), Yang, Wenru2 (AUTHOR), Dong, Jibao1 (AUTHOR) djb@ieecas.cn, de Winter, Niels J.3 (AUTHOR), Yan, Hong1 (AUTHOR), Song, Yougui1 (AUTHOR), Sun, Youbin1 (AUTHOR), Peterse, Francien2 (AUTHOR), Ziegler, Martin2 (AUTHOR)
Source: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. Mar2026, Vol. 416, p168-182. 15p.
Subjects: Snail shells, Seasonal temperature variations, Oxygen isotopes, Precipitation variability, Isotope geology, Monsoons, Climate reconstruction (Research)
Geographic Terms: Loess Plateau (China)
Abstract: Currently available reconstructions of past East Asian monsoon (EAM) variability achieve annual resolution at best, which limits their ability to resolve seasonal variations in precipitation and temperature. To address this gap, we present sub-annual scale reconstructions of temperature and precipitation variability based on carbonate clumped isotope (Δ 47) and stable oxygen isotope (δ18O shell) measurements from modern and fossil land snail shells collected from the western (Yuanbao, YB) and southeastern (Lingbao, LB) edge of the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP). Whole-shell Δ 47 -derived temperatures (T 47) from different modern snail species are consistent with land surface temperatures measured during their growing season (mid-April to September at YB and mid-March to October at LB), and show minimal inter-species differences, highlighting the ecological robustness of snail-based T 47 reconstructions. Our intra-shell Δ 47 –δ18O–δ13C data show no obvious evidence of disequilibrium fractionation, supporting that land snail shell aragonite forms near isotopic equilibrium in natural settings. Notably, the reconstructed intra-shell T 47 profiles show a sub-annual temperature variability of 7–10 °C and potential signs of short-term thermal stress. Reconstructed body water δ18O (δ18O bw) values from whole-shells are significantly enriched (by ∼ 3–6.5 ‰, p < 0.05) compared to local precipitation δ18O (δ18O p), due to evaporative effects and micro-environmental conditions. Intra-shell δ18O bw profiles reveal sub-annual fluctuations that follow seasonal δ18O p patterns, capturing dry-season evaporative isotopic enrichment and wet-season depletion masked in whole-shell averages. The T 47 from early Holocene and last glacial maximum (LGM)-aged shells provides geochemical evidence of a cooler growing season than today, perhaps caused by extended growing seasons during the early Holocene and climatically restricted ones during the LGM. Lower and more stable intra-shell T 47 and more negative δ18O bw values during the wet seasons highlight seasonal hydroclimatic shifts under glacial boundary conditions. Together, our results demonstrate the sensitivity of snail shell geochemistry to hydroclimatic seasonality and support the use of combined intra-shell δ18O and Δ 47 analyses to resolve climate seasonality beyond the resolution of traditional proxies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta is the property of Pergamon Press - An Imprint of Elsevier Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
Header DbId: egs
DbLabel: Engineering Source
An: 191449252
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Unlocking sub-annual hydroclimate and temperature variability through land snail shell records.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Zong%2C+Xiulan%22&quot;&gt;Zong, Xiulan&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;relatesTo&gt;1,2&lt;/relatesTo&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Guo%2C+Jingjing%22&quot;&gt;Guo, Jingjing&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;relatesTo&gt;1,2&lt;/relatesTo&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Yang%2C+Wenru%22&quot;&gt;Yang, Wenru&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;relatesTo&gt;2&lt;/relatesTo&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Dong%2C+Jibao%22&quot;&gt;Dong, Jibao&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;relatesTo&gt;1&lt;/relatesTo&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;i&gt; djb@ieecas.cn&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22de+Winter%2C+Niels+J%2E%22&quot;&gt;de Winter, Niels J.&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;relatesTo&gt;3&lt;/relatesTo&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Yan%2C+Hong%22&quot;&gt;Yan, Hong&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;relatesTo&gt;1&lt;/relatesTo&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Song%2C+Yougui%22&quot;&gt;Song, Yougui&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;relatesTo&gt;1&lt;/relatesTo&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Sun%2C+Youbin%22&quot;&gt;Sun, Youbin&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;relatesTo&gt;1&lt;/relatesTo&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Peterse%2C+Francien%22&quot;&gt;Peterse, Francien&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;relatesTo&gt;2&lt;/relatesTo&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Ziegler%2C+Martin%22&quot;&gt;Ziegler, Martin&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;relatesTo&gt;2&lt;/relatesTo&gt; (AUTHOR)
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;JN&quot; term=&quot;%22Geochimica+et+Cosmochimica+Acta%22&quot;&gt;Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta&lt;/searchLink&gt;. Mar2026, Vol. 416, p168-182. 15p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subjects
  Group: Su
  Data: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Snail+shells%22&quot;&gt;Snail shells&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Seasonal+temperature+variations%22&quot;&gt;Seasonal temperature variations&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Oxygen+isotopes%22&quot;&gt;Oxygen isotopes&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Precipitation+variability%22&quot;&gt;Precipitation variability&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Isotope+geology%22&quot;&gt;Isotope geology&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Monsoons%22&quot;&gt;Monsoons&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Climate+reconstruction+%28Research%29%22&quot;&gt;Climate reconstruction (Research)&lt;/searchLink&gt;
– Name: SubjectGeographic
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22Loess+Plateau+%28China%29%22&quot;&gt;Loess Plateau (China)&lt;/searchLink&gt;
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Currently available reconstructions of past East Asian monsoon (EAM) variability achieve annual resolution at best, which limits their ability to resolve seasonal variations in precipitation and temperature. To address this gap, we present sub-annual scale reconstructions of temperature and precipitation variability based on carbonate clumped isotope (Δ 47) and stable oxygen isotope (δ18O shell) measurements from modern and fossil land snail shells collected from the western (Yuanbao, YB) and southeastern (Lingbao, LB) edge of the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP). Whole-shell Δ 47 -derived temperatures (T 47) from different modern snail species are consistent with land surface temperatures measured during their growing season (mid-April to September at YB and mid-March to October at LB), and show minimal inter-species differences, highlighting the ecological robustness of snail-based T 47 reconstructions. Our intra-shell Δ 47 –δ18O–δ13C data show no obvious evidence of disequilibrium fractionation, supporting that land snail shell aragonite forms near isotopic equilibrium in natural settings. Notably, the reconstructed intra-shell T 47 profiles show a sub-annual temperature variability of 7–10 &#176;C and potential signs of short-term thermal stress. Reconstructed body water δ18O (δ18O bw) values from whole-shells are significantly enriched (by ∼ 3–6.5 ‰, p &lt; 0.05) compared to local precipitation δ18O (δ18O p), due to evaporative effects and micro-environmental conditions. Intra-shell δ18O bw profiles reveal sub-annual fluctuations that follow seasonal δ18O p patterns, capturing dry-season evaporative isotopic enrichment and wet-season depletion masked in whole-shell averages. The T 47 from early Holocene and last glacial maximum (LGM)-aged shells provides geochemical evidence of a cooler growing season than today, perhaps caused by extended growing seasons during the early Holocene and climatically restricted ones during the LGM. Lower and more stable intra-shell T 47 and more negative δ18O bw values during the wet seasons highlight seasonal hydroclimatic shifts under glacial boundary conditions. Together, our results demonstrate the sensitivity of snail shell geochemistry to hydroclimatic seasonality and support the use of combined intra-shell δ18O and Δ 47 analyses to resolve climate seasonality beyond the resolution of traditional proxies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: &lt;i&gt;Copyright of Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta is the property of Pergamon Press - An Imprint of Elsevier Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder&#39;s express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.&lt;/i&gt; (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=egs&AN=191449252
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1016/j.gca.2026.01.018
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 15
        StartPage: 168
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Snail shells
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Seasonal temperature variations
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Oxygen isotopes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Precipitation variability
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Isotope geology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Monsoons
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Climate reconstruction (Research)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Loess Plateau (China)
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Unlocking sub-annual hydroclimate and temperature variability through land snail shell records.
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Zong, Xiulan
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Guo, Jingjing
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Yang, Wenru
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Dong, Jibao
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: de Winter, Niels J.
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Yan, Hong
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Song, Yougui
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Sun, Youbin
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Peterse, Francien
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Ziegler, Martin
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 03
              Text: Mar2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 00167037
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 416
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
              Type: main
ResultId 1