Articles | Volume 23, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-1833-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-1833-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
10 Mar 2026
Research article |
| 10 Mar 2026
| 10 Mar 2026
Detection of dietary stress and geophagic behaviour forced by dry seasons in Miocene Gomphotherium
Geobiotec, Dpt. of Geosciences, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
Niels de Winter
Dept. of Earth Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Archaeology, Environmental Changes and Geo-chemistry group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussel, Belgium
Maria Ríos
Dpt. of Earth Sciences, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, GeoBioTec, Caparica, Portugal
Museu da Lourinhã, Lourinhã, Portugal
Rui Bernardino
Jardim Zoológico de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
Darío Estraviz-López
Dpt. of Earth Sciences, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, GeoBioTec, Caparica, Portugal
Museu da Lourinhã, Lourinhã, Portugal
Priscila Lohmann
Dpt. of Earth Sciences, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, GeoBioTec, Caparica, Portugal
Roberta Martino
Dpt. of Earth Sciences, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, GeoBioTec, Caparica, Portugal
Museu da Lourinhã, Lourinhã, Portugal
Aurora Grandal-d'Anglade
ESCI, Instituto Universitario de Xeoloxía, Universidade da Coruña, A Coruña, Spain
Fernando Rocha
Geobiotec, Dpt. of Geosciences, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
Philippe Claeys
Archaeology, Environmental Changes and Geo-chemistry group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussel, Belgium
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Niels J. de Winter, Najat al Fudhaili, Iris Arndt, Philippe Claeys, René Fraaije, Steven Goderis, John Jagt, Matthias López Correa, Axel Munnecke, Jarosław Stolarski, and Martin Ziegler
Clim. Past, 21, 2361–2387, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-2361-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-2361-2025, 2025
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To test the tolerance of past shallow marine ecosystems to extreme climates, we collected and compiled stable and clumped isotope data from rudist (Order Hippuritida) bivalves that lived in tropical shallow marine waters in present-day Oman during the Campanian (75 million years ago). Our dataset shows that these animals were able to withstand exceptionally warm temperatures, exceeding 40 °C, during hot summers. Our finding highlights how seasonal climate extremes impact marine biodiversity.
Marion Peral, Marta Marchegiano, Weronika Wierny, Inigo A. Müller, Johan Vellekoop, Zofia Dubicka, Maciej J. Bojanowski, Steven Goderis, and Philippe Claeys
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-502, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-502, 2025
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Around 70 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous, Earth’s climate was undergoing long-term cooling despite high CO₂ levels. Using an advanced temperature reconstruction technique, we analyzed foraminifer fossils from the European Chalk Sea. Our results show highly variable surface waters, likely influenced by freshwater inputs or upwelling, while deeper waters remained warm and stable, possibly influenced by shifting ocean currents. This improves our understanding of past ocean dynamics.
Nina M. A. Wichern, Or M. Bialik, Theresa Nohl, Lawrence M. E. Percival, R. Thomas Becker, Pim Kaskes, Philippe Claeys, and David De Vleeschouwer
Clim. Past, 20, 415–448, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-415-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-415-2024, 2024
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Middle–Late Devonian sedimentary rocks are often punctuated by anoxic black shales. Due to their semi-regular nature, anoxic events may be linked to periodic changes in the Earth’s climate caused by astronomical forcing. We use portable X-ray fluorescence elemental records, measured on marine sediments from Germany, to construct an astrochronological framework for the Kellwasser ocean anoxic Crisis. Results suggest that the Upper Kellwasser event was preceded by a specific orbital configuration.
Johan Vellekoop, Daan Vanhove, Inge Jelu, Philippe Claeys, Linda C. Ivany, Niels J. de Winter, Robert P. Speijer, and Etienne Steurbaut
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-298, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-298, 2024
Preprint archived
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Stable oxygen and carbon isotope analyses of fossil bivalves, gastropods and fish ear bones (otoliths) is frequently used for seasonality reconstructions of past climates. We measured stable isotope compositions in multiple specimens of two bivalve species, a gastropod species, and two species of otoliths, from two early Eocene (49.2 million year old) shell layers. Our study demonstrates considerable variability between different taxa, which has implications for seasonality reconstructions.
Sarah Wauthy, Jean-Louis Tison, Mana Inoue, Saïda El Amri, Sainan Sun, François Fripiat, Philippe Claeys, and Frank Pattyn
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 35–58, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-35-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-35-2024, 2024
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The datasets presented are the density, water isotopes, ions, and conductivity measurements, as well as age models and surface mass balance (SMB) from the top 120 m of two ice cores drilled on adjacent ice rises in Dronning Maud Land, dating from the late 18th century. They offer many development possibilities for the interpretation of paleo-profiles and for addressing the mechanisms behind the spatial and temporal variability of SMB and proxies observed at the regional scale in East Antarctica.
Niels J. de Winter, Daniel Killam, Lukas Fröhlich, Lennart de Nooijer, Wim Boer, Bernd R. Schöne, Julien Thébault, and Gert-Jan Reichart
Biogeosciences, 20, 3027–3052, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3027-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3027-2023, 2023
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Mollusk shells are valuable recorders of climate and environmental changes of the past down to a daily resolution. To explore this potential, we measured changes in the composition of shells of two types of bivalves recorded at the hourly scale: the king scallop Pecten maximus and giant clams (Tridacna) that engaged in photosymbiosis. We find that photosymbiosis produces more day–night fluctuation in shell chemistry but that most of the variation is not periodic, perhaps recording weather.
Nina M. A. Wichern, Niels J. de Winter, Andrew L. A. Johnson, Stijn Goolaerts, Frank Wesselingh, Maartje F. Hamers, Pim Kaskes, Philippe Claeys, and Martin Ziegler
Biogeosciences, 20, 2317–2345, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2317-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2317-2023, 2023
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Fossil bivalves are an excellent climate archive due to their rapidly forming growth increments and long lifespan. Here, we show that the extinct bivalve species Angulus benedeni benedeni can be used to reconstruct past temperatures using oxygen and clumped isotopes. This species has the potential to provide seasonally resolved temperature data for the Pliocene to Oligocene sediments of the North Sea basin. In turn, these past climates can improve our understanding of future climate change.
David De Vleeschouwer, Marion Peral, Marta Marchegiano, Angelina Füllberg, Niklas Meinicke, Heiko Pälike, Gerald Auer, Benjamin Petrick, Christophe Snoeck, Steven Goderis, and Philippe Claeys
Clim. Past, 18, 1231–1253, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1231-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1231-2022, 2022
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The Leeuwin Current transports warm water along the western coast of Australia: from the tropics to the Southern Hemisphere midlatitudes. Therewith, the current influences climate in two ways: first, as a moisture source for precipitation in southwestern Australia; second, as a vehicle for Equator-to-pole heat transport. In this study, we study sediment cores along the Leeuwin Current pathway to understand its ocean–climate interactions between 4 and 2 Ma.
Matthias Sinnesael, Alfredo Loi, Marie-Pierre Dabard, Thijs R. A. Vandenbroucke, and Philippe Claeys
Geochronology, 4, 251–267, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-251-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-251-2022, 2022
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We used new geochemical measurements to study the expression of astronomical climate cycles recorded in the Ordovician (~ 460 million years ago) geological sections of the Crozon Peninsula (France). This type of geological archive is not often studied in this way, but as they become more important going back in time, a better understanding of their potential astronomical cycles is crucial to advance our knowledge of deep-time climate dynamics and to construct high-resolution timescales.
Niels J. de Winter
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 1247–1267, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-1247-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-1247-2022, 2022
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ShellChron is a tool for determining the relative age of samples in carbonate (climate) archives based on the seasonal variability in temperature and salinity or precipitation recorded in stable oxygen isotope measurements. The model allows dating of fossil archives within a year, which is important for climate reconstructions on the sub-seasonal to decadal scale. In this paper, I introduce ShellChron and test it on a range of real and virtual datasets to demonstrate its use.
Niels J. de Winter, Tobias Agterhuis, and Martin Ziegler
Clim. Past, 17, 1315–1340, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1315-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1315-2021, 2021
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Climate researchers often need to compromise in their sampling between increasing the number of measurements to obtain higher time resolution and combining measurements to improve the reliability of climate reconstructions. In this study, we test several methods for achieving the optimal balance between these competing interests by simulating seasonality reconstructions using stable and clumped isotopes. Our results inform sampling strategies for climate reconstructions in general.
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Short summary
To understand human impact on climate and biodiversity, we studied fossil teeth of Gomphotherium from Miocene Portugal. Chemical patterns, like those in modern elephants, show seasonal diet changes and geophagy during dry periods. This suggests dry seasons shaped animal behavior and ecosystems, offering insights into how land life responded to past warming—and how it might react to future climate change.
To understand human impact on climate and biodiversity, we studied fossil teeth of Gomphotherium...
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