Articles | Volume 23, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-585-2026
© 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-23-585-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| Highlight paper
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22 Jan 2026
Research article | Highlight paper |
| 22 Jan 2026
| 22 Jan 2026
Culturing experiments reveal mechanisms of daily trace element incorporation into Tridacna shells
Iris Arndt
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute of Geosciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Frankfurt Isotope and Element Research Center (FIERCE), Goethe University Frankfurt, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Jonathan Erez
Fredy & Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 9190401, Israel
David Evans
Frankfurt Isotope and Element Research Center (FIERCE), Goethe University Frankfurt, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
School of Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, United Kingdom
Tobias Erhardt
Institute of Geosciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Frankfurt Isotope and Element Research Center (FIERCE), Goethe University Frankfurt, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Adam Levi
Fredy & Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 9190401, Israel
Wolfgang Müller
Institute of Geosciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Frankfurt Isotope and Element Research Center (FIERCE), Goethe University Frankfurt, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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Flavia Boscolo-Galazzo, David Evans, Elaine M. Mawbey, William R. Gray, Paul N. Pearson, and Bridget S. Wade
Biogeosciences, 22, 1095–1113, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1095-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1095-2025, 2025
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Here we compare the Mg / Ca and oxygen isotope signatures for 57 recent to fossil species of planktonic foraminifera for the last 15 Myr. We find the occurrence of lineage-specific offsets in Mg / Ca conservative between ancestor-descendent species. Taking into account species kinship significantly improves temperature reconstructions, and we suggest that the occurrence of Mg / Ca offsets in modern species results from their evolution when ocean properties were different from today's.
Jakob Schwander, Thomas F. Stocker, Remo Walther, Samuel Marending, Tobias Erhardt, Chantal Zeppenfeld, and Jürg Jost
The Cryosphere, 18, 5613–5617, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5613-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5613-2024, 2024
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The RADIX (Rapid Access Drilling and Ice eXtraction) optical dust logger is part of the exploratory 20 mm drilling system at the University of Bern and is inserted into the hole after drilling. Temperature and attitude sensors were successfully tested but not the dust sensor, as no RADIX hole reached the required bubble-free ice. In 2023, we tested the logger with an adapter for the deep borehole of the East Greenland Ice-core Project and obtained a good Late Glacial–Early Holocene dust record.
Susanne Preunkert, Pascal Bohleber, Michel Legrand, Adrien Gilbert, Tobias Erhardt, Roland Purtschert, Lars Zipf, Astrid Waldner, Joseph R. McConnell, and Hubertus Fischer
The Cryosphere, 18, 2177–2194, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2177-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2177-2024, 2024
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Ice cores from high-elevation Alpine glaciers are an important tool to reconstruct the past atmosphere. However, since crevasses are common at these glacier sites, rigorous investigations of glaciological conditions upstream of drill sites are needed before interpreting such ice cores. On the basis of three ice cores extracted at Col du Dôme (4250 m a.s.l; French Alps), an overall picture of a dynamic crevasse formation is drawn, which disturbs the depth–age relation of two of the three cores.
Madeleine L. Vickers, Morgan T. Jones, Jack Longman, David Evans, Clemens V. Ullmann, Ella Wulfsberg Stokke, Martin Vickers, Joost Frieling, Dustin T. Harper, Vincent J. Clementi, and IODP Expedition 396 Scientists
Clim. Past, 20, 1–23, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1-2024, 2024
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The discovery of cold-water glendonite pseudomorphs in sediments deposited during the hottest part of the Cenozoic poses an apparent climate paradox. This study examines their occurrence, association with volcanic sediments, and speculates on the timing and extent of cooling, fitting this with current understanding of global climate during this period. We propose that volcanic activity was key to both physical and chemical conditions that enabled the formation of glendonites in these sediments.
Chiara I. Paleari, Florian Mekhaldi, Tobias Erhardt, Minjie Zheng, Marcus Christl, Florian Adolphi, Maria Hörhold, and Raimund Muscheler
Clim. Past, 19, 2409–2422, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2409-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2409-2023, 2023
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In this study, we test the use of excess meltwater from continuous flow analysis from a firn core from Greenland for the measurement of 10Be for solar activity reconstructions. We show that the quality of results is similar to the measurements on clean firn, which opens the possibility to obtain continuous 10Be records without requiring large amounts of clean ice. Furthermore, we investigate the possibility of identifying solar storm signals in 10Be records from Greenland and Antarctica.
Tobias Erhardt, Camilla Marie Jensen, Florian Adolphi, Helle Astrid Kjær, Remi Dallmayr, Birthe Twarloh, Melanie Behrens, Motohiro Hirabayashi, Kaori Fukuda, Jun Ogata, François Burgay, Federico Scoto, Ilaria Crotti, Azzurra Spagnesi, Niccoló Maffezzoli, Delia Segato, Chiara Paleari, Florian Mekhaldi, Raimund Muscheler, Sophie Darfeuil, and Hubertus Fischer
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 5079–5091, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-5079-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-5079-2023, 2023
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The presented paper provides a 3.8 kyr long dataset of aerosol concentrations from the East Greenland Ice coring Project (EGRIP) ice core. The data consists of 1 mm depth-resolution profiles of calcium, sodium, ammonium, nitrate, and electrolytic conductivity as well as decadal averages of these profiles. Alongside the data a detailed description of the measurement setup as well as a discussion of the uncertainties are given.
Giulia Sinnl, Mai Winstrup, Tobias Erhardt, Eliza Cook, Camilla Marie Jensen, Anders Svensson, Bo Møllesøe Vinther, Raimund Muscheler, and Sune Olander Rasmussen
Clim. Past, 18, 1125–1150, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1125-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1125-2022, 2022
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A new Greenland ice-core timescale, covering the last 3800 years, was produced using the machine learning algorithm StratiCounter. We synchronized the ice cores using volcanic eruptions and wildfires. We compared the new timescale to the tree-ring timescale, finding good alignment both between the common signatures of volcanic eruptions and of solar activity. Our Greenlandic timescales is safe to use for the Late Holocene, provided one uses our uncertainty estimate.
Tobias Erhardt, Matthias Bigler, Urs Federer, Gideon Gfeller, Daiana Leuenberger, Olivia Stowasser, Regine Röthlisberger, Simon Schüpbach, Urs Ruth, Birthe Twarloh, Anna Wegner, Kumiko Goto-Azuma, Takayuki Kuramoto, Helle A. Kjær, Paul T. Vallelonga, Marie-Louise Siggaard-Andersen, Margareta E. Hansson, Ailsa K. Benton, Louise G. Fleet, Rob Mulvaney, Elizabeth R. Thomas, Nerilie Abram, Thomas F. Stocker, and Hubertus Fischer
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 1215–1231, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1215-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1215-2022, 2022
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The datasets presented alongside this manuscript contain high-resolution concentration measurements of chemical impurities in deep ice cores, NGRIP and NEEM, from the Greenland ice sheet. The impurities originate from the deposition of aerosols to the surface of the ice sheet and are influenced by source, transport and deposition processes. Together, these records contain detailed, multi-parameter records of past climate variability over the last glacial period.
Nicolas Stoll, Maria Hörhold, Tobias Erhardt, Jan Eichler, Camilla Jensen, and Ilka Weikusat
The Cryosphere, 16, 667–688, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-667-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-667-2022, 2022
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We mapped and analysed solid inclusion in the upper 1340 m of the EGRIP ice core with Raman spectroscopy and microstructure mapping, based on bulk dust content derived via continuous flow analysis. We observe a large variety in mineralogy throughout the core and samples. The main minerals are sulfates, especially gypsum, and terrestrial dust minerals, such as quartz, mica, and feldspar. A change in mineralogy occurs around 900 m depth indicating a climate-related imprint.
Nicolas Stoll, Jan Eichler, Maria Hörhold, Tobias Erhardt, Camilla Jensen, and Ilka Weikusat
The Cryosphere, 15, 5717–5737, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5717-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5717-2021, 2021
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We did a systematic analysis of the location of inclusions in the EGRIP ice core, the first ice core from an ice stream. We combine this with crystal orientation and grain size data, enabling the first overview about the microstructure of this unique ice core. Micro-inclusions show a strong spatial variability and patterns (clusters or horizontal layers); roughly one-third is located at grain boundaries. More holistic approaches are needed to understand deformation processes in the ice better.
Nicolai Schleinkofer, David Evans, Max Wisshak, Janina Vanessa Büscher, Jens Fiebig, André Freiwald, Sven Härter, Horst R. Marschall, Silke Voigt, and Jacek Raddatz
Biogeosciences, 18, 4733–4753, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4733-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4733-2021, 2021
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We have measured the chemical composition of the carbonate shells of the parasitic foraminifera Hyrrokkin sarcophaga in order to test if it is influenced by the host organism (bivalve or coral). We find that both the chemical and isotopic composition is influenced by the host organism. For example strontium is enriched in foraminifera that grew on corals, whose skeleton is built from aragonite, which is naturally enriched in strontium compared to the bivalves' calcite shell.
Nathalie Van der Putten, Florian Adolphi, Anette Mellström, Jesper Sjolte, Cyriel Verbruggen, Jan-Berend Stuut, Tobias Erhardt, Yves Frenot, and Raimund Muscheler
Clim. Past Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2021-69, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2021-69, 2021
Manuscript not accepted for further review
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In recent decades, Southern Hemisphere westerlies (SHW) moved equator-ward during periods of low solar activity leading to increased winds/precipitation at 46° S, Indian Ocean. We present a terrestrial SHW proxy-record and find stronger SHW influence at Crozet, shortly after 2.8 ka BP, synchronous with a climate shift in the Northern Hemisphere, attributed to a major decline in solar activity. The bipolar response to solar forcing is supported by a climate model forced by solar irradiance only.
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This study provides detailed experimental insight into the biomineralization of tridacnid shells, which play an important role in tropical reef ecosystems. By growing calcifying organisms under tightly controlled aquarium conditions, the work reveals key mechanisms governing carbonate skeleton formation that are otherwise difficult to observe. These findings are relevant not only for understanding the biology of photosynthetic calcifiers, but also for paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental reconstructions that rely on biogenic carbonates as archives of past ocean conditions.
This study provides detailed experimental insight into the biomineralization of tridacnid...
Short summary
This study explores daily geochemical variations in giant clam (Tridacna) shells from controlled, isotopically-labelled day-night growth experiments. Results show five times higher daytime calcification rates. Light availability and metabolic activity significantly influence elemental incorporation mechanisms. The findings enhance our understanding of clam geochemistry and growth dynamics, offering valuable insights for studies on past environmental changes.
This study explores daily geochemical variations in giant clam (Tridacna) shells from...
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