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Mollusk shell nacre ultrastructure correlates with environmental temperature and pressure
Ian C Olson1, Reinhard Kozdon, John W Valley
1Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1150 University Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA.
Journal of the American Chemical Society
|February 9, 2012
Summary
Nacre
Area of Science:
- Biomineralization and paleoclimatology research.
Background:
- Nacre, or mother-of-pearl, is a biomineral found in mollusk shells.
- Its structure is well-preserved in fossils, offering potential for paleoclimate studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if nacre's physical structure correlates with environmental temperature.
- To explore the potential of nacre as a paleothermometer.
Main Methods:
- Utilized X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy, Photoelectron emission spectromicroscopy (PEEM), and X-ray linear dichroism.
- Acquired polarization-dependent imaging contrast (PIC) maps of nacre cross-sections.
- Analyzed nacre ultrastructure and crystal misorientations.
Main Results:
- Nacre ultrastructure was found to be species-specific across diverse mollusk species.
- A strong correlation was identified between nacre crystal misorientations and environmental temperature.
- Secondary ion mass spectrometry confirmed temperature-related oxygen isotope variations.
Conclusions:
- Nacre's structural properties are species-specific, likely due to environmental adaptations.
- Nacre texture serves as a reliable paleothermometer for ancient climates.
- This method can reconstruct climate data spanning 450 million years.
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