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Shell Growth Increments as Indicator of Tide in the Arkhangelsk Region (Russia) during the Mikulinian Interglacial

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Abstract

Mikulinian (Eemian) marine deposits are widespread in the northern Arkhangelsk Region, Russia. Shoreface deposits have been found in exposures along the Pyoza and Vaskha rivers; however, deposits of undoubtedly tidal origin have not hitherto been recognized there. By contrast, here we show that shells of Macoma balthica (Linnaeus, 1758) (Tellinidae, Bivalvia) unearthed from the shoreface deposits show growth patterns indicating that the bivalves lived in an environment affected by tidal periodicity. The periodicity was a mixed tide with significantly diurnal inequality in the height of the low waters. In the Arkhangelsk Region, the Mikulinian hydrodynamical conditions of the tidally influenced regime are still poorly known. Because the spatial and temporal distribution of M. balthica is broad in the fossil record, its shells have a large potential for tidal interpretations, as contribution to hydrological reconstructions.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The late Dr. Igor N. Demidov (Karelian Research Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences, Petrozavodsk) gave invaluable support during fieldwork and translated Russian literature. Dr. Herman Hummel (The Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Yerseke) and the late Dr. Godtfred Høpner Petersen (Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen) are thanked for the inspiration to study M. balthica. Dr. Samuli Helama (Natural Resources Institute Finland, Rovaniemi) kindly provided constructive comments.

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    Jan Kresten Nielsen

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Jan Kresten Nielsen Shell Growth Increments as Indicator of Tide in the Arkhangelsk Region (Russia) during the Mikulinian Interglacial. Paleontol. J. 57, 754–761 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031030123070109

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