The use of ostracods to reconstruct continental palaeoenvironmental records

Abstract

Ostracods are environmentally sensitive organisms which readily preserve as fossils because of their calcitic shells. Ostracod occurrence appears to be controlled by hydrochemical parameters. Ostracod shells serve as a principal source of biogenic carbonate and, as for many geochemical studies of marine shells, can inform on δ18O, δ13C, and Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios of their host water, thus providing a variety of data on past aquatic environments. The close links between lacustrine environments and climatic parameters are discussed at length to demonstrate how necessary it is to understand them before attempting to unravel palaeoclimates. The coupling between climates and lakes is seen through aquatic parameters which appear to control ostracod occurrence and productivity. In this sense, ostracods from climatically sensitive lakes may supply very detailed information on past climates affecting the lakes. -from Authors Show more