Experimental Effects of Burning and Boiling on Modern Land Snail Shell δ18 O and δ13 C
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Campus where you would like to present
SURC Ballroom A
Start Date
17-5-2012
End Date
17-5-2012
Abstract
An analysis of the effects of experimental burning and boiling on the isotopic composition of shell aragonite in a land based gastropod found no comparable difference between unmodified and modified specimens. Specifically, this analysis sought to address the effects on the chemical composition of shell aragonite which is expected to remain unchanged through time excepting the process of diagenesis. To test this hypothesis, experiments were conducted on twenty one modern specimens of Oreohelix strigosa collected near Knight Creek in Idaho. The shells were divided into three test groups. One shell group remained unmodified, one group was roasted, and one group was boiled. Shells were later tested for δ18O and δ13C composition through Finnegan GasBench II analysis. Additionally, this study investigated qualitative methods for testing shell aragonite finding that a minimum sample size of 200μg is required for testing. This research can be used to facilitate research in paleothermometric studies and the effects of diagenesis.
Recommended Citation
Morse, Nathaniel and Kaufman, Rowan, "Experimental Effects of Burning and Boiling on Modern Land Snail Shell δ18 O and δ13 C" (2012). Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 94.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2012/posters/94
Poster Number
38
Additional Mentoring Department
Anthropology
Experimental Effects of Burning and Boiling on Modern Land Snail Shell δ18 O and δ13 C
SURC Ballroom A
An analysis of the effects of experimental burning and boiling on the isotopic composition of shell aragonite in a land based gastropod found no comparable difference between unmodified and modified specimens. Specifically, this analysis sought to address the effects on the chemical composition of shell aragonite which is expected to remain unchanged through time excepting the process of diagenesis. To test this hypothesis, experiments were conducted on twenty one modern specimens of Oreohelix strigosa collected near Knight Creek in Idaho. The shells were divided into three test groups. One shell group remained unmodified, one group was roasted, and one group was boiled. Shells were later tested for δ18O and δ13C composition through Finnegan GasBench II analysis. Additionally, this study investigated qualitative methods for testing shell aragonite finding that a minimum sample size of 200μg is required for testing. This research can be used to facilitate research in paleothermometric studies and the effects of diagenesis.
Faculty Mentor(s)
Pat Lubinski, Steve Hackenberger