Pacific Data Hub
Stable oxygen and carbon isotope measurements on biogenic calcite and aragonite have become standard tools for reconstructing past oceanographic and climatic change. In aquatic organisms, super(18)O / super(16)O ratios in the shell carbonate are a function of the ratio in the sea water and the calcification temperature. In contrast, super13C/ super(12)C ratios are controlled by the ratio of dissolved inorganic carbon in sea water and physiological processes such as respiration and symbiont photosynthesis.