Topical sessions and confirmed keynote speakers (plus links to their personal websites)
Paleoclimate & paleoenvironmental reconstructions - Bryan Black
Invertebrate (paleo)ecology and evolution - Rob Witbaard
Paleobiology and life history of vertebrates (skeletochronology) - Thomas Tütken
Environmental monitoring and pollution - Christopher A. Richardson
Shell midden archaeology - C. Fred T. Andrus
Biomineralization: Processes & crystal fabrics - Anders Meibom
Numerical modeling and statistical analysis - Gerrit Lohmann
Proxy development - Chris Romanek
Visions: The future of sclerochronology - Alan D. Wanamaker Jr.
Paleoclimate & paleoenvironmental reconstructions - Bryan Black
Biogenic hard parts formed by periodic accretion are increasingly used to reconstruct paleoclimates and paleoenvironments. High-resolution multiproxy records (isotopes, trace elements, growth increments) from a range of taxa (trees, otoliths, shells, bones, teeth, red algae) can potentially open centuries-long windows into the climatic and ecological past. Moreover, regular growth patterns controlled by biological clocks and (seasonal) climate forcings provide a means by which to ensure that all growth increments are precisely dated, and that chronologies are of the highest possible quality. By ensuring exact dating, chronologies can be integrated across multiple species and regions to provide more comprehensive estimates of past environmental variability and to evaluate species’ responses across multiple trophic levels. This session welcomes contributions on all aspects of paleoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions as approached though the application of physical and/or chemical proxies.
Invertebrate (paleo)ecology and evolution - Rob Witbaard
Detailed life history traits can be determined using paleoecology, specifically, using growth pattern analysis to determine maturity, seasonally varying growth rates and the influence of biological clocks on growth pattern formation. Sclerochronological analysis of fossil shells enables a holistic approach toward understanding heterochronic lineages and therefore evolution, because size, shape and ontogenetic age can be studied in conjunction with each other. Growth increment data can also provide insights into the habitats of extinct organisms as well as interactions between individuals and among communities. This session aims to highlight how (paleo)ecological data can be obtained using sclerochronological principles.
Paleobiology and life history of vertebrates (skeletochronology) - Thomas Tütken
Trace elements, as well as stable and radiogenic isotope compositions of fossil bones, teeth and otoliths are widely used to reconstruct the paleobiology of extinct vertebrates including nutrition, thermophysiology and mobility. Additional skeletochronological approaches are increasingly applied to reconstructing the growth and tooth formation rates of dinosaurs, early humans and other vertebrates. In combination with high-resolution element and isotope analysis on the growth increments of bones and teeth using LA-ICP-MS, SIMS, and microsampling techniques, new, detailed insights into individual life and growth histories can be inferred. Presentations on all aspects of skeletochronology are welcome.
Environmental monitoring and pollution - Christopher A. Richardson
The accretionarily formed shells of aquatic organisms such as mollusks can act as sentinel monitors of hazardous substances in the ambient environment. Combined with the calendar information supplied by sclerochronology, profiles of trace and minor element variation in the shell can provide useful historical records of fluctuations in water quality. Presentations dealing with the concrete application of sclerochronology and trace metal analysis to the tracking of pollutants and monitoring of water quality are invited for this session.
Shell midden archaeology - C. Fred T. Andrus
Growth increments and geochemical data preserved in mollusk shells, otoliths, teeth, and other skeletal elements excavated from archaeological shell middens are employed to address diverse topics in archaeology, paleoecology, and paleoclimatology. These topics include site-occupation history, site formation processes, regional and local climate change, seasonality, ritual and symbolic practices, subsistence and settlement patterns and their effects on human population, as well as anthropogenic impacts to ecosystems. Shell midden archaeology brings together scientists from the social and natural sciences, to understand the long-term human histories and the cultural dynamics of shell middens through interdisciplinary approaches that integrate both scientific method and cultural theory. The nature of shell middens and their subsequent analyses (both archaeological and geological) can be used to develop a better understanding of ancient human-environment interactions. This session invites presentations relating to any aspects of shell midden archaeology.
Biomineralization: Processes & crystal fabrics - Anders Meibom
Processes at the interface between the forming crystal (biomineral or abiogenic crystals) and the precipitating fluid (biomineralization fluid, external medium) are very poorly understood. It is hypothesized, but not yet demonstrated, that active and passive control mechanisms (ATP pumps, ion channels etc.) determine the amount and type of elements and isotopes that reach the site of calcification. In other words, the underlying mechanisms which control how environmental information is recorded by proxies are scarcely comprehended. A better understanding of the processes of biomineralization at molecular levels is essential for future sclerochronological studies. This session aims to bring together researchers from various fields (crystallography, biology, physics, etc.) in an attempt to better understand biomineralization processes.
Numerical modeling and statistical analysis - Gerrit Lohmann
Robust statistical methods are essential in order to understand and interpret precisely temporally aligned data derived from biogenic skeletons. For example, spectral analysis of variable growth patterns and geochemical signals can reveal both natural and anthropogenic forcings. Moreover, a major requirement is that numerical climate models are rigorously tested, verified and constrained by actual data. Communication between numerical climate modelers and sclerochronologists, however, is currently not well-established. This, as well as collaborative research between the two fields, needs to be improved and expanded. This session aims at achieving these goals.
Proxy development - Chris Romanek
A few key geochemical proxies have been employed with great success in paleoclimate research, primarily because they have been rigorously calibrated and tested for specific systems and organisms. For carbonates, the oxygen isotope paleothermometer is, by far, the most commonly used paleoclimate proxy, providing valuable information about both temperature and the isotopic composition of ambient water from which the biominerals precipitate. Without knowing the isotope composition of the water, which is rarely known in the case of ancient environments, it is difficult to establish accurate paleotemperatures. Fortunately, new techniques, such as “clumped isotope” thermometry and independent process-source (e.g., trace element and stable isotope) proxies are filling in the major gaps and permitting a better understanding of paleoclimate. This session will explore newly emerging proxies plus the novel use of existing proxies in order to better understand paleoclimate data derived from living and fossil organisms.
Visions: The future of sclerochronology - Alan D. Wanamaker Jr.
Where will (or should) the science of sclerochronology go in the future? How will it be applied to help solve important environmental problems? How can we increase the strength, productivity, and visibility of this discipline? These questions, and others, will be addressed in this session.
This session welcomes contributions from any and all areas of sclerochronology, skeletochronology and their associated disciplines (e.g., dendrochronology, speleothem research, varved sediments etc.).