Subseasonal variations in marine reservoir age from pre-bomb Donax obesulus and Protothaca asperrima shell carbonate

Two Donax obesulus and two Protothaca asperrima shells collected prior to the nuclear testing of the 1950's were micromilled at sub-seasonal resolution to yield new reservoir effect (ΔR) estimates for the coast of Peru. Shells from northern (4°40′S to 8°14′S) and central (13°52′S) Peru produced ΔR values of 123 ± 50 and 110 ± 49 years respectively. We found such values statistically indistinguishable from each other while reporting intra-annual ΔR variability along shells ontogeny in agreement with previously published regional ΔR values. This similarity suggests radiocarbon dating of short-lived (<1.5 years) mollusks shells is a useful tool for comparing marine radiocarbon signals. Additionally, our analysis of ΔR and δ¹⁸O changes along shells' ontogeny found a tenuous relationship between them. We are not the first one to report these phenomena in Peruvian upwelling, but we are the first to suggest that fast Lagrangian water mixing as a mechanism behind it.