The feasibility of using Melanopsis shells as radiocarbon chronometers, Lake Kinneret, Israel

We investigated the feasibility of using Melanopsis shells as radiocarbon chronometers of paleolakes and springs in the Jordan Valley, Israel. For this purpose, we analyzed the C-14 content of aragonite of living Melanopsis shells from different freshwater bodies of the northern Jordan Valley and Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) and compared them to the contemporaneous water values. The Melanopsis shells are in C-14 equilibrium with their habitat waters, allowing to specify a particular reservoir age for various water types. We measured similar to 750 yr for Lake Kinneret, similar to 2300 yr for northern Jordan, similar to 4600 yr for springs in the north Kinneret, and similar to 7200 yr for streams flowing directly from carbonate aquifers. These results were tested and corroborated by analyzing fossil Melanopsis shells of known age, measured on contemporaneous organic matter. We conclude that Melanopsis shells are reliable C-14 chronometers and have the potential to be used as paleohydrological tracers.