Lavaud R. auteur aut IRD Thébault J. auteur aut IRD Lorrain Anne auteur aut IRD van der Geest M. auteur aut IRD Chauvaud L. auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf born digital access Environmental archives are useful tools for describing past and current climate variations and they provide an opportunity to assess the anthropogenic contribution in coastal ecological changes. Along the West African coast, few studies have focused on such archives in coastal ecosystems. The bloody cockle Senilia senilis, an intertidal bivalve mollusk species, is widely distributed from Western Sahara to Angola, and has been harvested by humans over thousands of years. Therefore, this species appears to be a good candidate for assessing past variations of key environmental parameters such as temperature, primary production, and Saharan dust advection within West African coastal ecosystems. In the present paper, we focused (i) on the identification of growth rhythms of S. senilis shells in Mauritania (Banc d'Arguin), and (ii) on the potential of these shells as (paleo-)environmental archives. The method we used combined environmental survey, sclerochronology, and geochemical analyses of aragonite samples. We showed that microgrowth line formation was controlled by a tidal forcing, leading to the formation of two lines per lunar day. Brightness and thickness of these microgrowth lines progressively decreased from spring to neap tides (fortnightly cycle). Lunar daily growth rates displayed strong seasonal variations, with highest values (>300 mu m per lunar day) recorded in summer. The oxygen isotope composition of S. senilis shells (delta O-18(aragonite)) accurately tracked seawater temperature seasonal variations, with a precision of 0.8 degrees C. Finally, we discussed the opportunity to use Ba:Ca ratio in shells as a proxy for primary production or for Saharan dust transport. We also hypothesized that either Canary Currentvariations or, more probably, massive aerosol transfers from Sahara to the Atlantic Ocean could control uranium availability in coastal waters and explain the occurrence of U:Ca peaks within S. senilis shells. specialized Bivalve Sclerochronology Oxygen isotopes Barium Uranium MAURITANIE 036 064 021 76 61-72 2013 1385-1101 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010060756 10.1016/j.seares.2012.11.003 1385-1101 [F B010060756] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010060756 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/intranet/publi/2013/04/010060756.pdf Accès réservé (Intranet de l'IRD) IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2013-05-02 2017-08-23 fdi:010060756 fre