Abstract
Periodic increments in the growth of organismal shells and fossils in the intertidal zone were studied by light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and chemical composition analyses. The results were used to calculate the orbital parameters of the Earth-Moon system from the Ordovician to Quaternary period. The annual, semi-annual, biweekly (14-day), daily and subdaily growth rhythms were identified on the surface of shells. The periodic changes in the growth increments of shells and the rhythmic variations of microelements in fossils and organisms were reliable indicators of environmental changes. There were 415.69 days for an annual period in Ordovician, 407.1 days in Devonian, 400.51 days in Carboniferous-Permian, 393.98 days in Tertiary, 374.13 days in Triassic and 367.4 days in Quaternary. The data collected and calculated from these growth increments show that – from the Ordovician to the Quaternary period – the rate of Earth’s rotation has been slowing down and that the distance from the Earth to the Moon has been increasing, while the rate of lunar retreat has been decreasing.
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Zhenyu, Z., Yaoqi, Z. & Guosheng, J. The periodic growth increments of biological shells and the orbital parameters of Earth-Moon system. Environ Geol 51, 1271–1277 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-006-0420-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-006-0420-0