Giant Clam Shell Decodes 200-Year-Old Climate Diary of the Great Barrier Reef
Researchers reconstructed month-by-month climate conditions at the northern Great Barrier Reef 200 years ago by analyzing the shell of a giant clam (Tridacna gigas). The study, conducted in partnership with Aboriginal communities, reveals that pre-industrial summers were 0.9–1.2°C cooler than today, while winters remained similar. The shell’s geochemical layers provided a detailed record of temperature and rainfall variability, including El Niño and La Niña cycles, offering a rare high-resolution climate archive for the Southern Hemisphere.