Past sea level changes for the past few thousands years can be detected using the height of the gastropod Dendropoma petraeum (Vermetidae). These mollusks live at the midlittoral zone and therefore they are sensitive to daily changes, but their reservoir age should be determined in order to determine the absolute time for the sea level changes.
Samples from the base of the Dendropoma (the contact with the substrata which is calcareous sandstone) were 14C dated by AMS and most of them obtained radiocarbon ages of the last Millennia. In order to correct for the marine reservoir age we have used shells collected at different depths in the shallow water region to study the effect of repeated or continuous exposure of the shell to the atmosphere. Shells were all collected alive in beginning of the last century. No major differences between shells reservoir ages were detected, but the variations should be taken in account for the accuracy of radiocarbon ages.
See more of Reservoir Age Variability in the Marine Environment
See more of The 10th International Conference on Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (September 5-10, 2005)