Abstract
The extent of aspartic acid racemization was used to date intertidal deposits of the Swinnplate, Wadden Sea, southern North Sea. Ratios of D- and L-aspartic acid for the common cockleCerastoderma edule were related to calibrated14C ages. Cross-calibration based on laboratory heating experiments allowed to also include the soft clamMya arenaria. Based on the determined ages, a sediment accumulation rate of 30–35 cm/100 years is estimated. Although no cross-calibration was carried out forMytilus edulis, the aspartic acid racemization rates confirm the trend of the other two species. The amino acid dating technique appears to be applicable to highly dynamic tidal sedimentary environments at time scales exceeding decades.
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