Hello, when I use a reflective light microscope (with light entering at approximately 45 degrees), I can see a lot of details and textures. I suspect the image may contain some sub-annual lines. However, when I use a transmissive light microscope or a reflective light microscope (with light entering vertically), I can see the main growth lines more clearly, and many micro-growth lines and textures are not visible under oblique light. I am conducting cross-dating and am unsure which perspective of images to use for cross-dating.
We have been developing methods for this so your question is very timely. If the shells are thin, we use transmitted light and it works very well. For bivalves with thick shells, we have to use reflected light. You can cut the hinge and measure the growth lines there. This is the best thing to do on long-lived species with lines that are close together.
Lusha M Tronstad Thank you very much for your help! The current shell samples I have are wrapped in resin, with a thickness of about 2cm. I'm using a reflected light microscope to observe the growth lines in the hinge plate area. Although the growth lines are relatively clear in the eyepiece of the reflected light microscope, they appear blurry and there are some bright spots when photographed with a camera connected to the microscope. I have consulted some literature, and it seems that this may be due to significant light scattering in thick sections. It looks like I need to cut my samples thinner. Thanks again for your help!
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