Abstract. We present here the results of a 4-year environmental monitoring program at Ascunsȃ Cave (southwestern Romania) designed to help us understand how climate information is transferred through the karst system and archived by speleothems. The air temperature inside the cave is around 7 • C, with slight differences between the upper and lower parts of the main passage. CO 2 concentrations in cave air have a seasonal signal, with summer minima and winter maxima. These might indicate the existence of an organic matter reservoir deep within the epikarst that continues to decompose over the winter, and CO 2 concentrations are possibly modulated by seasonal differences in cave ventilation.The maximum values of CO 2 show a rise after the summer of 2014, from around 2000 to about 3500 ppm, following a rise in surface temperature. Using two newly designed types of water-air equilibrators, we were able to determine the concentration of CO 2 dissolved in drip water by measuring its concentration in the equilibrator headspace and then using Henry's law to calculate its concentration in water. This method opens the possibility of continuous data logging using infrared technology, without the need for costly and less reliable chemical determinations. The local meteoric water line (δ 2 H = 7.7 δ 18 O + 10.1), constructed using monthly aggregated rainfall samples, is similar to the global one, revealing the Atlantic as the strongly dominant vapor source. The deuterium excess values, as high as 17 ‰, indicate that precipitation has an important evaporative component, possibly given by moisture recycling over the European continent. The variability of stable isotopes in drip water is similar at all points inside the cave, suggesting that the monitored drip sites are draining a homogenous reservoir. Drip rates, as well as stable isotopes, indicate that the transfer time of water from the surface is on the order of a few days.
Abstract. We present here the results of a four year environmental monitoring program at Ascunsă Cave, Romania, intended to understand how climate information is transferred through the karst system and archived in speleothems. The air temperature inside the cave is around 7 °C, with slight differences between the upper and lower parts of the main passage. Relative humidity measurements were hampered by condensation on the capacitive sensors we used, thus we consider it to be close to 100 %. The local meteoric water line (δ2H = 7.7 δ18O + 10.1), constructed using monthly aggregated rainfall samples, is similar to the global one, revealing the Atlantic as the strongly dominant vapor source. The δ2H excess values, as high as 17 ‰, indicate that precipitation has an important evaporative component, possibly given by moisture recycling over the European continent. CO2 concentrations in cave air have a seasonal signal, with summer minima and winter maxima. This might be indicative of an organic matter reservoir deep within the epikarst that continues to decompose over the winter, possibly modulated by seasonal differences in cave ventilation. The maximum values of CO2 show a rise after the summer of 2014, from around 2000 ppm to about 3500 ppm. An analogous rise is seen in drip water stable isotopes and chemical elements such as Sr and Mg. The variability of stable isotopes and chemical elements is similar at all points inside the cave, indicating that they are draining a homogenous reservoir. Using two newly designed types of water/air equilibrators we were able to determine drip water dissolved CO2, by measuring its concentration in the equilibrator headspace and then using Henry's law to calculate its concentration in water. This opens the possibility of continuous data logging using infrared technology without the need of costly and less reliable chemical determinations.
The transformation of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and soluble reactive phosphorous (SRP), and the release of dissolved organic and particulate N and P, were analyzed in two lake complexes (Uzlina-Isac and Puiu-Rosu-Rosulet) of the Danube Delta wetland during flood conditions in May and at low water level in September 2006. The Uzlina-Isac complex was hydrologically tightlyconnected with the Danube River and was flushed with river-borne nutrients and organic matter. These lakes acted as effective transformers for nutrients and produced large amounts of fresh biomass, that promoted the excretion of dissolved organic N and P during active growth. Biomass breakdown created particulate matter (\0.45 lm), which was widely liberated during low flow in the fall. The PuiuRosu-Rosulet complex was characterized by a more distant position to the Danube and proximity to the Black Sea, and received dominantly transformed organic compounds from the flow-through water and vast vegetation cover. Due to reduced nutrient input, the internal production of organic biomass also was reduced in these more remote lakes. Total N and P export from the lake nearest to the shelf was governed by dominantly dissolved organic and particulate compounds (mean 58 and 82%, respectively). Overall, this survey found that these highly productive wetlands efficiently transform nutrients into a large pool of dissolved organic and particulate N and P. Hence, wetland lakes may behave widely as net sources of organic N and P to downstream waters and coastal marine systems.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.