Carbon and oxygen isotope study of the active water-carbonate system in a karstic Mediterranean cave: Implications for paleoclimate research in semiarid regions

Bar‐Matthews, Miryam; Ayalon, Avner; Matthews, Alan; Sass, Eytan; Halicz, Ludwik

doi:10.1016/0016-7037(95)00395-9

Cited by 268 publications

(151 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…As in Appelo [45], the calcite precipitation and CO 2 degassing rates were set so that equilibrium with the final CO 2 pressure (10 − 4 atm) and with calcite saturation were reached concurrently. While this equilibrium situation may not apply to the majority of cave systems, it has been documented for certain locations [46]. Very fast degassing may often occur in caves, however, leading to kinetic fractionation of carbon isotopes [37].…”

Section: Calcite Precipitation Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal trace-element and stable-isotope variations in a Chinese speleothem: The potential for high-resolution paleomonsoon reconstruction

Johnson

Belshaw

et al. 2006

Earth and Planetary Science Letters

311

249

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Section: Calcite Precipitation Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal trace-element and stable-isotope variations in a Chinese speleothem: The potential for high-resolution paleomonsoon reconstruction

Johnson

Belshaw

et al. 2006

Earth and Planetary Science Letters

311

249

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“…Although recently many studies proved that kinetically altered speleothem-based isotope records can provide an excellent data set to reconstruct environmental/climatic changes in the past (e.g., Kennett et al, 2012;Tan et al, 2015;Cheng et al, 2016), in general, stalagmites with a close-to-equilibrium oxygen isotope composition should be selected for paleoclimate studies (e.g., Bar-Matthews et al, 1996;Serefiddin et al, 2004;Fuller et al, 2008) especially with the aim to calculate past temperatures. The usual procedure for identifying the equilibrium condition (apart from Hendy test, simultaneous records) is the comparison of measured isotopic composition with the calculated values obtained using temperature and water composition data and an equation that best describes equilibrium fractionation.…”

Section: Exploration Of Equilibrium Fractionationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cave monitoring in the Béke and Baradla caves (Northeastern Hungary): implications for the conditions for the formation cave carbonates

Czuppon

Demény

Leél-Őssy

et al. 2018

IJS

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Abstract:In order to use speleothems in the reconstruction of past climate and environmental changes it is necessary to understand the environmental and hydrological processes that determine the physico-chemical conditions of carbonate precipitation and hence speleothem formation. Therefore, in this study an extended monitoring program was conducted in the Béke and Baradla caves located in the Aggtelek region (Northeastern Hungary). The studied caves are rich in speleothem and flowstone occurrences with great potential for paleoclimatology studies. The monitoring activity included measurements of atmospheric and cave temperatures, CO 2 concentration in cave air, as well as chemical and isotopic compositions of water samples (drip water, precipitation) and in situ carbonate precipitates. The hydrogen and oxygen isotope compositions of drip waters showed no seasonal variation at any of the collection sites, indicating a well-mixed karstic aquifer. This implies that the isotopic compositions of local speleothems were able to record multiannual isotopic changes inherited from stable isotopes in the drip water. CO 2 concentration showed seasonality (high values in summer and low values in winter) in both caves, likely affecting carbonate precipitation or corrosion and consequently stalagmite growth. Systematic variations among Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca, Na/Ca, and Si/Ca element ratios were detected in the drip water suggesting Prior Calcite Precipitation (PCP). As PCP is characteristic of periods of reduced infiltration during drier weather conditions, the variations in drip water chemistry and drip rates indicate that the hydrological conditions also varied significantly during the studied period. This hydrological variability appears to affect not only trace element composition but also the isotopic composition of modern carbonate precipitates. In summary, these findings imply that the speleothems from the studied caves were able to record the hydrological changes resulting from alternating wet and dry periods, and therefore the geochemical data can be used to reconstruct past climate and environmental changes.

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“…Baker et al, 2002), matching independent pollen and macrofossil evidence. Slow speleothem growth implies complete degassing, whereas variation in the amount of degassing might otherwise have an influence on δ 13 C (Schwarcz, 1986;Bar-Matthews et al, 1996). C4/C3 variations were also thought to control Holocene δ 13 C variations in NE South Africa (Talma and Vogel, 1992;Lee-Thorp et al, 2001).…”

Section: Carbon Isotopesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Once the solution is supersaturated there is a tendency also for CaCO 3 to precipitate. Where these processes are slow, as in the Soreq cave, isotopic equilibrium prevails (Bar-Matthews et al, 1996). Spötl et al (2005) have shown that in a more dynamically ventilated system where PCO 2 falls strongly in winter, the equilibrium enhancement of δ 13 C values in cave water is more than doubled by kinetic effects, leading to strong seasonal variations in δ 13 C (Figure 15) and maximum rates of CaCO 3 precipitation in the winter.…”

Section: Degassing and Prior Calcite Precipitationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modification and preservation of environmental signals in speleothems

Fairchild

Smith

Baker

et al. 2006

Earth-Science Reviews

729

506

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Speleothems are primarily studied in order to generate archives of climatic change and results have led to significant advances in identifying and dating major shifts in the climate system. However, the climatological meaning of many speleothem records cannot be interpreted unequivocally; this is particularly so for more subtle shifts and shorter time periods, but the use of multiple proxies and improving understanding of formation mechanisms offers a clear way forward.An explicit description of speleothem records as time series draws attention to the nature and importance of the signal filtering processes by which the weather, the seasons and longer-term climatic and other environmental fluctuations become encoded in speleothems. We distinguish five sources of variation that influence speleothem geochemistry: atmospheric, vegetation/soil, karstic aquifer, primary speleothem crystal growth and secondary alteration and give specific examples of their influence. The direct role of climate diminishes progressively through these five factors.We identify and review a number of processes identified in recent and current work that bear significantly on the conventional interpretation of speleothem records, for example: 1) speleothem geochemistry can vary seasonally and hence a research need is to establish the proportion of growth attributable to different seasons and whether this varies over time.2) whereas there has traditionally been a focus on monthly mean δ 18 O data of atmospheric moisture, current work emphasizes the importance of understanding the synoptic processes that lead to characteristic isotope signals, since changing relative abundance of different weather types might 1 Corresponding author, fax +44(0)1214145528, E-mail: i.j.fairchild@bham.ac.uk control their variation on the longer-term. 3) the ecosystem and soil zone overlying the cave fundamentally imprint the carbon and trace element signals and can show characteristic variations with time. 4) new modelling on aquifer plumbing allows quantification of the effects of aquifer mixing. 5) recent work has emphasized the importance and seasonal variability of CO 2 -degassing leading to calcite precipitation upflow of a depositional site on carbon isotope and trace element composition of speleothems. 6) Although much is known about the chemical partitioning between water and stalagmites, variability in relation to crystal growth mechanisms and kinetics is a research frontier. 7) Aragonite is susceptible to conversion to calcite with major loss of chemical information, but the controls on the rate of this process are obscure.Analytical factors are critical to generate high-resolution speleothem records. A variety of methods of trace element analysis are available, but standardization is a common problem with the most rapid methods. New stable isotope data on Irish stalagmite CC3 compares rapid laser-ablation techniques with the conventional analysis of micromilled powders and ion microprobe methods. A high degree of comparability between techniques ...

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Carbon and oxygen isotope study of the active water-carbonate system in a karstic Mediterranean cave: Implications for paleoclimate research in semiarid regions

Cited by 268 publications

References 32 publications

Seasonal trace-element and stable-isotope variations in a Chinese speleothem: The potential for high-resolution paleomonsoon reconstruction

Seasonal trace-element and stable-isotope variations in a Chinese speleothem: The potential for high-resolution paleomonsoon reconstruction

Cave monitoring in the Béke and Baradla caves (Northeastern Hungary): implications for the conditions for the formation cave carbonates

Modification and preservation of environmental signals in speleothems

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