Palaeoenvironmental conditions during MIS 6/MIS 5 transition recorded in speleothems from the Tatra Mountains

Abstract

We present 100‐ka multiproxy palaeoenvironmental records from three stalagmites collected in different caves located in the Tatra Mountains on the Polish/Slovakian border. A combination of three records from one mountain region helps to estimate local factors controlling the recorded proxies and separate them from regional/global patterns. The studied stalagmites react to the same environmental changes in different ways due to the differences in their local settings. Furthermore, the analysed records show environmental changes from relatively cold and dry climates to interglacial conditions of MIS 5e. One episode of a colder climate during the MIS 6/MIS 5e transition similar to Dryas periods is observed in all studied stalagmites. The δ18O record from the MAG‐1 stalagmite is most similar to the GRIP record. During the MIS 5e, the δ18O record from the MAG‐1 stalagmite e xhibits a pattern similar to the records from the western part of the European continent. This finding suggests that the Atlantic Ocean was an important source of moisture for the region. The observed rapid change of δ18O, δ13C, Sr and Si proxies from the MAG‐1 and Dz‐1 stalagmites after 109 ka are potentially related to a drier and colder climate.

The speleothem oxygen record as a proxy for thermal or moisture changes: a case study of multiproxy records from MIS 5–MIS 6 speleothems from the Demänová Cave system

“…The temperature, amount of precipitation at the cave site and changes in the main source of vapour for precipitation are considered to be the main factors determining the δ 18 O value of precipitated calcite. However, for records from the Alps and central Europe, temperature appears to be a more important factor (Moseley et al, 2015;Kern et al, 2019;Pawlak et al, 2019Pawlak et al, , 2020Comas-Bru et al, 2020). This result is consistent with the observations made by Różański et al (1993) which showed that the isotopic composition of rainfall in temperate regions of Europe mainly depends on local temperature.…”

“…Evaporation overcomes the temperature effect, which should be negative. A similar episode containing high δ 18 O and δ 13 C values at approximately 119-117 ka is observed in the records from Baradla Cave and Magurska Cave; these records are interpreted as indicating an episode of dry continental climate (Demény et al, 2017;Pawlak et al, 2020). Records from Magurska Cave, located in the Tatra Mountains, and from Baradla Cave, located in Hungary (Fig.…”

“…This may reflect the more substantial change in the environment from periglacial tundra conditions to temperate forests. According to data from other speleothems, the long-term tendencies of δ 13 C and δ 18 O are clearly related to improvements in thermal conditions after the MIS 6 glacial maximum and before the MIS 6-MIS 5e transition (Pawlak et al, 2020;Moseley et al, 2015;Meyer et al, 2008;Holzkamper et al, 2004).…”

“…6). Similarly, in the caves on the northern slopes of the Tatra Mountains, T II is visible as a positive change in δ 18 O (Pawlak et al, 2020). However, in the case of the δ 18 O record from Magurska Cave (Tatra Mountains, Poland), the change towards positive values is preceded by an instant decrease of ca.…”

“…Additionally, the isotopic composition of the crystallising calcite can be altered by kinetic effects when the relative humidity of the cave air is less than 100 % (Dorale and Liu 2009). Recently, more than a dozen speleothem records of the last interglacial age have been obtained from the European continent (Meyer et al, 2008;Couchoud et al, 2009;Moseley et al, 2015;Vansteenberge et al, 2016;Demény et al, 2017;Pawlak et al, 2019Pawlak et al, , 2020. The temperature, amount of precipitation at the cave site and changes in the main source of vapour for precipitation are considered to be the main factors determining the δ 18 O value of precipitated calcite.…”