Using stable isotopes (δ17O, δ18O and δD) of gypsum hydration water to ascertain the role of water condensation in the formation of subaerial gypsum speleothems

The Contribution of Condensation-Corrosion in the Morphological Evolution of Caves in Semi-Arid Regions: Preliminary Investigations in the Kyrenia Range, Cyprus

“…On the contrary, in summer, hot (35-45 °C) and dry external air (RH < 30%) entering in fresh caves is not sufficient to reach the dew point, even by a cooling of up to 10-15 °C: caves remain dried by airflow. Such seasonal dynamic was previously noticed in Sorbas caves, South Spain, which has a climate similar to Cyprus, where condensation mainly occurs in winter (Gázquez et al 2017). Isotope ratios have also shown that the solution at the origin of gypsum crusts and speleothems is made of 60% of condensation water and the rest of seepage water.…”

Triple oxygen and hydrogen isotopes of gypsum hydration water for quantitative paleo-humidity reconstruction

“…whereas their sensitivities to temperature are relatively small, especially for 17 O-excess ( Fig. 1B) (Landais et al, 2006;Passey et al, 2014;Surma et al, 2015;Gázquez et al, 2017b;Herwartz et al, 2017). Both cross-plots are moderately sensitive to turbulences (winds) on the water surface during evaporation ( Fig.…”

“…The 17 O-excess averages ~37 per meg in modern meteoric waters and shows lower values in evaporated water Steig et al, 2014;Surma et al, 2015). The trajectory of  18 O and 17 O-excess in evaporated water is relatively insensitive to temperature and salinities below 100 g/l Passey et al, 2014); however, it is significantly affected by other parameters such as the hydrological balance of the water body and atmospheric RH (Surma et al, 2015;Gázquez et al, 2017b;Herwartz et al, 2017; see Fig. 1).…”

Triple oxygen isotope analysis of nitrate using isotope exchange cavity ringdown laser spectroscopy

“…Triple oxygen isotope measurements ( 16 O/ 17 O/ 18 O) have become an important part of the geochemical toolkit over the past two decades, influencing fields such as atmospheric chemistry, meteorites and planetary science, hydrology, paleoclimatology, atmospheric evolution, forensic studies, among other promising applications . Many of these investigations focused on oxygen‐bearing compounds in sediments and soils, in order to constrain the atmospheric processes and environmental conditions that prevailed at the time of mineral precipitation . This is because, under certain conditions, some minerals (e.g.…”

“…New analytical techniques, including Cavity Ringdown laser Spectroscopy (CRDS) and Off‐Axis Integrated Cavity Output Spectroscopy (OA‐ICOS), which are less expensive and more user‐friendly than mass spectrometry, have permitted high‐precision measurements of triple oxygen isotopes in liquid waters, hydration water in minerals, water fluid inclusions in speleothems, and gaseous nitrogen oxide . It is only very recently, however, that methods for triple oxygen isotopes in solid materials and dissolved salts using laser spectroscopy‐based analyzers have been presented …”