Interpretation of orbital scale variability in mid-latitude speleothem δ18O: Significance of growth rate controlled kinetic fractionation effects

TIMS U-Th dating and high-resolution oxygen isotopic composition measurements were conducted on a stalagmite SI3 collected from Shizi cave, Nuoshuihe, northeastern Sichuan, Central China. The stalagmite SI3 was developed between 54-46 ka. Its δ18O record displays a high similarity with those of stalagmites MSL and MSD from Hulu cave, East China and D4 from Dongge cave, Southwest China, respectively. The trend of the δ18O record of SI3 also parallels with those of ice core GISP2 from polar area and of speleothem in Israel. These suggest that the δ18O record of SI3 is closely related with summer monsoon variation in East Asia. However, some evidences seem to suggest that carbonates in SI3 are more 18O enriched than those deposited under oxygen isotopic equilibrium condition. There was probably kinetic fractionation when SI3 was developed. This may be explained by the locus of SI3 that was collected near the entrance of Shizi cave. The possible mechanism between the δ18O record of SI3 and the variation in East Asian summer monsoon was speculated. It is suggested that in the East Asian summer monsoon domain, the δ18O record of some speleothem deposited even under nonequilibrium condition is still a potential proxy for summer monsoon variation.

Stalagmite

Speleothem

δ18O

East Asian Monsoon

Ice core

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A precisely dated climate record for the last 9 kyr from three high alpine stalagmites, Spannagel Cave, Austria

Geophysical Research Letters (2006)

Nicole Vollweiler Denis Scholz Christian Mühlinghaus Augusto Mangini Christoph Spötl

Here we use the δ 18 O time‐series of three stalagmites from the high alpine Spannagel cave (Austria) which grew in small distance from each other to construct a precisely dated, continuous δ 18 O curve for the last 9 kyr (COMNISPA). This speleothem record is not influenced by effects of kinetic isotope fractionation due to the low temperatures in the cave. Thus, the variations in δ 18 O can be interpreted in terms of past climate change. COMNISPA exhibits several oscillations within the Holocene, and their timing and duration is in agreement with that documented by other alpine archives.

Stalagmite

Speleothem

Ice core

δ18O

Paleoclimatology

10.1029/2006gl027662

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Citations (113)

Interpretation of orbital scale variability in mid-latitude speleothem δ18O: Significance of growth rate controlled kinetic fractionation effects

Quaternary Science Reviews (2015)

Heather Stoll Ana Méndez-Vicente Saúl González‐Lemos Ana Moreno Isabel Cacho

Stalagmite

Speleothem

δ18O

10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.08.025

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Citations (51)

High-resolution speleothem record of precipitation from the Yucatan Peninsula spanning the Maya Preclassic Period

Global and Planetary Change (2015)

Martín Medina‐Elizalde Stephen J. Burns Josué M. Polanco-Martínez Timothy Beach Fernanda Lases-Hernández

Stalagmite

Speleothem

δ18O

10.1016/j.gloplacha.2015.10.003

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Citations (77)

A high-resolution fluid inclusion δ18O record from a stalagmite in SW France: modern calibration and comparison with multiple proxies

Quaternary Science Reviews (2015)

Inga Labuhn Dominique Genty Hubert Vonhof Clément Bourdin Dominique Blamart

Stalagmite

Speleothem

δ18O

10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.12.021

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Citations (33)

CARBONATE STABLE ISOTOPES | Speleothems

Elsevier eBooks (2007)

Henry P. Schwarcz

Speleothem

Stalagmite

δ18O

Ice core

Paleoclimatology

10.1016/b0-44-452747-8/00352-5

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Citations (2)

Speleothem record of the last 180 ka in Villars cave (SW France): Investigation of a large δ18O shift between MIS6 and MIS5

Quaternary Science Reviews (2010)

Karine Wainer Dominique Genty Dominique Blamart Mathieu Daëron Miryam Bar‐Matthews

Speleothem

δ18O

Stalagmite

10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.07.004

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Citations (132)

Characterization and Correction of Evaporative Artifacts in Speleothem Fluid Inclusion Isotope Analyses as Applied to a Stalagmite From Borneo

Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems (2023)

Álvaro Fernández Marit H. Løland Jenny Maccali Yves Krüger Hubert Vonhof

Abstract Fluid inclusion water isotope measurements in speleothems have great potential for paleoclimate studies as they enable the reconstruction of precipitation dynamics and land temperatures. Several previous observations, however, suggest that inclusion waters do not always reflect the isotopic composition of surface precipitation. In such cases, dripwaters are thought to be modified by evaporation in the cave environment that results in more positive δ 2 H and δ 18 O values and shallow δ 2 H/δ 18 O slopes. Although evaporation can occur in cave systems, water can also be lost to evaporation during analysis but before water extraction. Here, we examine the likelihood of this possibility with a stalagmite from Borneo. We demonstrate that many samples lose water, and that water loss is controlled by the type and size of inclusions. With multiple replicate measurements of coeval samples, we calculate an evaporative δ 2 H/δ 18 O slope of 1.0 ± 0.6 (2SE). This value is consistent with model predictions of evaporative fractionation at high analytical temperature and low humidity. Finally, we propose a method to correct for this effect. We find that fluid–calcite δ 18 O paleotemperatures calculated with corrected δ 18 O data show excellent agreement with recent microthermometry temperature estimates for Borneo, supporting the validity of our approach and implying limited stalagmite δ 18 O disequilibrium variations. Corrected fluid inclusion δ 18 O and δ 2 H values follow the expected hydroclimate response of Borneo to periods of reduced Atlantic Ocean meridional overturning circulation. Our results suggest that careful petrographic examination and multiple replicate measurements are necessary for reliable paleoclimate reconstructions with speleothem fluid inclusion water isotopes.

Stalagmite

Speleothem

δ18O

Paleoclimatology

10.1029/2023gc010857

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Citations (12)