Stalagmite growth and palaeo-climate: an inverse approach, 2004, Kaufmann G. , Dreybrodt W. ,

The growth of stalagmites is controlled by climatic conditions such as temperature, soil activity, and precipitation. Hence, a stalagmite stratigraphy reflects fluctuations of palaeo-climate conditions on various time scales, from annual variations to ice-age cycles. However, no attempt has been made to infer palaeo-climate fluctuations from the stratigraphy itself We describe the complicated growth of a stalagmite with a simple mathematical model, in which both the growth rate and the equilibrium diameter of stalagmites are functions of palaeo-climate variables. Hence, inverting a given stalagmite stratigraphy in terms of growth rate and equilibrium diameter can in principle recover the palaeo-climate signal. The strongly nonlinear dependence of these two geometrical parameters, however, limits the success of a formal inversion of stratigraphical data. In this paper, we explore the resolving power of both growth rate and equilibrium diameter data for the palaeo-climate signals temperature, carbon-dioxide concentration, and precipitation. We use numerically generated stalagmite stratigraphies as observational data, thus we know beforehand the palaeo-climate signal contained in the stratigraphic record. Our results indicate that both variations in carbon-dioxide concentrations (as a proxy of soil cover) and drip interval (as a proxy of precipitation) can be recovered from the stratigraphy. However, temperature variations are poorly resolved. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Geomorphologic evolution of a coastal karst: the Gulf of Orosei (central-east Sardinia, Italy), 2004, De Waele, Jo

In the past ten years cave surveying has allowed better understanding of speleogenesis in the Orosei Gulf (Central-East Sardinia, Italy), one of the most important coastal karst areas of Italy. Surface geomorphologic research has been accompanied by subterranean and submarine landform analysis in order to try and understand the evolution of this coastal karst since its emersion in Upper Eocene. The main factors influencing the geomorphic processes are lithology, tectonics, palaeo-climate and sea level changes. The study of several important cave systems demonstrates a complex geological history with karst processes that started in Early Tertiary and accelerated during Plio-Quaternary.

Palaeo-climate reconstruction from stable isotope variations in speleothems: a review, 2004, Mcdermott, F.

Speleothems are now regarded as valuable archives of climatic conditions on the continents, offering a number of advantages relative to other continental climate proxy recorders such as lake sediments and peat cores. They are ideal materials for precise U-series dating, yielding ages in calendar years, thereby circumventing the radiocarbon calibration problems associated with most other continental records. Stable isotope studies in speleothems have shifted away from attempting to provide palaeo-temperature reconstructions to the attainable goal of providing precise estimates for the timing and duration of major O isotope-defined climatic events characterised by high signal to noise ratios (e.g. glacial/interglacial transitions, Dansgaard–Oeschger oscillations, the ‘8200- year’ event). Unlike the marine records, speleothem data sets are not ‘tuned’, and their independent chronology offers opportunities to critically assess leads and lags in the climate system, that in turn can provide important insights into forcing and feedback mechanisms. Improved procedures for the extraction and measurement of stable isotope ratios in fluid inclusions trapped in speleothems are likely to provide, in the near future, a much enhanced basis for the quantitative interpretation of O isotope ratios in speleothem calcite. The latter developments open up once again the tantalising prospect of palaeo-temperature estimates, but more importantly perhaps, provide a direct test for a new generation of general circulation models whose hydrological cycles will incorporate the ‘water isotopes’. The literature is reviewed briefly to provide for the reader a sense of the current state-of-the-art, and to provide some pointers for future research directions