Origin and percolation times of Milandre Cave drip water determined by tritium time series and beryllium-7 data from Switzerland

Abstract. The geochemical signature of many speleothems used for reconstruction of past continental climates is affected by kinetic isotope fractionation. This limits quantitative paleoclimate reconstruction and, in cases where the kinetic fractionation varies with time, also affects relative paleoclimate interpretations. In carbonate archive research, clumped isotope thermometry is typically used as proxy for absolute temperatures. In the case of speleothems, however, clumped isotopes provide a sensitive indicator for disequilibrium effects. The extent of kinetic fractionation co-varies in Δ47 and δ18O so that it can be used to account for disequilibrium in δ18O and to extract the past drip-water composition. Here we apply this approach to stalagmites from Bunker Cave (Germany) and calculate drip-water δ18Ow values for the Eemian, MIS3, and the Holocene, relying on independent temperature estimates and accounting for disequilibrium. Applying the co-variation method to modern calcite precipitates yields drip-water δ18Ow values in agreement with modern cave drip-water δ18Ow of −7.9 ± 0.3‰, despite large and variable disequilibrium effects in both calcite δ18Oc and Δ47. Reconstructed paleo-drip-water δ18Ow values are lower during colder periods (e.g., MIS3: −8.6 ± 0.4‰ and the early Holocene at 11 ka: −9.7 ± 0.2‰) and show higher values during warmer climatic periods (e.g., the Eemian: −7.6 ± 0.2‰ and the Holocene Climatic Optimum: −7.2 ± 0.3‰). This new approach offers a unique possibility for quantitative climate reconstruction including the assessment of past hydrological conditions while accounting for disequilibrium effects.

Download Full-text

Cave drip water solutes in south-eastern Australia: Constraining sources, sinks and processes

The Science of The Total Environment ◽

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.10.035 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 651 ◽

pp. 2175-2186 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Carol V. Tadros ◽

Pauline C. Treble ◽

Andy Baker ◽

Stuart Hankin ◽

Regina Roach

Keyword(s):

Drip Water ◽

South Eastern ◽

Cave Drip Water ◽

Eastern Australia ◽

South Eastern Australia

Download Full-text

Cave Drip Water-Related Samples as a Natural Environment for Aromatic Hydrocarbon-Degrading Bacteria

Microorganisms ◽

10.3390/microorganisms7020033 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 33 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Eric Marques ◽

Gislaine Silva ◽

João Dias ◽

Eduardo Gross ◽

Moara Costa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Aromatic Hydrocarbon ◽

Microbial Communities ◽

16S Rdna ◽

Aromatic Compounds ◽

Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis ◽

Amplicon Sequencing ◽

Drip Water ◽

Rdna Sequencing ◽

Degrading Bacteria ◽

Cave Drip Water

Restricted contact with the external environment has allowed the development of microbial communities adapted to the oligotrophy of caves. However, nutrients can be transported to caves by drip water and affect the microbial communities inside the cave. To evaluate the influence of aromatic compounds carried by drip water on the microbial community, two limestone caves were selected in Brazil. Drip-water-saturated and unsaturated sediment, and dripping water itself, were collected from each cave and bacterial 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of naphthalene dioxygenase (ndo) genes were performed. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) were performed to evaluate inorganic nutrients, and GC was performed to estimate aromatic compounds in the samples. The high frequency of Sphingomonadaceae in drip water samples indicates the presence of aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria. This finding was consistent with the detection of naphthalene and acenaphthene and the presence of ndo genes in drip-water-related samples. The aromatic compounds, aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria and 16S rDNA sequencing indicate that aromatic compounds may be one of the sources of energy and carbon to the system and the drip-water-associated bacterial community contains several potentially aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work to present compelling evidence for the presence of aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria in cave drip water.

Download Full-text

The Influences of Hydrology on the Radiogenic and Stable Carbon Isotope Composition of Cave Drip Water, Grotta di Ernesto (Italy)

Radiocarbon ◽

10.1017/s0033822200056289 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 52 (4) ◽

pp. 1529-1544 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

J Fohlmeister ◽

A Schröder-Ritzrau ◽

C Spötl ◽

S Frisia ◽

R Miorandi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Carbon ◽

Water Cycle ◽

Isotope Composition ◽

Stable Carbon Isotope ◽

Carbon Dynamics ◽

Calcite Dissolution ◽

Drip Water ◽

Soil Carbon Dynamics ◽

Ne Italy ◽

Cave Drip Water

14C and δ13C values of C-containing species in cave drip waters are mainly controlled by the C isotope composition of karst rock and soil air, as well as by soil carbon dynamics, in particular the amount of soil CO2 in the unsaturated soil zone and the process of calcite dissolution. Here, we investigate soil carbon dynamics by analyzing the 14C activity and δ13C values of C dissolved in cave drip water. Monthly over a 2-yr period, we collected drip water from 2 drip sites, one fast and one relatively slow, within the shallow Grotta di Ernesto Cave (NE Italy). The 14C data reveal a pronounced annual cycle. In contrast, the δ13C values do not show an annual pattern and only small interannual variability compared to the δ13C values of soil waters. The annual 14C drip-water cycle is a function of drip-rate variability, soil moisture, and ultimately hydrology.

Download Full-text

Dating cave drip water by tritium

Journal of Hydrology ◽

10.1016/j.jhydrol.2010.09.015 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 394 (3-4) ◽

pp. 396-406 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

Author(s):

T. Kluge ◽

D.F.C. Riechelmann ◽

M. Wieser ◽

C. Spötl ◽

J. Sültenfuß ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Drip Water ◽

Cave Drip Water

Download Full-text

Quantification of low molecular weight fatty acids in cave drip water and speleothems using HPLC-ESI-IT/MS — development and validation of a selective method

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry ◽

10.1007/s00216-014-7743-6 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 406 (13) ◽

pp. 3167-3177 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Janine M. Bosle ◽

Simon A. Mischel ◽

Anna-Lena Schulze ◽

Denis Scholz ◽

Thorsten Hoffmann

Keyword(s):

Fatty Acids ◽

Molecular Weight ◽

Low Molecular Weight ◽

Selective Method ◽

Drip Water ◽

Cave Drip Water ◽

Development And Validation

Download Full-text

Organic characterisation of cave drip water by LC-OCD and fluorescence analysis

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta ◽

10.1016/j.gca.2015.05.042 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 166 ◽

pp. 15-28 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Helen Rutlidge ◽

Martin S. Andersen ◽

Andy Baker ◽

Khorshed J. Chinu ◽

Mark O. Cuthbert ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fluorescence Analysis ◽

Drip Water ◽

Cave Drip Water

Download Full-text

Hydrogeochemical Responses of Cave Drip Water to the Local Climate in Liangfeng Cave, Southwest China

10.21203/rs.3.rs-791523/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Xia Wu ◽

Moucheng Pan ◽

Meiliang Zhang ◽

Jianhua Cao

Keyword(s):

Southwest China ◽

Regional Climate ◽

Climate Data ◽

Environmental Index ◽

Local Climate ◽

Drip Water ◽

Cave Drip Water ◽

The Difference ◽

High Precipitation ◽

Liangfeng Cave

Abstract The hydrogeochemistry of cave drip water is an important environmental index in cave systems, and drip water monitoring may be an essential solution for paleoclimate reconstructions. We measured the hydrogeochemical properties of the seasonal and perennial drip water and CO2 concentrations from 2015 to 2019 in Liangfeng Cave, Guilin, Southwest China. This study identified the difference in the regional environmental records in perennial and seasonal drip water. By comparing the regional climate data recorded by the drip water, the results showed the perennial drip water recorded regional climate information throughout the year, while the seasonal drip water only recorded the high precipitation periods. The precipitation during the 2015 dry season was abnormally high, which not sure what index is higher than the values in other rainy seasons. This indicates that hydrogeochemistry only represents changes in precipitation and not the alternation of dry and rainy seasons during this period.

Download Full-text

Monitoring of Sierra Nevada Caves Reveals the Potential for Stalagmites to Archive Seasonal Variability

Frontiers in Earth Science ◽

10.3389/feart.2021.781526 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Barbara E. Wortham ◽

Isabel P. Montañez ◽

Kimberly Bowman ◽

Daphne Kuta ◽

Nora Soto Contreras ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Trace Element ◽

Sierra Nevada ◽

Seasonal Variability ◽

Large Variability ◽

Study Region ◽

Rock Interaction ◽

Drip Water ◽

Element Concentrations ◽

Cave Drip Water ◽

Precipitation And Temperature

In the southwestern United States, California (CA) is one of the most climatically sensitive regions given its low (≤250 mm/year) seasonal precipitation and its inherently variable hydroclimate, subject to large magnitude modulation. To reconstruct past climate change in CA, cave calcite deposits (stalagmites) have been utilized as an archive for environmentally sensitive proxies, such as stable isotope compositions (δ18O, δ13C) and trace element concentrations (e.g., Mg, Ba, Sr). Monitoring the cave and associated surface environments, the chemical evolution of cave drip-water, the calcite precipitated from the drip-water, and the response of these systems to seasonal variability in precipitation and temperature is imperative for interpreting stalagmite proxies. Here we present monitored drip-water and physical parameters at Lilburn Cave, Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park (Southern Sierra Nevada), CA, and measured trace element concentrations (Mg, Sr, Ba, Cu, Fe, Mn) and stable isotopic compositions (δ18O, δ2H) of drip-water and for calcite (δ18O) precipitated on glass substrates over a two-year period (November 2018 to February 2021) to better understand how chemical variability at this site is influenced by local and regional precipitation and temperature variability. Despite large variability in surface temperatures and precipitation amount and source region (North Pacific vs. subtropical Pacific), Lilburn Cave exhibits a constant cave environment year-round. At two of the three sites within the cave, drip-water δ18O and δ2H are influenced seasonally by evaporative enrichment. At a third collection site in the cave, the drip-water δ18O responds solely to precipitation δ18O variability. The Mg/Ca, Ba/Ca, and Sr/Ca ratios are seasonally responsive to prior calcite precipitation at all sites but minimally to water-rock interaction. Lastly, we examine the potential of trace metals (e.g., Mn2+ and Cu2+as a geochemical proxy of recharge and find that variability in their concentrations has high potential to denote the onset of the rainy season in the study region. The drip-water composition is recorded in the calcite, demonstrating that stalagmites from Lilburn Cave, and potentially more regionally, could record seasonal variability in weather even during periods of substantially reduced rainfall.

Download Full-text