scholarly journals Seasonal variations recorded in cave monitoring results and a 10 year monthly resolved speleothem δ<sup>18</sup>O and δ<sup>13</sup>C record from the Han-sur-Lesse cave, Belgium

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 1821-1856 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Van Rampelbergh ◽  
S. Verheyden ◽  
M Allan ◽  
Y. Quinif ◽  
E. Keppens ◽  
...  

Abstract. Speleothems provide paleoclimate information on multi-millennial to decadal scales in the Holocene. However seasonal or even monthly resolved records remain scarce. They require fast growing stalagmites and a good understanding of the proxy transfer function on very short time scales. The Proserpine stalagmite from the Han-sur-Less cave (Belgium) displays seasonal layers of 0.5 to 2 mm thickness that reconstruct paleoclimates at a monthly scale. Through a regular cave monitoring, we acquired a good understanding of how δ18O and δ13C signals in modern calcite reflect climate variations on sub-seasonal scale. Cave parameters vary seasonally in response to the activity of the vegetation cover and outside air temperature. From December to June, the cave remains in "winter-mode". Outside temperatures are cold inducing low cave air and water temperatures. Bio-productivity in the soil is limited leading to low pCO2, higher δ13C composition of the CO2 in the cave air and high discharge due to the inactivity of the plant coverage. From June to December, the cave switches to "summer-mode" and the measured factors display an opposite behavior. The δ18O and δ13C signals of fresh calcite precipitated on glass slabs vary seasonally. Lowest δ18O values occur during the summer-mode when the δ13C values are high. The δ18O composition of the calcite is in equilibrium with the drip water δ18O and display seasonal variations due to changes in the cave air and water temperature. In contrast to the δ18O signal, δ13C values of the calcite precipitated on the glass slabs do not reflect equilibrium conditions. Highest δ13C values occur during summer, when discharge rates are low increasing the evaporation effect on the thin water film covering the stalagmite. This same antithetical behavior of the δ18O vs. the δ13C signals is seen in the monthly resolved speleothem record that covers the period between 1976 and 1985 AD. Dark layers are formed during summer, while light layers are formed during winter when calcite deposition occurs fast. The darker the color of a layer, the more compact its calcite structure, the more negative its δ18O signal and the more positive its δ13C signal.

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 1871-1885 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Van Rampelbergh ◽  
S. Verheyden ◽  
M Allan ◽  
Y. Quinif ◽  
E. Keppens ◽  
...  

Abstract. Speleothems provide paleoclimate information on multimillennial to decadal scales in the Holocene. However, seasonal or even monthly resolved records remain scarce. Such records require fast-growing stalagmites and a good understanding of the proxy system on very short timescales. The Proserpine stalagmite from the Han-sur-Less cave (Belgium) displays well-defined/clearly visible darker and lighter seasonal layers of 0.5 to 2 mm thickness per single layer, which allows a measuring resolution at a monthly scale. Through a regular cave monitoring, we acquired a good understanding of how δ18O and δ13C signals in modern calcite reflect climate variations on the seasonal scale. From December to June, outside temperatures are cold, inducing low cave air and water temperature, and bio-productivity in the soil is limited, leading to lower pCO2 and higher δ13C values of the CO2 in the cave air. From June to December, the measured factors display an opposite behavior. The absence of epikarst water recharge between May and October increases prior calcite precipitation (PCP) in the vadose zone, causing drip water to display increasing pH and δ13C values over the summer months. Water recharge of the epikarst in winter diminishes the effect of PCP and as a result the pH and δ13C of the drip water gradually decrease. The δ18O and δ13C signals of fresh calcite precipitated on glass slabs also vary seasonally and are both reflecting equilibrium conditions. Lowest δ18O values occur during the summer, when the δ13C values are high. The δ18O values of the calcite display seasonal variations due to changes in the cave air and water temperature. The δ13C values reflect the seasonal variation of the δ13CDIC of the drip water, which is affected by the intensity of PCP. This same anticorrelation of the δ18O versus the δ13C signals is seen in the monthly resolved speleothem record that covers the period between 1976 and 1985 AD. Dark layers display lower δ18O and higher δ13C values. The cave system varies seasonally in response to the activity of the vegetation cover and outside air temperature between a "summer mode" lasting from June to December and a "winter mode" from December to June. The low δ18O and high δ13C values of the darker speleothem layers indicate that they are formed during summer, while light layers are formed during winter. The darker the color of a layer, the more compact its calcite structure is, and the more negative its δ18O signal and the more positive its δ13C signal are. Darker layers deposited from summer drip water affected by PCP are suggested to contain lower Ca2+ concentration. If indeed the calcite saturation represents the main factor driving the Proserpine growth rate, the dark layers should grow slower than the white layers.


Geochronology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-58
Author(s):  
Xianglei Li ◽  
Kathleen A. Wendt ◽  
Yuri Dublyansky ◽  
Gina E. Moseley ◽  
Christoph Spötl ◽  
...  

Abstract. Uranium–uranium (234U–238U) disequilibrium dating can determine the age of secondary carbonates over greater time intervals than the well-established 230Th–234U dating method. Yet it is rarely applied due to unknowns in the initial δ234U (δ234Ui) value, which result in significant age uncertainties. In order to understand the δ234Ui in Devils Hole 2 cave, Nevada, we have determined 110 δ234Ui values from phreatic calcite using 230Th–234U disequilibrium dating. The sampled calcite was deposited in Devils Hole 2 between 4 and 590 ka, providing a long-term look at δ234Ui variability over time. We then performed multi-linear regression among the δ234Ui values and correlative δ18O and δ13C values. The regression can be used to estimate the δ234Ui value of Devils Hole calcite based upon its measured δ18O and δ13C values. Using this approach and the measured present-day δ234U values of Devils Hole 2 calcite, we calculated 110 independent 234U–238U ages. In addition, we used newly measured δ18O, δ13C, and present-day δ234U values to calculate 10 234U–238U ages that range between 676 and 731 ka, thus allowing us to extend the Devils Hole chronology beyond the 230Th–234U-dated chronology while maintaining an age precision of ∼ 2 %. Our results indicate that calcite deposition at Devils Hole 2 cave began no later than 736 ± 11 kyr ago. The novel method presented here may be applied to future speleothem studies in similar hydrogeological settings, given appropriate calibration studies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 984 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ammar A. Mannaa ◽  
Rabea A. Haredy ◽  
Ibrahim M. Ghandour

The present study concerns the Holocene inland beachrocks that are exposed in the Red Sea coastal plain at the mouth of Wadi Al-Hamd, South Al-Wajh City, Saudi Arabia, and their utility as an indicator for Holocene climate and sea level changes. In addition, the framework composition, and carbon and oxygen isotopic data, are employed to interpret the origin of their cement. The beachrock consists mainly of gravel and coarse-grained terrigenous sediments dominated by lithic fragments of volcanic rocks, cherts and rare limestones along with quartz, feldspars and traces of amphiboles and heavy minerals. In addition, rare skeletal remains dominated by coralline algae, benthic foraminifera and mollusca remains are recognized. The allochems are cemented by high Mg-calcite (HMC) formed mainly in the intertidal zone under active marine phreatic conditions. The cement takes the form of isopachous to anisopachous rinds of bladed crystals, micritic rim non-selectively surrounding siliciclastic and skeletal remains, and pore-filling micrite. Pore-filling micrite cement occasionally displays a meniscus fabric, suggesting a vadose environment. The δ18O and δ13C values of carbonate cement range from −0.35‰ to 1‰ (mean 0.25‰) and −0.09‰ to 3.03‰ (mean 1.85‰), respectively, which are compatible with precipitation from marine waters. The slight depletion in δ18O and δ13C values in the proximal sample may suggest a slight meteoric contribution.


2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 4051-4057 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. M. Duarte ◽  
Y. T. Prairie ◽  
T. K. Frazer ◽  
M. V. Hoyer ◽  
S. K. Notestein ◽  
...  

Abstract. The concentration of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in groundwater emanating as spring discharge at several locations in Florida, USA and the net increase in DOC in the downstream receiving waters were measured as part of a larger investigation of carbon dynamics in flowing waters. Springs with high discharge (>2.8 m3 s−1) were found to be the most organic-poor natural waters yet reported (13 ± 1.6 μmol C L−1), while springs with lesser discharge exhibited somewhat higher DOC concentrations (values ranging from 30 to 77 μmol C L−1). DOC concentrations increased rapidly downstream from the point of spring discharge, with the calculated net areal input rate of DOC ranging from 0.04 to 1.64 mol C m−2 d−1 across springs. Rates of DOC increase were generally greater in those springs with high discharge rates. These input rates compare favorably with values reported for gross primary production in these macrophyte-dominated spring systems, assuming that 17% of macrophyte primary production is lost, on average, as DOC. The measures reported here are possible only because of the remarkably low DOC levels in the up-surging groundwaters and the short residency times of the water in the spring-runs themselves.


2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (11) ◽  
pp. 6571-6577 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Yu. Maximov ◽  
P. A. Novikov ◽  
D. V. Nazarov ◽  
A. M. Rymyantsev ◽  
A. O. Silin ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Atiyeh Fatehifar ◽  
Mohammad Reza Goodarzi ◽  
Seyedeh Sima Montazeri Hedesh ◽  
Parnian Siahvashi Dastjerdi

Abstract Due to the fact that one of the important ways of describing the performance of basins is to use the hydrological signatures, the present study is to investigate the effects of climate change using the hydrological signatures in Azarshahr Chay basin, Iran. To this end, Canadian Earth system model (CanESM2) is first used to predict future climate change (2030–2059) under two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP2.6 and RCP8.5). Six signature indices were extracted from flow duration curve (FDC) as follows: runoff ratio (RR), high-segment volume (FHV), low-segment volume (FLV), mid-segment slope (FMS), mid-range flow (FMM), and maximum peak discharge (DiffMaxPeak). These signature indices act as sorts of fingerprints representing differences in the hydrological behavior of the basin. The results indicate that the most significant changes in the future hydrological response are related to the FHV and FLV and FMS indices. The BiasFHV index indicates an increase in high discharge rates under RCP8.5 scenario, compared to the baseline period and the RCP2.6 scenario, as well. The mean annual discharge rate, however, is lower than the discharge rate under this scenario. Generally, for the RCP8.5 scenario, the changes in the signature indices in both high discharges and low discharges are significant.


2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 5253-5267
Author(s):  
C. M. Duarte ◽  
R. Martínez ◽  
Y. T. Prairie ◽  
T. K. Frazer ◽  
M. V. Hoyer ◽  
...  

Abstract. The concentration of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in groundwater emanating as spring discharge at several locations in Florida, USA, and the net rate of DOC increase in the downstream receiving waters were measured as part of a larger investigation of carbon dynamics in flowing waters. Springs with high discharge (>2.8 m3 s−1) were found to be the most organic-poor natural waters yet reported (13 ±1.6 μmol C L−1), while springs with lesser discharge exhibited somewhat higher DOC concentrations (values ranging from 30 to 77 μmol C L−1). DOC concentrations increased rapidly downstream from the point of spring discharge, with the calculated net areal input rate of DOC ranging from 0.04 to 1.64 mol C m−2 d−1 across springs. Rates of DOC increase were generally greater in those springs with high discharge rates. These input rates compare favorably with values reported for gross primary production in these macrophyte-dominated spring systems, assuming that 17% of macrophyte primary production is lost, on average, as DOC. The measures reported here are possible only because of the remarkably low DOC levels in the up-surging groundwaters and the short residency times of the water in the spring-runs themselves.


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