Articles | Volume 19, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1177-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1177-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
15 Jun 2023
Research article |
| 15 Jun 2023
| 15 Jun 2023
A paleoprecipitation and paleotemperature reconstruction of the Last Interglacial in the southeastern Alps
Charlotte Honiat
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute of Geology, University of Innsbruck, 52 Innrain, 6020
Innsbruck, Austria
Gabriella Koltai
Institute of Geology, University of Innsbruck, 52 Innrain, 6020
Innsbruck, Austria
Yuri Dublyansky
Institute of Geology, University of Innsbruck, 52 Innrain, 6020
Innsbruck, Austria
R. Lawrence Edwards
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
Haiwei Zhang
Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710054, China
Hai Cheng
Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710054, China
Christoph Spötl
Institute of Geology, University of Innsbruck, 52 Innrain, 6020
Innsbruck, Austria
Related authors
No articles found.
Hubert B. Vonhof, Sophie Verheyden, Dominique Bonjean, Stéphane Pirson, Michael Weber, Denis Scholz, John Hellstrom, Hai Cheng, Xue Jia, Kévin Di Modica, Gregory Abrams, Marjan A. P. van Nunen, Joost Ruiter, Michèlle van der Does, Daniel Böhl, and Jeroen H. J. L. van der Lubbe
Clim. Past, 20, 2741–2758, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2741-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2741-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The sedimentary sequence in Scladina Cave (Belgium) is well-known for its rich archeological assemblages and its numerous faunal remains. Of particular interest is the presence of a nearly complete jaw bone of a Neanderthal child. In this study, we present new uranium series ages of stalagmites from the archeological sequence that allow more precise dating of the archeological finds. One key result is that the Neanderthal child may be slightly older than previously thought.
Juan Luis Bernal-Wormull, Ana Moreno, Yuri Dublyansky, Christoph Spötl, Reyes Giménez, Carlos Pérez-Mejías, Miguel Bartolomé, Martin Arriolabengoa, Eneko Iriarte, Isabel Cacho, Richard Lawrence Edwards, and Hai Cheng
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3612, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3612, 2024
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Climate of the Past (CP).
Short summary
Short summary
We present in this manuscript a record of temperature changes during the last deglaciation and the Holocene using isotopes of fluid inclusions in stalagmites from the northeastern region of the Iberian Peninsula. This innovative climate proxy for this study region provides a quantitative understanding of the abrupt temperature changes in southern Europe of the last 16500 years before present.
Timothy J. Pollard, Jon D. Woodhead, Russell N. Drysdale, R. Lawrence Edwards, Xianglei Li, Ashlea N. Wainwright, Mathieu Pythoud, Hai Cheng, John C. Hellstrom, Ilaria Isola, Eleonora Regattieri, Giovanni Zanchetta, and Dylan S. Parmenter
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3594, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3594, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The uranium-thorium and uranium-lead radiometric dating methods are both capable of dating carbonate samples ranging in age from about 400,000 to 650,000 years. Here we test agreement between the two methods by 'double dating' speleothems (i.e. secondary cave mineral deposits) that grew within this age range. We demonstrate excellent agreement between the two dating methods and discuss their relative strengths and weaknesses.
Alexander H. Jarosch, Paul Hofer, and Christoph Spötl
The Cryosphere, 18, 4811–4816, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4811-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4811-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Mechanical damage to stalagmites is commonly observed in mid-latitude caves. In this study we investigate ice flow along the cave bed as a possible mechanism for stalagmite damage. Utilizing models which simulate forces created by ice flow, we study the structural integrity of different stalagmite geometries. Our results suggest that structural failure of stalagmites caused by ice flow is possible, albeit unlikely.
Hu Yang, Xiaoxu Shi, Xulong Wang, Qingsong Liu, Yi Zhong, Xiaodong Liu, Youbin Sun, Yanjun Cai, Fei Liu, Gerrit Lohmann, Martin Werner, Zhimin Jian, Tainã M. L. Pinho, Hai Cheng, Lijuan Lu, Jiping Liu, Chao-Yuan Yang, Qinghua Yang, Yongyun Hu, Xing Cheng, Jingyu Zhang, and Dake Chen
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2778, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2778, 2024
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Climate of the Past (CP).
Short summary
Short summary
The precession driven low-latitude hydrological cycle is not paced by hemispheric summer insolation, but shifting perihelion.
Judit Torner, Isabel Cacho, Heather Stoll, Ana Moreno, Joan O. Grimalt, Francisco J. Sierro, Hai Cheng, and R. Lawrence Edwards
Clim. Past Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2024-54, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2024-54, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for CP
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents a new speleothem record of the western Mediterranean region that offers new insights into the timeline of glacial terminations TIV, TIII, and TIII.a. The comparison among the studied deglaciations reveals differences in terms of intensity and duration and opens the opportunity to evaluate marine sediment chronologies based on orbital tuning from the North Atlantic and the Western Mediterranean.
Paul Töchterle, Anna Baldo, Julian B. Murton, Frederik Schenk, R. Lawrence Edwards, Gabriella Koltai, and Gina E. Moseley
Clim. Past, 20, 1521–1535, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1521-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1521-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We present a reconstruction of permafrost and snow cover on the British Isles for the Younger Dryas period, a time of extremely cold winters that happened approximately 12 000 years ago. Our results indicate that seasonal sea ice in the North Atlantic was most likely a crucial factor to explain the observed climate shifts during this time.
Pengzhen Duan, Hanying Li, Zhibang Ma, Jingyao Zhao, Xiyu Dong, Ashish Sinha, Peng Hu, Haiwei Zhang, Youfeng Ning, Guangyou Zhu, and Hai Cheng
Clim. Past, 20, 1401–1414, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1401-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1401-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We use multi-proxy speleothem records to reveal a two droughts–one pluvial pattern during 8.5–8.0 ka. The different rebounded rainfall quantity after two droughts causes different behavior of δ13C, suggesting the dominant role of rainfall threshold on the ecosystem. A comparison of different records suggests the prolonged 8.2 ka event is a globally common phenomenon rather than a regional signal. The variability of the AMOC strength is mainly responsible for these climate changes.
Stuart Umbo, Franziska Lechleitner, Thomas Opel, Sevasti Modestou, Tobias Braun, Anton Vaks, Gideon Henderson, Pete Scott, Alexander Osintzev, Alexandr Kononov, Irina Adrian, Yuri Dublyansky, Alena Giesche, and Sebastian Breitenbach
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1691, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1691, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We use cave rocks to reconstruct northern Siberian climate 8.68 ± 0.09 million years ago. We show that when global average temperature was about 4.5 °C warmer than today (similar to what’s expected in the coming decades should carbon emissions continue unabated), Arctic temperature increased by more than 18 °C. Similar levels of Arctic warming in the future would see huge areas of permafrost (permanently frozen ground) thaw and release greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
Nikita Kaushal, Franziska A. Lechleitner, Micah Wilhelm, Khalil Azennoud, Janica C. Bühler, Kerstin Braun, Yassine Ait Brahim, Andy Baker, Yuval Burstyn, Laia Comas-Bru, Jens Fohlmeister, Yonaton Goldsmith, Sandy P. Harrison, István G. Hatvani, Kira Rehfeld, Magdalena Ritzau, Vanessa Skiba, Heather M. Stoll, József G. Szűcs, Péter Tanos, Pauline C. Treble, Vitor Azevedo, Jonathan L. Baker, Andrea Borsato, Sakonvan Chawchai, Andrea Columbu, Laura Endres, Jun Hu, Zoltán Kern, Alena Kimbrough, Koray Koç, Monika Markowska, Belen Martrat, Syed Masood Ahmad, Carole Nehme, Valdir Felipe Novello, Carlos Pérez-Mejías, Jiaoyang Ruan, Natasha Sekhon, Nitesh Sinha, Carol V. Tadros, Benjamin H. Tiger, Sophie Warken, Annabel Wolf, Haiwei Zhang, and SISAL Working Group members
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 1933–1963, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1933-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1933-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Speleothems are a popular, multi-proxy climate archive that provide regional to global insights into past hydroclimate trends with precise chronologies. We present an update to the SISAL (Speleothem Isotopes
Synthesis and AnaLysis) database, SISALv3, which, for the first time, contains speleothem trace element records, in addition to an update to the stable isotope records available in previous versions of the database, cumulatively providing data from 365 globally distributed sites.
Synthesis and AnaLysis) database, SISALv3, which, for the first time, contains speleothem trace element records, in addition to an update to the stable isotope records available in previous versions of the database, cumulatively providing data from 365 globally distributed sites.
Miguel Bartolomé, Ana Moreno, Carlos Sancho, Isabel Cacho, Heather Stoll, Negar Haghipour, Ánchel Belmonte, Christoph Spötl, John Hellstrom, R. Lawrence Edwards, and Hai Cheng
Clim. Past, 20, 467–494, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-467-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-467-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Reconstructing past temperatures at regional scales during the Common Era is necessary to place the current warming in the context of natural climate variability. We present a climate reconstruction based on eight stalagmites from four caves in the Pyrenees, NE Spain. These stalagmites were dated precisely and analysed for their oxygen isotopes, which appear dominated by temperature changes. Solar variability and major volcanic eruptions are the two main drivers of observed climate variability.
Heather M. Stoll, Chris Day, Franziska Lechleitner, Oliver Kost, Laura Endres, Jakub Sliwinski, Carlos Pérez-Mejías, Hai Cheng, and Denis Scholz
Clim. Past, 19, 2423–2444, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2423-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2423-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Stalagmites formed in caves provide valuable information about past changes in climate and vegetation conditions. In this contribution, we present a new method to better estimate past changes in soil and vegetation productivity using carbon isotopes and trace elements measured in stalagmites. Applying this method to other stalagmites should provide a better indication of past vegetation feedbacks to climate change.
Giselle Utida, Francisco W. Cruz, Mathias Vuille, Angela Ampuero, Valdir F. Novello, Jelena Maksic, Gilvan Sampaio, Hai Cheng, Haiwei Zhang, Fabio Ramos Dias de Andrade, and R. Lawrence Edwards
Clim. Past, 19, 1975–1992, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1975-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1975-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We reconstruct the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) behavior during the past 3000 years over northeastern Brazil based on oxygen stable isotopes of stalagmites. Paleoclimate changes were mainly forced by the tropical South Atlantic and tropical Pacific sea surface temperature variability. We describe an ITCZ zonal behavior active around 1100 CE and the period from 1500 to 1750 CE. The dataset also records historical droughts that affected modern human population in this area of Brazil.
Anika Donner, Paul Töchterle, Christoph Spötl, Irka Hajdas, Xianglei Li, R. Lawrence Edwards, and Gina E. Moseley
Clim. Past, 19, 1607–1621, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1607-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1607-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates the first finding of fine-grained cryogenic cave minerals in Greenland, a type of speleothem that has been notably difficult to date. We present a successful approach for determining the age of these minerals using 230Th / U disequilibrium and 14C dating. We relate the formation of the cryogenic cave minerals to a well-documented extreme weather event in 1889 CE. Additionally, we provide a detailed report on the mineralogical and isotopic composition of these minerals.
Miguel Bartolomé, Gérard Cazenave, Marc Luetscher, Christoph Spötl, Fernando Gázquez, Ánchel Belmonte, Alexandra V. Turchyn, Juan Ignacio López-Moreno, and Ana Moreno
The Cryosphere, 17, 477–497, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-477-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-477-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In this work we study the microclimate and the geomorphological features of Devaux ice cave in the Central Pyrenees. The research is based on cave monitoring, geomorphology, and geochemical analyses. We infer two different thermal regimes. The cave is impacted by flooding in late winter/early spring when the main outlets freeze, damming the water inside. Rock temperatures below 0°C and the absence of drip water indicate frozen rock, while relict ice formations record past damming events.
Jinzhao Liu, Chong Jiang, Huawu Wu, Li Guo, Haiwei Zhang, and Ying Zhao
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 599–612, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-599-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-599-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
What controls leaf water isotopes? We answered the question from two perspectives: respective and dual isotopes. On the one hand, the δ18O and δ2H values of leaf water responded to isotopes of potential source water (i.e., twig water, soil water, and precipitation) and meteorological parameters (i.e., temperature, RH, and precipitation) differently. On the other hand, dual δ18O and δ2H values of leaf water yielded a significant linear relationship associated with altitude and seasonality.
Paul Töchterle, Simon D. Steidle, R. Lawrence Edwards, Yuri Dublyansky, Christoph Spötl, Xianglei Li, John Gunn, and Gina E. Moseley
Geochronology, 4, 617–627, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-617-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-617-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Cryogenic cave carbonates (CCCs) provide a marker for past permafrost conditions. Their formation age is determined by Th / U dating. However, samples can be contaminated with small amounts of Th at formation, which can cause inaccurate ages and require correction. We analysed multiple CCCs and found that varying degrees of contamination can cause an apparent spread of ages, when samples actually formed within distinguishable freezing events. A correction method using isochrons is presented.
Maria Wind, Friedrich Obleitner, Tanguy Racine, and Christoph Spötl
The Cryosphere, 16, 3163–3179, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3163-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3163-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We present a thorough analysis of the thermal conditions of a sag-type ice cave in the Austrian Alps using temperature measurements for the period 2008–2021. Apart from a long-term increasing temperature trend in all parts of the cave, we find strong interannual and spatial variations as well as a characteristic seasonal pattern. Increasing temperatures further led to a drastic decrease in cave ice. A first attempt to model ablation based on temperature shows promising results.
Jan Pfeiffer, Thomas Zieher, Jan Schmieder, Thom Bogaard, Martin Rutzinger, and Christoph Spötl
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 2219–2237, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2219-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2219-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The activity of slow-moving deep-seated landslides is commonly governed by pore pressure variations within the shear zone. Groundwater recharge as a consequence of precipitation therefore is a process regulating the activity of landslides. In this context, we present a highly automated geo-statistical approach to spatially assess groundwater recharge controlling the velocity of a deep-seated landslide in Tyrol, Austria.
Caroline Welte, Jens Fohlmeister, Melina Wertnik, Lukas Wacker, Bodo Hattendorf, Timothy I. Eglinton, and Christoph Spötl
Clim. Past, 17, 2165–2177, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2165-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2165-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Stalagmites are valuable climate archives, but unlike other proxies the use of stable carbon isotopes (δ13C) is still difficult. A stalagmite from the Austrian Alps was analyzed using a new laser ablation method for fast radiocarbon (14C) analysis. This allowed 14C and δ13C to be combined, showing that besides soil and bedrock a third source is contributing during periods of warm, wet climate: old organic matter.
Kathleen A. Wendt, Xianglei Li, R. Lawrence Edwards, Hai Cheng, and Christoph Spötl
Clim. Past, 17, 1443–1454, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1443-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1443-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we tested the upper limits of U–Th dating precision by analyzing three stalagmites from the Austrian Alps that have high U concentrations. The composite record spans the penultimate interglacial (MIS 7) with an average 2σ age uncertainty of 400 years. This unprecedented age control allows us to constrain the timing of temperature shifts in the Alps during MIS 7 while offering new insight into millennial-scale changes in the North Atlantic leading up to Terminations III and IIIa.
Jinzhao Liu, Huawu Wu, Haiwei Zhang, Guoqiang Peng, Chong Jiang, Ying Zhao, and Jing Hu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2021-289, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2021-289, 2021
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
Why do leaf water isotopes can generate to be an isotopic line in a dual-isotope plot? This isotopic water line is as important as the local meteoric water line (LMWL) in the isotope ecohydrology field. We analyzed the variations of oxygen and hydrogen isotopes in soil water, stem water, and leaf water along an elevation transect across seasons. We found that both seasonality and altitude affecting source water are likely to result in the generation of an isotopic water line in leaf water.
Gabriella Koltai, Christoph Spötl, Alexander H. Jarosch, and Hai Cheng
Clim. Past, 17, 775–789, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-775-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-775-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This paper utilises a novel palaeoclimate archive from caves, cryogenic cave carbonates, which allow for precisely constraining permafrost thawing events in the past. Our study provides new insights into the climate of the Younger Dryas (12 800 to 11 700 years BP) in mid-Europe from the perspective of a high-elevation cave sensitive to permafrost development. We quantify seasonal temperature and precipitation changes by using a heat conduction model.
Chao-Jun Chen, Dao-Xian Yuan, Jun-Yun Li, Xian-Feng Wang, Hai Cheng, You-Feng Ning, R. Lawrence Edwards, Yao Wu, Si-Ya Xiao, Yu-Zhen Xu, Yang-Yang Huang, Hai-Ying Qiu, Jian Zhang, Ming-Qiang Liang, and Ting-Yong Li
Clim. Past Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2021-20, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2021-20, 2021
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Xianglei Li, Kathleen A. Wendt, Yuri Dublyansky, Gina E. Moseley, Christoph Spötl, and R. Lawrence Edwards
Geochronology, 3, 49–58, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-3-49-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-3-49-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we built a statistical model to determine the initial δ234U in submerged calcite crusts that coat the walls of Devils Hole 2 (DH2) cave (Nevada, USA) and, using a 234U–238U dating method, extended the chronology of the calcite deposition beyond previous well-established 230Th ages and determined the oldest calcite deposited in this cave, a time marker for cave genesis. The novel method presented here may be used in future speleothem studies in similar hydrogeological settings.
Laia Comas-Bru, Kira Rehfeld, Carla Roesch, Sahar Amirnezhad-Mozhdehi, Sandy P. Harrison, Kamolphat Atsawawaranunt, Syed Masood Ahmad, Yassine Ait Brahim, Andy Baker, Matthew Bosomworth, Sebastian F. M. Breitenbach, Yuval Burstyn, Andrea Columbu, Michael Deininger, Attila Demény, Bronwyn Dixon, Jens Fohlmeister, István Gábor Hatvani, Jun Hu, Nikita Kaushal, Zoltán Kern, Inga Labuhn, Franziska A. Lechleitner, Andrew Lorrey, Belen Martrat, Valdir Felipe Novello, Jessica Oster, Carlos Pérez-Mejías, Denis Scholz, Nick Scroxton, Nitesh Sinha, Brittany Marie Ward, Sophie Warken, Haiwei Zhang, and SISAL Working Group members
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 2579–2606, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2579-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2579-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents an updated version of the SISAL (Speleothem Isotope Synthesis and Analysis) database. This new version contains isotopic data from 691 speleothem records from 294 cave sites and new age–depth models, including their uncertainties, for 512 speleothems.
Yue Hu, Xiaoming Sun, Hai Cheng, and Hong Yan
Clim. Past, 16, 597–610, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-597-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-597-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Tridacna, as the largest marine bivalves, can be used for high-resolution paleoclimate reconstruction in its carbonate skeleton. In this contribution, the modern δ18O shell is suggested to be a proxy for sea surface temperature in the Xisha Islands, South China Sea. Data from a fossil Tridacna (3673 ± 28 BP) indicate a warmer climate and intense ENSO-related variability but reduced ENSO frequency and more extreme El Niño winters compared to modern Tridacna.
Ole Valk, Michiel M. Rutgers van der Loeff, Walter Geibert, Sandra Gdaniec, S. Bradley Moran, Kate Lepore, Robert Lawrence Edwards, Yanbin Lu, Viena Puigcorbé, Nuria Casacuberta, Ronja Paffrath, William Smethie, and Matthieu Roy-Barman
Ocean Sci., 16, 221–234, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-16-221-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-16-221-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
After 2007 230Th decreased significantly in the central Amundsen Basin. This decrease is accompanied by a circulation change, indicated by changes in salinity. Ventilation of waters is most likely not the reason for the observed depletion in 230Th as atmospherically derived tracers do not reveal an increase in ventilation rate. It is suggested that these interior waters have undergone enhanced scavenging of Th during transit from Fram Strait and the Barents Sea to the central Amundsen Basin.
Haiwei Zhang, Hai Cheng, Yanjun Cai, Christoph Spötl, Ashish Sinha, Gayatri Kathayat, and Hanying Li
Clim. Past, 16, 211–225, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-211-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-211-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Few studies have paid attention to the important effect of nonsummer monsoon (NSM) precipitation on the speleothem δ18O in SE China. We find the summer monsoon precipitation is equivalent to NSM precipitation amount in the area of spring persistent rain in SE China, and we discuss the relationships between seasonal precipitation amount, moisture source, δ18O, and ENSO. Characterizing the spatial differences in seasonal precipitation is key to interpreting the speleothem δ18O record.
Gina E. Moseley, Christoph Spötl, Susanne Brandstätter, Tobias Erhardt, Marc Luetscher, and R. Lawrence Edwards
Clim. Past, 16, 29–50, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-29-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-29-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Abrupt climate change during the last ice age can be used to provide important insights into the timescales on which the climate is capable of changing and the mechanisms that drive those changes. In this study, we construct climate records for the period 60 to 120 ka using stalagmites that formed in caves along the northern rim of the European Alps and find good agreement with the timing of climate changes in Greenland and the Asian monsoon.
Mike Rogerson, Yuri Dublyansky, Dirk L. Hoffmann, Marc Luetscher, Paul Töchterle, and Christoph Spötl
Clim. Past, 15, 1757–1769, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1757-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1757-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Rainfall in North Africa is known to vary through time and is likely to change as global climate warms. Here, we provide a new level of understanding about past rainfall in North Africa by looking at a stalagmite which formed within northeastern Libya between 67 and 30 thousand years ago. We find that at times more rain falls, and the associated moisture is mostly derived from the western Mediterranean during winter storms. Sometimes, water comes from the eastern Mediterranean.
Hanying Li, Hai Cheng, Ashish Sinha, Gayatri Kathayat, Christoph Spötl, Aurèle Anquetil André, Arnaud Meunier, Jayant Biswas, Pengzhen Duan, Youfeng Ning, and Richard Lawrence Edwards
Clim. Past, 14, 1881–1891, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1881-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1881-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The
4.2 ka eventbetween 4.2 and 3.9 ka has been widely discussed in the Northern Hemsiphere but less reported in the Southern Hemisphere. Here, we use speleothem records from Rodrigues in the southwestern Indian Ocean spanning from 6000 to 3000 years ago to investigate the regional hydro-climatic variability. Our records show no evidence for an unusual climate anomaly between 4.2 and 3.9 ka. Instead, it shows a multi-centennial drought between 3.9 and 3.5 ka.
Gayatri Kathayat, Hai Cheng, Ashish Sinha, Max Berkelhammer, Haiwei Zhang, Pengzhen Duan, Hanying Li, Xianglei Li, Youfeng Ning, and R. Lawrence Edwards
Clim. Past, 14, 1869–1879, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1869-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1869-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The 4.2 ka event is generally characterized as an approximately 300-year period of major global climate anomaly. However, the climatic manifestation of this event remains unclear in the Indian monsoon domain. Our high-resolution and precisely dated speleothem record from Meghalaya, India, characterizes the event as consisting of a series of multi-decadal droughts between 3.9 and 4.0 ka rather than a singular pulse of multi-centennial drought as previously thought.
Haiwei Zhang, Hai Cheng, Yanjun Cai, Christoph Spötl, Gayatri Kathayat, Ashish Sinha, R. Lawrence Edwards, and Liangcheng Tan
Clim. Past, 14, 1805–1817, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1805-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1805-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The collapses of several Neolithic cultures in China are considered to have been associated with abrupt climate change during the 4.2 ka BP event; however, the hydroclimate of this event in China is still poorly known. Based on stalagmite records from monsoonal China, we found that north China was dry but south China was wet during this event. We propose that the rain belt remained longer at its southern position, giving rise to a pronounced humidity gradient between north and south China.
Florian Adolphi, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, Tobias Erhardt, R. Lawrence Edwards, Hai Cheng, Chris S. M. Turney, Alan Cooper, Anders Svensson, Sune O. Rasmussen, Hubertus Fischer, and Raimund Muscheler
Clim. Past, 14, 1755–1781, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1755-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1755-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The last glacial period was characterized by a number of rapid climate changes seen, for example, as abrupt warmings in Greenland and changes in monsoon rainfall intensity. However, due to chronological uncertainties it is challenging to know how tightly coupled these changes were. Here we exploit cosmogenic signals caused by changes in the Sun and Earth magnetic fields to link different climate archives and improve our understanding of the dynamics of abrupt climate change.
Gabriella Koltai, Hai Cheng, and Christoph Spötl
Clim. Past, 14, 369–381, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-369-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-369-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Here we present a multi-proxy study of flowstones in fractures of crystalline rocks with the aim of assessing the palaeoclimate significance of this new type of speleothem archive. Our results indicate a high degree of spatial heterogeneity, whereby changes in speleothem mineralogy and carbon isotope composition are likely governed by aquifer-internal processes. In contrast, the oxygen isotope composition reflects first-order climate variability.
Ny Riavo Gilbertinie Voarintsoa, Loren Bruce Railsback, George Albert Brook, Lixin Wang, Gayatri Kathayat, Hai Cheng, Xianglei Li, Richard Lawrence Edwards, Amos Fety Michel Rakotondrazafy, and Marie Olga Madison Razanatseheno
Clim. Past, 13, 1771–1790, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1771-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1771-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
This research has been an investigation of two stalagmites from two caves in NW Madagascar to reconstruct the region's paleoenvironmental changes, and to understand the linkage of such changes to the dynamics of the ITCZ. Stable isotopes, mineralogy, and petrography suggest wetter climate conditions than today during the early and late Holocene, when the mean ITCZ was south, and drier during the mid-Holocene when the ITCZ was north.
Stef Vansteenberge, Sophie Verheyden, Hai Cheng, R. Lawrence Edwards, Eddy Keppens, and Philippe Claeys
Clim. Past, 12, 1445–1458, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1445-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1445-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
The use of stalagmites for last interglacial continental climate reconstructions in Europe has been successful in the past; however to expand the geographical coverage, additional data from Belgium is presented. It has been shown that stalagmite growth, morphology and stable isotope content reflect regional and local climate conditions, with Eemian optimum climate occurring between 125.3 and 117.3 ka. The start the Weichselian is expressed by a stop of growth caused by a drying climate.
C. Spötl and H. Cheng
Clim. Past, 10, 1349–1362, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1349-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1349-2014, 2014
M. Luetscher, M. Borreguero, G. E. Moseley, C. Spötl, and R. L. Edwards
The Cryosphere, 7, 1073–1081, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1073-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1073-2013, 2013
V. E. Johnston, A. Borsato, C. Spötl, S. Frisia, and R. Miorandi
Clim. Past, 9, 99–118, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-99-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-99-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject: Atmospheric Dynamics | Archive: Terrestrial Archives | Timescale: Pleistocene
Precise timing of MIS 7 substages from the Austrian Alps
Past climate and continentality inferred from ice wedges at Batagay megaslump in the Northern Hemisphere's most continental region, Yana Highlands, interior Yakutia
Eolian dust dispersal patterns since the last glacial period in eastern Central Asia: insights from a loess-paleosol sequence in the Ili Basin
Ground-ice stable isotopes and cryostratigraphy reflect late Quaternary palaeoclimate in the Northeast Siberian Arctic (Oyogos Yar coast, Dmitry Laptev Strait)
Early last glacial maximum in the southern Central Andes reveals northward shift of the westerlies at ~39 ka
The MIS 11 – MIS 1 analogy, southern European vegetation, atmospheric methane and the "early anthropogenic hypothesis"
Kathleen A. Wendt, Xianglei Li, R. Lawrence Edwards, Hai Cheng, and Christoph Spötl
Clim. Past, 17, 1443–1454, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1443-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1443-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we tested the upper limits of U–Th dating precision by analyzing three stalagmites from the Austrian Alps that have high U concentrations. The composite record spans the penultimate interglacial (MIS 7) with an average 2σ age uncertainty of 400 years. This unprecedented age control allows us to constrain the timing of temperature shifts in the Alps during MIS 7 while offering new insight into millennial-scale changes in the North Atlantic leading up to Terminations III and IIIa.
Thomas Opel, Julian B. Murton, Sebastian Wetterich, Hanno Meyer, Kseniia Ashastina, Frank Günther, Hendrik Grotheer, Gesine Mollenhauer, Petr P. Danilov, Vasily Boeskorov, Grigoriy N. Savvinov, and Lutz Schirrmeister
Clim. Past, 15, 1443–1461, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1443-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1443-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
To reconstruct past winter climate, we studied ice wedges at two sites in the Yana Highlands, interior Yakutia (Russia), the most continental region of the Northern Hemisphere. Our ice wedges of the upper ice complex unit of the Batagay megaslump and a river terrace show much more depleted stable-isotope compositions than other study sites in coastal and central Yakutia, reflecting lower winter temperatures and a higher continentality of the study region during Marine Isotope Stages 3 and 1.
Yue Li, Yougui Song, Kathryn E. Fitzsimmons, Hong Chang, Rustam Orozbaev, and Xinxin Li
Clim. Past, 14, 271–286, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-271-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-271-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
This paper finds a close tie between loess magnetic susceptibility and wind strength in the Ili Basin, eastern Central Asia, and identifies three distinct aerodynamic environments with end-member modeling analysis of grain size. The Siberian High is the dominant influence on wind dynamics, resulting in loess deposition, and acts as a teleconnection between the climatic systems of the North Atlantic and East Asia in the high northern latitudes, but not for the mid-latitude westerlies.
Thomas Opel, Sebastian Wetterich, Hanno Meyer, Alexander Y. Dereviagin, Margret C. Fuchs, and Lutz Schirrmeister
Clim. Past, 13, 587–611, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-587-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-587-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We studied late Quaternary permafrost at the Oyogos Yar coast (Dmitry Laptev Strait) to reconstruct palaeoclimate and palaeonvironmental conditions in the Northeast Siberian Arctic. Our ice-wedge stable isotope record, combined with data from Bol'shoy Lyakhovsky Island, indicates coldest winter temperatures during MIS5 and MIS2, warmest conditions during the Holocene, i.e. today, and non-stable winter climate during MIS3. New IRSL ages reveal high climate variability during MIS5.
R. Zech, J. Zech, Ch. Kull, P. W. Kubik, and H. Veit
Clim. Past, 7, 41–46, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-7-41-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-7-41-2011, 2011
P. C. Tzedakis
Clim. Past, 6, 131–144, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-6-131-2010, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-6-131-2010, 2010
Cited articles
Affolter, S., Häuselmann, A., Fleitmann, D., Edwards, R. L., Cheng, H.,
and Leuenberger, M.: Central Europe temperature constrained by speleothem
fluid inclusion water isotopes over the past 14,000 years, Sci. Adv., 5,
eaav3809, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aav3809, 2019.
Bakker, P., Masson-Delmotte, V., Martrat, B., Charbit, S., Renssen, H.,
Gröger, M., Krebs-Kanzow, U., Lohmann, G., Lunt, D. J., Pfeiffer, M.,
Phipps, S. J., Prange, M., Ritz, S. P., Schulz, M., Stenni, B., Stone, E.
J., and Varma, V.: Temperature trends during the Present and Last Interglacial periods – a multi-model-data comparison, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 99, 224–243, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.06.031, 2014.
Boch, R.: Stalagmites from Katerloch Cave, Austria: growth dynamics and
high-resolution records of climate change, PhD thesis Univ. Innsbruck, Innsbruck, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ronny-Boch-2/publication/305442009_Stalagmites_from_Katerloch_Cave (last access: 31 May 2023), 2008.
Boch, R., Spötl, C., and Kramers, J.: High-resolution isotope records of early Holocene rapid climate change from two coeval stalagmites of Katerloch Cave, Austria, Quaternary Sci. Revi., 28, 2527–2538, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.05.015, 2009.
Boch, R., Spötl, C., and Frisia, S.: Origin and palaeoenvironmental
significance of lamination in stalagmites from Katerloch Cave, Austria:
Origin of lamination in stalagmites, Sedimentology, 58, 508–531,
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3091.2010.01173.x, 2011.
Bolland, A., Kern, O. A., Koutsodendris, A., Pross, J., and Heiri, O.:
Chironomid-inferred summer temperature development during the late Rissian
glacial, Eemian interglacial and earliest Würmian glacial at
Füramoos, southern Germany, Boreas, 51, 496–516, https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.12567, 2021.
Bova, S., Rosenthal, Y., Liu, Z., Godad, S. P., and Yan, M.: Seasonal origin
of the thermal maxima at the Holocene and the last interglacial, Nature, 589, 548–553, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-03155-x, 2021.
CAPE-Last Interglacial Project Members: Last Interglacial Arctic warmth
confirms polar amplification of climate change, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 25,
1383–1400, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2006.01.033, 2006.
Capron, E., Govin, A., Feng, R., Otto-Bliesner, B. L., and Wolff, E. W.:
Critical evaluation of climate syntheses to benchmark CMIP6/PMIP4 127 ka
Last Interglacial simulations in the high-latitude regions, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 168, 137–150, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2017.04.019, 2017.
Cheng, H., Edwards, R. L., Shen, C.-C., Polyak, V. J., Asmerom, Y., Woodhead,
J., Hellstrom, J., Wang, Y., Kong, X., Spötl, C., Wang, X., and Calvin Alexander, E.: Improvements in 230Th dating, 230Th and 234U half-life values, and U–Th isotopic measurements by multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 371–372, 82–91, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2013.04.006, 2013.
Coplen, T. B.: Calibration of the calcite–water oxygen-isotope geothermometer at Devils Hole, Nevada, a natural laboratory, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 71, 3948–3957, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2007.05.028, 2007.
Couchoud, I., Genty, D., Hoffmann, D., Drysdale, R., and Blamart, D.:
Millennial-scale climate variability during the Last Interglacial recorded
in a speleothem from south-western France, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 28, 3263–3274, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.08.014, 2009.
Demény, A., Czuppon, G., Kern, Z., Leél-Õssy, S., Németh,
A., Szabó, M., Tóth, M., Wu, C.-C., Shen, C.-C., Molnár, M.,
Németh, T., Németh, P., and Óvári, M.: Recrystallization-induced oxygen isotope changes in inclusion-hosted water
of speleothems – Paleoclimatological implications, Quatern. Int., 415,
25–32, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.11.137, 2016.
Demény, A., Kern, Z., Czuppon, G., Németh, A., Leél-Õssy,
S., Siklósy, Z., Lin, K., Hu, H.-M., Shen, C.-C., Vennemann, T. W., and
Haszpra, L.: Stable isotope compositions of speleothems from the last
interglacial – Spatial patterns of climate fluctuations in Europe, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 161, 68–80, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2017.02.012, 2017.
Demény, A., Rinyu, L., Kern, Z., Hatvani, I. G., Czuppon, G., Surányi, G., Leél-Õssy, S., Shen, C.-C., and Koltai, G.:
Paleotemperature reconstructions using speleothem fluid inclusion analyses
from Hungary, Chem. Geol., 563, 120051, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2020.120051, 2021.
Dorale, J. A. and Liu, Z.: Limitations of hendy test criteria in judging the
paleoclimatic suitability of speleothems and the need for replication, J. Cave Karst Stud., 71, 73–80, 2009.
Drysdale, R. N., Hellstrom, J. C., Zanchetta, G., Fallick, A. E., Sanchez
Goni, M. F., Couchoud, I., McDonald, J., Maas, R., Lohmann, G., and Isola, I.: Evidence for obliquity forcing of glacial Termination II, Science, 325,
1527–1531, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1170371, 2009.
Dublyansky, Y. V. and Spötl, C.: Hydrogen and oxygen isotopes of water
from inclusions in minerals: design of a new crushing system and on-line
continuous-flow isotope ratio mass spectrometric analysis, Rapid Commun.
Mass Spectrom., 23, 2605–2613, https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.4155, 2009.
Duplessy, J. C., Roche, D. M., and Kageyama, M.: The deep ocean during the Last Interglacial period, Science, 316, 89–91, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1138582, 2007.
Edwards, R. L., Chen, J. H., Ku, T.-L., and Wasserburg, G. J.: Precise timing of the Last Interglacial period from mass spectrometric determination of Thorium-230 in corals, Science, 236, 1547–1553, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.236.4808.1547, 1987.
Fairchild, I. J., Smith, C. L., Baker, A., Fuller, L., Spötl, C., Mattey, D., McDermott, F., and E.I.M.F.: Modification and preservation of environmental signals in speleothems, Earth-Sci. Rev., 75, 105–153,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2005.08.003, 2006.
Fairchild, I. J., Spötl, C., Frisia, S., Borsato, A., Susini, J., Wynn,
P. M., Cauzid, J., and EIMF: Petrology and geochemistry of annually laminated stalagmites from an Alpine cave (Obir, Austria): seasonal cave physiology, in: Tufas and Speleothems: Unravelling the Microbial and Physical Controls, edited by: Pedley, H. M. and Rogerson, M., Geol. Soc. Lond. Spec. Publ., 336, 295–321, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP336.16, 2010.
Fischer, H., Meissner, K. J., Mix, A. C., Abram, N. J., Austermann, J.,
Brovkin, V., Capron, E., Colombaroli, D., Daniau, A.-L., Dyez, K. A., Felis,
T., Finkelstein, S. A., Jaccard, S. L., McClymont, E. L., Rovere, A., Sutter, J., Wolff, E. W., Affolter, S., Bakker, P., Ballesteros-Cánovas, J. A., Barbante, C., Caley, T., Carlson, A. E., Churakova, O., Cortese, G., Cumming, B. F., Davis, B. A. S., de Vernal, A., Emile-Geay, J., Fritz, S. C., Gierz, P., Gottschalk, J., Holloway, M. D., Joos, F., Kucera, M., Loutre, M.-F., Lunt, D. J., Marcisz, K., Marlon, J. R., Martinez, P., Masson-Delmotte, V., Nehrbass-Ahles, C., Otto-Bliesner, B. L., Raible, C. C., Risebrobakken, B., Sánchez Goñi, M. F., Arrigo, J. S., Sarnthein, M., Sjolte, J., Stocker, T. F., Velasquez Alvárez, P. A., Tinner, W., Valdes, P. J., Vogel, H., Wanner, H., Yan, Q., Yu, Z., Ziegler, M., and Zhou, L.: Palaeoclimate constraints on the impact of 2 ∘C anthropogenic warming and beyond, Nat. Geosci., 11, 474–485, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-018-0146-0, 2018.
Friedman, I. and O'Neil, J. R.: Compilation of stable isotope fractionation
factors of geochemical interest, in: Data of Geochemistry, 6th Edn., edited by: Fleischer, M., US Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 440-KK, US Geological Survey, 1–12, 1977.
Genty, D., Labuhn, I., Hoffmann, G., Danis, P. A., Mestre, O., Bourges, F.,
Wainer, K., Massault, M., Van Exter, S., Régnier, E., Orengo, P., Falourd, S., and Minster, B.: Rainfall and cave water isotopic relationships in two South-France sites, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 131, 323–343,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2014.01.043, 2014.
Ghadiri, E., Vogel, N., Brennwald, M. S., Maden, C., Häuselmann, A. D.,
Fleitmann, D., Cheng, H., and Kipfer, R.: Noble gas based temperature
reconstruction on a Swiss stalagmite from the last glacial–interglacial
transition and its comparison with other climate records, Earth Planet. Sc.
Lett., 495, 192–201, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2018.05.019, 2018.
Govin, A., Capron, E., Tzedakis, P. C., Verheyden, S., Ghaleb, B., Hillaire-Marcel, C., St-Onge, G., Stoner, J. S., Bassinot, F., Bazin, L.,
Blunier, T., Combourieu-Nebout, N., El Ouahabi, A., Genty, D., Gersonde, R.,
Jimenez-Amat, P., Landais, A., Martrat, B., Masson-Delmotte, V., Parrenin, F., Seidenkrantz, M.-S., Veres, D., Waelbroeck, C., and Zahn, R.: Sequence of events from the onset to the demise of the Last Interglacial: Evaluating strengths and limitations of chronologies used in climatic archives, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 129, 1–36, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.09.018, 2015.
Hager, B. and Foelsche, U.: Stable isotope composition of precipitation in
Austria, Aust. J. Earth Sci. 108, 2–13, https://doi.org/10.17738/ajes.2015.0012, 2015.
Häuselmann, A. D., Fleitmann, D., Cheng, H., Tabersky, D., Günther,
D., and Edwards, R. L.: Timing and nature of the penultimate deglaciation in
a high alpine stalagmite from Switzerland, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 126, 264–275, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.08.026, 2015.
Honiat, C., Festi, D., Wilcox, P. S., Edwards, R. L., Cheng, H., and
Spötl, C.: Early Last Interglacial environmental changes recorded by
speleothems from Katerloch (south-east Austria), J. Quaternary Sci., 37,
664–676, https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3398, 2022.
Irvalı, N., Ninnemann, U. S., Kleiven, H. (Kikki) F., Galaasen, E. V.,
Morley, A., and Rosenthal, Y.: Evidence for regional cooling, frontal advances, and East Greenland Ice Sheet changes during the demise of the last
interglacial, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 150, 184–199,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.08.029, 2016.
Jaffey, A. H., Flynn, K. F., Glendenin, L. E., Bentley, W. C., and Essling, A. M.: Precision Measurement of Half-Lives and Specific Activities of U235 and U238, Phys. Rev. C, 4, 1889–1906, https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.4.1889, 1971.
Johnston, V. E., Borsato, A., Frisia, S., Spötl, C., Dublyansky, Y.,
Töchterle, P., Hellstrom, J. C., Bajo, P., Edwards, R. L., and Cheng, H.: Evidence of thermophilisation and elevation-dependent warming during the Last Interglacial in the Italian Alps, Sci. Rep., 8, 2680, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-21027-3, 2018.
Johnston, V. E., Borsato, A., Frisia, S., Spötl, C., Hellstrom, J. C.,
Cheng, H., and Edwards, R. L.: Last interglacial hydroclimate in the Italian
Prealps reconstructed from speleothem multi-proxy records (Bigonda Cave, NE Italy), Quaternary Sci. Rev., 272, 107243, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.107243, 2021.
Kaspar, F.: A model-data comparison of European temperatures in the Eemian
interglacial, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L11703, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005GL022456, 2005.
Kendall, A. C. and Broughton, P. L.: Origin of fabrics in speleothems composed of columnar calcite crystals, J. Sediment Petrol., 48, 519–538, 1978.
Kim, S.-T. and O'Neil, J. R.: Equilibrium and nonequilibrium oxygen isotope
effects in synthetic carbonates, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 61, 3461–3475,
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7037(97)00169-5, 1997.
Kluge, T., Marx, T., Scholz, D., Niggemann, S., Mangini, A., and Aeschbach-Hertig, W.: A new tool for palaeoclimate reconstruction: Noble gas
temperatures from fluid inclusions in speleothems, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett.,
269, 408–415, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2008.02.030, 2008.
Krüger, Y., Marti, D., Staub, R. H., Fleitmann, D., and Frenz, M.:
Liquid–vapour homogenisation of fluid inclusions in stalagmites: Evaluation
of a new thermometer for palaeoclimate research, Chem. Geol., 289, 39–47,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2011.07.009, 2011.
Kühl, N. and Litt, T.: Quantitative time-series reconstructions of Holsteinian and Eemian temperatures using botanical data, in: Developments
https://doi.org/10.1016/S1571-0866(07)80041-8, 2007.
Lachniet, M. S.: Climatic and environmental controls on speleothem
oxygen-isotope values, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 28, 412–432,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2008.10.021, 2009.
Lopez-Elorza, M., Muñoz-García, M. B., González-Acebrón, L., and Martín-Chivelet, J.: Fluid-inclusion petrography in calcite stalagmites: Implications for entrapment processes, J. Sediment Res., 91,
1206–1226, https://doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2021.016, 2021.
Luetscher, M., Moseley, G. E., Festi, D., Hof, F., Edwards, R. L., and
Spötl, C.: A Last Interglacial speleothem record from the Sieben Hengste
cave system (Switzerland): Implications for alpine paleovegetation, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 262, 106974, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.106974,
2021.
Lunt, D. J., Abe-Ouchi, A., Bakker, P., Berger, A., Braconnot, P., Charbit,
S., Fischer, N., Herold, N., Jungclaus, J. H., Khon, V. C., Krebs-Kanzow,
U., Langebroek, P. M., Lohmann, G., Nisancioglu, K. H., Otto-Bliesner, B.
L., Park, W., Pfeiffer, M., Phipps, S. J., Prange, M., Rachmayani, R., Renssen, H., Rosenbloom, N., Schneider, B., Stone, E. J., Takahashi, K., Wei, W., Yin, Q., and Zhang, Z. S.: A multi-model assessment of last interglacial temperatures, Clim. Past, 9, 699–717, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-699-2013, 2013.
Martrat, B., Grimalt, J. O., Shackleton, N. J., de Abreu, L., Hutterli, M. A., and Stocker, T. F.: Four climate cycles of recurring deep and surface water destabilizations on the Iberian Margin, Science, 317, 502–507,
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1139994, 2007.
McDermott, F.: Palaeo-climate reconstruction from stable isotope variations in speleothems: a review, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 23, 901–918,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2003.06.021, 2004.
Meckler, A. N., Affolter, S., Dublyansky, Y. V., Krüger, Y., Vogel, N.,
Bernasconi, S. M., Frenz, M., Kipfer, R., Leuenberger, M., Spötl, C.,
Carolin, S., Cobb, K. M., Moerman, J., Adkins, J. F., and Fleitmann, D.:
Glacial–interglacial temperature change in the tropical West Pacific: A
comparison of stalagmite-based paleo-thermometers, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 127,
90–116, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.06.015, 2015.
Meyer, M. C., Spötl, C., and Mangini, A.: The demise of the Last
Interglacial recorded in isotopically dated speleothems from the Alps, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 27, 476–496, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2007.11.005, 2008.
Moseley, G. E., Spötl, C., Cheng, H., Boch, R., Min, A., and Edwards, R.
L.: Termination-II interstadial/stadial climate change recorded in two
stalagmites from the north European Alps, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 127, 229–239, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.07.012, 2015.
Nicholl, J. A. L., Hodell, D. A., Naafs, B. D. A., Hillaire-Marcel, C.,
Channell, J. E. T., and Romero, O. E.: A Laurentide outburst flooding event
during the last interglacial period, Nat. Geosci., 5, 901–904,
https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1622, 2012.
Otto-Bliesner, B. L., Brady, E. C., Zhao, A., Brierley, C. M., Axford, Y.,
Capron, E., Govin, A., Hoffman, J. S., Isaacs, E., Kageyama, M., Scussolini,
P., Tzedakis, P. C., Williams, C. J. R., Wolff, E., Abe-Ouchi, A., Braconnot, P., Ramos Buarque, S., Cao, J., de Vernal, A., Guarino, M. V., Guo, C., LeGrande, A. N., Lohmann, G., Meissner, K. J., Menviel, L., Morozova, P. A., Nisancioglu, K. H., O'ishi, R., Salas y Mélia, D., Shi, X., Sicard, M., Sime, L., Stepanek, C., Tomas, R., Volodin, E., Yeung, N. K. H., Zhang, Q., Zhang, Z., and Zheng, W.: Large-scale features of Last Interglacial climate: results from evaluating the lig127k; simulations for the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6)–Paleoclimate Modeling Intercomparison Project (PMIP4), Clim. Past, 17, 63–94, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-63-2021, 2021.
Poage, M. A.: Empirical relationships between elevation and the stable isotope composition of precipitation and surface waters: considerations for
studies of paleoelevation change, Am. J. Sci., 301, 1–15,
https://doi.org/10.2475/ajs.301.1.1, 2001.
Ramsey, C. B.: Deposition models for chronological records, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 27, 42–60, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2007.01.019, 2008.
Ramsey, C. B. and Lee, S.: Recent and planned developments of the program OxCal, Radiocarbon, 55, 720–730, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200057878, 2013.
Regattieri, E., Zanchetta, G., Drysdale, R. N., Isola, I., Hellstrom, J. C.,
and Roncioni, A.: A continuous stable isotope record from the penultimate
glacial maximum to the Last Interglacial (159–121 ka) from Tana Che Urla
Cave (Apuan Alps, central Italy), Quatern. Res., 82, 450–461,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2014.05.005, 2014.
Rohling, E. J., Hibbert, F. D., Grant, K. M., Galaasen, E. V., Irvalý, N., Kleiven, H. F., Marino, G., Ninnemann, U., Roberts, A. P., Rosenthal, Y., Schulz, H., Williams, F. H., and Yu, J.: Asynchronous Antarctic and Greenland ice-volume contributions to the last interglacial sea-level highstand, Nat. Commun., 10, 5040, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12874-3, 2019.
Rozanski, K., Araguas-Araguas, L., and Gonfiantini, R.: Relation between
long-term trends of oxygen-18 isotope composition of precipitation and climate, Science, 258, 981–985, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.258.5084.981, 1992.
Salonen, J. S., Helmens, K. F., Brendryen, J., Kuosmanen, N., Väliranta,
M., Goring, S., Korpela, M., Kylander, M., Philip, A., Plikk, A., Renssen, H., and Luoto, M.: Abrupt high-latitude climate events and decoupled seasonal trends during the Eemian, Nat. Commun., 9, 2851, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-05314-1, 2018.
Salonen, J. S., Sánchez-Goñi, M. F., Renssen, H., and Plikk, A.:
Contrasting northern and southern European winter climate trends during the
Last Interglacial, Geology, 49, 1220–1224, https://doi.org/10.1130/G49007.1, 2021.
Sánchez Goñi, M. F., Desprat, S., Fletcher, W. J., Morales-Molino,
C., Naughton, F., Oliveira, D., Urrego, D. H., and Zorzi, C.: Pollen from
the deep-sea: a breakthrough in the mystery of the ice ages, Front. Plant
Sci., 9, 38, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2018.00038, 2018.
Schwarcz, H. P., Harmon, R. S., Thompson, P., and Ford, D. C.: Stable isotope studies of fluid inclusions in speleothems and their paleoclimatic significance, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 40, 657–665,
https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(76)90111-3, 1976.
Scussolini, P., Bakker, P., Guo, C., Stepanek, C., Zhang, Q., Braconnot, P.,
Cao, J., Guarino, M.-V., Coumou, D., Prange, M., Ward, P. J., Renssen, H.,
Kageyama, M., Otto-Bliesner, B., and Aerts, J. C. J. H.: Agreement between
reconstructed and modeled boreal precipitation of the Last Interglacial,
Sci. Adv., 5, eaax7047, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aax7047, 2019.
Sodemann, H. and Zubler, E.: Seasonal and inter-annual variability of the moisture sources for Alpine precipitation during 1995–2002, Int. J. Climatol., 30, 947–961, https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.1932, 2010.
Spötl, C.: Long-term performance of the Gasbench isotope ratio mass
spectrometry system for the stable isotope analysis of carbonate microsamples, Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom., 25, 1683–1685, https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.5037, 2011.
Spötl, C. and Mattey, D.: Scientific drilling of speleothems – a
technical note, Int. J. Speleol., 41, 29–34, https://doi.org/10.5038/1827-806X.41.1.4, 2012.
Spötl, C., Fairchild, I. J., and Tooth, A. F.: Cave air control on
dripwater geochemistry, Obir Caves (Austria): Implications for speleothem
deposition in dynamically ventilated caves, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 69, 2451–2468, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2004.12.009, 2005.
Spötl, C., Koltai, G., Jarosch, A. H., and Cheng, H.: Increased autumn
and winter precipitation during the Last Glacial Maximum in the European Alps, Nature Commun., 12, 1839, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22090-7, 2021.
Sternai, P., Sue, C., Husson, L., Serpelloni, E., Becker, T. W., Willett, S.
D., Faccenna, C., Di Giulio, A., Spada, G., Jolivet, L., Valla, P., Petit,
C., Nocquet, J.-M., Walpersdorf, A., and Castelltort, S.: Present-day uplift
of the European Alps: Evaluating mechanisms and models of their relative
contributions, Earth-Sci. Rev., 190, 589–604, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2019.01.005, 2019.
Thomas, Z. A., Jones, R. T., Turney, C. S. M., Golledge, N., Fogwill, C.,
Bradshaw, C. J. A., Menviel, L., McKay, N. P., Bird, M., Palmer, J., Kershaw, P., Wilmshurst, J., and Muscheler, R.: Tipping elements and amplified polar warming during the Last Interglacial, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 233, 106222, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106222, 2020.
Tremaine, D. M., Froelich, P. N., and Wang, Y.: Speleothem calcite farmed in
situ: Modern calibration of δ18O and δ13C paleoclimate
proxies in a continuously-monitored natural cave system, Geochim. Cosmochim.
Ac., 75, 4929–4950, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2011.06.005, 2011.
Tzedakis, P. C., Drysdale, R. N., Margari, V., Skinner, L. C., Menviel, L.,
Rhodes, R. H., Taschetto, A. S., Hodell, D. A., Crowhurst, S. J., Hellstrom,
J. C., Fallick, A. E., Grimalt, J. O., McManus, J. F., Martrat, B., Mokeddem, Z., Parrenin, F., Regattieri, E., Roe, K., and Zanchetta, G.: Enhanced climate instability in the North Atlantic and southern Europe during the Last Interglacial, Nat. Commun., 9, 4235, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-06683-3, 2018.
Vansteenberge, S., Verheyden, S., Cheng, H., Edwards, R. L., Keppens, E.,
and Claeys, P.: Paleoclimate in continental northwestern Europe during the
Eemian and early Weichselian (125–97 ka): insights from a Belgian
speleothem, Clim. Past, 12, 1445–1458, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1445-2016, 2016.
Vansteenberge, S., Verheyden, S., Genty, D., Blamart, D., Goderis, S., Van Malderen, S. J. M., Vanhaecke, F., Hodel, F., Gillikin, D., Ek, C., Quinif, Y., Cheng, H., Edwards, R. L., and Claeys, P.: Characterizing the Eemian-Weichselian transition in northwestern Europe with three multiproxy
speleothem archives from the Belgian Han-sur-Lesse and Remouchamps cave
systems, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 208, 21–37, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.01.011, 2019.
Vogel, N., Brennwald, M. S., Fleitmann, D., Wieler, R., Maden, C., Süsli, A., and Kipfer, R.: A combined vacuum crushing and sieving (CVCS) system designed to determine noble gas paleotemperatures from stalagmite samples, Geochem. Geophy. Geosy., 14, 2432–2444, https://doi.org/10.1002/ggge.20164, 2013.
Wainer, K., Genty, D., Blamart, D., Daëron, M., Bar-Matthews, M.,
Vonhof, H., Dublyansky, Y., Pons-Branchu, E., Thomas, L., van Calsteren, P.,
Quinif, Y., and Caillon, N.: Speleothem record of the last 180 ka in Villars
cave (SW France): Investigation of a large δ18O shift between MIS6
and MIS5, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 30, 130–146, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.07.004, 2011.
Wilcox, P. S., Honiat, C., Trüssel, M., Edwards, R. L., and Spötl, C.: Exceptional warmth and climate instability occurred in the European Alps
during the Last Interglacial period, Commun. Earth Environ., 1, 57,
https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-020-00063-w, 2020.
Zhou, Y. and McManus, J.: Extensive evidence for a last interglacial Laurentide outburst (LILO) event, Geology, 50, 934–938,
https://doi.org/10.1130/G49956.1, 2022.
Short summary
A look at the climate evolution during the last warm period may allow us to test ground for future climate conditions. We quantified the temperature evolution during the Last Interglacial using a tiny amount of water trapped in the crystals of precisely dated stalagmites in caves from the southeastern European Alps. Our record indicates temperatures up to 2 °C warmer than today and an unstable climate during the first half of the Last Interglacial.
A look at the climate evolution during the last warm period may allow us to test ground for...
