Articles | Volume 19, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1607-2023
© 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-19-1607-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
04 Aug 2023
Research article |
| 04 Aug 2023
| 04 Aug 2023
Cryogenic cave minerals recorded the 1889 CE melt event in northeastern Greenland
Institute of Geology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
Paul Töchterle
Institute of Geology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
Christoph Spötl
Institute of Geology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
Irka Hajdas
Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
Xianglei Li
Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, China
R. Lawrence Edwards
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Gina E. Moseley
Institute of Geology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
Related authors
No articles found.
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
Geochronology, 7, 335–355, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-7-335-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-7-335-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The uranium–thorium (U–Th) and uranium–lead (U–Pb) radiometric dating methods are both suitable for dating carbonate samples ranging in age from about 400 000 to 650 000 years. Here we test agreement between the two methods by dating speleothems (i.e. secondary cave mineral deposits) that are well-suited to both methods. We demonstrate excellent agreement between them and discuss their relative strengths and weaknesses.
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
Clim. Past, 21, 1235–1261, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-1235-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-1235-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper we present 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 in the last 16 500 years before present.
Carlos Sancho, Ánchel Belmonte, Maria Leunda, Marc Luetscher, Christoph Spötl, Juan Ignacio López-Moreno, Belén Oliva-Urcia, Jerónimo López-Martínez, Ana Moreno, and Miguel Bartolomé
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-8, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-8, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Ice caves, vital for paleoclimate studies, face rapid ice loss due to global warming. A294 cave, home to the oldest firn deposit (6100 years BP), shows rising air temperatures (~1.07–1.56 °C in 12 years), fewer freezing days, and melting rates (15–192 cm/year). Key factors include warmer winters, increased rainfall, and reduced snowfall. This study highlights the urgency of recovering data from these unique ice archives before they vanish forever.
Judit Torner, Isabel Cacho, Heather Stoll, Ana Moreno, Joan O. Grimalt, Francisco J. Sierro, Joan J. Fornós, Hai Cheng, and R. Lawrence Edwards
Clim. Past, 21, 465–487, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-465-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-465-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We offer a clearer view of the timing of three relevant past glacial terminations. By analyzing the climatic signal recorded in stalagmite and linking it with marine records, we revealed differences in the intensity and duration of the ice melting associated with these three key deglaciations. This study shows that some deglaciations began earlier than previously thought; this improves our understanding of natural climate processes, helping us to contextualize current climate change.
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.
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.
Marcel Ortler, Achim Brauer, Stefano C. Fabbri, Jean Nicolas Haas, Irka Hajdas, Kerstin Kowarik, Jochem Kueck, Hans Reschreiter, and Michael Strasser
Sci. Dril., 33, 1–19, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-33-1-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-33-1-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The lake drilling project at Lake Hallstatt (Austria) successfully cored 51 m of lake sediments. This was achieved through the novel drilling platform Hipercorig. A core-log seismic correlation was created for the first time of an inner Alpine lake of the Eastern Alps. The sediments cover over 12 000 years before present with 10 (up to 5.1 m thick) instantaneous deposits. Lake Hallstatt is located within an UNESCO World Heritage area which has a rich history of human salt mining.
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.
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.
Charlotte Honiat, Gabriella Koltai, Yuri Dublyansky, R. Lawrence Edwards, Haiwei Zhang, Hai Cheng, and Christoph Spötl
Clim. Past, 19, 1177–1199, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1177-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1177-2023, 2023
Short summary
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.
Valentina Beccari, Ahuva Almogi-Labin, Daniela Basso, Giuliana Panieri, Yizhaq Makovsky, Irka Hajdas, and Silvia Spezzaferri
J. Micropalaeontol., 42, 13–29, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-42-13-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-42-13-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Planktonic gastropods (pteropods and heteropods) have been investigated in cores collected in the eastern Mediterranean along the Israeli coast in coral, pockmark, and channel areas. The sediment spans the last 5300 years. Our study reveals that neglecting the smaller fraction (> 63 µm) may result in a misinterpretation of the palaeoceanography. The presence of tropical and subtropical species reveals that the eastern Mediterranean acted as a refugium for these organisms.
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.
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.
Robin Fentimen, Eline Feenstra, Andres Rüggeberg, Efraim Hall, Valentin Rime, Torsten Vennemann, Irka Hajdas, Antonietta Rosso, David Van Rooij, Thierry Adatte, Hendrik Vogel, Norbert Frank, and Anneleen Foubert
Clim. Past, 18, 1915–1945, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1915-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1915-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The investigation of a 9 m long sediment core recovered at ca. 300 m water depth demonstrates that cold-water coral mound build-up within the East Melilla Coral Province (southeastern Alboran Sea) took place during both interglacial and glacial periods. Based on the combination of different analytical methods (e.g. radiometric dating, micropaleontology), we propose that corals never thrived but rather developed under stressful environmental conditions.
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.
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.
Lilian Schuster, Fabien Maussion, Lukas Langhamer, and Gina E. Moseley
Weather Clim. Dynam., 2, 1–17, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-1-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-1-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Precipitation and moisture sources over an arid region in northeast Greenland are investigated from 1979 to 2017 by a Lagrangian moisture source diagnostic driven by reanalysis data. Dominant winter moisture sources are the North Atlantic above 45° N. In summer local and north Eurasian continental sources dominate. In positive phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation, evaporation and moisture transport from the Norwegian Sea are stronger, resulting in more precipitation.
Cited articles
Audra, P. and Nobécourt, J.-C.: Rare sulfates (mirabilite, eugsterite)
in the dry microclimate of chamois cave (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France),
in: Proceedings of the 16th International Congress of Speleology, Czech
Speleological Societya, 21–28 July 2013, Prague, Czech Republic, 432–436,
K26-00116, 2013.
Bajo, P., Borsato, A., Drysdale, R., Hua, Q., Frisia, S., Zanchetta, G.,
Hellstrom, J., and Woodhead, J.: Stalagmite carbon isotopes and dead carbon
proportion (DCP) in a near-closed-system situation: An interplay between
sulphuric and carbonic acid dissolution, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 210,
208–227, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2017.04.038, 2017.
Bartolomé, M., Sancho, C., Osácar, M. C., Moreno, A., Leunda, M.,
Spötl, C., Luetscher, M., López-Martínez, J., and Belmonte, A.:
Characteristics of cryogenic carbonates in a Pyrenean ice cave (northern Spain), Geogaceta, 58, 107–110, 2015.
Bartolomé, M., Cazenave, G., Luetscher, M., Spötl, C., Gázquez, F., Belmonte, Á., Turchyn, A. V., López-Moreno, J. I., and Moreno, A.: Mountain permafrost in the Central Pyrenees: insights from the Devaux ice cave, The Cryosphere, 17, 477–497, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-477-2023, 2023.
Barton, H. A., Breley, G. J., Töchterle, P., and Moseley, G. E.: Cryogenic features of the permafrost ice caves of Grottedal, northeast Greenland, Cave Karst Sci., 47, 93–99, 2020.
Bieniok, A., Zagler, G., Brendel, U., and Neubauer, F.: Speleothems in the
dry cave parts of the Gamslöcher-Kolowrat Cave, Untersberg near Salzburg
(Austria), Int. J. Speleol., 40, 117–124, 2011.
Bintanja, R. and Krikken, F.: Magnitude and pattern of Arctic warming governed by the seasonality of radiative forcing, Sci. Rep.-UK, 6, 1–7,
https://doi.org/10.1038/srep38287, 2016.
Bintanja, R. and Selten, F. M.: Future increases in Arctic precipitation linked to local evaporation and sea-ice retreat, Nature, 509, 479–482,
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13259, 2014.
Box, J. E., Yang, L., Bromwich, D. H., and Bai, L.-S.: Greenland Ice Sheet
surface air temperature variability: 1840–2007, J. Climate, 22, 4029–4049, https://doi.org/10.1175/2009JCLI2816.1, 2009.
Bronk Ramsey, C.: Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates, Radiocarbon, 51,
337–360, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200033865, 2009.
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 Alexander Jr., E. C.: 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.
Clark, I. D. and Lauriol, B.: Kinetic enrichment of stable isotopes in
cryogenic calcites, Chem. Geol., 102, 217–228, https://doi.org/10.1016/0009-2541(92)90157-Z, 1992.
Clausen, H. B., Gundestrup, N. S., Johnsen, S. J., Bindschadler, R., and Zwally, J.: Glaciological investigations in the Crête area, central
Greenland: A search for a new deep-drilling site, Ann. Glaciol., 10, 10–15,
https://doi.org/10.3189/S0260305500004080, 1988.
Dahl-Jensen, D., Mosegaard, K., Gundestrup, N., Clow, G. D., Johnsen, S. J.,
Hansen, A. W., and Balling, N.: Past temperatures directly from the Greenland ice sheet, Science, 282, 268–271, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.282.5387.268, 1998.
Danmarks Meteorologiske Institut: Klimanormaler for Grønland,
Danmarks Meteorologiske Institut [data set], https://www.dmi.dk/vejrarkiv/normaler-gronland/ (last access: 12 July 2022), 2022.
Davies, W. E. and Krinsley, D. B.: Caves in Northern Greenland, Natl. Speleol. Soc. Bull., 22, 114–116, 1960.
Donner, A., Töchterle, P., and Moseley, G. E.: Basic meteorological
observations in the Centrumsø region of northeast Greenland, Cave Karst Sci., 47, 104–106, 2020.
Dorale, J. A., Edwards, R. L., Alexander, E. C., Shen, C.-C., Richards, D.
A., and Cheng, H.: Uranium-series dating of speleothems: current techniques,
limits, & applications, in: Studies of Cave Sediments, edited by: Sasowsky, I. D. and Mylroie, J., Springer US, Boston, MA, 177–197,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9118-8_10, 2004.
Dublyansky, Y., Kadebskaya, O., Menshikova, E., Demeny, A., and Spötl, C.: Polymineral cryogenic deposits in caves of the Southern Ural, Russia, as
tracers of past permafrost, in: Climate Change: The Karst Record 8th International Conference, Scientific Program and Abstracts, 21–24 May 2017, Austin, USA, p. 41, 2017.
Eckhardt, S., Pisso, I., Evangeliou, N., Zwaaftink, C. G., Plach, A., McConnell, J. R., Sigl, M., Ruppel, M., Zdanowicz, C., Lim, S., Chellman,
N., Opel, T., Meyer, H., Steffensen, J. P., Schwikowski, M., and Stohl, A.:
Revised historical Northern Hemisphere black carbon emissions based on inverse modelling of ice core records, Nat. Commun., 14, 217,
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-35660-0, 2023.
Edwards, R. L., Chen, J. H., and Wasserburg, G. J.: 238U-234U-230Th-232Th systematics and the precise measurement of time over the past 500,000 years, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 81, 175–192, https://doi.org/10.1016/0012-821X(87)90154-3, 1987.
Fausto, R. S., van As, D., and Mankoff, K. D.: Programme for monitoring of
the Greenland ice sheet (PROMICE): Automatic weather station data, Version: v03, GEUS – Geological survey of Denmark and Greenland [data set],
https://doi.org/10.22008/promice/data/aws, 2019.
Fischer, H., Werner, M., Wagenbach, D., Schwager, M., Thorsteinnson, T., Wilhelms, F., Kipfstuhl, J., and Sommer, S.: Little Ice Age clearly recorded
in northern Greenland ice cores, Geophys. Res. Lett., 25, 1749–1752,
https://doi.org/10.1029/98GL01177, 1998.
Fleischer, R. L.: Alpha-recoil damage and solution effects in minerals:
uranium isotopic disequilibrium and radon release, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac.,
46, 2191–2201, https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(82)90194-6, 1982.
Genty, D. and Massault, M.: Bomb 14C recorded in laminated speleothems:
calculation of dead carbon proportion, Radiocarbon, 39, 33–48,
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200040881, 1997.
Geofabrik and OpenStreetMap Contributors: Greenland,
https://download.geofabrik.de/north-america/greenland-latest-free.shp.zip
(last access: 13 September 2022), 2018.
Harmon, R. S., Atkinson, T. C., and Atkinson, J. L.: The mineralogy of
Castleguard Cave, Columbia Icefields, Alberta, Canada, Arct. Alp. Res., 15, 503–516, 1983.
Hajdas, I., Ascough, P., Garnett, M. H., Fallon, S. J., Pearson, C. L., Quarta, G., Spalding, K. L., Yamaguchi, H., and Yoneda, M.: Radiocarbon
dating, Nat. Rev. Meth. Prim., 1, 1–26, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43586-021-00058-7, 2021.
Hill, C. and Forti, P.: Cave Minerals of the World, in: 2nd Edn., National Speleological Society, Huntsville, ISBN 13:978-1879961074, 1997.
Hua, Q., McDonald, J., Redwood, D., Drysdale, R., Lee, S., Fallon, S., and
Hellstrom, J.: Robust chronological reconstruction for young speleothems using radiocarbon, Quatern. Geochronol., 14, 67–80,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quageo.2012.04.017, 2012.
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 235U and 238U, Phys. Rev. C, 4, 1889–1906, https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.4.1889, 1971.
Kadebskaya, O. and Tschaikovskiy, I.: Staging in the hypergene transformation of sulphate and carbonate rocks (based on slide-rocks under organ tubes in Kungur ice cave), Acta Carsolog., 44, 237–250, 2015.
Keegan, K. M., Albert, M. R., McConnell, J. R., and Baker, I.: Climate change and forest fires synergistically drive widespread melt events of the Greenland Ice Sheet, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 111, 7964–7967,
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1405397111, 2014.
Kern, Z. and Perşoiu, A.: Cave ice – the imminent loss of untapped
mid-latitude cryospheric palaeoenvironmental archives, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 67, 1–7, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.01.008, 2013.
Kjær, K. H., Bjørk, A. A., Kjeldsen, K. K., Hansen, E. S., Andresen, C. S., Siggaard-Andersen, M.-L., Khan, S. A., Søndergaard, A. S., Colgan,
W., Schomacker, A., Woodroffe, S., Funder, S., Rouillard, A., Jensen, J. F.,
and Larsen, N. K.: Glacier response to the Little Ice Age during the Neoglacial cooling in Greenland, Earth-Sci. Rev., 227, 1–43,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2022.103984, 2022.
Koltai, G., Spötl, C., Jarosch, A. H., and Cheng, H.: Cryogenic cave
carbonates in the Dolomites (northern Italy): insights into Younger Dryas
cooling and seasonal precipitation, Clim. Past, 17, 775–789,
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-775-2021, 2021.
Lacelle, D., Lauriol, B., and Clark, I. D.: Formation of seasonal ice bodies
and associated cryogenic cave carbonates in Caverne de L'Ours, Québec,
Canada: Kinetic isotope effects and pseudo-biogenic crystal structures, J.
Cave Karst Stud., 71, 48–62, 2009.
Lauriol, B. and Clark, I. D.: An approach to determine the origin and age of
massive ice blockages in two arctic caves, Permafrost Periglac., 4, 77–85,
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.3430040107, 1993.
Lauriol, B., Carrier, L., and Thibaudeau, P.: Topoclimatic zones and ice dynamics in the caves of the Northern Yukon, Canada, Arctic, 41, 215–220,
1988.
Lemark, A.: A study of the Flade Isblink ice cap using a simple ice flow
model, Master thesis, Niels Bohr Institute Copenhagen University, Centre for
Ice and Climate, Denmark, 75 pp., https://nbi.ku.dk/english/theses/masters-theses/andreas-lemark/A_Lemark_Speciale.pdf (last access: 2 August 2023), 2010.
Loubière, J.-F.: Observations préliminaires sur les cavités de
la région du lac Centrum (NE Groenland), Karstologia, 9, 7–16,
https://doi.org/10.3406/karst.1987.2152, 1987.
Ludwig, K. R. and Titterington, D. M.: Calculation of 230Th/U isochrons,
ages, and errors. Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 58, 5031–5042,
https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(94)90229-1, 1994.
Luetscher, M., Borreguero, M., Moseley, G. E., Spötl, C., and Edwards, R. L.: Alpine permafrost thawing during the Medieval Warm Period identified from cryogenic cave carbonates, The Cryosphere, 7, 1073–1081,
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1073-2013, 2013.
Moseley, G. E., Barton, H. A., Spötl, C., Töchterle, P., Smith, M. P., Bjerkenås, S. E., Blakely, C., Hodkinson, P. D., Shone, R. C., Sivertsen, H. C., and Wright, M.: Cave discoveries and speleogenetic features in northeast Greenland, Cave Karst Sci., 47, 74–87, 2020.
Moseley, G. E., Edwards, R. L., Lord, N. S., Spötl, C., and Cheng, H.:
Speleothem record of mild and wet mid-Pleistocene climate in northeast
Greenland, Sci. Adv., 7, 1–13, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abe1260, 2021.
Neff, W., Compo, G. P., Ralph, F. M., and Shupe, M. D.: Continental heat
anomalies and the extreme melting of the Greenland ice surface in 2012 and
1889, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 119, 6520–6536, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JD021470, 2014.
Racine, T. M. F., Reimer, P. J., and Spötl, C.: Multi-centennial mass
balance of perennial ice deposits in Alpine caves mirrors the evolution of
glaciers during the Late Holocene, Sci. Rep.-UK, 12, 1–13,
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-15516-9, 2022.
Reimer, P. J., Brown, T. A., and Reimer, R. W.: Discussion: Reporting and
calibration of post-bomb 14C data, Radiocarbon, 46, 1299–1304,
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200033154, 2004.
Reimer, P. J., Austin, W. E. N., Bard, E., Bayliss, A., Blackwell, P. G.,
Bronk Ramsey, C., Butzin, M., Cheng, H., Edwards, R. L., Friedrich, M.,
Grootes, P. M., Guilderson, T. P., Hajdas, I., Heaton, T. J., Hogg, A. G.,
Hughen, K. A., Kromer, B., Manning, S. W., Muscheler, R., Palmer, J. G.,
Pearson, C., van der Plicht, J., Reimer, R. W., Richards, D. A., Scott, E.
M., Southon, J. R., Turney, C. S. M., Wacker, L., Adolphi, F., Büntgen,
U., Capano, M., Fahrni, S. M., Fogtmann-Schulz, A., Friedrich, R., Köhler, P., Kudsk, S., Miyake, F., Olsen, J., Reinig, F., Sakamoto, M.,
Sookdeo, A., and Talamo, S.: The IntCal20 Northern Hemisphere radiocarbon
age calibration curve (0–55 cal kBP), Radiocarbon, 62, 725–757,
https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2020.41, 2020.
Rhodes, R. H., Yang, X., and Wolff, E. W.: Sea ice versus storms: What
controls sea salt in Arctic ice cores?, Geophys. Res. Lett., 45, 5572–5580,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL077403, 2018.
Richter, D. K., Scholz, D., Jöns, N., Neuser, R. D., and Breitenbach, S.
F.: Coarse-grained cryogenic aragonite as end-member of mineral formation in
dolomite caves, Sediment. Geol., 376, 136–146, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2018.08.006, 2018.
Schuster, L., Maussion, F., Langhamer, L., and Moseley, G. E.: Lagrangian
detection of precipitation moisture sources for an arid region in northeast
Greenland: relations to the North Atlantic Oscillation, sea ice cover, and
temporal trends from 1979 to 2017, Weather Clim. Dynam., 2, 1–17,
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-1-2021, 2021.
Shen, C.-C., Wu, C.-C., Cheng, H., Edwards, R. L., Hsieh, Y.-T., Gallet, S.,
Chang, C.-C., Li, T.-Y., Lam, D. D., Kano, A., Hori, M., and Spötl, C.:
High-precision and high-resolution carbonate 230Th dating by MC-ICP-MS with SEM protocols, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 99, 71–86,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2012.09.018, 2012.
Shepherd, T. G.: Effects of a warming Arctic, Science, 353, 989–990,
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aag2349, 2016.
Smith, M. P. and Rasmussen, J. A.: The geology of the Centrumsø area of
Kronprins Christian Land, northeast Greenland, and lithological constraints on speleogenesis, Cave Karst Sci., 47, 60–65, 2020.
Sole, A. J., Ignéczi, Á., Smith, M. P., and Clark, C. D.: Investigations to constrain retreat of the Greenland Ice Sheet: glacial
geomorphology and sampling for cosmogenic exposure dating of the Centrumsø area, Kronprins Christian Land, northeast Greenland, Cave Karst Sci., 47, 66–73, 2020.
Spötl, C.: Kryogene Karbonate im Höhleneis der Eisriesenwelt, Höhle, 59, 26–36, 2008.
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 Cheng, H.: Holocene climate change, permafrost and cryogenic carbonate formation: insights from a recently deglaciated,
high-elevation cave in the Austrian Alps, Clim. Past, 10, 1349–1362,
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1349-2014, 2014.
Spötl, C. and Vennemann, T. W.: Continuous-flow isotope ratio mass
spectrometric analysis of carbonate minerals, Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom., 9, 1004–1006, https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.1010, 2003.
Spötl, C., Koltai, G., Jarosch, A. H., and Cheng, H.: Increased autumn
and winter precipitation during the Last Glacial Maximum in the European
Alps, Nat. Commun., 12, 1839, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22090-7, 2021.
Stuiver, M. and Polach, H. A.: Discussion reporting of 14C data, Radiocarbon, 19, 355–363, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200003672, 1977.
Synal, H.-A., Stocker, M., and Suter, M.: MICADAS: A new compact radiocarbon
AMS system, Nucl. Instrum. Meth. B, 259, 7–13, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2007.01.138, 2007.
Töchterle, P., Steidle, S., Edwards, R. L., Dublyansky, Y., Spötl, C., Li, X., Gunn, J., and Moseley, G. E.: 230Th/U isochron dating of
cryogenic cave carbonates, Geochronology, 4, 617–627,
https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-617-2022, 2022.
van As, D., Fausto, R. S., Ahlstrøm, A. P., Andersen, S. B., Andersen, M.
L., Citterio, M., Edelvang, K., Gravesen, P., Machguth, H., Nick, F. M.,
Nielsen, S., and Weidick, A.: Programme for monitoring of the Greenland Ice
Sheet (PROMICE): first temperature and ablation records, Geol. Surv. Den.
Greenl., 23, 73–76, https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-131209, 2011.
Vermeesch, P.: IsoplotR: A free and open toolbox for geochronology, Geosci.
Front., 9, 1479–1493, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2018.04.001, 2018.
Vinther, B. M., Andersen, K. K., Jones, P. D., Briffa, K. R., and Cappelen,
J.: Extending Greenland temperature records into the late eighteenth century, J. Geophys. Res., 111, D11105, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JD006810, 2006.
Wedepohl, K. H.: The composition of the continental crust, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 59, 1217–1232, https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(95)00038-2, 1995.
Wendt, K. A., Pythoud, M., Moseley, G. E., Dublyansky, Y. V., Edwards, R. L., and Spötl, C.: Paleohydrology of southwest Nevada (USA) based on groundwater 234U/238U over the past 475 k.y., Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 132, 793–802, https://doi.org/10.1130/B35168.1, 2020.
White, W. B.: Mineralogy of Mammoth Cave, in: Mammoth Cave, edited by: Hobbs III, H. H., Olson, R. A., Winkler, E. G., and Culver, D. C., Springer, Cham, 145–162, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53718-4_9, 2017.
Žák, K., Richter, D. K., Filippi, M., Živor, R., Deininger, M.,
Mangini, A., and Scholz, D.: Coarsely crystalline cryogenic cave carbonate
– a new archive to estimate the Last Glacial minimum permafrost depth in
Central Europe, Clim. Past, 8, 1821–1837, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-1821-2012, 2012.
Žák, K., Onac, B. P., Kadebskaya, O. I., Filippi, M., Dublyansky, Y.,
and Luetscher, M.: Cryogenic mineral formation in caves, in: Ice Caves, edited by: Perşoiu, A. and Lauritzen, S.-E., Elsevier, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 123–162, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-811739-2.00035-8, 2018.
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.
This study investigates the first finding of fine-grained cryogenic cave minerals in Greenland,...
