Articles | Volume 19, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2423-2023
© 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-19-2423-2023
© 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 Dec 2023
Research article |
| 04 Dec 2023
| 04 Dec 2023
Distinguishing the combined vegetation and soil component of δ13C variation in speleothem records from subsequent degassing and prior calcite precipitation effects
Heather M. Stoll
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich, Sonneggstrasse 5, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland
Chris Day
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, OX1 3AN, Oxford, UK
Franziska Lechleitner
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Freiestrasse 3, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Oliver Kost
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich, Sonneggstrasse 5, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland
Laura Endres
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich, Sonneggstrasse 5, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland
Jakub Sliwinski
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich, Sonneggstrasse 5, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland
Carlos Pérez-Mejías
Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
Hai Cheng
Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
Denis Scholz
Institute of Geosciences, University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany
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Alexander J. Clark, Ismael Torres-Romero, Madalina Jaggi, Stefano M. Bernasconi, and Heather M. Stoll
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Charlotte Honiat, Gabriella Koltai, Yuri Dublyansky, R. Lawrence Edwards, Haiwei Zhang, Hai Cheng, and Christoph Spötl
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Oliver Kost, Saúl González-Lemos, Laura Rodríguez-Rodríguez, Jakub Sliwinski, Laura Endres, Negar Haghipour, and Heather Stoll
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Jessica G. M. Crumpton-Banks, Thomas Tanner, Ivan Hernández Almeida, James W. B. Rae, and Heather Stoll
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Franziska A. Lechleitner, Christopher C. Day, Oliver Kost, Micah Wilhelm, Negar Haghipour, Gideon M. Henderson, and Heather M. Stoll
Clim. Past, 17, 1903–1918, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1903-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1903-2021, 2021
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Ana Moreno, Miguel Iglesias, Cesar Azorin-Molina, Carlos Pérez-Mejías, Miguel Bartolomé, Carlos Sancho, Heather Stoll, Isabel Cacho, Jaime Frigola, Cinta Osácar, Arsenio Muñoz, Antonio Delgado-Huertas, Ileana Bladé, and Françoise Vimeux
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Short summary
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We present a large and unique dataset of the rainfall isotopic composition at seven sites from northern Iberia to characterize their variability at daily and monthly timescales and to assess the role of climate and geographic factors in the modulation of δ18O values. We found that the origin, moisture uptake along the trajectory and type of precipitation play a key role. These results will help to improve the interpretation of δ18O paleorecords from lacustrine carbonates or speleothems.
Inken Heidke, Adam Hartland, Denis Scholz, Andrew Pearson, John Hellstrom, Sebastian F. M. Breitenbach, and Thorsten Hoffmann
Biogeosciences, 18, 2289–2300, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2289-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2289-2021, 2021
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We analyzed lignin oxidation products (LOPs) in leaf litter and different soil horizons as well as dripwater and flowstone samples from four different cave sites from different vegetation zones in New Zealand using liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. We test whether the original source-dependent LOP signal of the overlying vegetation is preserved and can be recovered from flowstone samples and investigate how the signal is altered by the transport from the soil to the cave.
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
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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.
Hongrui Zhang, Chuanlian Liu, Luz María Mejía, and Heather Stoll
Biogeosciences, 18, 1909–1916, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1909-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1909-2021, 2021
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
Ana Moreno, Miguel Bartolomé, Juan Ignacio López-Moreno, Jorge Pey, Juan Pablo Corella, Jordi García-Orellana, Carlos Sancho, María Leunda, Graciela Gil-Romera, Penélope González-Sampériz, Carlos Pérez-Mejías, Francisco Navarro, Jaime Otero-García, Javier Lapazaran, Esteban Alonso-González, Cristina Cid, Jerónimo López-Martínez, Belén Oliva-Urcia, Sérgio Henrique Faria, María José Sierra, Rocío Millán, Xavier Querol, Andrés Alastuey, and José M. García-Ruíz
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Our study of the chronological sequence of Monte Perdido Glacier in the Central Pyrenees (Spain) reveals that, although the intense warming associated with the Roman period or Medieval Climate Anomaly produced important ice mass losses, it was insufficient to make this glacier disappear. By contrast, recent global warming has melted away almost 600 years of ice accumulated since the Little Ice Age, jeopardising the survival of this and other southern European glaciers over the next few decades.
Catarina Cavaleiro, Antje H. L. Voelker, Heather Stoll, Karl-Heinz Baumann, and Michal Kucera
Clim. Past, 16, 2017–2037, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-2017-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-2017-2020, 2020
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
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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.
Tobias Kluge, Tatjana S. Münster, Norbert Frank, Elisabeth Eiche, Regina Mertz-Kraus, Denis Scholz, Martin Finné, and Ingmar Unkel
Clim. Past Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2020-47, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2020-47, 2020
Revised manuscript not accepted
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A stalagmite from Hermes Cave (Greece) provides new insights into the climate evolution from 5.3−0.8 ka. Its close proximity to Mycenae and Corinth allows for a future comparative assessment of societal changes in a climatic context. Proxy data suggest significant centennial scale climate variability (i.e., wet vs. dry) with a long-term trend towards drier conditions from ca 3.7 to ~ 2.0 ka. The largest proxy variation of the whole record is found around the 4.2 ka event.
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
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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.
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
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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.
Inken Heidke, Denis Scholz, and Thorsten Hoffmann
Clim. Past, 15, 1025–1037, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1025-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1025-2019, 2019
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This is the first quantitative study of lignin biomarkers in stalagmites and cave drip water. Lignin is only produced by higher plants; therefore, its analysis can be used to reconstruct the vegetation of the past. We compared our lignin results with stable isotope and trace element records from the same samples and found correlations or similarities with P, Ba, U and Mg concentrations as well as δ13C values. These results can help to better interpret other vegetation proxies.
Tobias Anhäuser, Birgit Sehls, Werner Thomas, Claudia Hartl, Markus Greule, Denis Scholz, Jan Esper, and Frank Keppler
Clim. Past Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2019-8, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2019-8, 2019
Revised manuscript not accepted
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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
Inken Heidke, Denis Scholz, and Thorsten Hoffmann
Biogeosciences, 15, 5831–5845, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5831-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5831-2018, 2018
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We developed a sensitive method to analyze the lignin composition of organic traces contained in speleothems. Lignin is a main constituent of woody plants and its composition contains information about the type of vegetation. This method offers new possibilities to reconstruct the vegetation of past millennia since it combines the advantages of lignin analysis as a highly specific vegetation biomarker with the benefits of speleothems as unique terrestrial climate archives.
Kamolphat Atsawawaranunt, Laia Comas-Bru, Sahar Amirnezhad Mozhdehi, Michael Deininger, Sandy P. Harrison, Andy Baker, Meighan Boyd, Nikita Kaushal, Syed Masood Ahmad, Yassine Ait Brahim, Monica Arienzo, Petra Bajo, Kerstin Braun, Yuval Burstyn, Sakonvan Chawchai, Wuhui Duan, István Gábor Hatvani, Jun Hu, Zoltán Kern, Inga Labuhn, Matthew Lachniet, Franziska A. Lechleitner, Andrew Lorrey, Carlos Pérez-Mejías, Robyn Pickering, Nick Scroxton, and SISAL Working Group Members
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 1687–1713, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-1687-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-1687-2018, 2018
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This paper is an overview of the contents of the SISAL database and its structure. The database contains oxygen and carbon isotope measurements from 371 individual speleothem records and 10 composite records from 174 cave systems from around the world. The SISAL database is created by a collective effort of the members of the Past Global Changes SISAL working group, which aims to provide a comprehensive compilation of speleothem isotope records for climate reconstruction and model evaluation.
Hongrui Zhang, Heather Stoll, Clara Bolton, Xiaobo Jin, and Chuanlian Liu
Biogeosciences, 15, 4759–4775, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-4759-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-4759-2018, 2018
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The sinking speeds of coccoliths are relevant for laboratory methods to separate coccoliths for geochemical analysis. However, in the absence of estimates of coccolith settling velocity, previous implementations have depended mainly on time-consuming method development by trial and error. In this study, the sinking velocities of cocooliths were carefully measured for the first time. We also provide an estimation of coccolith sinking velocity by shape, which will make coccolith separation easier.
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
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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.
Saúl González-Lemos, José Guitián, Miguel-Ángel Fuertes, José-Abel Flores, and Heather M. Stoll
Biogeosciences, 15, 1079–1091, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-1079-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-1079-2018, 2018
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Changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide affect ocean chemistry and the ability of marine organisms to manufacture shells from calcium carbonate. We describe a technique to obtain more reproducible measurements of the thickness of calcium carbonate shells made by microscopic marine algae called coccolithophores, which will allow researchers to compare how the shell thickness responds to variations in ocean chemistry in the past and present.
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
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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
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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.
M. N. Müller, M. Lebrato, U. Riebesell, J. Barcelos e Ramos, K. G. Schulz, S. Blanco-Ameijeiras, S. Sett, A. Eisenhauer, and H. M. Stoll
Biogeosciences, 11, 1065–1075, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-1065-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-1065-2014, 2014
M. Pacton, S. F. M. Breitenbach, F. A. Lechleitner, A. Vaks, C. Rollion-Bard, O. S. Gutareva, A. V. Osintcev, and C. Vasconcelos
Biogeosciences, 10, 6115–6130, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-6115-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-6115-2013, 2013
G. Lohmann, A. Wackerbarth, P. M. Langebroek, M. Werner, J. Fohlmeister, D. Scholz, and A. Mangini
Clim. Past, 9, 89–98, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-89-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-89-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject: Proxy Use-Development-Validation | Archive: Terrestrial Archives | Timescale: Pleistocene
Multi-proxy speleothem-based reconstruction of mid-MIS 3 climate in South Africa
Biomarker proxy records of Arctic climate change during the Mid-Pleistocene transition from Lake El'gygytgyn (Far East Russia)
Hydroclimatic variability of opposing Late Pleistocene climates in the Levant revealed by deep Dead Sea sediments
Different facets of dry–wet patterns in south-western China over the past 27 000 years
The triple oxygen isotope composition of phytoliths, a new proxy of atmospheric relative humidity: controls of soil water isotope composition, temperature, CO2 concentration and relative humidity
The speleothem oxygen record as a proxy for thermal or moisture changes: a case study of multiproxy records from MIS 5–MIS 6 speleothems from the Demänová Cave system
A new multivariable benchmark for Last Glacial Maximum climate simulations
The Last Glacial Maximum in the central North Island, New Zealand: palaeoclimate inferences from glacier modelling
Late-glacial to late-Holocene shifts in global precipitation δ18O
Climate history of the Southern Hemisphere Westerlies belt during the last glacial–interglacial transition revealed from lake water oxygen isotope reconstruction of Laguna Potrok Aike (52° S, Argentina)
New online method for water isotope analysis of speleothem fluid inclusions using laser absorption spectroscopy (WS-CRDS)
Inorganic geochemistry data from Lake El'gygytgyn sediments: marine isotope stages 6–11
A 350 ka record of climate change from Lake El'gygytgyn, Far East Russian Arctic: refining the pattern of climate modes by means of cluster analysis
Dynamic diatom response to changing climate 0–1.2 Ma at Lake El'gygytgyn, Far East Russian Arctic
Amplified bioproductivity during Transition IV (332 000–342 000 yr ago): evidence from the geochemical record of Lake El'gygytgyn
Potential and limits of OSL, TT-OSL, IRSL and pIRIR290 dating methods applied on a Middle Pleistocene sediment record of Lake El'gygytgyn, Russia
Rock magnetic properties, magnetic susceptibility, and organic geochemistry comparison in core LZ1029-7 Lake El'gygytgyn, Russia Far East
High-temperature thermomagnetic properties of vivianite nodules, Lake El'gygytgyn, Northeast Russia
Reconstruction of drip-water δ18O based on calcite oxygen and clumped isotopes of speleothems from Bunker Cave (Germany)
A biomarker record of Lake El'gygytgyn, Far East Russian Arctic: investigating sources of organic matter and carbon cycling during marine isotope stages 1–3
Climate warming and vegetation response after Heinrich event 1 (16 700–16 000 cal yr BP) in Europe south of the Alps
A 250 ka oxygen isotope record from diatoms at Lake El'gygytgyn, far east Russian Arctic
The oxygen isotopic composition of phytolith assemblages from tropical rainforest soil tops (Queensland, Australia): validation of a new paleoenvironmental tool
Terrestrial mollusc records from Xifeng and Luochuan L9 loess strata and their implications for paleoclimatic evolution in the Chinese Loess Plateau during marine Oxygen Isotope Stages 24-22
Jenny Maccali, Anna Nele Meckler, Stein-Erik Lauritzen, Torill Brekken, Helen Aase Rokkan, Alvaro Fernandez, Yves Krüger, Jane Adigun, Stéphane Affolter, and Markus Leuenberger
Clim. Past, 19, 1847–1862, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1847-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1847-2023, 2023
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The southern coast of South Africa hosts some key archeological sites for the study of early human evolution. Here we present a short but high-resolution record of past changes in the hydroclimate and temperature on the southern coast of South Africa based on the study of a speleothem collected from Bloukrantz Cave. Overall, the paleoclimate indicators suggest stable temperature from 48.3 to 45.2 ka, whereas precipitation was variable, with marked short drier episodes.
Kurt R. Lindberg, William C. Daniels, Isla S. Castañeda, and Julie Brigham-Grette
Clim. Past, 18, 559–577, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-559-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-559-2022, 2022
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Earth experiences regular ice ages resulting in shifts between cooler and warmer climates. Around 1 million years ago, the ice age cycles grew longer and stronger. We used bacterial and plant lipids preserved in an Arctic lake to reconstruct temperature and vegetation during this climate transition. We find that Arctic land temperatures did not cool much compared to ocean records from this period, and that vegetation shifts correspond with a long-term drying previously reported in the region.
Yoav Ben Dor, Francesco Marra, Moshe Armon, Yehouda Enzel, Achim Brauer, Markus Julius Schwab, and Efrat Morin
Clim. Past, 17, 2653–2677, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2653-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2653-2021, 2021
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Laminated sediments from the deepest part of the Dead Sea unravel the hydrological response of the eastern Mediterranean to past climate changes. This study demonstrates the importance of geological archives in complementing modern hydrological measurements that do not fully capture natural hydroclimatic variability, which is crucial to configure for understanding the impact of climate change on the hydrological cycle in subtropical regions.
Mengna Liao, Kai Li, Weiwei Sun, and Jian Ni
Clim. Past, 17, 2291–2303, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2291-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2291-2021, 2021
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The long-term trajectories of precipitation, hydrological balance and soil moisture are not completely consistent in southwest China. Hydrological balance was more sensitive to temperature change on a millennial scale. For soil moisture, plant processes also played a big role in addition to precipitation and temperature. Under future climate warming, surface water shortage in southwest China can be even more serious and efforts at reforestation may bring some relief to the soil moisture deficit.
Clément Outrequin, Anne Alexandre, Christine Vallet-Coulomb, Clément Piel, Sébastien Devidal, Amaelle Landais, Martine Couapel, Jean-Charles Mazur, Christophe Peugeot, Monique Pierre, Frédéric Prié, Jacques Roy, Corinne Sonzogni, and Claudia Voigt
Clim. Past, 17, 1881–1902, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1881-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1881-2021, 2021
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Continental atmospheric humidity is a key climate parameter poorly captured by global climate models. Model–data comparison approaches that are applicable beyond the instrumental period are essential to progress on this issue but face a lack of quantitative relative humidity proxies. Here, we calibrate the triple oxygen isotope composition of phytoliths as a new quantitative proxy of continental relative humidity suitable for past climate reconstructions.
Jacek Pawlak
Clim. Past, 17, 1051–1064, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1051-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1051-2021, 2021
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Presently, central Europe is under the influence of two types of climate, transitional and continental. The 60 ka long multiproxy speleothem dataset from Slovakia records the climate of the Last Interglacial cycle and its transition to the Last Glacial. The interpretation of stable isotopic composition and trace element content proxies helps to distinguish which factor had the strongest influence on the δ18O record shape: the local temperature, the humidity or the source effect.
Sean F. Cleator, Sandy P. Harrison, Nancy K. Nichols, I. Colin Prentice, and Ian Roulstone
Clim. Past, 16, 699–712, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-699-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-699-2020, 2020
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We present geographically explicit reconstructions of seasonal temperature and annual moisture variables at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), 21 000 years ago. The reconstructions use existing site-based estimates of climate, interpolated in space and time in a physically consistent way using climate model simulations. The reconstructions give a much better picture of the LGM climate and will provide a robust evaluation of how well state-of-the-art climate models simulate large climate changes.
Shaun R. Eaves, Andrew N. Mackintosh, Brian M. Anderson, Alice M. Doughty, Dougal B. Townsend, Chris E. Conway, Gisela Winckler, Joerg M. Schaefer, Graham S. Leonard, and Andrew T. Calvert
Clim. Past, 12, 943–960, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-943-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-943-2016, 2016
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Geological evidence for past changes in glacier length provides a useful source of information about pre-historic climate change. We have used glacier modelling to show that air temperature reductions of −5 to −7 °C, relative to present, are required to simulate the glacial extent in the North Island, New Zealand, during the last ice age (approx. 20000 years ago). Our results provide data to assess climate model simulations, with the aim of determining the drivers of past natural climate change.
S. Jasechko, A. Lechler, F. S. R. Pausata, P. J. Fawcett, T. Gleeson, D. I. Cendón, J. Galewsky, A. N. LeGrande, C. Risi, Z. D. Sharp, J. M. Welker, M. Werner, and K. Yoshimura
Clim. Past, 11, 1375–1393, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1375-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1375-2015, 2015
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In this study we compile global isotope proxy records of climate changes from the last ice age to the late-Holocene preserved in cave calcite, glacial ice and groundwater aquifers. We show that global patterns of late-Pleistocene to late-Holocene precipitation isotope shifts are consistent with stronger-than-modern isotopic distillation of air masses during the last ice age, likely impacted by larger global temperature differences between the tropics and the poles.
J. Zhu, A. Lücke, H. Wissel, C. Mayr, D. Enters, K. Ja Kim, C. Ohlendorf, F. Schäbitz, and B. Zolitschka
Clim. Past, 10, 2153–2169, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-2153-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-2153-2014, 2014
S. Affolter, D. Fleitmann, and M. Leuenberger
Clim. Past, 10, 1291–1304, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1291-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1291-2014, 2014
P. S. Minyuk, V. Y. Borkhodoev, and V. Wennrich
Clim. Past, 10, 467–485, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-467-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-467-2014, 2014
U. Frank, N. R. Nowaczyk, P. Minyuk, H. Vogel, P. Rosén, and M. Melles
Clim. Past, 9, 1559–1569, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-1559-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-1559-2013, 2013
J. A. Snyder, M. V. Cherepanova, and A. Bryan
Clim. Past, 9, 1309–1319, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-1309-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-1309-2013, 2013
L. Cunningham, H. Vogel, V. Wennrich, O. Juschus, N. Nowaczyk, and P. Rosén
Clim. Past, 9, 679–686, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-679-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-679-2013, 2013
A. Zander and A. Hilgers
Clim. Past, 9, 719–733, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-719-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-719-2013, 2013
K. J. Murdock, K. Wilkie, and L. L. Brown
Clim. Past, 9, 467–479, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-467-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-467-2013, 2013
P. S. Minyuk, T. V. Subbotnikova, L. L. Brown, and K. J. Murdock
Clim. Past, 9, 433–446, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-433-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-433-2013, 2013
T. Kluge, H. P. Affek, T. Marx, W. Aeschbach-Hertig, D. F. C. Riechelmann, D. Scholz, S. Riechelmann, A. Immenhauser, D. K. Richter, J. Fohlmeister, A. Wackerbarth, A. Mangini, and C. Spötl
Clim. Past, 9, 377–391, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-377-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-377-2013, 2013
A. R. Holland, S. T. Petsch, I. S. Castañeda, K. M. Wilkie, S. J. Burns, and J. Brigham-Grette
Clim. Past, 9, 243–260, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-243-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-243-2013, 2013
S. Samartin, O. Heiri, A. F. Lotter, and W. Tinner
Clim. Past, 8, 1913–1927, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-1913-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-1913-2012, 2012
B. Chapligin, H. Meyer, G. E. A. Swann, C. Meyer-Jacob, and H.-W. Hubberten
Clim. Past, 8, 1621–1636, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-1621-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-1621-2012, 2012
A. Alexandre, J. Crespin, F. Sylvestre, C. Sonzogni, and D. W. Hilbert
Clim. Past, 8, 307–324, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-307-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-307-2012, 2012
B. Wu and N. Q. Wu
Clim. Past, 7, 349–359, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-7-349-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-7-349-2011, 2011
Cited articles
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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.
Stalagmites formed in caves provide valuable information about past changes in climate and...
