Articles | Volume 22, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-22-315-2026
© Author(s) 2026. 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-22-315-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
11 Feb 2026
Research article |
| 11 Feb 2026
| 11 Feb 2026
The elusive 8.2 ka event in speleothems from southern France
Maddalena Passelergue
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Laboratoire EDYTEM, UMR 5204 Université Savoie Mont Blanc-CNRS, 73376 Le Bourget du Lac, France
School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (SGEAS), University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010 VIC, Australia
Isabelle Couchoud
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Laboratoire EDYTEM, UMR 5204 Université Savoie Mont Blanc-CNRS, 73376 Le Bourget du Lac, France
School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (SGEAS), University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010 VIC, Australia
Russell N. Drysdale
School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (SGEAS), University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010 VIC, Australia
John Hellstrom
School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (SGEAS), University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010 VIC, Australia
Dirk L. Hoffmann
GZG – Geochemistry and Isotope Geology, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
Alan Greig
School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (SGEAS), University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010 VIC, Australia
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Georgina Falster, Gab Abramowitz, Sanaa Hobeichi, Catherine Hughes, Pauline Treble, Nerilie J. Abram, Michael I. Bird, Alexandre Cauquoin, Bronwyn Dixon, Russell Drysdale, Chenhui Jin, Niels Munksgaard, Bernadette Proemse, Jonathan J. Tyler, Martin Werner, and Carol V. Tadros
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 30, 289–315, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-289-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-289-2026, 2026
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We used a random forest approach to produce estimates of monthly precipitation stable isotope variability from 1962–2023, at high resolution across the entire Australian continent. Comprehensive skill and sensitivity testing shows that our random forest models skilfully predict precipitation isotope values in places and times that observations are not available. We make all outputs freely available, facilitating use in fields from ecology and hydrology to archaeology and forensic science.
Yanxuan Du, Josephine R. Brown, Laurie Menviel, Himadri Saini, Russell N. Drysdale, David K. Hutchinson, and Calla N. Gould-Whaley
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4212, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4212, 2025
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This study provides an overview of the climate responses to different magnitudes of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation weakening under glacial conditions using the Australian Earth System Model. We find that the climate patterns show relatively linear response with the AMOC weakening; however, crossing the threshold of AMOC shutdown results in non-linear and more complex climate responses. The results highlight the importance of not crossing the threshold of AMOC shutdown in the future.
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
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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.
Himadri Saini, David K. Hutchinson, Josephine R. Brown, Russell N. Drysdale, Yanxuan Du, and Laurie Menviel
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1990, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1990, 2025
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This study examines how large ice sheets during the last Ice Age influenced global weather patterns. We found that the presence of these ice sheets affected rainfall patterns in regions like Eurasia and Australia. By altering wind and weather systems, they shifted the position of the tropical rainbelt and impacted the circulation of air in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Our research helps us understand past climate changes and their potential effects on future climate patterns.
Calla N. Gould-Whaley, Russell N. Drysdale, Pauline C. Treble, Jan-Hendrik May, Stacey C. Priestley, John C. Hellstrom, Christopher R. Vardanega, and Clare C. Buswell
Clim. Past, 21, 857–876, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-857-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-857-2025, 2025
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Climate change is causing enhanced aridity across many regions of the globe, leading to increased reliance on groundwater resources. We need to understand how groundwater recharge behaves in arid regions over long timescales; unfortunately, arid landscapes tend to preserve very little evidence of their climatic past. We present evidence to suggest that carbonate formations that grow in groundwater can be used as archives of past groundwater recharge in Australia's arid zone.
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
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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.
Frédéric Parrenin, Marie Bouchet, Christo Buizert, Emilie Capron, Ellen Corrick, Russell Drysdale, Kenji Kawamura, Amaëlle Landais, Robert Mulvaney, Ikumi Oyabu, and Sune Olander Rasmussen
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 8735–8750, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-8735-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-8735-2024, 2024
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The Paleochrono-1.1 probabilistic dating model allows users to derive a common and optimized chronology for several paleoclimatic sites from various archives (ice cores, speleothems, marine cores, lake cores, etc.). It combines prior sedimentation scenarios with chronological information such as dated horizons, dated intervals, stratigraphic links and (for ice cores) Δdepth observations. Paleochrono-1.1 is available under an open-source license.
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
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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.
Timothy Pollard, Jon Woodhead, John Hellstrom, John Engel, Roger Powell, and Russell Drysdale
Geochronology, 5, 181–196, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-5-181-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-5-181-2023, 2023
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When using the uranium–lead (U–Pb) radiometric dating method on very young materials (e.g. Quaternary age zircon and carbonate minerals), it is important to accurately account for the production and decay of intermediate
daughterisotopes in the uranium-series decay chain. DQPB is open-source software that allows users to easily perform such calculations for a variety of sample types and produce publication-ready graphical outputs of the resulting age information.
Hege Kilhavn, Isabelle Couchoud, Russell N. Drysdale, Carlos Rossi, John Hellstrom, Fabien Arnaud, and Henri Wong
Clim. Past, 18, 2321–2344, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-2321-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-2321-2022, 2022
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The analysis of stable carbon and oxygen isotopic ratios, trace element ratios, and growth rate from a Spanish speleothem provides quantitative information on past hydrological conditions during the early Holocene in south-western Europe. Our data show that the cave site experienced increased effective recharge during the 8.2 ka event. Additionally, the oxygen isotopes indicate a change in the isotopic composition of the moisture source, associated with the meltwater flux to the North Atlantic.
Zuorui Liu, Amy Prendergast, Russell Drysdale, and Jan-Hendrik May
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 71, 227–241, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-71-227-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-71-227-2022, 2022
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Past studies used two sampling strategies, the "bulk" and "sequential" drilling methods, for stable isotopic analysis of mammoth tooth enamel and paleoenvironmental reconstruction. This study applied both methods to the same enamel ridges of multiple mammoth teeth and compared their respective δ18O values. Offsets were detected between the bulk and average sequential δ18O values. The potential reasons for the offsets and their impacts on cross-method data comparison were discussed.
Cinthya Esther Nava Fernandez, Tobias Braun, Bethany Fox, Adam Hartland, Ola Kwiecien, Chelsea Pederson, Sebastian Hoepker, Stefano Bernasconi, Madalina Jaggi, John Hellstrom, Fernando Gázquez, Amanda French, Norbert Marwan, Adrian Immenhauser, and Sebastian Franz Martin Breitenbach
Clim. Past Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2021-172, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2021-172, 2022
Manuscript not accepted for further review
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We provide a ca. 1000 year long (6.4–5.4 ka BP) stalagmite-based reconstruction of mid-Holocene rainfall variability in the tropical western Pacific. The annually laminated multi-proxy (δ13C, δ18O, X/Ca, gray values) record comes from Niue island and informs on El Nino-Southern Oscillation and South Pacific Convergence Zone dynamics. Our data suggest that ENSO was active and influenced rainfall seasonality over the covered time interval. Rainfall seasonality was subdued during active ENSO phases
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.
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Short summary
The Holocene is marked at 8.2 ka by a North Atlantic freshening event. We investigate its climatic impact in SW France using high-resolution speleothem multiproxy analysis. While the event is seen in some European records, no clear signal appears in SW France. This may reflect either limited regional impact, and/or low speleothem sensitivity to this North Atlantic event, possibly masked by Mediterranean influences.
The Holocene is marked at 8.2 ka by a North Atlantic freshening event. We investigate its...
