A high-resolution stable isotope record from a Peruvian stalagmite

Abstract

Speleothems are known as carbonate formations in caves. The last few years there is a growing scientific interest in speleothems for climate reconstruction (McDermott, in press; Sancho et al., in press; Jirnénez de Cisneros et al., 2003; Genty et al., 2003; Baker et al., 2002; Proctor et al., 2002; Linge et al., 2001; Wang et al., 2001). Speleothems have proven their potential to create a terrestrial high-resolution paleo-temperature record (Schwarcz, 1986). The advantage of caves for paleoclimatic studies is the yearly stability of climatic conditions in the cave (Jirnénez de Cisneros et al., 2003). Observations have shown that the temperature in any deep cave is clase to the mean annual temperature of the surrounding (Schwarcz et al., 1976; Yonge et al., 1985). This makes speleothems a successful too! paleo-temperature reconstruction (Hendy and Wilson, 1968). The carbonate, ofwhich the speleothem is build, can be used for stable isotope measurements (o13C and o180). Oxygen isotopes are world-wide used to reconstruct paleo-temperatures, especially for biogenic carbonate in marine cores. Precise age-dating on speleothems can be done by U-Th measurements on TIMS, which makes it possible to calculate absolute ages for the isotope record.