Speleothems and climate: a special issue of The Holocene

• Published in: The Holocene
• Main Authors: Lauritzen, Stein-Erik, Lundberg, Joyce
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publications 1999
• Subjects: ice core
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1191/095968399666229065; https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1191/095968399666229065

Speleothems (cave dripstones) are formed as a part of the meteoric water cycle and therefore vari ations in their growth rate and composition reflect environmental changes on the land surface above the cave. Since they are continental deposits, and possess a remarkably accurate dating potential, using TIMS U-series techniques, speleothems are important palaeoclimatic archives for the terrestrial environment, complementing the marine and ice-core records. The climatic proxies that can be deciphered from speleothems are growth rate, stable isotope composition (d 18 O, d 13 C), organic (humic) matter and trace element composition, as well as luminescent laminae, which may display annual rhythms. The nine papers in this special issue of The Holocene present the latest results in palaeoclimatic analysis from speleothems.