Alpine permafrost thawing during the Medieval Warm Period identified from cryogenic cave carbonates
Coarse crystalline cryogenic cave carbonates (CCC coarse ) dated to the last glacial period are common in central European caves and provide convincing evidence of palaeo-permafrost during this time. Little is known, however, about the exact nature of the environment in which CCC coarse formed as no...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:698b296c9b254ee09423ce979da42467 2023-05-15T17:57:10+02:00 Alpine permafrost thawing during the Medieval Warm Period identified from cryogenic cave carbonates M. Luetscher M. Borreguero G. E. Moseley C. Spötl R. L. Edwards 2013-07-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1073-2013 https://doaj.org/article/698b296c9b254ee09423ce979da42467 EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.the-cryosphere.net/7/1073/2013/tc-7-1073-2013.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-7-1073-2013 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/698b296c9b254ee09423ce979da42467 The Cryosphere, Vol 7, Iss 4, Pp 1073-1081 (2013) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2013 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1073-2013 2022-12-30T21:59:31Z Coarse crystalline cryogenic cave carbonates (CCC coarse ) dated to the last glacial period are common in central European caves and provide convincing evidence of palaeo-permafrost during this time. Little is known, however, about the exact nature of the environment in which CCC coarse formed as no modern analogue setting is known. Here, we report the first findings of sub-recent, albeit inactive, CCC coarse from a cave of the Western Alps which is located in the present-day permafrost zone. The globular shape and the presence of ubiquitous euhedral crystal terminations are comparable to previously reported aggregates from the last glacial period and strongly suggest that these aggregates formed subaqueously in pools lacking agitation. Furthermore, stable isotope values of mm-sized spheroids point to calcite precipitation in a closed system with respect to CO 2 , strongly supporting the hypothesis of a cryogenic origin associated with the freezing of water ponds. U-series analyses revealed three clusters of late Holocene calcite precipitation intervals between 2129 and 751 a b2k. These ages correlate with known periods of elevated summer temperatures, suggesting that warming and thawing of the frozen catchment above the cave allowed water infiltration into the karst system. The growth of CCC coarse resulted from the re-freezing of this water in the still cold karst cavities. Article in Journal/Newspaper permafrost The Cryosphere Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles The Cryosphere 7 4 1073 1081 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
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Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 M. Luetscher M. Borreguero G. E. Moseley C. Spötl R. L. Edwards Alpine permafrost thawing during the Medieval Warm Period identified from cryogenic cave carbonates |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Coarse crystalline cryogenic cave carbonates (CCC coarse ) dated to the last glacial period are common in central European caves and provide convincing evidence of palaeo-permafrost during this time. Little is known, however, about the exact nature of the environment in which CCC coarse formed as no modern analogue setting is known. Here, we report the first findings of sub-recent, albeit inactive, CCC coarse from a cave of the Western Alps which is located in the present-day permafrost zone. The globular shape and the presence of ubiquitous euhedral crystal terminations are comparable to previously reported aggregates from the last glacial period and strongly suggest that these aggregates formed subaqueously in pools lacking agitation. Furthermore, stable isotope values of mm-sized spheroids point to calcite precipitation in a closed system with respect to CO 2 , strongly supporting the hypothesis of a cryogenic origin associated with the freezing of water ponds. U-series analyses revealed three clusters of late Holocene calcite precipitation intervals between 2129 and 751 a b2k. These ages correlate with known periods of elevated summer temperatures, suggesting that warming and thawing of the frozen catchment above the cave allowed water infiltration into the karst system. The growth of CCC coarse resulted from the re-freezing of this water in the still cold karst cavities. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
M. Luetscher M. Borreguero G. E. Moseley C. Spötl R. L. Edwards |
author_facet |
M. Luetscher M. Borreguero G. E. Moseley C. Spötl R. L. Edwards |
author_sort |
M. Luetscher |
title |
Alpine permafrost thawing during the Medieval Warm Period identified from cryogenic cave carbonates |
title_short |
Alpine permafrost thawing during the Medieval Warm Period identified from cryogenic cave carbonates |
title_full |
Alpine permafrost thawing during the Medieval Warm Period identified from cryogenic cave carbonates |
title_fullStr |
Alpine permafrost thawing during the Medieval Warm Period identified from cryogenic cave carbonates |
title_full_unstemmed |
Alpine permafrost thawing during the Medieval Warm Period identified from cryogenic cave carbonates |
title_sort |
alpine permafrost thawing during the medieval warm period identified from cryogenic cave carbonates |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1073-2013 https://doaj.org/article/698b296c9b254ee09423ce979da42467 |
genre |
permafrost The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
permafrost The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 7, Iss 4, Pp 1073-1081 (2013) |
op_relation |
http://www.the-cryosphere.net/7/1073/2013/tc-7-1073-2013.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-7-1073-2013 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/698b296c9b254ee09423ce979da42467 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1073-2013 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
7 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
1073 |
op_container_end_page |
1081 |
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1766165555628212224 |