Holocene climate variability in Europe: Evidence from delta O-18, textural and extension-rate variations in three speleothems

Time-series O isotope profiles for three U-Th dated stalagmites have revealed that for much of the Holocene, a site on the Atlantic seaboard (SW Ireland) exhibits first-order delta(18)O trends that are almost exactly out of phase with coupled delta(18)O curves from two southern European sites (SE Fr...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: McDermott, F, Frisia, S, Huang, Y M, Longinelli, A, Spiro, B, Heaton, T H E, Hawkesworth, Chris, Borsato, A, Keppens, E, Fairchild, I J, van der Borg, K, Verheyden, S, Selmo, E
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 1999
Subjects:
OXYGEN-ISOTOPE ANALYSES
CALCITE CRYSTALS
MIDDLE HOLOCENE
VEGETATION HISTORY
NATURAL CALCITE
ICE-CORE
RECORD
PRECIPITATION
CAVE
PALEOCLIMATE
ice core
Online Access:https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutput/holocene-climate-variability-in-europe-evidence-from-delta-o18-textural-and-extensionrate-variations-in-three-speleothems(fd12e2e5-ead0-4e1d-8e96-d45e4de2563e).html
http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0033167133&partnerID=8YFLogxK
Description
Summary:Time-series O isotope profiles for three U-Th dated stalagmites have revealed that for much of the Holocene, a site on the Atlantic seaboard (SW Ireland) exhibits first-order delta(18)O trends that are almost exactly out of phase with coupled delta(18)O curves from two southern European sites (SE France and NW Italy). In the Irish stalagmite (CC3 from Crag Cave, SW Ireland), low delta(18)O at 10,000 cal yr BP reflects cool conditions. By the early to mid-Holocene (9000- 6000 cal yr BP)delta(18)O had increased, reflecting the onset of warmer conditions on the Atlantic seaboard. This shift to higher delta(18)O was accompanied by a marked increase in the stalagmite extension rate, reinforcing our interpretation that this was a period of relative warmth. Except for an episode of increased extension rare about 5500 yr ago, delta(18)O in the Crag stalagmite exhibits a gradual decrease, accompanied by declining extension rates between 7800 and 3500 cal yr BP, interpreted as a cooling trend. There is evidence for increases in both delta(18)O and stalagmite extension rate in the period from 3500 cal yr BP to the present day suggesting a return to warmer conditions on the Atlantic seaboard. In the stalagmite from NW Italy (ER76, Grotta di Ernesto, Trentino province) the early-Holacene (c. 9200-7800 cal yr BP) is characterised by high delta(18)O, probably indicative of warm and/or dry conditions. Exceptionally low delta(18)O from 7800 to 6900 cal yr BP at this site reflects a well-defined wet phase (Cerin wet phase). In the last three millennia, this stalagmite exhibits a shift to lower delta(18)O, interpreted as some combination of cooler and/or wetter conditions. Unlike the Irish stalagmite, the Italian sample does not show a correlation between delta(18)O and extension rare. Instead, its extension rate correlates roughly with delta(13)C, presumably reflecting a climate-driven vegetation change, In the early Holocene, delta(18)O in the French stalagmite (CL26, Grotte de Clamouse, Herault province, SE France) was low ...

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