δ18O and δ13C in calcite of freshwater carbonate deposits as indicators of climatic and hydrological changes in the Late-Glacial and Holocene in Belarus

Abstract

In order to reconstruct the isotopic composition of Quaternary underground waters as well as temperature and hydrological changes in the Late Glacial and Holocene, four pairs of δ18O and δ13C curves were derived from the authigenic calcite of freshwater carbonates in Belarus. δ18O data were compared to those from the GISP 2 Greenland ice core. Common trends were revealed in the correlated datasets: a positive spike (a warming) in the Allerod and much lower values in the Younger Dryas; their increase towards the Preboreal; very high δ18O at the end of the Preboreal; very low values at the end of the Boreal (∼8200–8400BP); consistent increase towards the Atlantic; and peaks at ∼8000 and 6900BP. Episodes of rapid δ13C increase at the beginning of the Preboreal (near 10,000BP) and in the middle of the Boreal, are regarded as the effects of the synchronous fall of the lake levels (climate aridification) in the region.