Fluid inclusions in speleothems as a new archive for the noble gas palaeothermometer

Abstract

Fluid inclusions in speleothem constitute a unique archive for palaeo-waters. This thesis deals with the investigation of fluid inclusions in speleothems and their possible use as a palaeotemperature archive. The main objective focuses on the calculation of noble gas temperatures, which can be derived from the temperature-dependent solubility of the noble gases He, Ne, Ar, Kr and Xe. An essential requirement is the determination of noble gas concentrations, which implies measuring the absolute gas amounts as well as determining the amounts of water released. Two ways of measuring the tiny water amounts (≤ 1 μl) extracted from the speleothems are presented and will be discussed with regard to the required precision. Furthermore, various techniques for the extraction of noble gases from the speleothems are investigated and analysed in terms of the intended application. It turned out that crushing under vacuum in a steel cylinder by milling with a magnetically movable steel ball is the most suitable technique. Additionally, the noble gas preparation and the mass spectrometric procedure, optimized for the measurement of tiny gas amounts, will be discussed. Finally, it is demonstrated that it is possible to determine reliable temperatures from fluid inclusions in speleothems and that the acquired results can be reproduced to a certain extent. From the stalagmite BU-U (Sauerland, NW Germany) six samples from one growth period were extracted and measured. Their results agree within the uncertainties although the samples are not totally identical. Measurements on other stalagmites (BU-1, BU-2) from the same cave revealed temperatures corresponding to the expected climatic conditions in the respective growth period. Typical uncertainties for these samples range from ≤ 1 ℃ to 2 ℃ at most. From the stalagmites BU-U and BU-1 a temperature record has been established by noble gas concentrations and will be discussed in combination with the stable isotope data. These exemplary applications reveal the high potential of the method presented.