Abstract
Western Europe is the region with the highest density of published speleothem δ18O (δ18Ospel) records worldwide. Here, we review these records in light of the recent publication of the Speleothem Isotopes Synthesis and AnaLysis (SISAL) database. We investigate how representative the spatial and temporal distribution of the available records is for climate in Western Europe and review potential sites and strategies for future studies. We show that spatial trends in precipitation δ18O are mirrored in the speleothems, providing means to better constrain the factors influencing δ18Ospel at a specific location. Coherent regional δ18Ospel trends are found over stadial-interstadial transitions of the last glacial, especially in high altitude Alpine records, where this has been attributed to a strong temperature control of δ18Ospel. During the Holocene, regional trends are less clearly expressed, due to lower signal-to-noise ratios in δ18Ospel, but can potentially be extracted with the use of statistical methods. This first assessment highlights the potential of the European region for speleothem palaeoclimate reconstruction, while underpinning the importance of knowing local factors for a correct interpretation of δ18Ospel.
Highlights
Speleothems are a widely used archive for the reconstruction of past terrestrial climate, and for the investigation of high resolution climate variability, owing to their often exceptional chronological control [1,2]
While early studies on Western European speleothems principally focused on their availability for temperature reconstruction using δ18 O of the carbonate [5,6], it was quickly recognised that δ18 Ospel is driven by a complex interplay of regional and site-specific factors, such as moisture source and circulation dynamics, amount of precipitation, dripwater residence time in the overlying karst, cave temperature and ventilation dynamics, and potential kinetic effects during carbonate deposition [7,8]
By assessing the speleothem data collected in the SISAL_v1 database for Western Europe, we describe regional trends in δ18 O, and evaluate the potential of this large compilation of records for palaeoclimate studies in this region
Summary
Speleothems (secondary cave carbonates) are a widely used archive for the reconstruction of past terrestrial climate, and for the investigation of high resolution climate variability, owing to their often exceptional chronological control [1,2]. While early studies on Western European speleothems principally focused on their availability for temperature reconstruction using δ18 O of the carbonate [5,6], it was quickly recognised that δ18 Ospel is driven by a complex interplay of regional and site-specific factors, such as moisture source and circulation dynamics, amount of precipitation, dripwater residence time in the overlying karst, cave temperature and ventilation dynamics, and potential kinetic effects during carbonate deposition [7,8]. This study is focused at highlighting the potential of this new database for reconstructing regional trends in δ18 Ospel , as well as identifying common issues encountered with speleothem records from this region, in particular with respect to mixed climatic controls (temperature, moisture source, precipitation amount) that often affect Western European δ18 Ospel
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