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International Journal of Speleology

2008

Palaeoclimate

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Earth Sciences

Report Of A Three-Year Monitoring Programme At Heshang Cave, Central China, Chaoyong Hu, Gideon M. Henderson, Junhua Huang, Zhenghong Chen, Kathleen R. Johnson Jan 2008

Report Of A Three-Year Monitoring Programme At Heshang Cave, Central China, Chaoyong Hu, Gideon M. Henderson, Junhua Huang, Zhenghong Chen, Kathleen R. Johnson

International Journal of Speleology

Heshang Cave is situated in central China (30°27’N, 110°25’E; 294 m) in the middle reaches of the Yangtze Valley, a region strongly impacted by the East Asian Monsoon. It contains large annually-laminated Holocene and late Pleistocene stalagmites which capture past monsoon behaviour with seasonal resolution, and could enhance understanding of the amplitude and frequency of monsoon behaviour in different climate states. In this paper, we present results of a 3-year monitoring programme at Heshang. T loggers outside the cave agree closely with T data from nearby meteorological stations. T at the site of growth of the largest recovered stalagmite averages …


Palaeoclimate Research In Villars Cave (Dordogne, Sw-France), Dominique Genty Jan 2008

Palaeoclimate Research In Villars Cave (Dordogne, Sw-France), Dominique Genty

International Journal of Speleology

Villars Cave is a typical shallow cave from South-West France (45.44°N; 0.78°E; 175 m asl) that has provided several speleothem palaeoclimatic records such as the millennial scale variability of the Last Glacial period and the Last Deglaciation. Monitoring the Villars cave environment over a 13-year period has helped in the understanding of the stable isotopic speleothem content and in the hydrology. For example, it was demonstrated that most of the calcite CaCO3 carbon comes from the soil CO2, which explains the sensitivity of the δ13C to any vegetation and climatic changes. Drip rate monitoring, carried …


Environmental Monitoring In The Mechara Caves, Southeastern Ethiopia: Implications For Speleothem Palaeoclimate Studies, Asfawossen Asrat, Andy Baker, Melanie J. Leng, John Gunn, Mohammed Umer Jan 2008

Environmental Monitoring In The Mechara Caves, Southeastern Ethiopia: Implications For Speleothem Palaeoclimate Studies, Asfawossen Asrat, Andy Baker, Melanie J. Leng, John Gunn, Mohammed Umer

International Journal of Speleology

The interpretation of palaeoclimate records in speleothems depends on the understanding of the modern climate of the region, the geology, the hydrology above the caves, and the within-cave climate. Monitoring within-cave climate variability, geochemistry of speleothem-forming drip waters, and associated surface and groundwater, provides a modern baseline for interpretation of speleothem palaeohydrological and palaeoclimate records. Here, we present results of such monitoring of the Mechara caves in southeastern Ethiopia, conducted between 2004 and 2007. Results show nearly constant within-cave climate (temperature and humidity) in all caves, which generally reflects the surface climate. Groundwater and surface water geochemistry is similar across …