seasonal variability of element fluxes in two central siberian rivers draining high latitude permafrost dominated areas in order to constrain the origin and fluxes of elements carried by rivers of high latitude permafrost dominated areas major and trace element concentrations as well as sr and u isotopic ratios were analyzed in the dissolved load of two siberian rivers kochechum and nizhnyaya tunguska regularly sampled over two hydrological cycles 2005 2007 large water volumes of both rivers were also collected in spring 2008 in order to perform size separation through dialysis experiments this study was completed by spatial sampling of the kochechum watershed carried out during summer and by a detailed analysis of the main hydrological compartments of a small watershed from element concentration variations along the hydrological cycle different periods can be marked out matching hydrological periods during winter baseflow period october to may there is a concentration increase for major soluble cations and anions by an order of magnitude the spring flood period end of may beginning of june is marked by a sharp concentration decrease for soluble elements whereas dissolved organic carbon and insoluble element concentrations strongly increase when the spring flood discharge occurs the significant increase of aluminum and iron concentrations is related to the presence of organo mineral colloids that mobilize insoluble elements the study of colloidal ree reveals the occurrence of two colloid sources successively involved over time spring colloids mainly originate from the uppermost organic rich part of soils whereas summer colloids rather come from the deep mineral horizons furthermore u and sr isotopic ratios together with soluble cation budgets in the kochechum river impose for soluble elements the existence of three distinct fluxes over the year a at the spring flood a surface flux coming from the leaching of shallow organic soil levels and containing a significant colloidal component b a subsurface flux predominant during summer and fall mainly controlled by water rock interactions within mineral soils and c a deep groundwater flux predominant during winter which enters large rivers through unfrozen permafrost paths detailed study of the kochechum watershed suggests that the contribution of this deep flux strongly depends on the depth and continuous nature of the permafrost

seasonality of holocene hydroclimate in the eastern mediterranean reconstructed using the oxygen isotope composition of carbonates and diatoms from lake nar central turkey a positive shift in the oxygen isotope composition 18o of lake carbonates in the eastern mediterranean from the early to late holocene is usually interpreted as a change to drier reduced p e conditions however it has also been suggested that changes in the seasonality of precipitation could explain these trends here holocene records of 18o from both carbonates and diatom silica from lake nar in central turkey provide insights into palaeoseasonality we show how 18olakewater the difference between spring and summer reconstructed 18olakewater was minimal in the early holocene and for most of the last millennium but was greater at other times for example between 4 100 1 600 years bp we suggest that increased 18olakewater could have been the result of relatively more spring summer evaporation amplified by a decline in lake level in terms of change in annual mean 18o isotope mass balance modelling shows that this can be influenced by changes in seasonal p e as well as inter annual p e but lake level falls inferred from other proxies confirm there was a mid holocene transition to drier climatic conditions in central turkey

hydrological changes in the mediterranean sea over the last 30 000 years sea surface temperatures were reconstructed over the last 30 000 years from alkenone paleothermometry sst alk and planktonic foraminifera assemblages using the modern analog technique mat sst foram along two cores of the mediterranean sea md84 632 levantine basin and md04 2797 siculo tunisian strait oxygen isotope of planktonic foraminifera g bulloides for core md04 2797 and g ruber for core md84 632 were also determined sst alk in the levantine basin indicate colder values at the last glacial maximum lgm 14 c than earlier established from mat and a cooling amplitude of 6 7 c comparable to the central mediterranean sea climatic events such as the younger dryas yd and heinrich events 1 and 2 h1 and h2 were times of significant cooling in the two cores in the eastern basin values of local seawater oxygen isotope w indicate relatively saltier waters during the lgm and deglaciation than today with increasing w values higher salinity in the eastern basin and decreasing ones lower salinity in the central mediterranean sea during cold stadials the observed alterations of surface water properties t and w in the central and eastern mediterranean at the lgm are consistent with model experiments showing slightly lower evaporation in the mediterranean than today except for the eastern basin

oxygen and hydrogen isotopes in the hydrologic cycle changes of the isotopic composition of water within the water cycle provide a recognizable signature relating such water to the different phases of the cycle the isotope fractionations that accompany the evaporation from the ocean and other surface waters and the reverse process of rain formation account for the most notable changes as a result meteoric waters are depleted in the heavy isotopic species of h and o relative to ocean waters whereas waters in evaporative systems such as lakes plants and soilwaters are relatively enriched during the passage through the aquifers the isotope composition of water is essentially a conservative property at ambient temperatures but at elevated temperatures interaction with the rock matrix may perturb the isotope composition these changes of the isotope composition in atmospheric waters surface water soil and groundwaters as well as in the biosphere are applied in the characterization of hydrological system as well as indicators of paleo climatological conditions in proxy materials in climatic archives such as ice lake sediments or organic materials

colloidal rare earth elements in a boreal river changing sources and distributions during the spring flood abstract variations in the physico chemical speciation of the rare earth elements ree have been investigated in a subarctic boreal river during an intense spring flood event using prefiltered

seasonal variations in the geochemistry of shallow groundwater hosted in granitic till the groundwater chemistry in a small catchment in northern sweden has been studied for a period of 15 months including two snowmelt events the groundwater was sampled from two wells in a slope

carbon and oxygen isotope study of the active water carbonate system in a karstic mediterranean cave implications for paleoclimate research in semiarid regions abstract in a semiarid climatic zone such as the eastern mediterranean region annual rainfall variations and fractionation processes in the epikarst zone exert a profound influence on the isotopic compositions of waters seeping into a cave consequently the isotopic compositions of speleothems depositing from cave waters may show complex variations that need to be understood if they are to be exploited for paleoclimate studies this is confirmed by a four year study of the active carbonate water system in the soreq cave israel the 18o smow values of cave waters range from 6 3 to 3 5 the highest 18o values occur at the end of the dry season in waters dripping from stalactites and reflect evaporation processes in the epikarst zone whereas the lowest values occur in rapidly dripping fast drip waters at the peak of the rainy seasons however even fast drip waters are about 1 5 heavier than the rainfall above the cave which is taken to reflect the mixing of fresh with residual evaporated water in the epikarst zone 13c pdb values of dissolved inorganic carbon dic vary from 15 6 to 5 4 with fast drip waters having lower 13c values mostly 15 6 to 12 and higher dic concentrations relative to pool and stalactite drip water the low 13c values of fast drip waters and their supersaturation with respect to calcium carbonate indicates that the seepage waters have dissolved both soil co2 derived from overlying c3 type vegetation and marine dolomite host rock the 18o pdb values of various types of present day low magnesium calcite lmc speleothems range from 6 5 to 4 3 and 13c values from 13 to 5 5 and are not correlated with speleothem type an analysis of 18o values of present day calcite rafts and pool waters shows that they form in oxygen isotope equilibrium similarly the measured ranges of 13c and 18o values for all types of present day speleothems are consistent with equilibrium deposition at cave temperatures the 13c 18o range of contemporary lmc thus reflects the variations in temperatures and isotopic compositions of the presentday cave waters the 10 variation in the 13c values in waters can be modeled by a simple rayleigh calculation of the carbon isotope fractionation accompanying co2 degassing and carbonate precipitation these variations may obscure the differences in the carbon isotopic composition of speleothems that could arise when vegetation cover changes from c3 to c4 type plants this consideration emphasizes that it is necessary to characterize the full range of 13c values associated with contemporaneous speleothems in order to clarify the effects of degassing from those due to differing vegetation types isotopic studies of a number of different types of fossil lmc speleothems show many of them to exhibit isotopic trends that are similar to those of present day lmc but others show both higher and lower 18o ranges in particular the higher 18o range has been shown by independent age measurements to be associated with a period of drier conditions the results of the study thus indicate that it is necessary to work on a well calibrated cave system in semiarid climates and that the fossil speleothem record should be obtained from different types of contemporaneous deposit in order to fully characterize the 18o 13c range representative of any given climatic period

late quaternary paleoclimate in the eastern mediterranean region from stable isotope analysis of speleothems at soreq cave israel abstract the eastern mediterranean continental paleoclimate during the past 25 000 years was determined by a high resolution petrographic stable isotopic and age study of speleothems from soreq cave israel 18o 13c trends indicate that all speleothems older than 7000 yr formed under conditions that differ from those of today the period from 25 000 to 17 000 yr b p was characterized by the highest 18o and 13c values which indicate deposition at temperatures of 12 16 c annual rainfall of 300 450 mm and vegetation typical of a mixed c3 c4type from 17 000 to 10 000 yr b p deglaciation in northern europe 18o values dropped progressively correlative with warming 2 3 c and a gradual increase in precipitation a simultaneous decrease in 13c gives a range expected for c3 type vegetation this period also shows significant 18o and 13c spikes which are correlatable with global events e g heinrich events and the younger dryas stade the speleothems that grew between 10 000 and 7000 yr b p have a unique petrography showing irregular thin laminae of various colors and much detritus they have the lowest 18o corresponding to 1000 mm rain coupled with the highest 13c caused by flooding events which stripped the soil cover from 7000 to 1000 yr b p conditions became closer to those of today this study demonstrates that global events which were recognized in northern europe and north africa are also evident in the eastern mediterranean and are reflected principally by large changes in the rainfall rate

mobility of rare earth elements during weathering of till in northern sweden abstract continuous volume controlled sampling from the surface down to a depth of 130 cm was conducted at two stations on weathered till typic haplocryods all the samples were analysed for major and trace elements including the rare earth elements ree eight thousand seven hundred years of weathering since the glacial ice left the area has resulted in a strong depletion of ree in the e horizon this loss decreases as atomic number increases so that 80 85 of the la and 54 60 of the yb have been lost europium has been lost to a greater degree than have the neighbouring elements possible explanations for the release of ree are weathering of common silicates such as hornblende and epidote and plagioclase in the case of eu weathering of apatite weathering of rare but ree rich minerals such as allanite and monazite and release of ree adsorbed on clay minerals further studies on various size fractions and minerals are needed to quantify the importance of the various possible mechanisms of ree release the release of ree continues within and below the bs1 horizon but the results from one station show that light ree can be enriched in the bs1 horizon this secondary enrichment could be caused by adsorption on secondary oxy hydroxides on clay minerals or on organic material however the net result of the weathering is that all ree have been released to the groundwater

hydrogen isotopic compositions of long chain alkenones record freshwater flooding of the eastern mediterranean at the onset of sapropel deposition sapropels are organic rich sediment layers that were intermittently deposited in the mediterranean sea especially in its eastern basin during the last 10myr the associated anoxic events that gave rise to sapropel formation resulted indirectly from the impact of african monsoon maxima on the basin s hydrography sharp shifts in oxygen isotopes 18o to values more depleted in the heavy isotope 18o in carbonates from surface dwelling planktonic foraminifera slightly preceding sapropel deposition suggest that the mediterranean was flooded by large amounts of freshwater leading to the development of a low salinity of the surface water and a strong density stratification of the water column however the degree of freshwater flooding and concomitant drop in sea surface salinity sss remain elusive recent work has shown that the hydrogen isotope d values of long chain alkenones produced by haptophyte algae depend mainly on the d of the water and on salinity and may therefore offer a new tool for salinity reconstructions our analysis of the d of alkenones from last interglacial sapropel s5 from the aegean sea shows a large decrease in d of 25 at the onset of sapropel formation suggesting a drop in sss of 6 from 39 to 33 although the absolute sss estimates should be interpreted with care as they are subject to relatively large uncertainties the estimated sss values appear quite reasonable as they for example yield sss before sapropel deposition similar to that of the present day aegean sea to reduce uncertainties in sss estimates the d salinity relationship has to be better constrained with cultures and also tested in field studies however our results do illustrate the promise of a combined use of d of alkenones u37k of alkenones and 18o of surface dwelling planktonic foraminifera for sss reconstructions

tracing hydrologic flow paths in a small forested watershed using variations in 87sr 86sr ca sr ba sr and δ18o 1 natural variations in 87sr 86sr ca sr ba sr and 18o were used to investigate changing hydrologic flow paths during storm events in an 11 8 ha first order watershed of the hubbard brook experimental forest throughfall soil water and stream water were sampled during several storm events and a single snowmelt event throughfall had 87sr 86sr ca sr and 18o values that were distinct from other water types soil water was highly variable in composition but could be separated into three distinct elevation zones in the watershed with 87sr 86sr and ba sr both increasing with elevation in the watershed changes in 87sr 86sr ba sr and 18o of stream water during storm events yielded complementary information about watershed hydrologic flow paths traditional hydrograph separation using 18o values indicated that new water was only a small component of storm flow 9 18 whereas 87sr 86sr and ba sr ratios indicated that shallow subsurface flow soil water contributed significantly to storm flow in amounts up to 40 depending on soil moisture conditions

timing and hydrological conditions of sapropel events in the eastern mediterranean as evident from speleothems soreq cave israel this paper explores the connection between the timing of sapropel events in the eastern mediterranean sea and the time of low 18o events in speleothems of the soreq cave israel a new well dated 18o and 13c profile of the soreq cave speleothems for the last 140 kyr reveals five prominent low 18o events dated at 124 to 119 kyr with the main peak at 122 kyr event v 108 to 100 kyr with peaks at 107 and 102 kyr event iv 85 to 79 kyr with peak at 80 kyr event iii 55 to 52 kyr with a peak at 54 kyr event ii and 8 5 to 7 kyr with peaks at 8 5 and 7 kyr event i these events are characteristic of period of enhanced rainfall in the eastern mediterranean area particularly so for events v and i where the marked decrease in 18o and the correspondingly marked increase in 13c indicate very wet conditions the chronology of the low 18o events v iv iii and i match the ages estimated for the formation of sapropels s5 s4 s3 and s1 which are also associated with high hydrological activity thus it is suggested that the low 18o events in the soreq cave speleothems constrain the maximum duration of the sapropel formation pollen data from the sapropel layers and the isotopic pattern of the speleothems indicate that sapropels s5 and s1 were deposited during very wet periods when there were major decrease in the sea surface salinity coupled with frost free winters and drought free summers sapropels s4 and s3 were formed during periods of increased precipitation but ones in which the general climate was mediterranean semi arid

holocene and late pleistocene climate in the sub mediterranean continental environment a speleothem record from poleva cave southern carpathians romania the pp10 stalagmite from poleva cave provides a late pleistocene and holocene isotopic record characteristic for the sw of romania a sub mediterranean climatic region the speleothem was dated by eight tims and one alpha u series dates which showed that it was precipitated between 75 ka and 2 ka with at least two hiatuses the basal sector of the stalagmite showed a slow growing regime of 0 26 cm ka while the upper one grew relatively fast with about 5 cm ka the temporal resolution for the isotopic sampling is thus 2 ka sample for the lower sector and 150 years sample for the upper one the relationship between 18 o and temperature was found positive the isotopic record of the lower sector shows two marked cold intervals during 67 and 58 ka and 40 35 ka respectively which correlate well with the villars and soreq records the upper sector record is so far the most detailed holocene isotopic record in romania and the only one available for the regions located at the exterior of the carpathians range the signal shows a gradual warming after the gs1 event punctuated by several cold events at 8 7 2 and 4 2 ka and also by warm oscillations centered at about 5 2 and 3 3 ka the results seem to indicate that if the north atlantic firstorder signals may extend well to the south eastern europe their amplitude and general trend may be diminished by the interferences with the mediterranean circulation

geochemistry of manganese in the kalix river northern sweden dissolved and suspended mn in the kalix river northern sweden were measured weekly over a period of eighteen months during the same period four lakes in the kalix catchment were sampled at their outlets and in vertical profiles within the lakes together with a stream draining a series of mires with shallow lakes snow melting in mid may increased the dissolved mn concentration in the river tenfold compared with a concentration of 5 g l 1 during the winter discharge january to april we suggest that the increase was caused by mn rich mire water mixing with melting snow and being transported to the river large concentrations of dissolved mn built up in the hypolimnion of the lakes studied during the icecovered period break up of the ice and spring overturn in june increased the dissolved mn concentration tenfold in lake discharge and a concomitant peak in the dissolved mn concentration was observed in the river lake derived mn was the dominant source for mn in the river during this time suspended mn in the river was hosted mainly in detrital particles during flood in may in mid june non detrital suspended mn started to accumulate and reached a maximum in late july and early august the mnal ratio was 25 times higher during this period than during flood in may suggesting the precipitation of an mn oxyhydroxide phase the precipitation of the non detrital mn rich phase was correlated in time with increased temperature increased ph and increased concentration of suspended biogenic particles the precipitation of dissolved mn was biologically mediated sedimentation and mineralisation of the non detrital mn phase in river and lake sediments resulted in a steady increase of the dissolved mn concentration in the river water during autumn

sea land oxygen isotopic relationships from planktonic foraminifera and speleothems in the eastern mediterranean region and their implication for paleorainfall during interglacial intervals the oxygen and carbon stable isotope compositions of cave speleothems provide a powerful method for understanding continental climate change here we examine the question of the regionality of this isotopic record and its linkage with the marine isotopic record in the eastern mediterranean em region the study presents a new accurately dated 250 kyr 18o and 13c record determined from speleothems of the peqiin cave northern israel its comparison with the continuous 185 kyr isotopic record of the soreq cave speleothems from central israel reveals striking similarities thus a strong regional climatic signal brought about by variations in temperature and rainfall amount is reflected in both cave records low 18o minima in the peqiin profile for the last 250 to 185 kyr period interglacial marine isotopic stage 7 match the timing of sapropels 9 to 7 and are indicative of high rainfall in the em region at these times the combined soreq and peqiin 18o record for the last 250 kyr excellently matches the published globigerinoides ruber g ruber marine 18o record for the em sea with the isotopic compositional difference g ruber speleothems remaining relatively constant at 5 6 0 7 thus establishing for the first time a robust exploitable link between the land and the marine isotopic records the correspondence of low 18o speleothem values and high cave water stands with low g ruber 18o values during interglacial sapropel events indicates that these periods were characterized by enhanced rainfall in the em land and sea regions by use of sea surface temperatures derived from alkenone data as a proxy for land temperatures at the soreq cave we calculate the paleorainfall 18o values and its amounts maximum rainfall and lowest temperature conditions occurred at the beginning of the sapropel events and were followed by decrease in rainfall and increase in temperatures leading to arid conditions the record for the last 7000 yr shows a trend toward increasing aridity and agrees well with climatic and archeological data from north africa and the middle east

culturing of the first 37 4 predominant lacustrine haptophyte geochemical biochemical and genetic implications long chain alkenones lcas are potential biomarkers for quantitative paleotemperature reconstructions from lacustrine environments however progress in this area has been hindered because the conditions necessary for the growth of haptophytes responsible for alkenone distributions in lake sediments the predominance of c37 4 lca are not known here we report the first enrichment culturing of a novel haptophyte phylotype hap a from lake george nd that produces predominantly c37 4 lca hap a was enriched from its resting phase collected from deep sediments rather than from water column samples in contrast enrichments from near surface water yielded a different haptophyte phylotype hap b closely related to chrysotila lamellosa and pseudoisochrysis paradoxa which does not display c37 4 lca predominance similar enrichments have been reported previously the lca profile in sediments resembles that of enrichments containing hap a suggesting that hap a is the dominant alkenone producer of the sedimentary lcas in enrichments increased lighting appeared to be crucial for triggering alkenone production both u37k and u38k indices show a promising positive relationship with temperature for hap a in enrichments but the offset from the environmental calibration suggests that other factors e g the growth stage or nutrients may influence the absolute u37k value based on 18s rrna gene analyses several lakes from the northern great plains as well as pyramid lake nv and tso ur tibetan plateau china contain the same two haptophyte phylotypes analysis of surface sediment from the great plains lakes show the hap a type lca distribution whereas pyramid and tso ur show the hap b type distribution waters of the great plain lakes are dominated by sulfate ions whereas those pyramid and tso ur are dominated by carbonate ions suggesting that the sulfate to carbonate ratio may be a determining factor for the dominance of the hap a and hap b phylotypes in natural settings

binding and transport of rare earth elements by organic and iron rich nanocolloids in alaskan rivers as revealed by field flow fractionation and icp ms abstract water samples were collected from six small rivers in the yukon river basin in central alaska to examine the role of nanocolloids 0 5 40 nm in the dynamics and transport of rare earth elements rees in northern high latitude watersheds influenced by permafrost total dissolved 40 nm colloids in a river sampled at higher altitude the

last glacial holocene temperatures and hydrology of the sea of galilee and hula valley from clumped isotopes in melanopsis shells abstract the carbonate clumped isotope 47 thermometer was applied to fresh water snails melanopsis spp grown in the waters of the sea of galilee and hula valley in the north of israel modern shells grown at known temperatures agree with the 47 t calibration of zaarur et al 2013 fossil melanopsis shells from 2 locations gesher bnot ya aqov at the southern tip of the hula valley and the sea of galilee provide a temperature record for the region during the time interval of the past 20 kyrs glacial temperatures are 5 c cooler than mid holocene and 3 c cooler than modern similar to other records in the region these 47 derived temperatures are combined with 18o of the shell carbonate to calculate the oxygen isotopic composition of the habitat waters contrary to global trends and other regional records reconstructed 18owater values increase from the late glacial through the holocene this reversed signal reflects a decrease in the relative contribution of snowmelt to the watershed post lgm and a transition to a more rain dominated inflow a fairly constant difference in 18owater values between the hula valley and sea of galilee waters suggests that the hydrological relationship of the two water bodies had remained constant with the temperature changes playing only a minor role in the extent of evaporation of the sea of galilee relative to the hula

an absolute paleotemperature record from 10 to 6 ka inferred from fluid inclusion d h ratios of a stalagmite from vancouver island british columbia canada abstract by using continuous helium flow during the crushing of calcite speleothem samples we are able to recover liberated inclusion waters without isotopic fractionation a paleotemperature record for the jacklah jill cave locality vancouver island bc was obtained from a 30 cm tall stalagmite that grew 10 3 6 3 ka ago using 18 o values of the crushed calcite and of the inclusion water as inferred from its d it is found that the locality experienced mean annual temperature variations up to 11 c over a 4 ka period in the early holocene at the beginning of the period local temperature quickly increased from a minimum of 1 c to around 10 c but this early climate optimum about 3 c warmer than today only lasted for 1200 years about 8 6 ka ago temperature had declined to 7 c approximately the same as the modern cave temperature since then the study area has experienced only minor temperature fluctuations but there was a brief fall to 4 c at around 7 ka ago which might be caused by a short lived expansion of local alpine glaciers the long term t dependence of d was 1 47 c identical to the value in modern precipitation

fossil water in large stalagmite voids as a tool for paleoprecipitation stable isotope composition reconstitution and paleotemperature calculation the deuterium content of macroscopic fluid inclusions several millimetres large observed on two stalagmite polished sections has been measured with high accuracy f0 5x although several recent studies have already focused on the stable isotope content of microscopic fluid inclusions this is the first time that such measurements have been made on large inclusions by direct injection of the water in the spectrometer eliminating technical problems due to the extraction of water from microscopic inclusions crushing and heating the first results from four fluid inclusions of two stalagmites of south western and southern france demonstrate that 1 for the same stalagmite and the same age the deuterium content is similar 2 the fluid inclusion deuterium content difference between the sites is in agreement with the present day dripping water 3 calculated paleotemperatures at 100 ka are in the range of those derived from pollen marine and ice core records despite the fact that macroscopic fluid inclusions have rarely been observed it appears that they can give precious data for paleoclimatologists on the stable isotope content d 18 o dd and deuterium excess d of the past cave dripping water which is a proxy of the rainfall water and that it can be accurately dated by the tims u th method on the host calcite up to 500 ka d 2002 elsevier science b v all rights reserved

sensitivity of bunker cave to climatic forcings highlighted through multi annual monitoring of rain soil and dripwaters abstract the last two decades have seen a considerable increase in studies using speleothems as archives of past climate variability caves under study are now monitored for a wide range of environmental parameters and results placed in context with speleothem data the present study investigates trends from a seven year long monitoring of bunker cave northwestern germany in order to assess the hydraulic response and transfer time of meteoric water from the surface to the cave rain soil and dripwater were collected from august 2006 to august 2013 at a monthly to bimonthly resolution and their oxygen and hydrogen isotope composition was measured furthermore drip rates were quantified due to different drip characteristics annual mean values were calculated for the drip rates of each drip site correlations of the annual mean drip rate of each site with precipitation and infiltration demonstrate that the annual infiltration and thus the annual precipitation control the inter annual drip rate variability for all except one site the hydraulic response is not delayed on an annual basis all drip sites display identical long term trends which suggests a draining of a common karst reservoir over these seven years of monitoring correlations of soil and dripwater monthly 18o and d values with atmospheric temperature data reveal water transfer times of 3 months to reach a depth of 40 cm soilwater at site bw 2 and 4 months for 70 cm depth soilwater at site bw 1 finally the water reaches the cave chambers 15 to 30 m below land surface after ca 2 5 years consequently a temporal offset of 29 to 31 months ca 2 5 years between the hydraulic response time no time lag on annual basis and the water transfer time time lag of 29 to 31 months was found which is negligible with regard to bunker cave speleothems because of their slow growth rates here proxies recording precipitation infiltration and temperature are registered on a decadal scale variations in drip rate and thus precipitation and infiltration are recorded by 13c and mg ca ratios in speleothem calcite speleothem 18o values reflect both temperature and precipitation signals due to drip rate related fractionation processes we document that long term patterns in temperature and precipitation are recorded in dripwater patterns of bunker cave and that these are linked to the north atlantic oscillation nao

handbook of environmental isotope geochemistry vol 1 the terrestrial environment a p fritz and j ch fontes editors elsevier amsterdam 1980 xii 532 pp u s 90 25 dfl 185 00

d h ratios of fluid inclusions of soreq cave israel speleothems as a guide to the eastern mediterranean meteoric line relationships in the last 120 ky abstract d h studies of fluid inclusions of speleothems of the soreq cave israel are made using the method of vacuum thermal extraction d h measurements of present day carbonate pool margins and waters show that the value of the vacuum thermal extraction fractionation ex d extracted water d cave water is 30 0 1 4 for the soreq cave deposits d h analyses of fluid inclusions of two fossil speleothems formed during periods equivalent to glacial times suggest that their isotopic compositions follow the global meteoric water line mwl d 18 o relationship compared to present day waters which follow the mediterranean meteoric water line mmwl trend two samples from interglacial periods show isotopic trends between these lines these differences are presumed to reflect cooler less evaporative conditions in the eastern mediterranean sea during glacial times

dissolved suspended and colloidal fluxes of organic carbon major and trace elements in the severnaya dvina river and its tributary abstract the chemical status of major and trace elements te and organic carbon oc has been studied in the severnaya dvina and pinega rivers draining granitic moraine carbonate and sedimentary deposits of the arkhangelsk region nw russia the white sea basin of the arctic ocean sampling was performed during winter and summer baseflow seasons and during the spring flood 2007 2008 size separation procedure included on site filtration through 5 m 0 22 m 100 10 and 1 kda and dialysis through 1 kda and 10 kda pore size membranes the organic carbon concentration in truly dissolved form trace and major element concentrations in the suspended matter of the river severnaya dvina were measured during different seasons over three years of observation based on collected data we evaluate here for the first time the seasonal fluxes of major and trace elements in the suspended 0 22 m total dissolved

modelling the baseline geochemistry of groundwater in a chalk aquifer considering solid solutions for carbonate phases the chalk aquifer of champagne france baseline geochemistry has been determined using a solid solution approach for the modelling of calcite dissolution the water rock interactions are modelled by the speciation code chess from field data and ca mg and sr aqueous concentrations in groundwater the stoichiometries of solid solutions are defined in each stratigraphic unit of the chalk aquifer from bulk geochemistry and chalk mineralogy of samples taken from boreholes the initial mineralisation of water at the bottom of the unsaturated zone and the characterisation of the theoretical evolution of groundwater chemistry along the flow lines associated with incongruent calcite dissolution are calculated from this approach

speleothem isotopic evidence of winter rainfall variability in northeast turkey between 77 and 6 ka an oxygen isotope record from a stalagmite that grew between 77 ka and 6 ka in northeast turkey contains both a strong precessional signal and sub orbital oscillations similar to those in greenland ice cores and chinese speleothem records of monsoon intensity fluid inclusion evidence of a negative shift in the isotopic composition of dripwater during the lateglacial supports interpretation of the isotope curve as an insolation forced record of changes in rainfall seasonality the high amplitude millennial scale fluctuations are caused by rapid changes in rainfall seasonality and or switching of moisture source areas both of which are associated with the stadial interstadial climatic oscillations linked to the changing modes of the north atlantic meridional overturning circulation moc winter rainfall maxima in northeast turkey coincide with interstadial conditions in greenland and with periods of intensified asian monsoon activity the isotopic shifts in the record are in antiphase with and are generally much larger in amplitude than published data from stalagmites in northwest turkey most likely because of differing moisture source areas carbon isotope ratios are probably kinetically enriched by partial degassing of seepage water in the epikarst but although often difficult to decypher particularly during marine isotope stage mis 2 broadly support the interpretations of the oxygen data

hydrological alterations with river damming in northern sweden implications for weathering and river biogeochemistry hydrological alterations with river damming in northern sweden implications for weathering and river biogeochemistry

controlling factors on a paleo lake oxygen isotope record yammouneh lebanon since the last glacial maximum abstract late quaternary paleoclimatic changes in the levant are difficult to extract from carbonate oxygen isotope records partly because the factors controlling the terrestrial 18 o signals are not fully understood in this region characterized by sharp climatic gradients here we address this purpose by presenting the first 14 c dated isotope record from the northern levant the record is based on oxygen isotopes from ostracod shells from lacustrine palustrine deposits accumulated in a small karstic hydrologically open basin yammouneh located on the eastern flank of mount lebanon we have first constructed a composite isotopic record obtained from three different ostracod taxa this yields an oxygen isotope record of ostracods ost related to the most widespread species ilyocypris inermis and converted to 18 o values coeval with calcite precipitated in equilibrium c with the lake water l as with other records from the mediterranean region the yammouneh profile shows maximum and minimum c values during the lgm and the early holocene respectively and a slight late holocene increase in order to discuss the potential causes of the observed 18 o values fluctuations e g changes in the isotopic composition of the moisture source temperature precipitation minus evaporation p e balance or atmospheric circulation we tentatively reconstruct the lake water isotope composition by correcting the c values for lake water temperature using regional paleotemperature estimates inferred l values were then corrected for the isotopic composition of the eastern mediterranean sea surface water the moisture source derived from planktonic foraminifera 18 o values corrected for alkenone based sea surface temperature our study suggests that holocene l fluctuations are primarily linked to changes in the sea surface water composition source effect amplified by enhanced inland rainfall during the early holocene during the lgm low l values at yammouneh are likely due to the ground temperature effect on the rainfall isotope composition possibly associated with a steeper altitudinal thermal gradient inland and with changes in air mass trajectories over the mediterranean sea

climatic conditions during marine oxygen isotope stage 6 in the eastern mediterranean region from the isotopic composition of speleothems of soreq cave israel at several times during marine oxygen isotope stage 6 the eastern mediterranean region was influenced by two extreme climatic systems the large ice sheet over northern europe and the wet tropics associated with african monsoons during this interval two major climatic events occurred in the region the sapropel s6 layer formed ca 176 ka in the eastern mediterranean basin owing to the increase in the african monsoon and another event although not large enough to form sapropel occurred ca 151 ka the isotopic composition of soreq cave speleothems seems to record these events as very low 18 o 13 c values dated as ca 178 and 152 ka the very low 18 o 13 c values of 6 and 11 to 12 respectively are typical of interglacial intervals but here they were recorded during a glacial interval such low peaks indicate that in this part of the eastern mediterranean region i e israel the rainfall amount increased dramatically moreover the isotopic record of the speleothems also shows that during the entire stage 6 although the climate was as cold as much of the last glacial the conditions were never as dry

speleothem record from pentadactylos cave cyprus new insights into climatic variations during mis 6 and mis 5 in the eastern mediterranean abstract a new paleoclimate record from cyprus gives valuable insights into climatic variations during marine isotope stages mis 6 5 for the east mediterranean region two stalagmites from pentadactylos cave in the kyrenia mountain range 800 m altitude in cyprus grew from 174 6 0 7 to 112 2 0 5 ka bp with major hiatuses at 163 142 and 132 128 ka during early mis6 the stalagmite suggests through a relatively low growth rate 57 5 mm ka and variable but rather negative d18o that climate conditions were highly variable on a millennial scale with wet and cold climate conditions during sapropel 6 deposition at the end of mis6 141 132 ka growth rate varied from 123 to 18 mm ka and less negative 18 o c suggests general dry cold conditions followed by a growth stop during h11 the onset of mis5e is marked by the highest growth rate 217 mm ka the most negative 18o values at the onset and during the eemian wet period in cyprus are driven mostly by the source effect sapropel 5 and enhanced rainfall amounts stable conditions during mis 5e were rather short as shown in the growth and isotopic signal consistent with other em records after 122 ka growth decreased drastically 8 2 mm ka and a slow deterioration of the soil cover is suggested from continuously less negative 13c values fluid inclusion d18o shows a clear shift 4 5 between end mis 6 and mis 5e clumped isotopes measurements indicate kinetic effects between calcite and water of up to 1 after correction for kinetic effects using 47 a minimum estimate for the mis 6 5 temperature shift in the em is ca 9 c similarly drastic changes in rainfall amounts are inferred from measured fluid inclusion and calculated water d18o

rainfall recharge relationships within a karstic terrain in the eastern mediterranean semi arid region israel δ 18o and δd characteristics annual rainfall variations and processes in the upper vadose zone exert a profound influence on the chemical and isotopic compositions of waters of carbonate aquifers in semi arid climatic zones in order to define these processes we have studied the surface temperatures during rainfall events the isotopic composition of rain infiltrating and groundwaters this study was carried out within a karstic terrain soreq cave israel located in cenomanian dolomitic rocks approximately 40 km inland of the mediterranean sea and 400 m above sea level the climate is typical of the eastern mediterranean semi arid conditions with a rainy winter and dry summer and the average annual rainfall in the area is 500 mm close monitoring indicates that the d and 18o values of individual rainstorm events decrease with increasing rainfall annual average isotopic values of years with rainfall of 500 600 mm do not vary systematically years with extreme rainfall values define a negative covariation between the 18o and rainfall the d 18o relationship of all rain events of more than 20 mm fall on the mediterranean meteoric water line mmwl with a slope of 8 and d excesses of 20 30 these rain events occur when mid winter surface temperatures are 5 to 10 c rainfall events of less than 20 mm mainly occurring at above 10 c have slopes of less than 8 and smaller d excess as a consequence of evaporation processes beneath the clouds two main water types infiltrating into the cave are recognized slow and fast drip slow drip occurs from the tips of stalactites and takes place throughout the year these waters represent seepage water that remains in the upper vadose zone for up to several decades fast drip emanates from fissures in the cave roof during the winter seasons these waters represent vadose flow with a short residence time of less than 1 year the infiltration of the fast drip water into the cave depends on the fracture system of the rock cover and on the intensity of the rainstorms in the inner parts of the cave where the rock cover is thick fast drip starts only after several massive 20 mm rainstorms whereas below a thin roof the response time of fast drip is a few hours to a few days after intensive rainstorms both fast and slow drip water fall on the mmwl indicating that they are derived mainly from the relatively intensive rainstorms that compose about 23 of the annual rainfall although fast dri water represents massive rainstorms their 18o and d values are nonetheless higher by 1 and 10 respectively relative to the average rainwater compisition this indicates that the fast drip water consists predominantly of water derived from intensive rainstorms admixed with a minor component of isotopically 18o and d enriched water which is represented by the slow drip waters the fast drip waters are derived mainly from massive rain events at surface temperatures of 5 to 10 c which thermally equilibrate with the host rock and upon reaching the cave they have already acquired the mean temperature 20 c of the cave

kinetic and mineralogic controls on the evolution of groundwater chemistry and 87sr 86sr in a sandy silicate aquifer northern wisconsin usa abstract substantial flowpath related variability of 87sr 86sr is observed in groundwaters collected from the trout lake watershed of northern wisconsin in the extensive shallow aquifer composed of sandy glacial outwash groundwater is recharged either by seepage from lakes or by precipitation that infiltrates the inter lake uplands 87sr 86sr of groundwater derived mainly as seepage from a precipitation dominated lake near the head of the watershed decreases with progressive water chemical evolution along its flowpath due primarily to enhanced dissolution of relatively unradiogenic plagioclase in contrast 87sr 86sr of groundwater derived mainly from precipitation that infiltrates upland areas is substantially greater than that of precipitation collected from the watershed due to suppression of plagioclase dissolution together with preferential leaching of sr from radiogenic phases such as k feldspar and biotite the results of a column experiment that simulated the effects of changing residence time of water in the aquifer sand indicate that mobile waters obtain relatively unradiogenic sr whereas stagnant waters obtain relatively radiogenic sr nearly the entire range of strontium isotope composition observed in groundwaters from the watershed was measured in the experimental product waters the constant mobility of water along groundwater recharge flowpaths emanating from the lakes promotes the dissolution of relatively unradiogenic plagioclase perhaps due to effective dispersal of clay mineral nuclei resulting from dissolution reactions in contrast episodic stagnation in the unsaturated zone along the upland recharge flowpaths suppresses plagioclase dissolution perhaps due to accumulation of clay mineral nuclei on its reactive surfaces differences in redox conditions along these contrasting flowpaths probably enhance the observed differences in strontium isotope behavior this study demonstrates that factors other than the calculated state of mineral saturation must be considered when attempting to simulate chemical evolution along flowpaths and that reaction models must be able to incorporate changing contributions from reacting minerals in the calculations

petrography strontium barium and uranium concentrations and strontium and uranium isotope ratios in speleothems as palaeoclimatic proxies soreq cave israel the reconstruction of the palaeoclimate of the eastern mediterranean region for the last 60 ka bp is based on the 18o and 13c variations of speleothems from soreq cave israel climatic conditions during most of the time interval between 60 and 17 ka bp the period equivalent to the last glacial were relatively cold and dry while they were warmer and wetter from 17 ka bp to the present at 17 ka bp there was a major climatic change with a sharp increase in annual rainfall and temperature and a very wet period occurring between 8 5 and 7 0 ka bp during the colder and drier period large detritus free preferentially oriented calcite crystals were deposited from slow moving water as a result of a sharp change in the hydrological regime at 17 ka bp fast moving water started entrainment of the soil and carrying detrital material into the cave and the calcite crystals deposited became small and anhedral coinciding with the petrographic and isotopic changes a sharp drop occurred in the concentration

constraints on hydrological and paleotemperature variations in the eastern mediterranean region in the last 140 ka given by the δd values of speleothem fluid inclusions abstract speleothem fluid inclusions potentially provide vital data on the paleohydrological conditions in glacial and interglacial periods we show here that d analyses of fluid inclusions from speleothems in three caves in the eastern mediterranean region israel provide a basis for understanding hydrological and temperature variations in the last 140 ka using measured d fluid inclusion values and temperature ranges constrained by the present day mediterranean meteoric water line mmwl and the global mwl we show a strong compatibility between the land and marine temperature records with the highest land temperatures occurring at 120 130 ka 17 22 c and the present 18 c and the lowest temperatures during the lgm about 10 c lower than present interglacial waters are constrained to follow the mmwl and most glacial waters also plot close to the mmwl with a slight shift towards the mwl however during two remarkable brief periods at the termination of the lgm the waters plot on the mwl suggesting that both sharp cooling and an increase in relative humidity above the em sea reduced d excess values to those of the global system

ba sr ca sr and 87sr 86sr ratios in soil water and groundwater implications for relative contributions to stream water discharge abstract barium sr and ca sr ratios have been used to model the relative importance of different sources of stream water major and trace element concentrations together with 87sr 86sr ratios were measured in precipitation soil water groundwater and stream water in a small 9 4 km2 catchment in northern sweden the study catchment is drained by a first order stream and mainly covered with podzolized quaternary till of granitic composition it is underlain by a 1 8 ga granite a model with mixing equations used in an iterative mode was developed in order to separate the stream water into 3 subsurface components soil water shallow groundwater and deep groundwater contributions from precipitation are thus not included in the model this source may be significant for the stream water generation but it does not interfere with the calculations of the relative contributions from the subsurface components the results show that the deep groundwater constitutes between 5 and 20 of the subsurface water discharge into the stream water the highest values of the deep groundwater fraction occur during base flow soil water dominates during snowmelt seasons whereas during base flow it is the least important fraction soil water accounts for 10 100 of the subsurface water discharge into the stream water shallow groundwater accounts for up to 80 of the subsurface water discharge with the lowest values at peak discharge during snowmelt seasons and the highest values during base flow the validity of the model was tested by comparing the measured 87sr 86sr ratios in the stream water with the 87sr 86sr ratios predicted by the model there was a systematic difference between the measured and modelled 87sr 86sr ratios which suggests that the fraction of soil water is overestimated by the model especially during spring flood as a consequence of this overestimation of soil water the amount of shallow groundwater is probably underestimated during this period however it is concluded that the differences between measured and predicted values are relatively small and that element ratios are potentially effective tracers for different subsurface water flowpaths in catchments

temperature and salinity variations of mediterranean sea surface waters over the last 16 000 years from records of planktonic stable oxygen isotopes and alkenone unsaturation ratios alkenone unsaturation ratios and planktonic d18o records from sediment cores of the alboran ionian and levantine basins in the mediterranean sea show pronounced variations in paleo temperatures and salinities of surface waters over the last 16 000 years average sea surface temperatures ssts are low during the last glacial averages prior to 13 000 years 11 15 c vary rapidly at the beginning of the holocene and increase to 17 18 ca t all sites during s1 formation dated between 9500 and 6600 calendar years the modern temperature gradient 2 3 c between the mediterranean sub basins is maintained during formation of sapropel s1 in the eastern mediterranean sea after s1 ssts have remained uniform in the alboran sea at 18 c and have fluctuated around 20 c in the ionian and levantine basin sites the d18o of planktonic foraminifer calcite decreases by 2 from the late glacial to s1 sediments in the ionian basin and by 2 8 in the levantine basin in the alboran sea the decrease is 1 7 of the 2 8 decrease in the levantine basin the evect of global ice volume accounts for a maximum of 1 05 and the temperature increase explains only a maximum of 1 3 the remainder is attributed to salinity changes we use the temperature and salinity estimates to calculate seawater density changes they indicate that a reversal of water mass circulation is not a likely explanation for increased carbon burial during s1 time instead it appears that intermediate and deep water formation may have shifted to the ionian sea approximately 2000 years before onset of s1 deposition because surface waters were as cold but saltier than surface water in the levantine basin during the younger dryas sapropel s1 began to form at the same time when a significant density decrease also occurred in the ionian sea 2000 elsevier science b v all rights reserved

the eastern mediterranean paleoclimate as a reflection of regional events soreq cave israel the climate of the eastern mediterranean region of the last 60 ky was determined by a high resolution study of the oxygen and carbon isotopic composition 1500 measurement pairs of speleothems from the soreq cave israel with chronology provided by 53 precise 230 th 234 u tims ages the high precision of the speleothem tims ages permits us to determine the timing of regional climatic events in the eastern mediterranean region and to see if they correlate with global events during the period from 60 to 17 ky the 18 o and 13 c values were generally 2 2 5 higher than during the period from 17 ky to present this is consistent with the climatic transition from glacial to interglacial within the 60 to 17 ky period the soreq cave stable isotope profile includes four cold peaks at 46 35 25 and 19 ky and 2 warm peaks at 54 and 36 ky in addition the period 17 ky has two more cold peaks at 16 5 and from 13 2 to 11 4 ky the ages of four of the six cold peaks correlate well with the ages of three heinrich events h1 h2 h5 and with the age of the younger dryas however the other two heinrich events are not reflected in the soreq cave record several other isotope peaks which appear during the last 7 ky are contemporaneous with regional climatic events in the middle east and north africa in addition to the drop in 18 o and 13 c observed between the last glacial and the holocene sharp simultaneous drops in 234 u 238 u 0 ratios sr concentrations and in 87 sr 86 sr are also observed suggesting that the latter are climate related these variations are interpreted in terms of major changes in the temperature the mean annual rainfall and its isotopic composition the isotopic composition of the mediterranean vapor source the soil moisture conditions and in the mixing proportions of sources with different 87 sr 86 sr ratios sea spray dust particles and dolomitic host rock

redistribution of trace metals in a mineralized spodosol due to weathering liikavaara northern sweden the till east of the liikavaara ostra ore deposit in northern sweden is in some parts rich in cu and other sulphide associated metals groundwater flowing in this till has higher concentrations of cu than groundwater in a reference area where the till has low concentrations of cu and other metals to understand the processes that release metals from the mineralized till at liikavaara into the groundwater the authors performed a detailed study of the 2 mm fraction of a till profile where the highest metal concentrations in the liikavaara area occur the geochemistry and mineralogy of the till were determined and the soil water was sampled by tension lysimeters the importance of local diffusion of cu bearing airborne dust from the adjacent aitik mine tailings impoundment was quantified and solid speciation of metals in airborne material was performed by sequential extraction the results from liikavaara were compared to results from the reference area glacial ice picked up sulphide rich material from the liikavaara ostra cu ore during its flow this material was deposited in the till east of the ore body when the ice melted the sulphides have been dissolved in the 2 mm fraction during 8 7 ka of weathering since the glacial ice retreated after dissolution of the sulphides cu was redistributed and secondarily retained in association with fe oxyhydroxides and altered biotite other sulphide associated elements such as co ni and zn show the same pattern in the till profile as cu though the concentrations are much lower uptake of cu2 in the biotite through ion exchange with k may be an important mechanism for cu enrichment in biotite at liikavaara the airborne dust is not the source of cu in the till although the soil water at liikavaara has higher concentrations of cu and other metals than the soil water at the reference area the cu concentration is too low for infiltrating soil water to explain the high cu concentrations observed in groundwater the high metal concentrations in the till of cu in particular cause the increased concentrations in the local groundwater a fluctuating groundwater table washes out cu and other metals from the till it is possible that increased cu concentration in the local groundwater is caused by dissolved organic complexes or by colloids 0 45 m rich in organic matter and or fe oxyhydroxides

the recovery and isotopic measurement of water from fluid inclusions in speleothems the isotopic composition of speleothems is a useful palaeoclimatic indicator but its value would be enhanced if information on the composition of the parent dripwaters could be recovered from fluid inclusions in the speleothem calcite to develop a robust method for extracting and measuring oxygen and hydrogen isotopic composition of fluid inclusions we have used anhydrous iceland spar and microlitre glass capillaries of water as an analogue system crushing the capillary and calcite together in a high vacuum cell we have investigated the adsorbtive and isotopic behaviour of water when exposed to clean fracture surfaces significant water adsorption occurs at room temperature accompanied by large negative isotopic shifts of both oxygen and hydrogen in the recovered foe water at h2o caco3 mass ratios c for 60 min totally desorbs the water and allows retrieval of the correct isotopic composition application of these methods to a british late holocene speleothem yields delta o 18 and delta h 2 compositions for the inclusion water which are closely comparable with the modern cave dripwaters and local precipitation the results show that isotopic compositions can be recovered from inclusion samples of l equivalent to approximately ig of calcite with precisions that are useful for palaeoclimatic research 0 4 for delta o 18 and 3 for delta h 2 greater precision than this will require replicate analysis for each speleothem growth increment copyright c 2001 elsevier science ltd

paleoclimate reconstruction based on the timing of speleothem growth and oxygen and carbon isotope composition in a cave located in the rain shadow in israel high resolution th 230 u 234 ages and delta 18 o and delta 13 c compositions of speleothems in ma ale efrayirn cave located to the east of the central mountain ridge of israel enable us to examine the nature of the rain shadow aridity during glacial and interglacial intervals speleothem growth occurred during marine glacial isotopic periods with no growth during the two last marine isotope interglacial intervals and during the peak of the last glacial maximum this contrasts with speleothem growth in caves located on the western flank of the central mountain ridge in the eastern mediterranean semiarid climatic zone which continued throughout the last 240 000 yr thus during glacial periods water reached both sides of the central mountain ridge a comparison of the present day rain and cave water isotopic compositions and amounts at the ma ale efrayim cave site with those on the western flank shows that evaporation and higher temperatures on the eastern flank are major influences on isotopic composition and the lack of rainfall the delta 18 o and delta 13 c profiles of the speleothems deposited between 67 000 and 25 000 yr b p match the general trends of the isotopic profiles of soreq cave speleothems suggesting a similar source eastern mediterranean sea and similar climatic conditions thus during glacial periods the desert boundary effectively migrated further south or east from its present day location on the eastern flank whereas interglacial periods appear to have been similar to the present with the desert boundary at the same position the decrease in overall temperature and a consequent reduction in the evaporation to precipitation ratios on the eastern flank are viewed as the major factors controlling the decay of the rain shadow effect during glacial periods c 2003 elsevier science usa all rights reserved

last glacial warm events on mount hermon the southern extension of the alpine karst range of the east mediterranean abstract this study focuses on warm last glacial episodes in the southernmost extension of the alpine karst range of the eastern mediterranean levant region through the study speleothems in mizpe shelagim cave located in mt hermon the alpine karst range extends from turkey through syria and lebanon reaching its southern limit in mt hermon at an elevation of more than 2000 m under present day conditions southern mt hermon receives 1000 2000 mm precipitation mostly as snow that originates in the eastern mediterranean sea speleothems deposition in this high altitude region was continuous during interglacials but during the last glacial growth only occurred when average annual temperatures exceeded 3 c as inferred from the study of speleothem fluid inclusions warming episodes occurred at 65 ka 56 ka 54 5 ka 52 5 51 ka 49 ka 42 ka and 36 ka and are coincident with maximum insolation at 65 n the main depositional period from 56 ka to 51 ka coincides with dansgaard oeschger interstadial 15 and 14 and warming in the northeastern basin of the mediterranean sea warming in the southern alpine karst range of the eastern mediterranean was manifested by vegetation development together with significant snow melting that resulted in the drainage of large amount of water to the dead sea rift valley

palaeoclimate determination from cave calcite deposits calcite deposits formed in limestone caves have been found to be an excellent repository of palaeoclimatic data for terrestrial environments the very presence of a relict deposit indicates non glacial conditions at the time of formation and both 14c and uranium series methods can be used to date the deposit and hence the age of these climatic conditions variations in 13c and 18o content of the calcite in 2h and 18o content of fluid inclusions in trace element concentrations and more recently in pollen assemblages trapped in the calcite are all potentially available as synchronous palaeoclimatic indicators previous work has tended to concentrate mainly on abundance of deposits as a palaeoclimatic indicator for the last 300 000 years this literature is briefly reviewed here together with the theory and methods of analysis of the u series and stable isotopic techniques the combined use of u series ages and 13c and 18o variations in cave calcites illustrates the potential for palaeoclimate determination previously unpublished results of stable isotopic variations in dated calcites from caves in northern england indicate the level of detail of stable isotopic variations and time resolution that can be obtained and the complexity of interpretation that may arise tentative palaeoclimatic signals for the periods 90 125 ka and 170 300 ka are presented more comprehensive studies are needed in future work especially in view of the difficulty in obtaining suitable deposits and the ethics of cave deposits conservation

monitoring of selected caves as a prerequisite for the speleothem based reconstruction of the quaternary environment in croatia abstract quaternary palaeo environmental changes that have taken place in croatia are likely to be recorded in speleothems secondary carbonate deposits precipitated in caves confident interpretation of well dated speleothem proxy records relies on modern monitoring programs which we provided in three regionally different caves parallel monitoring of the surface and cave air temperature and relative humidity precipitation and cave drip intensity as well as stable isotope modification of meteoric and drip water was carried out in order to estimate the most reliable stalagmites for the interpretation of quaternary landscape history in all three caves nova grgosova 239 m a s l t cave 11 2 c in central croatia lokvarka 780 m a s l t cave 7 5 c in the mountainous part of croatia and modric 32 m a s l t cave 16 6 c in coastal croatia we selected the parts of the caves where the ambient cave conditions appeared to be appropriate for equilibrium deposition of calcite in terms of constant air temperature seasonal amplitudes of 0 73 0 38 and 0 45 c respectively and relative humidity 100 both atlantic and mediterranean moisture influences were detected in all three caves but of different intensities cave hydrological settings governed by karst aquifer properties were resolved by the comparison of the precipitation intensities and drip site responses to the rain events and generally seasonal rainwater isotopic signal was almost completely attenuated except for one drip site such homogenized drip water and stable cave environmental settings give confidence for calcite deposition under equilibrium conditions especially for modric and nova grgosova caves where speleothems inner structures also look promising for potentially quality dating results and stable isotopic profiles the fracture flow drip regime of selected drip sites in lokvarka cave and uncompleted homogenization of the water in the epikarst might point to speleothem samples that are unsuitable for resolving multi annual quaternary climate changes this view is supported by the high porosity internal structure of some lokvarka speleothems so further monitoring sampling and the thorough speleothem examination is therefore necessary for adequate interpretations of palaeo environmental changes

mediterranean pluvial periods and sapropel formation over the last 200 000 years abstract three mediterranean deep sea cores have been studied to reconstruct the hydrological conditions at the time of deposition of interglacial and glacial sapropels during the time interval 200 60 kyr bp the isotopic and sea surface temperature records of planktonic foraminifera were used to estimate the oxygen isotopic composition of surface water w in the tyrrhenian sea and levantine basin our results show a strong w salinity decrease in both basins associated with each sapropel these w decreases reflect a drastic change in the local freshwater budget and were comparable to that observed during the last sapropel s 1 centred at ca 8 kyr bp a strong precipitation increase transformed the whole mediterranean sea into a non concentration basin the low surface salinity was responsible for the water column stratification while nutrients brought in by the runoff enhanced productivity it resulted in a significant reduction in the rate of deep water oxygenation and sapropel formation in the eastern basin in addition the mediterranean sea 18 o record is very similar to that of the bay of bengal as the latter is very sensitive to the summer monsoon rain this similarity suggests that both glacial and interglacial sapropels result from enhanced monsoon like precipitation due to an increase in summer insolation driven by precession variations

nonhomogeneous seawater sr isotopic composition in the coastal oceans a novel tool for tracing water masses and submarine groundwater discharge here we present high precision 2 3 ppm 87sr 86sr measurements in coastal waters together with salinity to evaluate water mass mixing and the influence of submarine groundwater discharge sgd in coastal waters and marginal seas nonhomogeneous sr isotopic variations in water columns were documented in the southern okinawa trough sot south china sea and kao ping canyon kpc where seawater 87sr 86sr varied up to 70 ppm seawater sr isotopic composition changes only slightly in the upper 200 m of the sot but was detectable and highly correlated with salinity indicating a mixing between radiogenic north pacific tropical water high 87sr 86sr and high salinity at 100 150 m and a less radiogenic component with low 87sr 86sr and low salinity at 200 m vertical profiles of seawater 87sr 86sr along the kpc show significant variations suggesting dynamic mixing affected by continental inputs i e river runoff and sgd in this region these results highlight the potential use of seawater sr isotopes as a powerful tracer for determining mixing ratios and the dynamic mixing of oceanic water masses especially in coastal and marginal seas

glaciations and paleoclimate of mount erciyes central turkey since the last glacial maximum inferred from 36cl cosmogenic dating and glacier modeling abstract forty four boulders from moraines in two glacial valleys of mount erciyes 38 53 n 35 45 e 3917 m central turkey dated with cosmogenic chlorine 36 36cl indicate four periods of glacial activity in the past 22 ka 1 ka 1000 calendar years last glacial maximum lgm glaciers were the most extensive reaching 6 km in length and descending to an altitude of 2150 m above sea level these glaciers started retreating 21 3 0 9 ka 1 ago they readvanced and retreated by 14 6 1 2 ka ago lateglacial and again by 9 3 0 5 ka ago early holocene the latest advance took place 3 8 0 4 ka ago late holocene using glacier modeling together with paleoclimate proxy data from the region we reconstructed the paleoclimate at these four discrete times the results show that lgm climate was 8 11 c colder than today and moisture levels were somewhat similar to modern values with a range between 20 more and 25 less than today the analysis of lateglacial advance suggests that the climate was colder by 4 5 6 4 c based on up to 1 5 times wetter conditions the early holocene was 2 1 4 9 c colder and up to twice as wet as today while the late holocene was 2 4 3 c colder and its precipitation amounts approached to similar conditions as today our paleoclimate reconstructions show a general trend of warming for the last 22 ka and an increase of moisture until early holocene and a decrease after that time the recent glacier terminates at 3450 m on the northwest side of the mountain it is a remnant from the last advance possibly during the little ice age repeated measurements of glacier length between 1902 and 2008 reveal a retreat rate of 4 2 m per year which corresponds to a warming rate of 0 9 1 2 c per century