High-resolution trace element and stable/radiogenic isotope profiles of late Pleistocene to Holocene speleothems from Dim Cave, SW Turkey

Date

2016-06-15

Author

Ünal İmer, Ezgi
Shulmeister, James
Zhao, Jian-Xin
Uysal, I. Tonguç
Feng, Yue-Xing

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Multiple climate-sensitive trace element/Ca and stable isotope (O and C) profiles derived from Dim Cave speleothems (S-SW Turkey) provide evidence of climatic changes and define a series of palaeohydrological conditions for the period ~10-90 kyr. Dim Cave speleothem Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, U/Ca, Ba/Ca, and Y/Ca ratios demonstrate similar patterns over glacial-interglacial scales, in agreement with δ18O and δ13C records. Three episodes of more positive moisture balance (71-63 kyr, 51-40 kyr, and 18-10 kyr) were observed based on Y/Ca (and to a lesser extent Zr/Ca), 87Sr/86Sr ratios, calcite micromorphology, and growth rates. Increasing concentrations of Y, Zr (and U) and elevated 87Sr/86Sr ratios are attributed to enhanced levels of terrestrial input during these periods. Correlations between δ13C, δ18O and Mg/Ca during 40-18 kyr (corresponding with the lowest growth rate of ~0.8 mm/kyr), 63-51, and 80-71 kyr (relatively low growth rates), as well as co-varying and enhanced Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, and to a lesser extent Ba/Ca, ratios point to the prior calcite precipitation, wall rock interaction, and preferential dolomite dissolution over calcite in the host dolomitic limestone during these periods. This relationship suggests that water-rock interactions are maximised during episodes of slower drip rates of water through the karst under drier conditions. Chondrite-normalised rare earth element and yttrium (REY) patterns of the stalagmites reveal seawater signatures closely linked to the dolomitic limestone. Excluding the aragonite formation during ~80-75 kyr, which is an autogenic effect, trace element/Ca ratios appear to respond to millennial scale global cooling periods such as Heinrich events.

Subject Keywords

Dim Cave, Eastern Mediterranean, Speleothem geochemistry, Sr-isotope ratio, Stable isotope ratio, SW Turkey

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https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=84963930763&origin=inward
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/105810

Collections

Department of Geological Engineering, Article