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We present 100‐ka multiproxy palaeoenvironmental records from three stalagmites collected in different caves located in the Tatra Mountains on the Polish/Slovakian border. A combination of three records from one mountain region helps to estimate local factors controlling the recorded proxies and separate them from regional/global patterns. The studied stalagmites react to the same environmental changes in different ways due to the differences in their local settings. Furthermore, the analysed records show environmental changes from relatively cold and dry climates to interglacial conditions of MIS 5e. One episode of a colder climate during the MIS 6/MIS 5e transition similar to Dryas periods is observed in all studied stalagmites. The δ18O record from the MAG‐1 stalagmite is most similar to the GRIP record. During the MIS 5e, the δ18O record from the MAG‐1 stalagmite e xhibits a pattern similar to the records from the western part of the European continent. This finding suggests that the Atlantic Ocean was an important source of moisture for the region. The observed rapid change of δ18O, δ13C, Sr and Si proxies from the MAG‐1 and Dz‐1 stalagmites after 109 ka are potentially related to a drier and colder climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study from the renowned Demänová Cave System in the Carpathians of Slovakia demonstrates that the conventional methods of fluvial sedimentology, combined with an allostratigraphic mapping and speleothem U‐series isotopic dating, can give unprecedented insights into the hydrological history of underground karst conduit. The deposits studied are a relic compound sidebar ranging from gravel to mud and encapsulating the conduit's hydrological history from the middle Pleistocene to the present time. A succession of 10 allostratigraphic units, time‐constrained by speleothems, are recognized in the sidebar deposits, and the corresponding morphodynamics of an evolving cave‐floor sedimentation are reconstructed in considerable detail. The subterranean river water stages recognized from the deposits, time‐constrained by flowstone layers and stalagmites, correlate with and add to the regional record of climate changes. Two distinct episodes of flow ponding (high‐stage slackwater conditions) are recognized and attributed to the independently documented downstream cave‐roof collapses, probably triggered by the Carpathian post‐orogenic earthquakes. This multidisciplinary study may serve as a useful methodological guide for the analysis of fluviokarstic deposits in speleological research and reconstruction of their hosting cave hydrological history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the relation between travertine and tectonics is commonly accepted, the influence of seismic activity on the internal structures and facies development of travertine has not been examined extensively. The aim of this paper was to unravel the impact of seismic shocks on the anatomy of a travertine mound. Dreveník travertine in the Central Western Carpathians of Slovakia was studied using detailed facies analysis, based on fieldwork coupled with microscope and stable isotope studies. The travertine formed a ridge fed by ascending water of deep circulation, charged with CO2 of geogenic origin. The location of the ridge over an impermeable Palaeogene flysch complex and the stable isotope composition of the travertine support the above interpretation. The ridge is composed of crystalline crust travertine, lithoclast travertine, fine-grained lithoclast travertine, paper-thin raft travertine and coated bubble travertine. The travertine underwent brittle deformations resulting in formation of fissures and intraclast breccia. Several lines of evidence prove that the deformations occurred during travertine deposition: (i) breccias are covered by undisturbed layers of travertine; (ii) ground fissures are filled with younger travertine; and (iii) calcite filling fissures and cementing breccia crystallized from water with the same isotopic composition as the travertine. The deformations resulted from seismic shocks which also triggered rockfall avalanches that led to the destruction of the upper part of the travertine slope and deposition of lithoclast travertine on its lower parts. Local hydrological conditions changed after the shocks, favouring ponding of water which, in turn, led to formation of paper-thin raft travertine over lithoclast travertine. Thus, earthquakes exerted an important control on the development of the studied travertine mound. It is plausible that earthquakes have impacted other travertine mounds and influenced their facies development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]