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Reconstructing the spatio-temporal dynamics of glaciations and permafrost largely relies on surface deposits, and is therefore a challenge for every glacial older than the last due to erosion. Consequently, glaciations and permafrost remain poorly constrained worldwide before c. 30 ka. Since speleothems (carbonate cave deposits) form from drip water and generally indicate the absence of an ice sheet and permafrost, we evaluate how speleothem growth phases defined by U-series dates align with past glacial-interglacial cycles. Further, we make the first systematic comparison of the spatial distribution of speleothem dates with independent reconstructions of the history of the British-Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS) to test how well geomorphologic ice reconstructions are replicated in the cave record. The frequency distribution of 1,020 U-series dates based on three different dating methods between 300 and 5 ka shows statistically significant periods of speleothem growth during the last interglacial and several interstadials during the last glacial. A pronounced decline in speleothem growth coincides with the Last Glacial Maximum, before broad reactivation during deglaciation and into the Holocene. Spatio-temporal patterns in speleothem growth between 31 and 15 ka agree well with the surface-deposit-based reconstruction of the last BIIS. In data-rich regions, such as northern England, ice dynamics are well-replicated in the cave record, which provide additional evidence about the spatio-temporal distribution of permafrost dynamics. Beyond the Last Glacial Maximum, the distribution of speleothem dates across the British Isles offers the opportunity to improve chronological constraints on past ice sheet variability, with evidence for a highly dynamic Scottish ice sheet during the last glacial. The results provide independent evidence of ice distribution complementary to studies of surface geomorphology and geology, and the potential to extend reconstructions into permafrost and earlier glacial cycles. Whilst undersampling is currently the main limitation for speleothem-based ice and permafrost reconstruction even in relatively well-sampled parts of the British Isles, we show that speleothem dates obtained using modern mass spectrometry techniques reveal a higher spatio-temporal resolution of glacial-interglacial cycles and glacial extent than previously possible. Further study of leads and lags in speleothem growth compared to surface deposition may provide new insights into landscape-scale dynamics during ice sheet growth and retreat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Speleothems (cave stalagmites) contain inorganic and organic substances that can be used to infer past changes in local and regional paleoenvironmental conditions. Specific biomarkers can be employed to elucidate the history of past fires, caused by interactions among climate, regional hydrology, vegetation, humans, and fire activity. We conducted a simple solid–liquid extraction on pulverised carbonate samples to prepare them for analysis of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and three monosaccharide anhydrides (MAs). The preparation method requires only small samples (0.5–1.0 g); PAHs and MAs were measured by GC–MS and LC–HILIC–MS, respectively. Detection limits range from 0.05–2.1 ng for PAHs and 0.01–0.1 ng for MAs. We applied the method to 10 samples from a ∼ 400-year-old stalagmite from Cenote Ch'en Mul, at Mayapan (Mexico), the largest Postclassic Maya capital of the Yucatán Peninsula. We found a strong correlation (r = 0.75, p < 0.05) between the major MA (levoglucosan) and non-alkylated PAHs (Σ 15). We investigated multiple diagnostic PAH and MA ratios and found that although not all were applicable as paleo-fire proxies, ratios that combine PAHs with MAs are promising tools for identifying different fire regimes and inferring the type of fuel burned. In the 1950s and 1960s, levoglucosan and Σ 15 concentrations roughly doubled compared to other times in the last 400 years, suggesting greater fire activity at Mayapan during these two decades. The higher concentrations of fire markers may have been a consequence of land clearance at the site and exploration of the cave by Carnegie Institution archaeologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Speleothem initial uranium isotope ratios ((234U/238U)i) can be influenced by processes along the seepage water flow‐path including alpha‐recoil into porewater during 238U decay and hostrock weathering, the balance of which can reflect the infiltration rate. Thus, speleothem (234U/238U)i may provide information about past changes in rainfall amounts. However, the utility of (234U/238U)i as a paleo‐infiltration proxy has only been explored in a limited set of rainfall regimes. We present a speleothem (234U/238U)i record from Mawmluh Cave in northeast India, an area influenced by the Indian Summer Monsoon, covering 1964–2012 CE. Speleothem (234U/238U)i was relatively constant from 1964 to 1984 but then linearly increased by 0.05 over ∼15 years, a trend that does not correspond with observed rainfall changes. To evaluate potential drivers of (234U/238U)i variability, we model the evolution of water (234U/238U) in a simple karst system using an advection‐reaction model parameterized by Mawmluh Cave variables. Although varying infiltration influences modeled water (234U/238U), the larger, sustained change observed in the speleothem record can only be modeled by varying the U concentration and (234U/238U) of the weathering hostrock. This suggests that larger shifts in speleothem (234U/238U)i may result from flow path changes, bringing waters in contact with hostrock of variable U characteristics. Consideration of published Mawmluh Cave records suggests that these mechanisms may also explain variability in stalagmite (234U/238U)i on precessional timescales. Further examination of speleothems (234U/238U)i from climates characterized by high rainfall and extensive weathering is warranted to better constrain the controls on (234U/238U)i in these dynamic environments. Plain Language Summary: Chemical indicators from stalagmites are useful in reconstructing changes in monsoon systems. However, the chemical measurements typically made on stalagmites do not provide direct reconstructions of rainfall amount. We developed a record of uranium isotope variability over the last 60 years in a stalagmite from Northeast India to evaluate this potential metric of past monsoon rainfall. We use a geochemical model to evaluate the climatic and environmental controls on uranium isotopes in cave drip waters and stalagmites. Comparison of our record with measured rainfall indicates that the relationship between rainfall amount and uranium isotope ratios is opposite to that observed in arid environments. Further, a large linear increase in uranium isotopes between ∼1985 and 2000 CE does not correspond to a change in rainfall. Rather, our model suggests that large changes in uranium isotopes likely result from the opening up of new water flow paths and the dissolution of fresh hostrocks. Investigation of previously analyzed stalagmites from the cave reveals a correspondence between uranium isotopes and insolation, suggesting that sustained changes in rainfall amount, coupled with opening of new flow paths, may be recorded in stalagmite uranium isotopes over the past ∼100,000 years. Key Points: Modern record of speleothem initial uranium isotope ratios from NE India shows a linear increase that does not correspond to rainfallGeochemical model shows that dripwater U isotopes respond to changing infiltration and changing U characteristics of weathering rockLong‐term variations in speleothem U isotope ratios from NE India record infiltration with additional control of changes in flow path [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some of the earliest evidence for the presence of modern humans in rainforests has come from the fossil deposits of Lida Ajer in Sumatra. Two human teeth from this cave were estimated to be 73–63 thousand years old, which is significantly older than some estimates of modern human migration out of Africa based on genetic data. The deposits were interpreted as being associated with a rainforest environment based largely on the presence of abundant orangutan fossils. As well as the main fossil-bearing chamber, fossil-bearing passages are present below a sinkhole, although the relationship between the different fossil deposits has only been tenuously established. Here, we provide significant new sedimentological, geochronological and palaeoecological data aimed at reconstructing the speleological and environmental history of the cave and the clastic and fossil deposits therein. Our data suggest that the Lida Ajer fossils were deposited during Marine Isotope Stage 4, with fossils from the lower passages older than the main fossil chamber. Our use of stable carbon and oxygen isotope analyses of mammalian tooth enamel demonstrates that early humans probably occupied a closed-canopy forest very similar to those present in the region today, although the fossil orangutans may have occupied a slightly different niche. This article is part of the theme issue 'Tropical forests in the deep human past'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe a new method for the measurement of U/Pb ratios by isotope dilution multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) for the dating of geologically young clean carbonates, particularly speleothems. The method is intended for materials containing little or no initial 232 Th. We illustrate and validate the method with four examples ranging from 0.57 to 20 Ma. The new method is capable of applying the 235 U– 207 Pb and 238 U– 234 U– 206 Pb chronometers, common Pb and quantifiable residual 234U/238U disequilibrium permitting. These provide an alternative to the more widely used 238 U– 206 Pb chronometer, which can be highly inaccurate for samples that are < ca. 20 million years old, owing to uncertainties in the excess initial 234 U (hence, excess radiogenic 206 Pb) commonly observed in speleothems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lignin oxidation products (LOPs) are widely used as vegetation proxies in climate archives, such as sediment and peat cores. The total LOP concentration, S8, provides information on the abundance of vegetation, while the ratios C / V and S / V of the different LOP groups also provide information on the type of vegetation. Recently, LOP analysis has been successfully applied to speleothem archives. However, there are many open questions concerning the transport and microbial degradation of LOPs on their way from the soil into the cave system. These processes could potentially alter the original source-dependent LOP signals, in particular the C / V and S / V ratios, and thus complicate their interpretation in terms of past vegetation changes. We analyzed LOPs in leaf litter and different soil horizons as well as dripwater and flowstone samples from four different cave sites from different vegetation zones in New Zealand using ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry. We test whether the original source-dependent LOP signal of the overlying vegetation is preserved and can be recovered from flowstone samples and investigate how the signal is altered by the transport from the soil to the cave. The LOP concentrations range from mg/g in the soil to ng/g in the flowstones. Our results demonstrate that, from the soil to the flowstone, the C / V and S / V ratios both increase, while the total lignin content, S8, strongly decreases. This shows that the LOP signal is strongly influenced by both transport and degradation processes. Nevertheless, the relative LOP signal from the overlying soil at the different cave sites is preserved in the flowstone. We emphasize that for the interpretation of C / V and S / V ratios in terms of past vegetation changes, it is important to compare only samples of the same type (e.g., speleothem, dripwater or soil) and to evaluate only relative variations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tropical rainfall variability is closely linked to meridional shifts of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and zonal movements of the Walker circulation. The characteristics and mechanisms of tropical rainfall variations on centennial to decadal scales are, however, still unclear. Here, we reconstruct a replicated stalagmitebased 2,700-y-long, continuous record of rainfall for the deeply convective northern central Indo-Pacific (NCIP) region. Our record reveals decreasing rainfall in the NCIP over the past 2,700 y, similar to other records from the northern tropics. Notable centennial- to decadal-scale dry climate episodes occurred in both the NCIP and the southern central Indo-Pacific (SCIP) during the 20th century [Current Warm Period (CWP)] and the Medieval Warm Period (MWP), resembling enhanced El Niño-like conditions. Further, we developed a 2,000-y-long ITCZ shift index record that supports an overall southward ITCZ shift in the central Indo-Pacific and indicates southward mean ITCZ positions during the earlyMWP and the CWP. As a result, the drying trend since the 20th century in the northern tropics is similar to that observed during the past warm period, suggesting that a possible anthropogenic forcing of rainfall remains indistinguishable from natural variability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cave air pCO2 (carbon dioxide partial pressure) is, along with drip rate, one of the most important factors controlling speleothem carbonate precipitation. As a consequence, pCO2 has an indirect but important control on speleothem proxy data (e.g., elemental concentrations, isotopic values). The CO2 concentration of cave air depends on CO2 source(s) and productivity, CO2 transport through the epikarst and karst zone, and cave air ventilation. To assess ventilation patterns in the Bunker-Emst Cave (BEC) System, we monitored the pCO2 value approximately 100 m from the lower entrance (Bunker Cave) at bi-hourly resolution between April 2012 and February 2014. The two entrances of the BEC system were artificially opened between 1860‒1863 (Emst Cave) and 1926 (Bunker Cave). Near-atmospheric minimum pCO2 dynamics of 408 ppmv are measured in winter, and up to 811 ppmv are recorded in summer. Outside air contributes the highest proportion to cave air CO2, while soil, and possibly also ground air, provide a far smaller proportion throughout the whole year. Cave air pCO2 correlates positively with the temperature difference between surface and cave air during summer and negatively in winter, with no clear pattern for spring and autumn. Dynamic ventilation is driven by temperature and resulting density differences between cave and surface air. In summer, warm atmospheric air is entrained through the upper cave entrance where it cools. With increasing density, the cooled air flows toward the lower entrance. In winter, this pattern is reversed, due to cold, atmospheric air entering the cave via the lower entrance, while relatively warm cave air rises and exits the cave via the upper entrance. The situation is further modulated by preferential south-southwestern winds that point directly on both cave entrances. Thus, cave ventilation is frequently disturbed, especially during periods with higher wind speed. Modern ventilation of the BEC system--induced by artificially openings--is not a direct analogue for pre-1860 ventilation conditions. The artificial change of ventilation resulted in a strong increase of δ13Cspeleothem values. Prior to the cave opening in 1860, Holocene δ13Cspeleothem values were significantly lower, probably related to limited ventilation due to the lack of significant connections between the surface and cave. Reduced ventilation led to significantly higher pCO2 values, minimal CO2 degassing from drip water and low kinetic isotope fractionation. Both modern and fossil speleothem precipitation rates are driven by water supply and carbonate saturation, and not by cave air pCO2. Today, pCO2 variability is too small to affect carbonate precipitation rates and the same is likely true for pCO2 variability prior to artificial opening of the cave. Thus, fossil speleothems from BEC System are likely more sensitive to temperature and infiltration dynamics. The Bunker-Emst Cave System, therefore, represents different ventilation patterns and their influence on speleothem proxy data in an exemplary manner, and it may serve as a template for other cave systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of modern cave deposits forming under near isotopic equilibrium conditions can potentially help disentangle the processes influencing the oxygen isotope system and suitability of stalagmites as archives of past hydrological or thermal changes. We used cave monitoring to evaluate the impact of kinetic isotope fractionation and assess the conditions under which modern cave carbonates form in the Caumont cave and quarry system, located in Normandy, northwest France. Over 20 months, we collected climatological data, dripwater, and modern carbonate samples at 2–4-week intervals at three different stations inside the Caumont cave and quarry system. We find highly stable (10.4 ± 0.3°C – 11.3 ± 0.1°C) temperature in the deeper sections of the Caumont cave and quarry system. The temporal dynamics of δ18Odrip indicates that the drip water composition in Caumont reflects the original (though subdued) signal of precipitation, rather than the impact the seasonal to inter-annual cave air temperature has on isotopic fractionation. The monitoring reveals that δ13C of modern carbonate is influenced by prior carbonate precipitation that occurs during the summer season when evapotranspiration can minimize effective infiltration. Comparison of δ18O from dripwater and modern calcite, precipitated on glass plates and collected every two to four weeks, reveals that modern calcite forms near oxygen isotope equilibrium. A Hendy test on modern carbonate deposited on a stalagmite-shaped glass flask over 20 months confirms this finding because neither does δ13C increase with distance from the apex, nor are δ13C and δ18O positively correlated. We conclude that the δ13C signal in speleothems reflect summer (and longer-term) prior carbonate precipitation in response to effective infiltration dynamics, and that the δ18O signal likely reflects annual to multi-annual changes in the composition of precipitation above the cave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]