Paleoclimatic implications of the growth frequency of spelêothems in Cueva del Cobre (Palencia)

Twenty two Uranium-series datings carried on seven stalagmites collected in the cold, high mountain karstic system of Cueva del Cobre (Cantabrian Mountains, N Spain) allow to distinguish three phases of major growth frequency of speleothems in the cave for the last 7 50 ky. This difference in growth frequency is interpreted to be climatically induced: stalagmite growth was impeded during the coldest time intervals when the cave was probably covered by a mountain glacier and, on the contrary, their maximum growth took place during warmer humid episodes. This hypothesis is supported by the correlation of the speleothem growth frequencies with the oxygen isotopic stages of the late Quaternary