ISODRIP, a model to transfer the δ18O signal of precipitation to drip water - Implementation of the model for Eagle Cave (central Spain).

The isotope signature of cave waters provides an excellent opportunity to better understand the recharge in karst regions and the complexity of drainage systems in the vadose zone. We have developed a cave isotope hydrological model (ISODRIP) that requires entering basic hydrometeorological information and a precipitation δ18O record to simulate the discharge and δ18O signals of different drip sites. The model includes four different modules to simulate various flow route regimes: continuous and discontinuous drips under diffuse or preferential flows. We use precipitation and cave water δ18O records that were obtained in Eagle Cave (central Spain) during a 5-year period to test our model and to better understand the dynamics of karst aquifers. Eagle Cave waters do not record evaporation. The δ18O signals do not have seasonality, although they record intra-annual and inter-annual variability. Additionally, cave water δ18O signal falls within the range of the annual average weighted isotope composition of precipitation. Well-mixed cave waters, that characterize diffuse flows, record 1‰ δ18O variability, whereas partially-mixed waters, that flow along preferential drainage routes, have up to 3‰ δ18O variability. The results suggest that precipitation takes on average 15 months to reach the cave through the diffuse flow network, whereas under preferential flow the transit time is highly variable depending on the previous condition of the system. ISODRIP includes a soil layer above the vadose zone that controls large recharge events, together with direct recharge components that bypass the soil layer enabling at least some recharge all year round. Thus, the simulations reproduce the observed lack of seasonal bias in the cave water δ18O composition in relation to the average weighted isotope composition of precipitation. This research highlights the importance of understanding recharge dynamics and the configuration of particular drips sites to properly interpret speleothem δ18O records.

Millennial climate oscillations controlled the structure and evolution of Termination II.

The controls that affect the structure and timing of terminations are still poorly understood. We studied a tufa deposit from the Iberian Peninsula that covers Termination II (T-II) and whose chronology was synchronized to speleothem records. We used the same chronology to synchronize ocean sediments from the North Atlantic to correlate major climate events in a common timescale. We identify two stages within T-II. The first stage started with the increase of boreal summer integrated solar insolation, and during this stage three millennial climate oscillations were recorded. These oscillations resulted from complex ocean-atmosphere interactions in the Nordic seas, caused by the progressive decay of Northern Hemisphere ice-sheets. The second stage commenced after a glacial outburst that caused the collapse of the Thermohaline Circulation, a massive Heinrich event, and the onset of the Bipolar Seesaw Mechanism (BSM) that eventually permitted the completion of T-II. The pace of the millennial oscillations during the first stage of T-II controlled the onset of the second stage, when the termination became a non-reversible and global phenomenon that accelerated the deglaciation. During the last the two terminations, the BSM was triggered by different detailed climate interactions, which suggests the occurrence of different modes of terminations.

C and O stable isotopic signatures of fast-growing dripstones on alkaline substrates: reflection of growth mechanism, carbonate sources and environmental conditions.

Secondary carbonate precipitates (dripstones) formed on concrete surfaces in four different environments--Mediterranean and continental open-space and indoor environments (inside a building and in a karstic cave)--were studied. The fabric of dripstones depends upon water supply, pH of mother solution and carbonate-resulting precipitation rate. Very low δ(13)C (average-28.2‰) and δ(18)O (average-18.4‰) values showed a strong positive correlation, typical for carbonate precipitated by rapid dissolution of CO(2) in a highly alkaline solution and consequent disequilibrium precipitation of CaCO(3). The main source of carbon is atmospheric or biogenic CO(2) in the poorly ventilated karstic cave, which is reflected in even lower δ(13)C values. Statistical analysis of δ(13)C and δ(18)O values of the four groups of samples showed that the governing factor of isotope fractionation is not the temperature, but rather the precipitation rate.