Technical note: how accurate can stalagmite formation temperatures be determined using vapour bubble radius measurements in fluid inclusions?

Spadin, F., Marti, D., Hidalgo-Staub, R., Ricka, J., Fleitmann, D. and Frenz, M. (2015) Technical note: how accurate can stalagmite formation temperatures be determined using vapour bubble radius measurements in fluid inclusions? Climate of the Past, 11 (6). pp. 905-913. ISSN 1814-9324 doi: 10.5194/cp-11-905-2015

Abstract/Summary

Stalagmites are natural archives containing detailed information on continental climate variability of the past. Microthermometric measurements of fluid inclusion homogenisation temperatures allow determination of stalagmite formation temperatures by measuring the radius of stable laser-induced vapour bubbles inside the inclusions. A reliable method for precisely measuring the radius of vapour bubbles is presented. The method is applied to stalagmite samples for which the formation temperature is known. An assessment of the bubble radius measurement accuracy and how this error influences the uncertainty in determining the formation temperature is provided. We demonstrate that the nominal homogenisation temperature of a single inclusion can be determined with an accuracy of ±0.25 °C, if the volume of the inclusion is larger than 105 μm3. With this method, we could measure in a proof-of-principle investigation that the formation temperature of 10–20 yr old inclusions in a stalagmite taken from the Milandre cave is 9.87 ± 0.80 °C, while the mean annual surface temperature, that in the case of the Milandre cave correlates well with the cave temperature, was 9.6 ± 0.15 °C, calculated from actual measurements at that time, showing a very good agreement. Formation temperatures of inclusions formed during the last 450 yr are found in a temperature range between 8.4 and 9.6 °C, which corresponds to the calculated average surface temperature. Paleotemperatures can thus be determined within ±1.0 °C.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/40578
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science > Scientific Archaeology Science > School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science > Department of Geography and Environmental Science Science > School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science > Department of Archaeology Interdisciplinary centres and themes > Centre for Past Climate Change
Publisher	Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union
Download/View statistics	View download statistics for this item