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| Titel |
Integrating drip-water chemistry and speleothem proxy data in a ventilated cave system, Bärenhöhle, Austria |
| VerfasserIn |
Marc Luetscher, Daniel Hunkeler, Wolfgang Müller, Christoph Spötl |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2014
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| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 16 (2014) |
| Datensatznummer |
250095313
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 EGU/EGU2014-10761.pdf |
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| Schlagwörter |
Speläothem, Höhle, Monitoring, Paläoenvironment, Isotopenanalyse, Spurenelementanalyse, Geochemie |
| Geograf. Schlagwort |
Österreich, Vorarlberg, Bregenz (Bezirk), Bärenhöhle (Bregenzerwald), Bregenzerwald |
| Blattnummer |
112 [Bezau] |
| Blattnummer (UTM) |
1224 [Hohenems] |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| Despite speleothems being increasingly recognized as reliable palaeo-environmental archives
quantitative reconstructions remain challenging. Experimental studies and modelling efforts
represent solid options to address processes controlling speleothem growth but typically face
non-linear responses when confronted with natural karst systems. Here, we present results of
a 3-year monitoring period from Bärenhöhle, a cave site in western Austria. Artificial dye
tracing performed on a rainy day of April 2011 by injecting 100 g of uranine dissolved in 40 l
of water over an area of 2000 m2 confirms that the hydrological transport to the speleothem
drip sites takes place within a couple of weeks only. Drip rates, air flow, temperature,
CO2, CH4, radon and air pressure have been recorded at hourly intervals, whereas
drip water was sampled at monthly resolution for chemical and isotopic analyses.
Results show a marked seasonality in the drip rate which is controlled by aquifer
recharge during the summer half-year. Seasonal fluctuations in drip-water chemistry
are additionally modulated by cave air circulation, which depends on the pressure
difference between the cave and the external atmosphere. High-resolution analyses of
speleothem proxy data, including stable isotopes and trace elements, confirm the
transfer of this signal to the stalagmites. Results are being evaluated with respect to
changing environmental conditions based on a replicated 500-year speleothem record
from Bärenhöhle and compared to available proxy data from the northern Alps. |
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