Quantifying Holocene Relative Sea-level Changes and Paleoclimate Using the Scottish Speleothem Record

Xie, K. , Lee, M. , Persano, C. and Faithfull, J. (2023) Quantifying Holocene Relative Sea-level Changes and Paleoclimate Using the Scottish Speleothem Record. EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 24-28 Apr 2023. (doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu23-152)

Abstract

Speleothems, secondary cave carbonates, are valuable archives for reconstructing paleoclimate and relative sea-level changes where the caves are in coastal locations. Unlike the typical speleothems found in carbonate caves, speleothems were recently discovered in a meta-silicate sea cave in Iona, on the west coast of Scotland. Although speleothems have previously been reported from caves in volcanic rocks, speleothems in metamorphic caves have rarely been reported. The Iona speleothems are potentially crucial because paleoclimate reconstructions spanning the Holocene are scarce in Scotland due to a lack of material, particularly speleothems, which can be dated precisely using geochemical dating methods. In this research, the U-Th and 14C dating techniques will be used to constrain the precise age and growth history of the Iona speleothem. Results from pilot U-Th dating of the first speleothem sampled show it is about 1760 ~ 4780 years old (the data, however, have uncertainties up to 69.9%, due to the presence of non-authigenic Th). As for paleoclimate, oxygen isotopes indicate that the amount of precipitation was at a relatively low level between 3000 and 2000 years ago, then increased dramatically from ~2000 to 1760 years ago. These preliminary data indicate that the Iona speleothem has the potential to provide important insights into the Late Holocene relative sea-level changes and climate.

• Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item
• Additional Information: Abstract available at http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-152
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Persano, Professor Cristina and Faithfull, Dr John and Xie, Kang and Lee, Professor Martin
• Authors: Xie, K., Lee, M., Persano, C., and Faithfull, J.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Geographical and Earth Sciences
• Journal Name: EGU 2023
• Copyright Holders: Copyright: © Author(s) 2024.
• First Published: First presented in EGU General Assembly 2023
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence