TY - JOUR
T1 - 87Sr/86Sr and Sr/Ca in speleothems for paleoclimate reconstruction in Central China between 70 and 280 kyr ago
AU - Li, Hong Chun
AU - Ku, Teh Lung
AU - You, Chen Feng
AU - Cheng, Hai
AU - Edwards, R. Lawrence
AU - Ma, Zhi Bang
AU - Tsai, Wang Sheng
AU - Li, Mung Dar
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) (to HCL and TLK: ATM-0081224 and ATM-0402254 and to RLE: ESH 0214041 and MRI 0116395), from the Comer Science and Education Foundation (to RLE: CC8), and from the Taiwan Ministry of Education (to CFY). We thank our USC colleagues L. D. Stott and. M. Rincon for the stable isotope analyses and D. E. Hammond for his ever-helpful discussions. TLK acknowledges support from Fulbright Foundation, National Science Council of Taiwan, and Taiwanese host institutions (National Center for Ocean Research and National Cheng-Kung University). We thank Dr. Sophie Verheyden (Vrije UniÍersiteit Brussel, Belgium), Dr. Ian Fairchild (University of Birmingham, UK), and Dr. Jay Banner (University of Texas at Austin, USA) for their constructive comments.
PY - 2005/8/15
Y1 - 2005/8/15
N2 - Limestone cave deposits (speleothems) provide archives for past changes in regional climates over a range of timescales. While δ18O and δ13C in speleothem calcite have been commonly used for reconstruction of paleoclimates, we report here further efforts in the use of 87Sr/86Sr and Sr/Ca signals in speleothem calcite to deduce paleomonsoon variability near the Loess Plateau of central China. A two end-member mass-balance model of concentration and isotopic composition of strontium in a cave system is used to estimate variation of the 87Sr/86Sr ratio in sediments overlying a limestone cave. We show that this ratio reflects climate-driven variations in the provenance and the extent of chemical weathering of the epikarstic sediments. The measurements of 87Sr/86Sr made on a well-dated stalagmite, SFL, from Buddha Cave (33°40N′ 109°05′E) show ratios of 0.71092 to 0.71133 (±0.00001 as 2σ) during relatively cold periods (e.g., Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5b, 5d, and 8), lower than ratios of 0.71133 to 0.71194 during relatively warm periods (e.g., MIS 5a, 5c, 5e, and 7). As changes in the Sr/Ca ratio may affect speleothem 87Sr/86Sr, we show that the direct use of speleothem 87Sr/86Sr is less ideal than our modeled 87Sr/86Sr for the exogenic Sr source above the cave as a paleomonsoon proxy. Using the δ18O, δ13C, Sr/Ca, and 87Sr/86Sr records of the stalagmite, we reconstruct the variability of the East Asian monsoon for the time period between 70 and 280 kyr ago. The results show that summer monsoons were more intense during interglacial periods than during glacial periods.
AB - Limestone cave deposits (speleothems) provide archives for past changes in regional climates over a range of timescales. While δ18O and δ13C in speleothem calcite have been commonly used for reconstruction of paleoclimates, we report here further efforts in the use of 87Sr/86Sr and Sr/Ca signals in speleothem calcite to deduce paleomonsoon variability near the Loess Plateau of central China. A two end-member mass-balance model of concentration and isotopic composition of strontium in a cave system is used to estimate variation of the 87Sr/86Sr ratio in sediments overlying a limestone cave. We show that this ratio reflects climate-driven variations in the provenance and the extent of chemical weathering of the epikarstic sediments. The measurements of 87Sr/86Sr made on a well-dated stalagmite, SFL, from Buddha Cave (33°40N′ 109°05′E) show ratios of 0.71092 to 0.71133 (±0.00001 as 2σ) during relatively cold periods (e.g., Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5b, 5d, and 8), lower than ratios of 0.71133 to 0.71194 during relatively warm periods (e.g., MIS 5a, 5c, 5e, and 7). As changes in the Sr/Ca ratio may affect speleothem 87Sr/86Sr, we show that the direct use of speleothem 87Sr/86Sr is less ideal than our modeled 87Sr/86Sr for the exogenic Sr source above the cave as a paleomonsoon proxy. Using the δ18O, δ13C, Sr/Ca, and 87Sr/86Sr records of the stalagmite, we reconstruct the variability of the East Asian monsoon for the time period between 70 and 280 kyr ago. The results show that summer monsoons were more intense during interglacial periods than during glacial periods.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.gca.2005.01.009
DO - 10.1016/j.gca.2005.01.009
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:23844543996
SN - 0016-7037
VL - 69
SP - 3933
EP - 3947
JO - Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
JF - Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
IS - 16
ER -