HR: 0800h
AN: PP31A-1498    [Abstracts]
TI: A 1000 Year Multiproxy Holocene Climate Record for Northwest Scotland
AU: * Fuller, L
EM: LXF340@bham.ac.uk
AF: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT United Kingdom
AU: Baker, A
EM: a.baker.2@bham.ac.uk
AF: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT United Kingdom
AU: Fairchild, I J
EM: I.J.Fairchild@bham.ac.uk
AF: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT United Kingdom
AU: Rowe, P J
EM: p.j.rowe@uea.ac.uk
AF: University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norwich, NR4 7TJ United Kingdom
AU: Marca-Bell, A
EM: a.marca@uea.ac.uk
AF: University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norwich, NR4 7TJ United Kingdom
AU: Spoetl, C
EM: Christoph.Spoetl@uibk.ac.at
AF: University of Innsbruck, Innrain 52, Innsbruck, 6020 Austria
AU: Mattey, D
EM: mattey@gl.rhul.ac.uk
AF: Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX United Kingdom
AB: The relationship between 18O in precipitation, percolation waters and contemporary calcite at Uamh an Tartair (UAT) cave system, Northwest Scotland is presented and used to calibrate longer 1000 year 18O stalagmite records from this region. This site is located on the North Atlantic Seaboard in a climatically sensitive area where precipitation relates to the NAO and temperature to ocean circulation via the North Atlantic drift, and for which late Holocene annual climate reconstructions have been published from luminescent laminated stalagmites. High resolution 18O/16O ratios have been measured within these Holocene stalagmites using both laser ablation and micromill techniques, however interpretation of this data requires thorough monitoring of the cave system. Precipitation in this region varies seasonally, a negative linear relationship with rainfall amount is observed, and no correlation with temperature is found. The geochemical properties of the cave percolation waters show significant attenuation when compared to those of the surface waters, although some variation with hydrology can be observed. The annual mean 18O of the percolation waters (-7.2 permil) is similar to the weighted annual mean of the precipitation (c. -7.0 permil), although some bias to winter recharge may be evident. This, together with drip water hydrological and geochemical data indicates that percolation waters are well mixed and dominated by stored water. Values for 18O of contemporary calcite are predicted using the measured range of cave temperature (4-9 degrees C) and 18O of the drip waters. These predicted values compare very well with actual contemporary calcite measurements (-5.0 - -5.2 permil) and suggests that the cave deposits are forming in isotopic equilibrium and that kinetic effects are negligible. Modern calibration information is used to hindcast 18O for the instrumental period back to 1874AD. Initial results look promising with hindcast 18O values corresponding well with actual values for the same time period. This calibration is then used to interpret the longer 1000 year stable isotopic record in UAT stalagmites. This together with existing annual lamina width data provides the basis for a multiproxy Holocene climate record for NW Scotland.
DE: 1041 Stable isotope geochemistry (0454, 4870)
DE: 1094 Instruments and techniques
DE: 1616 Climate variability (1635, 3305, 3309, 4215, 4513)
SC: Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology [PP]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005