Recently, a POS from the current precipitation band in Delícies was recovered. This speleothem featured well-developed calcite crystals at the top of the encrustation, grading to corroded crystals at its bottom, attesting to undersaturated conditions existing immediately below a supersaturated horizon.
Carey et al. (2001) and Martínez-Taberner et al. (2000) report depleted dissolved oxygen concentrations at the halocline in caves closer to Mallorca’s coast due to microbial respiration of organic material. Several authors report that the bottoms of Mallorca’s brackish littoral cave pools are undersaturated with respect to carbonate minerals, causing the recycling of rafts that grow too large to be supported by surface tension (Ginés et al., 1981;
Csoma et al., 2006). Thus, a saturation index gradient may exist where supersaturation and precipitation of POS is controlled by degassing of CO2 from the surface of the
Figure 5. Vertical profiles of (A) δ18O (‰) and (B) δ13C (‰).
Robledo, P.A., and Durán, J.J., 2010, Evolución del turismo subterráneo en las Islas Baleares y su papel en el modelo turístico, in Durán, J.J., and Carrasco, F. eds., Cuevas: Patrimonio, Naturaleza, Cultura y Turismo: Madrid, Asociación de Cuevas Turísticas Españolas, p. 305-322.
Biography
Liana M. Boop is a doctoral candidate at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. Liana received her BS in Environmental Science from the University of Connecticut in 2007. Liana’s dissertation research focuses on the geochemistry of brackish pools that precipitate phreatic overgrowths on speleothems within Mallorca’s caves. Her professional and personal interests are inspired by her passion for caves and karst.
References
Carey, P.G., Sargent, A.J., Taberner, A.M., Ramon, G., and Moya, G., 2001, Ecology of cavernicolous ciliates from the anchihaline lagoons of Mallorca:
Hydrobiologia, v. 448, p. 193-201.
Csoma, A.E., Goldstein, R.H., and Pomar, L., 2006, Pleistocene speleothems of Mallorca: implications for palaeoclimate and carbonate diagenesis in mixing zones: Sedimentology, v. 53, p. 213-236.
Dorale, J.A., Onac, B.P., Fornós, J.J., Ginés, J., Ginés, A., Tuccimei, P., and Peate, D.W., 2010, Sea-level highstand 81,000 years ago in Mallorca: Science, v.
327, p. 860-863.
Fornós, J.J., Ginés, A., Gómez-Pujol, L., Gràcia, F., Merino, A., Onac, B.P., Tuccimei, P., and Vicens, D., 2012, Upper Pleistocene deposits and karst features in the littoral landscape of Mallorca Island (Western Mediterranean): a field trip, in Ginés, A., Ginés, J., Gómez-Pujol, L., Onac, B.P., Fornós, J.J., eds., Mallorca: A Mediterranean Benchmark for Quaternary Studies: Palma de Mallorca, Mon.
Soc. Hist. Nat. Balears, p. 163-219.
Ginés, J., Ginés, A., and Pomar, L., 1981, Morphological and mineralogical features of phreatic speleothems occurring in coastal caves of Majorca (Spain), in Proceedings, Eighth International Congress of Speleology, Bowling Green, Kentucky, Volume 2: Huntsville, Alabama, National Speleological Society, p. 529-532.
Ginés, A., and Ginés, J., 2007, Eogenetic karst, glacioeustatic cave pools and anchialine environments on Mallorca Island: a discussion of coastal speleogenesis: International Journal of Speleology, v. 36, p. 57-67.
Ginés, J., and Ginés, A., 2011, Les coves turístiques de les Illes Balears: Antecedents i estat de la qüestió:
ENDINS, v. 35, p. 333-344.
Ginés, J., Ginés, A., Fornós, J.J., Tuccimei, P., Onac, B.P., and Gràcia, F., 2012, Phreatic overgrowths on speleothems (POS) from Mallorca, Spain:
Updating forty years of research, in Ginés, A., Ginés, J., Gómez-Pujol, L., Onac, B.P., Fornós, J.J., eds., Mallorca: A Mediterranean Benchmark for Quaternary Studies: Palma de Mallorca, Mon.
Soc. Hist. Nat. Balears, p. 111-146.
Martínez-Taberner, A., Carey, P., and Sintes, E., 2000, Physico-chemical and biological data of meromictic anchihaline cave lagoons:
Verhandlungen des Internationalen Verein Limnologie, v. 27, p. 2294-2297.
Speleothems can be particularly useful in arid areas, where few other sources of paleoclimate information preserve well (e.g., Wagner et al. 2010). Understanding past climate variability will allow us to comprehend how the climate system functions and better prepare us to address future climate change.
Sampling speleothems in the lab for paleoclimate research is somewhat destructive; sampling must occur along the growth axis (generally down the center of the stalagmite) to be meaningful. For this reason, many scientists prefer to remove stalagmites entirely, so they have access to the most material possible and can produce robust science (for more information on this see Gregory Springer’s publications in the January and June 2012 issues of the NSS News). Others prefer coring of stalagmites as a less invasive technique (Spotl and Mattey 2012), but this method is not yet commonly used.
Development and adoption of new methods to sample speleothems for paleoclimate research is necessary to improve both cave conservation and sampling efficiency.
Some scientists have paid attention to conservation when sampling and have published on the topic. For example, it is not uncommon to see phrases such as “it must also be emphasized that great care must be paid to sampling strategy and to other conservation issues so that vandalism is avoided” (Lauritzen and Lundberg 1999). A few researchers have actively discussed sampling efficiency and conservation, by outlining a strategy to select stalagmites that are directly responsive to a relevant climate variable (Frappier 2008). Similarly, some scientists have outlined other approaches, including careful site selection using prescreening approaches, cautious sample removal, and creative replacement using replicas (Truebe et al. 2011). Other researchers suggest treating speleothems more like archeological materials rather than simply as rocks – Fairchild and Baker (2012) point out “Most geologists have regarded speleothems
Abstract
Speleothems are incomparable archives of paleoclimate information. However, most methods to extract past climate information from speleothems are destructive, because sampling must occur along the growth axis.
Development of sustainable methods for sampling these nonrenewable resources, whereby the needs of science and cave conservation are balanced, ought to be a priority of the paleoclimate community. Ergo, I am studying currently practiced field methods in speleothem paleoclimatology. Part 1 of this two-part study entails surveying paleoclimatology labs working on speleothems nationally and internationally. The results of this portion of the survey were converted to an anonymous list of current methods. These data will be written into a second survey in which stakeholders, including cave managers, will be asked which method(s) aligns best with their cave use and goals. The final output will be a peer-reviewed assessment of methodology, including “best practice” guidelines, which will improve sampling and field methodology in the community as a whole. Additional outputs (e.g., interpretive educational products, brochures, or a speleothem sample archive, etc.) could be produced through collaboration with speleothem paleoclimate labs and cave and karst managers worldwide.