<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The quality of paleoenvironmental reconstruction based on speleothem records depends on the accuracy of the used proxies and the chronology of the studied record. As far as the dating method is concerned, in most cases, the best solution is the use of the U-series method to obtain a precise chronology. However, for older periods (<italic>i</italic>.<italic>e</italic>., over 0.5 Ma), dating has become a serious challenge. Theoretically, older materials could be dated with the U-Pb dating method. However, that method requires a relatively high uranium content (minimum of several ppm), whereas typical speleothems from Poland (and all of Central Europe) have uranium concentrations below 0.1 ppm. Because the materials in Polish caves are problematic, we applied oxygen isotope stratigraphy (OIS) as a tool for speleothem dating. By using OIS as an alternative tool to create a chronology of our flowstone, it was found that the studied flowstone crystallized from 975 to 470 ka with three major discontinuities, so obtained isotopic record can be correlated with oxygen isotopic stages from MIS 24 to MIS 12. The observed isotopic variability was also consistent and confirmed with the petrographic observations of the flowstone.</p></abstract>

The quality of paleoenvironmental reconstruction based on speleothem records depends on the accuracy of the used proxies and the chronology of the studied record. As far as the dating method is concerned, in most cases, the best solution is the use of the U-series method to obtain a precise chronology. However, for older periods (i.e., over 0.5 Ma), dating has become a serious challenge. Theoretically, older materials could be dated with the U-Pb dating method. However, that method requires a relatively high uranium content (minimum of several ppm), whereas typical speleothems from Poland (and all of Central Europe) have uranium concentrations below 0.1 ppm. Because the materials in Polish caves are problematic, we applied oxygen isotope stratigraphy (OIS) as a tool for speleothem dating. By using OIS as an alternative tool to create a chronology of our flowstone, it was found that the studied flowstone crystallized from 975 to 470 ka with three major discontinuities, so obtained isotopic record can be correlated with oxygen isotopic stages from MIS 24 to MIS 12. The observed isotopic variability was also consistent and confirmed with the petrographic observations of the flowstone.

Low to middle Pleistocene paleoclimatic record from the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland (Poland) based on isotopic and calcite fabrics analyses

Adam Mickiewicz University, Collegium Geologicum

Geochronometria

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The quality of paleoenvironmental reconstruction based on speleothem records depends on the accuracy of the used proxies and the chronology of the studied...

Low to middle Pleistocene paleoclimatic record from the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland (Poland) based on isotopic and calcite fabrics analyses

Article Category: Regular Articles

Published Online: Aug 21, 2018

Page range: 185 - 197

Received: Mar 15, 2018

Accepted: Jun 07, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/geochr-2015-0096

Keywords
speleothems, paleoclimate, stable isotope, oxygen stratigraphy, Kraków-Częstochowa Upland

© 2018 M. Błaszczyk. published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Low to middle Pleistocene paleoclimatic record from the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland (Poland) based on isotopic and calcite fabrics analyses

Article Category: Regular Articles

Published Online: Aug 21, 2018

Page range: 185 - 197

Received: Mar 15, 2018

Accepted: Jun 07, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/geochr-2015-0096

Keywordsspeleothems, paleoclimate, stable isotope, oxygen stratigraphy, Kraków-Częstochowa Upland

© 2018 M. Błaszczyk. published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
speleothems, paleoclimate, stable isotope, oxygen stratigraphy, Kraków-Częstochowa Upland