Petrographical and geochemical changes in Bosnian stalagmites and their palaeo-environmental significance

Authors

Veronica Chiarini, University of BolognaFollow
Isabelle Couchoud, Laboratoire EDYTEMFollow
Russell Drysdale, University of MelbourneFollow
Petra Bajo, University of MelbourneFollow
Simone Milanolo, Hydro Engineering Institute SarajevoFollow
Silvia Frisia, University of NewcastleFollow
Alan Greig, University of MelbourneFollow
John Hellstrom, University of MelbourneFollow
Jo De Waele, University of BolognaFollow

Highlights

• Two Holocene stalagmites of Bosnia have been studied
• Stable isotope profiles have been obtained
• Trace elements were analysed in one stalagmite
• Detailed petrography has been carried out
• Combining calcite fabrics, stable isotopes and trace elements allows for palaeoclimate reconstruction

Abstract

Detailed petrographic observations have been coupled with trace element and δ¹³C - δ¹⁸O analyses in order to investigate their dynamics in two Holocene Bosnian speleothems. The potential of this multiproxy approach in providing a means to extract palaeo-environmental information from stalagmites whose stable isotope signals are noisy and without obvious trends has been tested. The studied stalagmites are mostly characterized by columnar microcrystalline fabric. At the sub-millimetre scale of lamination, different microcrystalline columnar sub-types (open and closed) have been detected and classified on the basis of the observed porosity and the crystallite size. The presence of variations in crystallite arrangement at the lamina scale suggests the occurrence of small-scale environmental changes recorded in the studied samples. A positive correlation was found found between Mg concentration, δ¹³C and fabric variations, while a negative correlation relates those parameters with Sr concentration. Both δ¹³C and fabric changes appear to be directly related to changes in hydrology. The detailed observation of calcite fabrics combined with stable isotope and trace element profiles allowed for the interpretation of the conditions under which the speleothems were deposited.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5038/1827-806X.46.1.2057

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

Recommended Citation

Chiarini, Veronica; Isabelle Couchoud; Russell Drysdale; Petra Bajo; Simone Milanolo; Silvia Frisia; Alan Greig; John Hellstrom; and Jo De Waele. 2017. Petrographical and geochemical changes in Bosnian stalagmites and their palaeo-environmental significance. International Journal of Speleology, 46: 33-49.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/ijs/vol46/iss1/6