0000000000718014
AUTHOR
Thomas M. Miller
Human adaptation strategies to abrupt climate change in Puerto Rico ca. 3.5 ka
The connection between climatic change and social response is complex because change articulates a number of inter-related factors. Human decisions are filtered by social buffers – including social memory, risk perception, and cultural priorities – and the rate and scale of climate change is usually much larger than the scale of human decision-making. In this article, we provide information on climate change based on precisely dated speleothems with the response evident in archaeological sites that have radiocarbon date ranges within the same time frame. A stalagmite recovered from within the catchment area for aquifer recharge of the Pre-Arawak site of Angostura in Barceloneta, Puerto Ric…
Monitoring of Cueva Larga, Puerto Rico—A First Step to Decode Speleothem Climate Records
This study presents results of an ongoing cave monitoring program at Cueva Larga, Puerto Rico. The monitoring includes monthly analyses of stable isotope ratios of rain and drip water, and trace element ratios of drip water and cave air parameters. Drip sites are above growing speleothems offering the unique chance to calibrate geochemical variations in speleothems in order to reconstruct past climate conditions. Seasonal rainfall patterns above Cueva Larga show characteristic stable isotope values. The wet season is characterized by more negative δ18O and δD values and a maritime deuterium excess (+10‰). The dry season has more positive δ18O and δD values and elevated deuterium excess (>15…