6533b832fe1ef96bd129af8a

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Simulated European stalagmite record and its relation to a quasi-decadal climate mode

Jens FohlmeisterA. WackerbarthAugusto ManginiPetra LangebroekPetra LangebroekGerrit LohmannMartin WernerDenis Scholz

subject

010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciencesAtmospheric circulationδ18OStratigraphylcsh:Environmental protectionSpeleothemStalagmite010502 geochemistry & geophysics01 natural scienceschemistry.chemical_compound03 medical and health sciencesCavelcsh:Environmental pollutionlcsh:TD169-171.8lcsh:Environmental sciences030304 developmental biology0105 earth and related environmental sciencesCalcitelcsh:GE1-350Global and Planetary Changegeography0303 health sciencesgeography.geographical_feature_categoryPaleontologyKarstchemistry13. Climate actionClimatologylcsh:TD172-193.5GeologyTeleconnection

description

Abstract. A synthetic stalagmite record for the Bunker cave is constructed using a combined climate-stalagmite modeling approach. The power spectrum of the simulated speleothem calcite δ18O record has a pronounced peak at quasi-decadal time scale. Interestingly, mixing processes in the soil and karst above the cave represent a natural low-pass filter of the speleothem climate archive. We identify a quasi-decadal mode characterized by a "tripole pattern" of sea surface temperature affecting stalagmite δ18O values. This pattern, which is well-known in literature as the quasi-decadal mode in the North Atlantic, propagates eastwards and affects western European temperature surrounding the cave. Stalagmite δ18O values at Bunker Cave lag the regional surface temperature (r = 0.4) and soil moisture (r = −0.4) signal by 2–3 yr. Our modelling study suggests that stalagmite records from Bunker Cave are representative for large-scale teleconnections and can be used to obtain information about the North Atlantic and its decadal variability.

10.5194/cp-9-89-2013http://www.clim-past.net/9/89/2013/cp-9-89-2013.pdf