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Testing the isotopic equilibrium fractionation on active speleothem based on cave monitoring

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Abstract

For the reconstruction of palaeoclimate based on stalagmites, the deposition process at isotopic equilibrium fractionation (IEF) has been considered as an important prerequisite. Systematic monitoring was performed on the drip water, cave air parameters, active speleothem (AS) deposition rate and δ18O and δ13C values of the AS in Furong cave, Chongqing, southwest China, during the period 2017–2019 (AD). The results indicated that although dynamic fractionation of isotopes existed to a certain extent, most of the AS deposited close to IEF. The values of δ13CDIC were consistent with the trend of rainfall on the inter-annual scale. On an individual glass plate, the spatial distribution of δ18O and δ13C values of the AS was influenced by the degassing of carbon dioxide. There is no characteristic of ‘lower value in the centre and higher value on the margin’ for the distribution of the δ18O and δ13C values of the AS on a glass plate, which should be attributed to the variation of drip centre on the plates. The discharge of drip water responds to local precipitation on an inter-annual timescale. There is a significant positive correlation between the discharge of drip water and the deposition rate of speleothems. Although the bedrock overlying the Furong cave is 300–500 m in thickness, our monitoring results confirmed that the geochemical and physical proxies in speleothems still preserved the changes in local hydrology and environment changes at inter-annual timescale.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Open Project of Guangxi Key Science and Technology Innovation Base on Karst Dynamics (KDL and Guangxi 202003) to J-Y Li, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, nos. 42172204, 42011530078 and 41772170), to T-Y Li and J-Y Li and Yunnan Fundamental Research Projects (Grant No. 202101AS070070), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China (nos. XDJK2017A010 and XDJK2020D005) to T-Y Li.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Karst Dynamics, M.N.R. and Guangxi, Institute of Karst Geology, CAGS, Guilin, 541 004, People’s Republic of China

    Yang-Yang Huang, Chao-Jun Chen, Ran Huang, Tao Wang, Yao Wu, Si-Ya Xiao, Yu-Zhen Xu, Hai-Ying Qiu, Yan Yang & Jun-Yun Li

  2. Chongqing Key Laboratory of Karst Environment, School of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400 715, People’s Republic of China

    Yang-Yang Huang & Jun-Yun Li

  3. Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plateau Geographical Processes and Environmental Changes, Faculty of Geography, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, 650 500, People’s Republic of China

    Ting-Yong Li

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  1. Yang-Yang Huang
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the data assessment and analysis strategy. T-Y Li and J-Y Li designed the research and revised the manuscript. Y-Y Huang and T-Y Li wrote and revised the manuscript. C-J Chen, R Huang, T Wang, Y Wu, S-Y Xiao, Y-Z Xu, H-Y Qiu and Y Yang contributed to fieldwork and isotope measurements. All authors discussed the results and provided ideas to input the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Ting-Yong Li.

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Communicated by Joydip Mukhopadhyay

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Huang, YY., Li, TY., Chen, CJ. et al. Testing the isotopic equilibrium fractionation on active speleothem based on cave monitoring. J Earth Syst Sci 131, 109 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-022-01845-w

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