Speleothem evidence for late Holocene climate variability and floods in Southern Greece

• We present stable isotope data (delta O-18, delta C-13) from a detrital rich stalagmite from Kapsia Cave, the Peloponnese, Greece. The cave is rich in archeological remains and there are reasons to believe that flooding of the cave has directly affected humans using the cave. Using a combination of U-Th and C-14 dating to constrain a site-specific correction factor for (Th-232/U-238) detrital molar ratio, a linear age model was constructed. The age model shows that the stalagmite grew during the period from ca. 950 BC to ca. AD 830. The stable oxygen record from Kapsia indicates cyclical changes of close to 500 yr in precipitation amount, with rapid shifts towards wetter conditions followed by slowly developing aridity. Superimposed on this signal, wetter conditions are inferred around 850, 700, 500 and 400-100 BC, and around AD 160-300 and AD 770; and driest conditions are inferred to have occurred around 450 BC, AD 100-150 and AD 650. Detrital horizons in the stalagmite indicate that three major floods took place in the cave at 500 BC, 70 BC and AD 450. The stable carbon isotope record reflects changes in biological activity being a result of both climate and human activities. (c) 2014 University of Washington.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Naturgeografi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Physical Geography (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Mediterranean

Southern Greece

late Holocene

Stalagmite

Stable isotopes

Climate variability

Flooding history

Hellenistic period

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)