Project Details
Calibration and application of the new delta26Mg weathering proxy in speleothem research
Applicant
Professor Dr. Adrian Immenhauser
Subject Area
Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry
Term
from 2005 to 2017
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 16276678
Stable isotopes of speleothems are presently used as qualitative climate proxies at annual to sub-annual resolution. To obtain quantitative information about precipitation and temperature, the composition of drip water and cave atmosphere will be recorded in two cave systems in Northern Germany and Northern Italy, and in both caves growth experiments under in situ conditions will be conducted. As the structural and physical properties of minerals may influence stable isotopes, the crystallography and the isotopic composition of the precipitated carbonates will be investigated. Knowledge of the relationship between isotopic composition and speleothem minerals, in different environments of formation will provide a baseline to obtain transfer functions that link speleothem-derived climate proxies and climate parameters.
DFG Programme
Research Units
Participating Persons
Dr. Dieter Buhl; Professor Dr. Detlev K. Richter