Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-qxdb6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T11:52:13.281Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Influences of Hydrology on the Radiogenic and Stable Carbon Isotope Composition of Cave Drip Water, Grotta di Ernesto (Italy)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

J Fohlmeister ,
A Schröder-Ritzrau ,
C Spötl ,
S Frisia ,
R Miorandi ,
B Kromer  and
A Mangini
J Fohlmeister*
Affiliation:
Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften, Im Neuenheimer Feld 229, Heidelberg 69120, Germany.
A Schröder-Ritzrau
Affiliation:
Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften, Im Neuenheimer Feld 229, Heidelberg 69120, Germany.
C Spötl
Affiliation:
Institut für Geologie und Paläontologie, Leopold-Franzens-Universität, Innrain 52, Innsbruck 6020, Austria.
S Frisia
Affiliation:
School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan 2308, NSW, Australia.
R Miorandi
Affiliation:
Museo Tridentino di Scienze Naturali, via Calepina 14, Trento 38100, Italy.
B Kromer
Affiliation:
Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften, Im Neuenheimer Feld 229, Heidelberg 69120, Germany.
A Mangini
Affiliation:
Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften, Im Neuenheimer Feld 229, Heidelberg 69120, Germany.
*
Corresponding author. Email: jens.fohlmeister@iup.uni-heidelberg.de.
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

14C and δ13C values of C-containing species in cave drip waters are mainly controlled by the C isotope composition of karst rock and soil air, as well as by soil carbon dynamics, in particular the amount of soil CO2 in the unsaturated soil zone and the process of calcite dissolution. Here, we investigate soil carbon dynamics by analyzing the 14C activity and δ13C values of C dissolved in cave drip water. Monthly over a 2-yr period, we collected drip water from 2 drip sites, one fast and one relatively slow, within the shallow Grotta di Ernesto Cave (NE Italy). The 14C data reveal a pronounced annual cycle. In contrast, the δ13C values do not show an annual pattern and only small interannual variability compared to the δ13C values of soil waters. The annual 14C drip-water cycle is a function of drip-rate variability, soil moisture, and ultimately hydrology.

Type
Articles
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 52 , Issue 4 , 2010 , pp. 1529 - 1544
Copyright
Copyright © The American Journal of Science 

References

Andrews, JA, Harrison, KG, Matamala, R, Schlesinger, WH. 1999. Separation of root respiration from total soil respiration using carbon-13 labelling during Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE). Soil Science Society of America Journal 63:1429–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Avanzini, M, Frisia, S, van den Driessche, K, Keppens, E. 1997. A dinosaur tracksite in an Early Liassic tidal flat in northern Italy: paleoenvironmental reconstruction from sedimentology and geochemistry. PALAIOS 12(6):538–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baldini, JUL, McDermott, F, Hoffmann, DL, Richards, DA, Clipson, N. 2008. Very high-frequency and seasonal cave atmosphere pCO2 variability: implications for stalagmite growth and oxygen isotope-based paleoclimate records. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 272(1–2):118–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Borsato, A. 1997. Dripwater monitoring at Grotta di Ernesto (NE Italy): a contribution to the understanding of karst hydrology and the kinetics of carbonate dissolution. In: Proceedings of the 12th International Congress of Speleology. Volume 2. p 57–60.Google Scholar
Borsato, A, Frisia, S, Fairchild, IJ, Somogyi, A, Susini, J. 2007. Trace element distribution in annual stalagmite laminae mapped by micrometer-resolution X-ray fluorescence: implications for incorporation of environmentally significant species. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 71(6):1494–512.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowling, DR, McDowell, NG, Bond, BJ, Law, BE, Ehleringer, JR. 2002. 13C content of ecosystem respiration is linked to precipitation and vapour pressure deficit. Oecologia 131(1):113–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cerling, TE. 1984. The stable isotopic composition of modern soil carbonate and its relationships to climate. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 71(2):229–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, ID, Fritz, P. 1997. Environmental Isotopes in Hydrogeology. Boca Raton: CRC Press. 328 p.Google Scholar
Criss, R, Davisson, L, Surbeck, H, Winston, W. 2007. Isotopic methods. In: Goldscheider, N, Drew, D, editors. Methods in Karst Hydrogeology. London: Taylor and Francis. p 123–45.Google Scholar
Deines, P. 1980. The isotopic composition of reduced organic soil. In: Fritz, P, Fontes, JC, editors. Handbook of Isotope Geochemistry, 1 The Terrestrial Environment. Amsterdam: Elsevier. p 329–406.Google Scholar
Dörr, H, Münnich, KO. 1986. Annual variations of the 14C content. Radiocarbon 28(2A):338–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dreybrodt, W. 1988. Processes in Karst Systems - Physics, Chemistry and Geology. Berlin: Springer Verlag. 288 p.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dulinski, M, Rozanski, K. 1990. Formation of 13C/12C isotope ratios in speleothems: a semi-dynamic model. Radiocarbon 32(1):7–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ekblad, A, Högberg, P. 2001. Natural abundance of 13C in CO2 respired from forest soils reveals speed of link between tree photosynthesis and root respiration. Oecologia 127:305–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fairchild, IJ, Bradby, L, Sharp, M, Tison, J-L. 1994. Hydrochemistry of carbonate terrains in alpine glacial settings. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 19:33–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fairchild, IJ, Borsato, A, Tooth, AF, Frisia, S, Hawkesworth, CJ, Huang, Y, McDermott, F, Spiro, B. 2000. Controls on trace element (Sr-Mg) compositions of carbonate cave water: implications for speleothem climatic records. Chemical Geology 166(3–4):255–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fairchild, IJ, Tuckwell, GW, Baker, A, Tooth, AF. 2006. Modelling of dripwater hydrology and hydrogeochemistry in a weakly karstified aquifer (Bath, UK): implications for climate change. Journal of Hydrology 321(1–4):213–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fohlmeister, J, Kromer, B, Mangini, A. Forthcoming. The influence of soil organic matter age spectrum on the reconstruction of atmospheric 14C levels via stalagmites. Radiocarbon.Google Scholar
Frisia, S, Borsato, A, Fairchild, IJ, McDermott, F. 2000. Calcite fabrics, growth mechanisms, and environments of formation in speleothems from the Italian Alps and south-western Ireland. Journal of Sedimentary Research 70(5):1183–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frisia, S, Borsato, A, Preto, N, McDermott, F. 2003. Late Holocene annual growth in three alpine stalagmite records the influence of solar activity and the North Atlantic Oscillation on winter climate. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 216(3):411–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frisia, S, Borsato, A, Fairchild, IJ, Susini, S. 2005. Variations in atmospheric sulphate recorded in stalagmites by synchrotron micro-XRF and XANES analyses. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 235(3–4):729–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frisia, S, Fairchild, IJ, Fohlmeister, J, Miorandi, R, Spötl, C, Borsato, A. 2010. Carbon mass-balance modelling and carbon isotope exchange processes in dynamic caves. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2010.10.021.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garrels, RM, Christ, CL. 1965. Solutions, Minerals and Equilibria. New York: Harper & Row. 450 p.Google Scholar
Genty, D, Massault, M. 1997. Bomb 14C recorded in laminated speleothems: calculations of dead carbon proportion. Radiocarbon 39(1):33–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Genty, D, Massault, M. 1999. Carbon transfer dynamics from bomb-14C and δ13C time series of a laminated stalagmite from SW France—modelling and comparison with other stalagmite records. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 63(10):1537–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Genty, D, Vokal, B, Obelic, B, Massault, M. 1998. Bomb 14C time history recorded in two modern stalagmites—importance for soil organic matter dynamics and bomb 14C distribution over continents. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 160(3–4):795–809.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gorczyca, Z, Rozanski, K, Kuc, T, Michalec, B. 2003. Seasonal variability of the soil CO2 flux and its isotopic composition in southern Poland. Nukleonika 48(4):187–96.Google Scholar
Hendy, CH. 1970. The use of 14C in the study of cave processes. In: Olsson, I, editor. Radiocarbon Variations and Absolute Chronology. New York: Wiley. p 419–43.Google Scholar
Hendy, CH. 1971. The isotopic geochemistry of speleothems. I. The calculation of the effects of different modes of formation on the isotopic composition of speleothems and their applicability as palaeoclimatic indicators. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 35(8):801–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huang, YM, Fairchild, IJ, Borsato, A, Frisia, S, Cassidy, NJ, McDermott, F, Hawkesworth, CJ. 2001. Seasonal variations in Sr, Mg and P in modern speleothems (Grotta di Ernesto, Italy). Chemical Geology 175(3–4):429–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larssen, T, Jiling, X, Vogt, RD, Seip, HM, Bohan, L, Dianwu, Z. 1998. Studies of soils, soil water and stream water at a small catchment near Guiyang, China. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 101(1–4):137–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDermott, F. 2004. Palaeo-climate reconstruction from stable isotope variations in speleothems: a review. Quaternary Science Reviews 23(7–8):901–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDermott, F, Frisia, S, Huang, Y, Longinelli, A, Spiro, B, Heaton, THE, Hawkesworth, CJ, Borsato, A, Keppens, E, Fairchild, IJ, van der Borg, K, Verheyden, S, Selmo, EM. 1999. Holocene climate variability in Europe: evidence from δ18O, textural and extension-rate variations in three speleothems. Quaternary Science Reviews 18(8–9):1021–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Merkli, C, Sartori, G, Mirabella, A, Egli, M, Mancabelli, A, Plötze, M. 2009. The soils in the Brenta region: chemical and mineralogical characteristics and their relation to landscape evolution. Studi Tridentino di Scienze Naturali Acta Geologica 22:7–22.Google Scholar
Miorandi, R, Borsato, A, Frisia, S, Fairchild, IJ, Richter, D. 2010. Epikarst hydrology and implications for stalagmite capture of climate changes at Grotta di Ernesto (NE Italy): results from long-term monitoring. Hydrological Processes 24(21):3101–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mook, WG, de Vries, JJ. 2000. Environmental Isotopes in the Hydrological Cycle Principles and Applications -Volume I: Introduction - Theory, Methods, Review. Vienna: IAEA.Google Scholar
Nielsen, AE, Toft, JM. 1984. Electrolyte crystal growth kinetics. Journal of Crystal Growth 67(2):278–88.Google Scholar
Plummer, LN, Parkhurst, DL, Kosiur, DR. 1975. MIX2, a Computer Program for Modelling Chemical Reactions in Natural Waters. US Geological Survey, Water Resources Investigations Report 61. 75 p.Google Scholar
Salièges, JF, Fontes, JC. 1984. Essai de détermination expérimentale du fractionnement des isotopes 13C et 14C du carbone au cours de processus naturels. International Journal of Applied Radiation and Isotopes 35(1):55–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Salomons, W, Mook, WG. 1986. Isotope geochemistry of carbonates in the weathering zone. In: Fritz, P, Fontes, JC, editors. Handbook of Isotope Geochemistry, 1 The Terrestrial Environment. Amsterdam: Elsevier. p 239–70.Google Scholar
Schlesinger, WH. 1977. Carbon balance in terrestrial detritus. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 8:51–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spötl, C. 2004. A simple method of soil gas stable carbon isotope analysis. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 18(11):1239–42.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spötl, C. 2005. A robust and fast method of sampling and analysis of δ13C of dissolved inorganic carbon in ground waters. Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies 41(3):217–21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spötl, C, Fairchild, IJ, Tooth, AF. 2005. Cave air control on dripwater geochemistry, Obir Caves (Austria): implications for speleothem deposition in dynamically ventilated caves. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 69(10):2451–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steinmann, K, Siegwolf, RTW, Saurer, M, Körner, C. 2004. Carbon fluxes to the soil in a mature temperate forest assessed by 13C isotope tracing. Oecologia 141(3):489–501.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tegen, I, Dörr, H. 1996. 14C measurements of soil organic matter, soil CO2 and dissolved organic carbon. Radiocarbon 38(2):247–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thornthwaite, CW. 1948. An approach toward a rational classification of climate. Geographical Review 38(1):55–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trumbore, SE. 2000. Age of soil organic matter and soil respiration: radiocarbon constraints on belowground C dynamics. Ecological Applications 10(2):399–411.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wendt, I, Stahl, W, Geyh, MA, Fauth, F. 1967. Model experiments for 14C water-age determinations. In: Isotopes in Hydrology, Proceedings of the IAEA. p 321–37.Google Scholar
Wigley, TML. 1975. Carbon-14 dating of groundwater from closed and open systems. Water Resources Research 11(2):324–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar