Paleoclimate implications of mass spectrometric dating of a British flowstone

Research Article| April 01, 1995 Paleoclimate implications of mass spectrometric dating of a British flowstone Andy Baker; Andy Baker 1Department of Geography, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1SS, United Kingdom Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Peter L. Smart; Peter L. Smart 1Department of Geography, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1SS, United Kingdom Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar R. Lawrence Edwards R. Lawrence Edwards 2Minnesota Isotope Laboratory, Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Andy Baker 1Department of Geography, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1SS, United Kingdom Peter L. Smart 1Department of Geography, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1SS, United Kingdom R. Lawrence Edwards 2Minnesota Isotope Laboratory, Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455 Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (1995) 23 (4): 309–312. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1995)023<0309:PIOMSD>2.3.CO;2 Article history First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Andy Baker, Peter L. Smart, R. Lawrence Edwards; Paleoclimate implications of mass spectrometric dating of a British flowstone. Geology 1995;; 23 (4): 309–312. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1995)023<0309:PIOMSD>2.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract The timing of growth phases in a cave flowstone from Yorkshire, England, has been precisely dated by thermal ionization mass spectrometric 238U–234U–230Th dating. Six growth periods of both short duration and fast growth rate are separated by nondepositional hiatuses. The ages of these phases were determined to be 128.8 ± 2.7, 103.1 ± 1.8, 84.7 ± 1.2, 57.9 ± 1.5, 49.6 ± 1.3, and 36.9 ± 0.8 ka. There is a remarkably good correlation between the periods of active speleothem growth and the timing of solar insolation maxima, derived from orbital parameters, which has not previously been reported. Speleothem growth theory and evidence from other terrestrial paleoclimate records suggest that episodic, rapid growth phases at the insolation maxima are most likely to be caused by changes in either precipitation intensity or volume, which caused switching in the routing of water flow in the unsaturated zone above the cave. Such a result provides new evidence of the importance of variations in solar insolation for terrestrial paleoclimate and offers the potential for derivation of a paleowetness index from speleothem growth. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.