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Paleoclimatic Implications of Radiocarbon Dating Of Speleothems from the Cracow-Wieluń Upland, Southern Poland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Anna Pazdur
Affiliation:
Radiocarbon Laboratory, Silesian Technical University, Gliwice, Krzywoustego 2, PL-44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Mieczysław F. Pazdur
Affiliation:
Radiocarbon Laboratory, Silesian Technical University, Gliwice, Krzywoustego 2, PL-44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Jacek Pawlyta
Affiliation:
Radiocarbon Laboratory, Silesian Technical University, Gliwice, Krzywoustego 2, PL-44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Andrzej Górny
Affiliation:
Geological Museum, Academy of Mining and Metallurgy, Mickiewicza 30, PL-30-059 Cracow, Poland
Michał Olszewski
Affiliation:
Geological Museum, Academy of Mining and Metallurgy, Mickiewicza 30, PL-30-059 Cracow, Poland
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Abstract

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We report preliminary results of a long-term systematic study intended to gather paleoclimatic records from precisely dated speleothems. The research project is limited to speleothems deposited in caves of the Cracow-Wieluń Upland, the largest and best-explored karst region in Poland, covering ca. 2900 km2 with >1000 caves. Speleothem samples were selected from collections of the Geological Museum of the Academy of Mining and Metallurgy in Cracow. Radiocarbon dates of these samples from ca. 45–20 ka bp almost exactly coincide with age range of the Interplenivistulian. A break in speleothem formation between ca. 20 and 10 ka bp may be interpreted as a result of serious climatic deterioration associated with the maximum extent of the last glaciation. We observed differences among 14C, U/Th and AAR dating results. Changes of δ13C and δ18O in speleothems that grew between ca. 30 and 20 ka bp may be interpreted as changes of paleoclimatic conditions.

Type
I. 14C in the Reconstruction of Past Environments
Copyright
Copyright © the Department of Geosciences, The University of Arizona 

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