, 6 . \ • , • STABLE ISOTOPE OF WATER EXTRACTED , FROM SPELEOTHEMS & " " @CHARLES by - J. YONGE; B.Sc., M.Phil • .. , , A'Thesis . 1/ • .. . , ... .. -. Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies • ·in Partial Fulfilment 9f the Requirements for the j)egree Doctor of Philosophy , ... McMaster University February 1982 .' ,i , •
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Stable Isotope Studies of Water Extracted from Speleothems
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STABLE ISOTOPE S~DIES OF WATER EXTRACTED,FROM SPELEOTHEMS
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@CHARLES
by
-J. YONGE; B.Sc., M.Phil •..,,
A'Thesis. 1/
•
..
. ,
...
..
-.
Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies
•·in Partial Fulfilment 9f the Requirements
for the j)egree
Doctor of Philosophy,...
McMaster University
February 1982.'
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'...": ",of..... ,"
•STABLE ISOTOPE STUDIES
OF WATER ...EXTRACTED FROM SPELEOTHEMS
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DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (1982)(Geology)
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,-McMaster University
TITLE:•
Stable Isotope Studies of Water Extractedfrom Spe],eothems "
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AUTHOR:
.'
Charles J. Yonge, a.sc. (Surrey University,England)', .
M.Phil. (Surrey University,\ England)
• , SUPERVISORS: ' Professor Henry P. Schwarcz' andProfessor Derek C. Ford
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NUMBER OF PAGES: i-xvii; 1-298
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ABSTRACT
Calcite speleothems, if shown to ~~rmed under con-,
ditions of isotopic equilibrium with their 'parent seepage waters,
can be used to determine relative changes i~ the past ,clim~tes
from measurement of, 0 1 'b of the calcite. Furthermore, if 0 1 'b
of the parent seepage water can be estimated and shown to be
equivalent to'meteoric precipitation falling at the cave site,, .
then depositional temperatures can be recovered from the tem-
perature dependent oxygen isotope fractionation of the calcite-
water p~irs. Cave temperature~ generally reflect mean annual
surface temperatures above the cave. Thus, should the deposi-
tional temperature accurately r,ecord the cave temperature, then
analysis of successive growth
vide. a direct measure of past
'layers '. in ,'speleothemsi
temperature change ~t- .
should' pr,o-
a given
. site., .
Estimates of ,0 1 eo tlftpast seepage water can be made, in.
p~inciple, because speleothems incorporate seepage water with-'
in inclusions as they gr.ow. However, since oxygen in the fluid
inclusion water may exchange w~th that in the carbonate phase, '..- '
hydrogen isotopes, which cannot exchange, are measured instead;
&1 80 of the ,original seepage water can then b~ inferred from"
OD, if seepage
wat~r, because
. ,
water can be shown to be equivalent to included
meteor:ic relationships e~ist which li~k them.
•Work prior to this study sl.lgges,ted that,. follo,wing 'the~Od