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Oxygen and carbon (d18O/d13C) isotope, growth rate and trace element data are reported for a U-Th dated, annually-laminated stalagmite, GM1 from Goda Mea Cave, Ethiopia. The stalagmite grew intermittently around the last interglacial. Speleothem deposition is of short-duration occurring at ~129 ka, ~120 ka, in an undated growth phase, and at ~108 ka; probably due to tectonic activity. d18O composition is very stable within growth phases (1s variability < 0.76‰), as are Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca, all indicative of well-mixed source-waters. A shift to positive d18O values and increased variability in Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca prior to growth hiatuses is observed, indicating a loss of the well-mixed water source prior to growth cessation. Mean d18O composition (–3.82 to –7.77‰) is lower than published modern and Holocene stalagmites from the region. Geochemical data, statistical analyses, and a conceptual model of stalagmite growth, demonstrate that climatic conditions recorded by GM1 were wetter than the Holocene. The proxy records are used to develop a conceptual growth model of the stalagmite and to assess its potential for revealing a climate signal in this climatically sensitive northeastern African region during an important period in the evolution of Homo sapiens and dispersal of Anatomically Modern Humans out of Africa.The GM1 record, the oldest high-resolution continental climate record from Ethiopia so far published, presents evidence that any early human migrations which occurred during MIS 5 are likely to have occurred during a wet event in northeast Africa.We are finalising analyses from a further six stalagmites, deposited episodically over the last 130ka, which will complete our record from the region.

Measurement of glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) preserved in speleothems offers a potential proxy for past temperature but, in general, their origin is unknown. To understand the source of speleothem GDGTs, we undertook an irrigation experiment to activate drip sites within a hydrogeochemically well characterised cave. The cave drip water was analysed for GDGTs, inorganic elements (major ions and trace elements), stable isotopes and dissolved organic matter concentration and character. Published speleothem GDGT records from the site have been observed to be dominated by isoprenoid GDGTs and interpreted as deriving from in situ microbial communities within the cave or vadose zone. The drip water in our irrigation experiment had a GDGT distribution distinct from that of soil and speleothem samples, providing direct evidence that the distinctive GDGT signature in speleothems is derived from a subsurface source. Analysis of GDGTs in this context allowed further elucidation of their source and transport in cave systems, enhancing our understanding of how they might be used as a temperature proxy.

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. Measurement of glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) preserved in speleothems offers a potential proxy for past temperature but, in general, their origin is unknown. To understand the source of speleothem GDGTs, we undertook an irrigation experiment to activate drip sites within a hydrogeochemically well characterised cave. The cave drip water was analysed for GDGTs, inorganic elements (major ions and trace elements), stable isotopes and dissolved organic matter concentration and character. Published speleothem GDGT records from the site have been observed to be dominated by isoprenoid GDGTs and interpreted as deriving from in situ microbial communities within the cave or vadose zone. The drip water in our irrigation experiment had a GDGT distribution distinct from that of soil and speleothem samples, providing direct evidence that the distinctive GDGT signature in speleothems is derived from a subsurface source. Analysis of GDGTs in this context allowed further elucidation of their source and transport in cave systems, enhancing our understanding of how they might be used as a temperature proxy.

Cave monitoring provides a crucial link between hydrological and climate processes and how they may in turn effect speleothem δ18O calcite composition. This is particularly important in arid environments where potential evapotranspiration (PET) exceeds precipitation (P) and may dominate the δ18O signature. In this study we investigate climate-karst-cave interactions driving the δ18O variability in modern drip water samples from Cathedral Cave in semi-arid SE Australia and use this information to interpret a modern sub-annually resolved speleothem record. Over a two-year monitoring campaign we established that mean composition of δ18O in modern drip waters was enriched by up to 2.9‰, relative to the weighted mean annual rainfall. Furthermore, fluctuations in δ18O over time were controlled by two processes (1) evaporation in the unsaturated zone, resulting in heavier values, and (2) recharge during infiltration events, resulting in isotopically lighter values. Large soil moisture deficits in the soil zone must therefore be surpassed to initiate infiltration, resulting in relatively infrequent (0-3 per year) infiltration events. A series of infiltration experiments were conducted to elucidate water flow delivery mechanisms and water residence times. We found that the hydrological pathways and resulting mixing processes that occurred in the unsaturated zone determined the isotopic variability in the drip water δ18O between individual drip sites, and that potential storage in the unsaturated zone is generally greater than 6 months. We establish that the δ18O record in speleothems from this cave do not exclusively record rainfall composition or amount but are overlaid with an evaporative signal that is strongly affected by the time since the last infiltration event, local hydrogeology, cave climate and disequilibrium during calcite deposition. This hypothesis was tested by reconstructing the δ18O proxy record in a speleothem growing for ~50 years in the instrumental era.

This study describes the first use of concurrent high-precision temperature and drip rate monitoring to explore what controls the temperature of speleothem forming drip water. Two contrasting sites, one with fast transient and one with slow constant dripping, in a temperate semi-arid location (Wellington, NSW, Australia), exhibit drip water temperatures which deviate significantly from the cave air temperature. We confirm the hypothesis that evaporative cooling is the dominant, but so far unattributed, control causing significant disequilibrium between drip water and host rock/air temperatures. The amount of cooling is dependent on the drip rate, relative humidity and ventilation. Our results have implications for the interpretation of temperature-sensitive, speleothem climate proxies such as δ18O, cave microecology and the use of heat as a tracer in karst. Understanding the processes controlling the temperature of speleothem-forming cave drip waters is vital for assessing the reliability of such deposits as archives of climate change.