From mega- to microscale: Why hypogenic karst studies provide a dataset on past continental climate
Hypogenic speleogenesis is a type of deep karst activity that was considered alien with respect to the external climate. This is because hypogenic cavities – and the associated gypsum deposits therein - form in the discharge regions of regional flow systems of aquifers, and are therefore disconnected from local downward movements of groundwater in the vadose zone. The gigantic gypsum crystals of the large hypogenic caves of Naica (Mexico), discovered in the year 2000, provided a unique opportunity to test the hypothesis that hypogenic karst systems do contain a record of paleoclimatic significance. In this talk, I will present a dataset made of speleological, U/Th thermochronology, palynological, fluid inclusion, and laser-ablation ICP mass spectrometry data to show that the Naica crystals formed during the climate changes occurring in the north of Mexico between about 200 and 60 ka.
https://www.munich-geocenter.org/events/seminars/frontiers-in-earth-sciences-20/from-mega-to-microscale-why-hypogenic-karst-studies-provide-a-dataset-on-past-continental-climate
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From mega- to microscale: Why hypogenic karst studies provide a dataset on past continental climate
Abstract
Hypogenic speleogenesis is a type of deep karst activity that was considered alien with respect to the external climate. This is because hypogenic cavities – and the associated gypsum deposits therein - form in the discharge regions of regional flow systems of aquifers, and are therefore disconnected from local downward movements of groundwater in the vadose zone. The gigantic gypsum crystals of the large hypogenic caves of Naica (Mexico), discovered in the year 2000, provided a unique opportunity to test the hypothesis that hypogenic karst systems do contain a record of paleoclimatic significance. In this talk, I will present a dataset made of speleological, U/Th thermochronology, palynological, fluid inclusion, and laser-ablation ICP mass spectrometry data to show that the Naica crystals formed during the climate changes occurring in the north of Mexico between about 200 and 60 ka.
