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Bronze Age volcanic event recorded in stalagmites by combined isotope and trace element studies

  1. Zoltán Siklósy1,
  2. Attila Demény1,*,
  3. Torsten W. Vennemann2,
  4. Sebastien Pilet2,
  5. Jan Kramers3,
  6. Szabolcs Leél-Őssy4,
  7. Mária Bondár5,
  8. Chuan-Chou Shen6,
  9. Ernst Hegner7

Article first published online: 13 FEB 2009

DOI: 10.1002/rcm.3943

Issue

Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry

Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry

Volume 23, Issue 6, pages 801–808, 30 March 2009

Additional Information

How to Cite

Siklósy, Z., Demény, A., Vennemann, T. W., Pilet, S., Kramers, J., Leél-Őssy, S., Bondár, M., Shen, C.-C. and Hegner, E. (2009), Bronze Age volcanic event recorded in stalagmites by combined isotope and trace element studies. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 23: 801–808. doi: 10.1002/rcm.3943

Author Information

  1. 1

    Institute for Geochemical Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budaörsi út 45, H-1112 Budapest, Hungary

  2. 2

    Institute of Mineralogy and Geochemistry, University of Lausanne, Anthropole, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland

  3. 3

    Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 1–3, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland

  4. 4

    Eotvos University, Pázmány Péter s. 1/c, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary

  5. 5

    Institute of Archeology, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Uri u. 49, H-1014 Budapest, Hungary

  6. 6

    Department of Geosciences, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei 106, Taiwan

  7. 7

    Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of München, Theresienstrasse 41/III, D-80333 München, Germany

*Institute for Geochemical Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budaörsi út 45., H-1112 Budapest, Hungary.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 13 FEB 2009
  2. Article first published online: 13 FEB 2009
  3. Manuscript Revised: 7 JAN 2009
  4. Manuscript Accepted: 7 JAN 2009
  5. Manuscript Received: 14 OCT 2008

Funded by

  • Hungarian Scientific Research Fund. Grant Number: OTKA T 049713
  • The National Office for Research and Technology. Grant Number: GVOP-3.2.1-2004-04-0235/3.0
  • The Hungarian Scholarship Board

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Abstract

Stable isotope analyses of speleothems (carbonate deposits formed in caves) have been widely used to reconstruct paleoenvironmental conditions. Recent improvements in geochemical techniques have enabled us to analyze climate-influenced deposits at high temporal resolution so that hitherto unrecognized environmental conditions may be identified. Stable H, C and O isotope analyses on carbonate and inclusion water have been combined with multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) age dating and laser-ablation ICP-MS trace element analyses on a stalagmite from southern Hungary. The study reveals significant changes in chemical and isotopic compositions of the speleothem between approx. 3800 and 3500 years BP (‘Before Present’) indicating coupled changes in the temperature and precipitation regime under which the speleothem formed. Stable isotopic and trace element correlations within this time period correlate with similar studies of stalagmites of comparable age from the Alpine-Mediterranean region. Our studies suggest that traces of deposition of volcanic dust, possibly related to the Thera eruption of Santorini (Greece) ca. 1650 BC (∼3650 BP), and environmental changes can be detected at a distance of several thousand kilometers. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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