Publication Date:
2021-07-14
Description:
Soreq (Israel) and Corchia (central Italy) Caves are located 2500 km far apart along the Mediterranean winterstormtrack
and are ideally suited for investigating past variations of winter rainfall in the Mediterranean region.
Analyses of speleothem δ18O records from both caves for the period between ca. 7 to 4 ka BP show some striking
similarities for the ca. 6 and 4 ka interval, but lack agreement between ca. 7 to 6 ka BP. Two prominent isotopic
excursions, argued to reflect relatively drier conditions, are centred at ca. 5.6 and ca. 5.2 ka. The 5.2 ka event lasts
less than a century, whereas the 5.6 ka event extends fromca. 5.7 to 5.4 ka. A period of progressive drying is also
apparent fromca. 5 to 4 ka. Another prominent event, reflecting wetter conditions, is recorded in both records at
ca. 5.8 ka and seems to last several decades. The 5.6 and 5.2 ka events occurred within a period of higher deposition
of haematite-stained grains in cores of the sub-polar North Atlantic, and correlationwith the wind strength
proxy record fromHólmsá loess profile in Iceland suggests that rainfall reductionwas related to a reduced vapour
advection from Atlantic towards the Mediterranean connected to northward shift in the Westerlies. A comparisonwith
Alpine records, including the Spannagel Cave isotope record, suggests that dry events recorded at Soreq
and Corchia caves may correspond to wetter (lake high stands) and cooler (glacier expansion) conditions in the
Alpine region, indicating complex regional climate re-organization.
Description:
Published
Description:
130-139
Description:
5A. Paleoclima e ricerche polari
Description:
JCR Journal
Keywords:
Speleothems
;
Oxygen Isotope
;
Corhia
;
Soreq
;
Dry mid-Holocene events
;
Mediterranean climate
Repository Name:
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
Type:
article
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