Preliminary study on climatic signals of stable isotopes from Holocene speleothems under monsoon condition

Within the East Asian monsoon zone the change in oxygen isotope of Holocene stalagmite is mainly related to monsoon rain rather than to temperature. And carbon isotope can be taken as a comprehensive signal which contains the natural information and the information of anthropogenic activity. Isotopic analysis is also compared with the annual layer records.     

洞穴次生碳酸盐沉积稳定碳同位素研究

对国内外有关洞穴石笋稳定碳同位素值（13C,其计算公式为：13C = （Rsamp/Rstd - 1）*1000,Rsamp和Rstd分别为样品和标准的碳同位素比值）的研究成果进行了梳理和归纳总结,介绍了影响石笋13C值变化的因素（如植被（包括植被类型和生物量效应）、土壤过程、大气CO2、岩溶地下水水文（包括地下水的水动力条件、水-岩相互作用和先期碳酸盐沉积等）,同时介绍了一些模型研究中对影响石笋13C值的某些具体气候环境因素（如滴水快慢或时间间隔、通风强度、地下水流动路径等）进行的定量评估. 综合迄今为止洞穴石笋13C值的研究成果,指出洞穴内滴水的CO2去气作用可能是影响石笋13C值变化的关键机制,建议在今后的研究中对此给予高度关注.     

马坝人地点南支洞铀系定年初步结果

报道马坝人地点南支洞次生碳酸盐岩和骨化石样的铀系年代. 根据表层钙板 2 个样品 3 次测试的平均结果,其下含化石堆积应早于 237 ka. 出自第二层堆积的骨化石样分析结果显著小于上覆表层钙板,可引为骨化石铀系年代结果可信度欠佳的例证. 基于洞穴地点骨化石样铀系年代总体偏低的认识,并基于南支洞与出土马坝人化石裂隙堆积层位相当的假设,我们认为可暂以南支洞表层钙板年代 (237 ka),代表马坝人化石的最小年代. 南支洞尚存较多的含化石堆积,多学科综合研究或可为马坝人的年代位置提供进一步的证据.     

TIMS U-series ages of speleothems from the Tangshan caves, Nanjing

U-series ages of a set of speleothem samples from the two caves near Tangshan Town, Nanjing, determined by thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS), range from older than 500 KaBP to around 20 kaBP. These dated speleothems with unequivocal stratigraphic layers in cave sediments provide basic data to establish a geochronologic sequence for the cave sediments. Together with the buried layers of two hominid craniums, it is argued that the two fossil craniums, probably transported into the cave, deposited in different geological periods. The ages of one flowstone sample and stalagmites mark an upper limit of 500 KaBP for geochronology of No. 1 fossil cranium, and suggest No. 2 fossil cranium deposited within the age range of 500–240 KaBP.     

Speleothem Mg,Sr and Ba records during the MIS 5c-d,and implications for paleoclimate change in NE Sichuan,Central China

Trace metals of Mg, Sr and Ba in a stalagmite (SZ2) collected from Suozi Cave in NE Sichuan, Central China, were analyzed with ICP-AES. The stalagmite was dated to have developed between 120 and 103 ka BP. Results indicate that the Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca ratios of SZ2 varied between (9500-14700) 10 6 , (54-123) 10 6 and (31-82) 10 6 , respectively. The three records displayed significant millennial scale variations, which correlate with changes in past climate and environment. Lower values of Mg/Ca ratios and higher values of Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca ratios of SZ2 occurred during relatively cold-dry marine isotope stage (MIS) 5d, while the opposite trend was observed during relatively warm-humid MIS 5c. Trace metals in speleothems can be affected by distribution coefficients or trace metal concentrations in solutions from which speleothems precipitate. Temperature is suggested to be the dominant controller of Mg/Ca ratios in SZ2, whereas the Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca ratios may have been influenced by surface soil and atmospheric dust activities and prior calcite precipitation in Suozi Cave. Further investigations are warranted as to whether Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca ratios were affected by temperature and growth rate of the speleothem. The shifts of Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca records in SZ2 during the transition from MIS 5d to 5c apparently were earlier than the oxygen isotope record ( 18 O) of the same stalagmite. This possibly indicates (1) that atmospheric dust activity (the mechanism affecting SZ2 Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca ratios) is closely related to temperature, and (2) that temperature changes (dominated by solar insolation) precedes change in speleothem 18 O records which are controlled by both summer monsoons and winter temperatures.     

洞穴石笋氧同位素古气候重建应用

近年来,应用洞穴次生碳酸盐稳定氧、碳同位素进行古气候研究得到了迅速的发展,尤其是利用石笋中1δ8O与δ13C重建不同地区不同时间尺度下的古气候环境,为全球气候的变化提供了许多新的有意义的认识.然而,当前在利用石笋氧同位素进行古气候重建,特别是对1δ8O的解译过程中仍存在诸多不确定性,尤其是δ18O与温度、降水的联系不统一问题.该文从洞穴石笋δ18O与温度、降水的相关关系以及不同时间尺度下所指示的气候意义等角度对当前洞穴石笋气候学中氧同位素的应用进行了总结分析.     

U-series dating of Zhangkou Cave in Yiliang, Yunnan Province: Evidence for human activities in China during 40–100 ka

The cultural deposits at pits T1 and T2 in Zhangkou Cave are intercalated with several flowstone layers. U-series dates show that the capping and 2nd flowstone layers are Holocene of age. The 4th and 5th flowstone layers are ca. 55 and 110 ka old respectively. The lithic artifacts bracketed by them provide unequivocal evidence for hominid presence during this time interval. The ┐temporal gap” of hominid fossil, widely quoted as in support of the out-of-Africa hypothesis, is most probably an artifact due to systematic errors of dating techniques. The infillings under 6th flowstone layer date to > 300 ka, much older than the previous estimate at 15 ka based on classical¹⁴C dating of fossil bones, providing one more example of the limited reliability of this chronometer. With rich relics and favorable conditions for precise dating, this site is promising for further multidisciplinary studies to address issues concerning recent human evolution in China.     

Effect of dead carbon on the ^14C dating of the speleothem

Based on the comparison of dating results among high-precision TIMS U-series and AMS ^14C as well as the published ^14C dating results and their band counting ages(i.e. calendar ages), this paper discusses the effect of dead carbon on the speleothem ^14C dating. The result shows that the fraction of incorporated dead carbon during the formation of speleothem varies. The change in the fraction of dead carbon would result in big deviation in the ^14C age of the speleothem. It is indispensable to take the dead carbon into consideration when dating the speleothem using the ^14C method or studying the atmospheric ^14C concentration during the past with the speleothem.     

U-series dating of Zhangkou Cave in Yiliang,Yunnan Province:Evidence for human activities in China during 40—100 ka

The cultural deposits at pits T1 and T2 in Zhangkou Cave are intercalated with several flowstone layers. U-series dates show that the capping and 2rid flowstone layers are Holocene of age. The 4th and 5th flowstone layers are ca. 55 and 110 ka old respectively. The lithic artifacts bracketed by them provide unequivocal evidence for hominid presence during this time interval. The ““temporal gap““ of hominid fossil, widely quoted as in support of the out-of-Africa hypothesis, is most probably an artifact due to systematic errors of dating techniques. The infillings under 6th flowstone layer date to ＞300 ka, much older than the previous estimate at 15 ka based on classical 14C dating of fossil bones, providing one more example of the limited reliability of this chronometer. With rich relics and favorable conditions for precise dating, this site is promising for further multidisciplinary studies to address issues concerning recent human evolution in China.