ALBERT

Description: This paper reports the first results on δ18O and δ2H analysis of precipitations, cave drip waters, and groundwaters from sites in Mallorca (Balearic Islands, western Mediterranean), a key region for paleoclimate studies. Understanding the isotopic variability and the sources of moisture in modern climate systems is required to develop speleothem isotope-based climate reconstructions. The stable isotopic composition of precipitation was analysed in samples collected between March 2012 and March 2013. The values are in the range reported by GNIP Palma station. Based on these results, the local meteoric water line (LMWL) δ2H = 7.9 (±0.3) δ18O + 10.8 (±2.5) was derived, with slightly lower slope than Global Meteoric Water Line. The results help tracking two main sources of air masses affecting the study sites: rain events with the highest δ18O values (〉 −5‰) originate over the Mediterranean Sea, whereas the more depleted samples (〈 −8‰) are sourced in the North Atlantic region. The back trajectory analysis and deuterium excess values, ranging from 0.4 to 18.4‰, further support our findings. To assess the isotopic variation across the island, water samples from eight caves were collected. The δ18O values range between −6.9 and −1.6‰. With one exception (Artà), the isotopic composition of waters in caves located along the coast (Drac, Vallgornera, Cala Varques, Tancada, and Son Sant Martí) indicates Mediterranean-sourced moisture masses. By contrast, the drip water δ18O values for inland caves (Campanet, ses Rates Pinyades) or developed under a thick (〉50 m) limestone cap (Artà) exhibit more negative values. A well-homogenized aquifer supplied by rainwaters of both origins is clearly indicated by groundwater δ18O values, which show to be within 2.4‰ of the unweighted arithmetic mean of −7.4‰. Although limited, the isotopic data presented here constitute the baseline for future studies using speleothem δ18O records for western Mediterranean paleoclimate reconstructions. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Description: We examine how the stable isotope composition of meteoric water is transmitted through soil and epikarst to dripwaters in a cave in western Romania. δ2H and δ18O in precipitation at this site are influenced by temperature and moisture sources (Atlantic and Mediterranean), with lower δ18O in winter and higher in summer. The stable isotope composition of cave dripwaters mimics this seasonal pattern of low and high δ18O, but the onset and end of freezing conditions in the winter season are marked by sharp transitions in the isotopic signature of cave dripwaters of approximately 1 ‰. We interpret these shifts as the result of kinetic isotopic fractionation during the transition phase from water to ice at the onset of freezing conditions and the input of meltwater to the cave at the beginning of the spring season. This process is captured in dripwaters and therefore speleothems from Urșilor Cave, which grew under such dripping points, may have the potential to record past changes in the severity of winters. Similar isotopic changes in dripwaters driven by freeze–thaw processes can affect other caves in areas with winter snow cover, and cave monitoring during such changes is essential in linking the isotopic variability in dripwaters and speleothems to surface climate. © 2018 The Authors Hydrological Processes Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd