Cave stalactites can be a unique archive for researching historical climate fluctuations – this has been shown by a team from KIT and Heidelberg University with other partners.
The researchers analyzed the isotopic composition of oxygen in the stalactite limestone of the small Devil’s Cave in Bavaria.
For example, they were able to draw conclusions about precipitation from the deposits and assign it to a specific time. According to the researchers, just a few centimeters of cave rock can provide information about the climatic conditions of thousands of years.
They report their results in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters.
