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.

Dragon cave in Mallorca. Photo Yikrazuul CC BY-SA 3.0
Dragon cave in Mallorca. Photo Yikrazuul CC BY-SA 3.0

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.

Greentech Science KIT Climate Cave Kevin Knezic via Unsplash
Greentech Science KIT Climate Cave Kevin Knezic via Unsplash

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