Precise microsampling of poorly laminated speleothems for U-series dating

RN Drysdale; BT Paul; JC Hellstrom; I Couchoud; A Greig; P Bajo; G Zanchetta; I Isola; C Spötl; I Baneschi; E Regattieri; JD Woodhead

Journal article

Precise microsampling of poorly laminated speleothems for U-series dating

RN Drysdale, BT Paul, JC Hellstrom, I Couchoud, A Greig, P Bajo, G Zanchetta, I Isola, C Spötl, I Baneschi, E Regattieri, JD Woodhead

Quaternary Geochronology | Published : 2012

DOI: 10.1016/j.quageo.2012.06.009

Abstract

One of the principal reasons why speleothems are recognised as important palaeoclimate archives is their suitability for accurate and precise uranium-series (U-series) age determination. Sampling speleothem sections for U-series dating is straightforward in most cases because visible growth layers are preserved. However, this is not always the case, and here we describe a sampling strategy whereby growth layers are resolved from trace-element images produced by laser-ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). We apply this method to a section of an Italian subaqueous speleothem (CD3) that lacks persistent visible growth layering.Trace-element imaging revealed growth l..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Russell Drysdale Author

Bence Paul Author

John Hellstrom Author

Isabelle Couchoud Author

Related Projects (1)

WHEN THE ICE MELTS: A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON THE CAUSES OF QUATERNARY GLACIAL TERMINATIONS

The project will assemble an unprecedented palaeoclimate time series extending back to 1.2 million years ago that will allow marine and ice ..

Grants

Awarded by Australian Research Council

Funding Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the Australian Research Council 'Discovery Projects' scheme (DP110102185). We thank Siro Moggio for assistance with the IRMS analyses. Recovery of the CD3 core would not have been possible without the logistical support of the Federazione Speleologica Toscana and the Gruppo Speleologico Lucchese. We are grateful for reviewers Dr Wolfgang Muller and Dr Leonid Neymark whose comments significantly improved the manuscript.