Upper Grindelwald Glacier Holocene Fluctuation Reconstruction Luetscher, M.; Hoffmann, D.L.; Frisia, S.; Spötl, C. Luetscher, M. Hoffmann, D.L. Frisia, S. Spötl, C. Glaciers and Ice Sheets Reconstruction earth science/paleoclimate/speleothems (depth,null,null,millimeter,null,speleothems,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/climate reconstructions|speleothems (ice sheet elevation,null,null,meter,null,climate reconstructions|speleothems,null,null,N,speleothem petrography; meters above modern sea level) earth science/paleoclimate/speleothems (delta 18O,calcium carbonate,null,per mil VPDB,null,speleothems,raw,isotope ratio mass spectrometry,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/speleothems (notes,null,null,null,null,speleothems,null,null,C,null) earth science/paleoclimate/climate reconstructions|speleothems (ice sheet elevation,null,unspecified error lower bound,meter,null,climate reconstructions|speleothems,null,null,N,speleothem petrography) earth science/paleoclimate/climate reconstructions|speleothems (ice sheet elevation,null,unspecified error upper bound,meter,null,climate reconstructions|speleothems,null,null,N,speleothem petrography) earth science/paleoclimate/climate reconstructions|speleothems (age,null,null,calendar year before present,null,climate reconstructions|speleothems,null,null,N,present defined as 2000 CE) earth science/paleoclimate/speleothems (delta 13C,calcium carbonate,null,per mil VPDB,null,speleothems,raw,isotope ratio mass spectrometry,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/speleothems earth science/paleoclimate/speleothems earth science/paleoclimate/speleothems (Milchbach Cave>LATITUDE 46.6167>LONGITUDE 8.083) Mountain glaciers and their sediments are prominent witnesses of climate change, responding sensitively to even small modifications in meteorological parameters. Even in such a classical and thoroughly studied area as the European Alps the record of Holocene glacier mass-balance is only incompletely known. Here we explore a novel and continuous archive of glacier fluctuations in a cave system adjacent to the Upper Grindelwald Glacier in the Swiss Alps. Milchbach cave became partly ice-free only recently and hosts Holocene speleothems. Four coeval stalagmites show consistent petrographic and stable isotopic changes between 9.2 and 2.0 ka which can be tied to abrupt modifications in the cave environment as a result of the closing and opening of multiple cave entrances by the waxing and waning of the nearby glacier. During periods of Holocene glacier advances, columnar calcite fabric is characterized by d18O values of about -8.0‰ indicative of speleothem growth under quasi-equilibrium conditions, i.e. little affected by kinetic effect related to forced degassing or biological processes. In contrast, fabrics formed during periods of glacier minima are typical of bacterially mediated calcite precipitation within caves overlain by an alpine soil cover. Moreover, d18O values of the bacterially mediated calcite fabrics are consistent with a ventilated cave system fostering kinetic fractionation. These data suggest that glacier retreats occurred repeatedly before 5.8 ka, and that the amplitudes of glacier retreats became substantially smaller afterwards. Our reconstruction of the Upper Grindelwald Glacier fluctuations agrees well with paleoglaciological studies from other sites in the Alps and provides a higher temporal resolution compared to traditional analyses of peat and wood remains found in glacier forefields. STUDY NOTES: Petrographic and stable isotope changes in Milchbach cave speleothems are tied to abrupt changes in the cave environment associated with Grindelwald glacier fluctuations. Phases of major glacier retreats occurred repeatedly before 5.8 ka but short term glacier advances are identified at 8.2 ka and 9.2 ka. The reconstructed history of glacier oscillations is constrained by 37 independent U/Th dates. The fluctuations of the Upper Grindelwald Glacier are inferred from the estimated altitude of the ice surface at the cave entrance. The error is constrained by the altitude of the different cave entrances, but some uncertainty remains as to the lowest elevation. NCDC-Paleoclimatology https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/paleoclimatology-data - Bauer Bruce Investigator : Luetscher, M. Investigator : Hoffmann, D.L. Investigator : Frisia, S. Investigator : Spötl, C. 2013-02-22 ONLINE Files online, ASCII https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/13868 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/europe/switzerland/milchbach2011grindelwald-elev.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/europe/switzerland/milchbach2011mb5.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/europe/switzerland/milchbach2011mb6.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/europe/switzerland/milchbach2011mb3.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/europe/switzerland/milchbach2011mb2.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/europe/switzerland/milchbach2011grindelwald-elev.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/europe/switzerland/milchbach2011mb5.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/europe/switzerland/milchbach2011mb6.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/europe/switzerland/milchbach2011mb3.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/europe/switzerland/milchbach2011mb2.txt English https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/13868 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/europe/switzerland/milchbach2011grindelwald-elev.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/europe/switzerland/milchbach2011mb5.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/europe/switzerland/milchbach2011mb6.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/europe/switzerland/milchbach2011mb3.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/europe/switzerland/milchbach2011mb2.txt M. Luetscher, D.L. Hoffmann, S. Frisia, C. Spötl. 2011. Holocene glacier history from alpine speleothems, Milchbach cave, Switzerland. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 302, Issues 1-2, pp. 95-106. DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2010.11.042 START YEAR: 9314 cal yr BP * END YEAR: 2000 cal yr BP 8.083 46.6167 8.083 46.6167