The Cryosphere Discussions
www.the-cryosphere-discuss.net
1994-0432
1994-0440
4
3
2010
10.5194/tcd-4-1449-2010
http://www.the-cryosphere-discuss.net/4/1449/2010/
http://www.the-cryosphere-discuss.net/4/1449/2010/tcd-4-1449-2010.html
http://www.the-cryosphere-discuss.net/4/1449/2010/tcd-4-1449-2010.pdf
1449
1465
2010-08-26
Isotope hydrological studies on the perennial ice deposit of Saarhalle, Mammuthöhle, Dachstein Mts, Austria
Z. Kern
kern@geochem.hu
I. Fórizs
M. Molnár
B. Nagy
R. Pavuza
Institute for Geochemical Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
Institute of Nuclear Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Debrecen, Hungary
Department of Physical Geography, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
Department of Karst and Cave Science at the Museum of Natural History, Vienna, Austria
A 5.28 m long ice core was extracted from the major cave ice block of the
Mammuthöhle cave system. Tritium concentration in eight samples from the
upper 1.2 m of the core was measured. Electrical conductivity measurements
were achieved on molten water samples and stable oxygen and hydrogen
isotopic compositions were also analysed. The upper ~1.2 m of ice has
been deposited from precipitation fallen before the 1960s (based on tritium
< 8.5 TU). The Saarhalle ice block is build from atmospheric precipitation
and the water perfectly preserved the isotopic composition; however the mean
<sup>18</sup>O/<sup>16</sup>O ratio of the ice is less depleted compared to the
long-term (1973–1983) <sup>18</sup>O/<sup>16</sup>O ratio of precipitation at Feuerkogel
the nearest (~32 km) reference station situated in the same elevation
like Mammuthöhle cave. Characteristic fluctuation was observed in the
conductivity along the studied cave ice profile. The conductivity
oscillations seem to mirror the changing partition of karstic water and
surface meltwater in the water supply of the ice accumulation. The ice
layers with low conductivity seem to archive past events when more
meltwater-like water have been drained and frozen onto the ice block.
Behm, M. and Hausmann, H.: Determination of ice thickness in Alpine caves using georadar, edited by: Kadebskaya, O., Mavlyudov, B. R., and Pyatunin, M., 3rd~International Workshop on Ice Caves Proceedings, Kungur, 53–58, 2008.
Craig, H.: Isotopic variations in meteoric waters, Science, 133, 1702–1703, 1961.
Clausen, H. B., Vrana, K., Hansen, S. B., Larsen, L. B., Baker, J., Siggaard-Andersen, M.-L., Sjolte, J., and Lundholm, S. C.: Continental ice body in Dobšiná Ice Cave (Slovakia) – part~II. – Results of chemical and isotopic study, edited by: Zelinka, J., Proceedings of the 2nd~International Workshop on Ice Caves Liptovsky Mikulás, 29–37, 2007.
Curie, L. A.: Nomenclature in evaluation of analytical methods including detection and quantification capabilities, (IUPAC Recommendation 1995), Pure Appl. Chem., 67, 1699–1723, 1995.
Epstein, S. and Mayeda, T.: Variation of $^18$O content of waters from natural sources, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 4, 89–103, 1953.
Eriksson, E.: An account of the major pulses of tritium and their effects in the atmosphere, Tellus, 17, 118–130, 1965.
Frisch, W., Kuhlemann, J., Dunkl, I., Székely, B., Vennemann, T., and Rettenbacher, A.: Dachstein-Altfläche, Augenstein-Formation und Höhlenentwicklung – die Geschichte der letzten 35~Millionen Jahre in den zentralen Nördlichen Kalkalpen, Die Höhle, 53/1, 1–36, 2002.
Fórizs, I., Kern, Z., Nagy, B., Szántó, Z., Palcsu, L., and Molnár, M.: Environmental isotope study on perennial ice in the Focul Viu Ice Cave, Bihor Mts., Romania, Theor. Appl. Karst., 17, 61–69, 2004.
Fórizs, I.: Processes behind the isotopic water line: water cycle and climate, Stud. Univ. Babes-Bolyai, Physica, 50/3, 138–146, 2005.
Haeberli, W., Frauenfelder, R., Kääb, A., and Wagner, S.: Characteristics and potential climatic significance of "miniature ice caps" (crest- and cornice-type low-altitude ice archives), J. Glaciol., 50/168, 129–136, 2004.
Hausmann, H. and Behm, M.: Application of ground penetrating radar (GPR) in alpine ice caves, The Cryosphere Discuss, submitted, 2010.
HOEHLE: http://hoehle.org/long&deep.php, last access: 12~August~2010.
Holmlund, P., Onac, B. P., Hansson, M., Holmgren, K., Mörth, M., Nyman, M. and Perşoiu, A.: Assessing the palaeoclimate potential of cave glaciers: the example of Scarişoara Ice Cave (Romania), Geogr. Ann., 87A, 193–201, 2005.
Horvatinči\'c, N.: Isotopic measurement in ice, Ledenica Cave, Velebit, Croatia, edited by: Kubelka, D. and Kovač, J., Proceedings of the third symposium of the Croatian Radiation Protection Association, Zagreb, 297–302, 1996.
Horvatinči\'c, N. and Krajcar-Broni\'c, I.: 14C and 3H as indicators of the environmental contamination, RMZ – Materials and Geoenvironment, 45/1-2, 56–60, 1998.
Humer, G.: Niederschlagisotopenmeßnetz Östtereich, Teil~2 Daten, Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Monographie Bd 52., Wien, 110, 1995.
IAEA Isotope Hydrology Information System, The ISOHIS Database, http://isohis.iaea.org 2004, last access: 17~March~2010.
Kern, Z., Molnár, M., Svingor, É., Perşoiu, A., and Nagy B.: High resolution, well preserved tritium record in the ice of Borig Ice Cave, Bihor Mountains, Romania, Holocene, 19, 729–736, doi:10.1177/0959683609105296, 2009a.
Kern, Z., Fórizs, I., Perşoiu, A., and Nagy, B.: Stable isotope study of water sources and of an ice core from the Borig Ice Cave, Romania, Data Glac. Stud. (Materialy Glyatsiologicheskikh Issledovaniy), 107, 175–182, 2009b.
Krainer, K., Mostler, W., and Spötl, C.: Discharge from active rock glaciers, Austrian Alps: a stable isotope approach, Austrian J. Earth Sci., 100, 102–112, 2007.
Lucas, L. L. and Unterweger, M. P.: Comprehensive review and critical evaluation of the half-life of tritium, J. Res. Natl. Inst. Stan., 105, 541–49, 2000.
Luetscher, M. and Jeannin, P.: A process-based classification of alpine ice caves, Theor. Appl. Karst., 17, 5–10, 2004.
Luetscher, M., Bolius, D., Schwikowski, M., Schotterer, U., and Smart, P. L.: Comparison of techniques for dating of subsurface ice from Monlesi ice cave, Switzerland, J. Glaciol., 53, 374–384, 2007.
May, B., Spötl, C., Wagenbach, D., Dublyansky, Y., and Liebl, J.: First investigations of an ice core from Eisriesenwelt cave (Austria), The Cryosphere Discuss., submitted, 2010.
McKinney, C. R., McCrea, J. M., Epstein, S., Allen, A., and Urey, H. C.: Improvements in mass spectrometers for the measurement of small differences in isotope abundance ratios, Rev. Sci. Inst., 21, 724–730, 1950.
Palcsu, L., Major, Z., Köllõ, Z., and Papp, L.: Using an ultrapure $^4$He spike in tritium measurements of environmental water samples by the <sup>3</sup>He-ingrowth method, Rapid Commun. Mass Sp., 24, 698–704, doi:10.1002/rcm.4431, 2010.
Paul, D., Skrzypek, G., and Fórizs, I.: Normalization of measured stable isotopic compositions to isotope reference scales – a review, Rapid Commun. Mass Sp., 21, 3006–3014, doi:10.1002/rcm.3185, 2007.
Perşoiu, A., Bojar, A.-V., and Onac, B. P.: Stable isotopes in cave ice: what do they tell us?, Stud. Univ. Babeş-Bolyai, Geologia, 52/1, 59–62, 2007.
Plan, L. and Xaver, A.: Geomorphologische Untersuchung und genetische Interpretation der Dachstein-Mammuthöhle (Österreich), Die Höhle, 61/1–4, 18–38, 2010.
Prosser, S. J. and Scrimgeour, C. M.: High-precision determination of 2H/1H in H<sub>2</sub> and H<sub>2</sub>O by continuous-flow isotope ratio mass spectrometry, Anal Chem., 67, 1992–1997, 1995.
Roether, W.: Estimating the tritium input to groundwater from wine samples: ground-water and direct run-off contribution to central European surface waters, Proceedings of IAEA Conference on Isotopes in Hydrology, IAEA, Vienna, 73–90, 1967.
Schwikowski, M.: Reconstruction of European Air Pollution from Alpine Ice Cores, in: Earth Paleoenvironments: Records Preserved in Mid- and Low-Latitude Glaciers, edited by: Cecil, J. R. G. and Thompson, L. G., Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 95–119, 2004.
Spötl, C., Fairchild, I. J., and Tooth, A. F.: Cave air control on dripwater geochemistry, Obir Caves (Austria): Implications for speleothem deposition in dynamically ventilated caves, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 69, 2451–2468, 2005.
Svetlik, I. and Budska, E.: Monitoring of tritium in atmospheric precipitation. Bezpe\`cnost jaderné energie (The Safety of Nuclear Energy), 9/47, 251–254, 2001.
Turri, S., Maggi, V., and Bini, A.: Ice caves as natural archives in the palaeoclimatic studies, Data Glac. Stud. (Materialy Glyatsiologicheskikh Issledovaniy), 107, 163–169, 2009.
von Mais, K. and Pavuza, R.: Hinweise zu Höhlenklima und Höhleis in der Dachstein Mammuthöhle (Oberösterreich), Die Höhle, 51/4, 121–125, 2000.
Wagenbach, D.: Environmental records in alpine glaciers and ice sheets, Dahlem Konferenzen, John Wiley, Chichester, 69–83, 1989.
Wagenbach, D. and Spötl, C.: Cave ice in the Alpine glacier archives, edited by: Spötl, C., Luetscher, M., and Rittig, P., 4th~International Workshop on Ice Caves, Volume of Abstracts, 40, 2010.