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Modern Cave Monitoring Informs Interpretations of Past Climate Change: Applications to Titan Cave, Wyoming
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Abstract
Monitoring of cave environments is an essential process for deciphering records of past climate change preserved in the geochemical composition of speleothems, or mineral cave deposits. This study presents data from a multi-year monitoring effort in Titan Cave, Wyoming, a site of interest due to the abundance of speleothems suitable for paleoclimate reconstruction. Titan Cave exhibits annual cave air temperature fluctuations of less than 0.4 degree Celsius, along with consistent relative humidity, drip rate, and partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) throughout the year. Small variations in drip rate were noted to be associated with multi-seasonal to multi-annual regional precipitation trends, such as the widespread western United States drought that lasted from fall 2020 through spring 2022. Stable isotope measurements from drip water ( del hydrogen-2 or deuterium [
DOI
https://doi.org/10.31223/X52M88
Subjects
Earth Sciences, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Geomorphology, Hydrology, Speleology
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Dates
Published: 2025-03-10 21:31
Last Updated: 2025-03-12 06:00
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