A 2500-yr late holocenemulti-proxy record of vegetation and hydrologic changes from a cave guano-clay sequence in SW Romania

Onac, BP; Hutchinson, SM; Geantă, A; Forray, FL; Wynn, JG; Giurgiu, AM; Coroiu, I

Abstract

We provide sedimentological, geochemical, mineral magnetic, stable carbon isotope, charcoal, and pollen-based
evidence froma guano/clay sequence in Gaura cuMuscă Cave (SWRomania), fromwhichwe deduced that from
~1230 BC to ~AD 1240 climate oscillated betweenwet and dry. From ~1230 BC to AD 1000 the climate was wetter
than the present, prompting flooding of the cave, preventing bats fromroosting, and resulting in a slowrate of
clay accumulation. The second half of the MedievalWarm Period (MWP) was generally drier; the cave experienced
occasional flash flooding in between which maternity bat roosts established in the cave. One extremely
wet event occurred around AD 1170, when Fe/Mn and Ti/Zr ratios show the highest values coincident with a
substantial increase of sediment load in the underground stream. The mineral magnetic characteristics for the
second part of the MWP indicate the partial input of surface-sourced sediments reflecting agricultural development and forest clearance in the area. Pollen and microcharcoal studies confirm that the overall vegetation
cover and human land use have not changed much in this region since the medieval times.

Citation

Onac, B., Hutchinson, S., Geantă, A., Forray, F., Wynn, J., Giurgiu, A., & Coroiu, I. (2015). A 2500-yr late holocenemulti-proxy record of vegetation and hydrologic changes from a cave guano-clay sequence in SW Romania. Quaternary Research, 83(3), 437-448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2015.01.007

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 12, 2014
• Publication Date: May 1, 2015
• Deposit Date: Dec 1, 2015
• Journal: Quaternary Research
• Print ISSN: 0033-5894
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Volume: 83
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 437-448
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2015.01.007
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2015.01.007
• Related Public URLs: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00335894
• Additional Information: Funders : Various