Speleothem-based Quaternary research in Croatian karst - A review

摘要

Speleothems, as secondary carbonate deposits, precipitate in the cave environment from the water originally sourced from the ocean, transferred via atmosphere through soil and epikarst into the cave system. As such, they archive valuable information on the ongoing changes in the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere which may be used for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, especially for the Quaternary Period.Speleothem-based Quaternary research in Croatia started in the 1960's with the utilization of the flowstone and speleothems whose radiometric ages (C-14 and U-Th) provided constrained chronological framework for underlying fossils or archaeological material, mainly without any further palaeoenvironmental interpretations. Since the 1990's, several studies have used speleothems for the reconstruction of particular phases of speleogenesis, while in the early 2000's investigation on submerged speleothems started, with the aim to reconstruct Quaternary relative sea-level changes along the eastern Adriatic coast. Only after that, thorough research on subaerial speleothems from the different regions of the Croatian karst has been initiated, usually associated with monitoring programs.This paper gathers the most important speleothem-based studies, displaying potential of this still understudied, but promising area in the terms of palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironmental changes in a wider European and global context.