Recording interglacial climatic changes from stable isotopes of pleistocene tufa calcite in northern france: Examples from caours (Mis 5e; Somme) and la celle-sur-seine (Mis 11; Seine-et-Marne)

摘要

Tufas are mainly composed of calcite (CaC0 _3) which makes them suitable for geochemical investigation, especially oxygen and carbon stable isotopes (δ ~(18)O and 8 ~(13)C). These isotopic ratios have already been shown to record temperature and humidity variations in the Holocene tufas, proving their suitability as climatic proxies. This study focuses on two French Pleistocene sites, Caours and La Celle. Results are compared to palaeoenvironmental, especially malacological, data. This comparison shows that δ ~(18)O and 8 ~(13)C in tufas are important proxies of palaeoclimatic variations during Pleistocene interglacials, just as they are during the Holocene.