Triple isotope (δD, δ17O, δ18O) study on precipitation, drip water and speleothem fluid inclusions for a Western Central European cave (NW Switzerland)

Deuterium (SD) and oxygen (delta O-18) isotopes are powerful tracers of the hydrological cycle and have been extensively used for paleoclimate reconstructions as they can provide information on past precipitation, temperature and atmospheric circulation. More recently, the use of O-17(excess) derived from precise measurement of delta O-17 and delta O-18 gives new and additional insights in tracing the hydrological cycle whereas uncertainties surround this proxy. However, O-17(excess) could provide additional information on the atmospheric conditions at the moisture source as well as about fractionations associated with transport and site processes. In this paper we trace water stable isotopes (delta D, delta O-17 and delta O-18) along their path from precipitation to cave drip water and finally to speleothem fluid inclusions for Milandre cave in northwestern Switzerland. A two year-long daily resolved precipitation isotope record close to the cave site is compared to collected cave drip water (3 months average resolution) and fluid inclusions of modern and Holocene stalagmites. Amount weighted mean SD, delta O-18 and delta O-17 are -71.0 parts per thousand, -9.9 parts per thousand, -5.2 parts per thousand for precipitation, -60.3 parts per thousand, -8.7 parts per thousand, -4.6 parts per thousand for cave drip water and -61.3 parts per thousand, -8.3 parts per thousand, -4.7 parts per thousand for recent fluid inclusions respectively. Second order parameters have also been derived in precipitation and drip water and present similar values with 18 per meg for O-17(excess) whereas d-excess is 1.5 parts per thousand more negative in drip water. Furthermore, the atmospheric signal is shifted towards enriched values in the drip water and fluid inclusions (Delta of - 10 parts per thousand for delta D). The isotopic composition of cave drip water exhibits a weak seasonal signal which is shifted by around 8-10 months (groundwater residence time) when compared to the precipitation. Moreover, we carried out the first delta O-17 measurement in speleothem fluid inclusions, as well as the first comparison of the delta O-17 behaviour from the meteoric water to the fluid inclusions entrapment in speleothems. This study on precipitation, drip water and fluid inclusions will be used as a speleothem proxy calibration for Milandre cave in order to reconstruct paleotemperatures and moisture source variations for Western Central Europe. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.