Session Details

Stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen provide a tracer of hydroclimate over all timescales and over all geographical regions, allowing the reconstruction of atmospheric and surface hydrology and the environmental factors that they reflect. With stable isotope data becoming an increasingly common output of global climate models the potential exists for direct palaeo-data - model comparisons. It is, therefore, timely to address our current understanding of the controls on isotope tracers in archive systems and their use in understanding past climates. A wide range of biogenic and abiogenic minerals provide an archive for the isotopic composition of past waters, however, a number of isotopic fractionation effects can occur before and during mineral precipitation. The reconstruction of isotopic hydrology, therefore, involves the study of a variety of mineral phases (carbonates, silicates, phosphates) and organic material (peat, wood), the application of a wide-range of state of the art techniques (laser-ablation, fluid inclusion analysis), and a robust understanding of stable isotope behaviour in the hydrological cycle across climatic gradients. This session will discuss the potential for oxygen and hydrogen isotope records to provide quantified records of Quaternary climates. Presentations will cover a range of archives and a range of geographical regions. Key issues to be addressed will be; 1) the use of archive system models, 2) the reconstruction of past isotope gradients, 3) the use of multiple isotope records from different hosts within the same archive and 4) the application of new analytical techniques.