⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and Sr/Ca in speleothems for paleoclimate reconstruction in Central China between 70 and 280 kyr ago

Limestone cave deposits (speleothems) provide archives for past changes in regional climates over a range of timescales. While δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C in speleothem calcite have been commonly used for reconstruction of paleoclimates, we report here further efforts in the use of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and Sr/Ca signals in speleothem calcite to deduce paleomonsoon variability near the Loess Plateau of central China. A two end-member mass-balance model of concentration and isotopic composition of strontium in a cave system is used to estimate variation of the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio in sediments overlying a limestone cave. We show that this ratio reflects climate-driven variations in the provenance and the extent of chemical weathering of the epikarstic sediments. The measurements of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr made on a well-dated stalagmite, SFL, from Buddha Cave (33°40N′ 109°05′E) show ratios of 0.71092 to 0.71133 (±0.00001 as 2σ) during relatively cold periods (e.g., Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5b, 5d, and 8), lower than ratios of 0.71133 to 0.71194 during relatively warm periods (e.g., MIS 5a, 5c, 5e, and 7). As changes in the Sr/Ca ratio may affect speleothem ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, we show that the direct use of speleothem ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr is less ideal than our modeled ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr for the exogenic Sr source above the cave as a paleomonsoon proxy. Using the δ¹⁸O, δ¹³C, Sr/Ca, and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr records of the stalagmite, we reconstruct the variability of the East Asian monsoon for the time period between 70 and 280 kyr ago. The results show that summer monsoons were more intense during interglacial periods than during glacial periods.