D/H ratios of fluid inclusions of Soreq cave (Israel) speleothems as a guide to the Eastern Mediterranean Meteoric Line relationships in the last 120ky
A. Matthews et al., D/H ratios of fluid inclusions of Soreq cave (Israel) speleothems as a guide to the Eastern Mediterranean Meteoric Line relationships in the last 120ky, CHEM GEOL, 166(3-4), 2000, pp. 183-191
D/H studies of fluid inclusions of speleothems of the Soreq cave (Israel) a
re made using the method of vacuum thermal extraction. D/H measurements of
present-day carbonate pool margins and waters show that the value of the va
cuum thermal extraction fractionation Delta(ex) (= delta D-extracted water
- delta D-cave water) is -30.0 +/- 1.4 parts per thousand for the Soreq cav
e deposits. D/H analyses of fluid inclusions of two fossil speleothems form
ed during periods equivalent to glacial times suggest that their isotopic c
ompositions follow the global Meteoric Water Line (MWL) delta D-delta(18)O
relationship, compared to present-day waters which follow the Mediterranean
Meteoric Water Line (MMWL) trend. Two samples from interglacial periods sh
ow isotopic trends between these lines. These differences are presumed to r
eflect cooler less evaporative conditions in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea
during glacial times. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.