A High-Resolution Stalagmite Holocene Paleoclimate Record from Northern Venezuela with Insights into the Timing and Duration of the 8.2 ka Event

The dearth of studies and data in the tropics hinders our understanding of atmospheric and oceanic interactions between the low latitudes and the rest of the globe. To understand better the interactions, specifically between the Caribbean and the North Atlantic, three stalagmites were collected from Cueva Zarraga in the Falcón Mountains of northwestern Venezuela and analyzed to determine local paleoclimatic history. Stalagmites ages were determined by U/Th disequilibrium and show a nearly complete Holocene record. The stalagmites have an average temporal resolution of 10.8 years/mm and ranges from 2.1 to 62.7 years. Both the carbon and oxygen isotope records preserve quasi-millennial oscillations and show a major depletion shift from the last glacial period into the Holocene, suggesting warmer and wetter conditions during the Holocene. The preservation of quasi-millennial oscillations and of high frequency multi-decadal changes by the δ¹³C indicates that the soil-vegetation-stalagmite system is acting as an amplifier of the climatic signal produced by climatic events and changes. In the early Holocene, the δ¹⁸O record shows a depletion trend from ~ 11,000 to 8,000 cal yr BP before reaching the Holocene Thermal Maximum. A prominent δ¹⁸O enrichment event is recorded in all the stalagmites that correspond to the 8.2 ka event. The 8.2 ka event is represented by a double peak with duration of ~ 180 years. Other short-term δ¹⁸O enrichment events likely correspond to Bond events 1, 2, 5, and 6. The late Holocene record, like other Caribbean records, indicates that the climate system diverges from insolation and may represent an atmospheric rearrangement that resulted in ENSO increase instability or in reduced seasonal movement of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Today, Cueva Zarraga is at the northern extent of the ITCZ and has two rainy seasons. The δ¹⁸O enrichment events during the Holocene suggest drier conditions southern displacement of the ITCZ, also suggested by Brazilian speleothem records that show trends that anti-correlate with Cueva Zarraga. The Cariaco Basin and Cueva Zarraga records show similar trends. The close proximity of Cueva Zarraga to Cariaco Basin may allow for a high-resolution tropical terrestrial and oceanic climatic response comparison.