S4 Online Programme
January, 24th
Elucidation of the scientific messages recorded in speleothems has required progress in many areas of science and technology leading to a rich literature created by a supportive community of scientists. Arduous fieldwork, painstaking instrument development, imaginative experimentation and deep theoretical modelling have all played important parts.
4:30 pm CET Welcome
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4:40 pm CET Cave Conservation During and After the International Year of Caves and Karst - Dr. George Veni, President, International Union of Speleology; Executive Director, US National Cave and Karst Research Institute (Recording)
Lectures
5:00 pm CET Shining a light: episodes in the history of speleothem science - Prof. Dr. Ian Fairchild, University of Birmingham, UK
5:45 pm CET Good practices in speleothem science: from sampling to post-research - Dr. Andrea Columbu, University of Parma, Italy
6:30 pm CET Incorporation of stable isotope signals and their climatic significance - Prof. Dr. Matt Lachniet, University of Nevada, US
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Workshop
7:30 pm CET Age modeling with R - Prof. Dr. Denis Scholz, University of Mainz, Germany (Recording)
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The lecture discusses the available methods for an environmental-friendly sampling in cave, and how to minimize the anthropic impact in this delicate environment. It also proposes different post-research approaches in order to valorize the stalagmites after their removal from their natural environment.
The immediate purpose of the International Year of Caves and Karst is to educate the world about the importance of caves and karst. The theme of the International Year is “Explore, Understand, Protect” so how does it benefit cave conservation this year and especially in future years. This short talk will describe strategies to enhance cave conservation efforts and partnerships.
In the workshop, I will briefly introduce the statistical software R and show how to construct simple age models (linear interpolation, splines). I will also present StalAge and Bchron and show how to construct age models using these methods.
January, 31st
10:30 pm CET Welcome
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10:40 pm CET Waitomo Caves Museum – 49 years on - Bridget Mosley, Director of the Waitomo Caves Discovery Centre, Waitomo, New Zealand.
Lectures
11:00 pm CET Speleothem Growth - Prof. Dr. Nicolás Stríkis, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brazil (Recording)
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11:45 pm CET Speleothem petrography and incorporation of selected trace elements and its climatic relevance - Prof. Dr. Silvia Frisia, University of Newcastle, Australia
February, 1st​
Workshop
01:00 am CET Phreeqci and its applications in speleothem science - Prof. Dr. Adam Hartland, University of Wakaito, New Zealand (Recording)
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This workshop introduces phreeqci, the interactive version of the well-known geochemical modelling code. The workshop will involve an overview of the code and its capabilities before diving into example problems that showcase some of phreeqc’s basic functionality. The potential applications of the code are discussed but we will focus on the most likely use cases involving equilibrium calculations.
February, 7th
Lectures
5:00 pm CET Clumped isotopes - Prof. Dr. Nele Meckler, University of Bergen, Norway (Recording)
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5:45 pm CET Th/U-dating - Dr. Dirk Hoffmann, Max Planck Institute, Germany (Recording)
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6:30 pm CET U/Pb-dating - Prof. Dr. Yemane Asmerom, University of New Mexico (Recording)
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Workshop
7:30 pm CET Improving speleothem oxygen isotope interpretation through analysis of modern observations and models -
Prof. Dr. Kathleen Johnson and Dr. Annabel Wolf, University of California, Irvine (Recording)
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This workshop will provide an overview of strategies for turning your speleothem oxygen isotope records in to robust records of past climate. Topics will include methods for evaluating isotopic equilibrium, conducting ice volume corrections, accessing and analyzing modern precipitation data from GNIP and isotope-enabled models, and investigating the role of moisture source changes on speleothem data through use of HYSPLIT/PYSPLIT.