Testing theoretically predicted stalagmite growth rate with Recent annually laminated samples: Implications for past stalagmite deposition

Annually laminated stalagmites deposited over the last 30-160 years are analysed to determine their growth rate. Three natural and artificial cave sites in England, France, and Belgium were chosen for their wide range of variability in growth rate determining variables, and multiple samples were taken from each site. The annual nature of laminae deposition within the stalagmite calcite was confirmed by comparison to the date of cave/void opening, C-14 analyses, or by using dated event horizons. Measured stalagmite growth rate was determined from annual laminae thickness measurements and compared to that theoretically predicted from the chemical kinetics of the calcite precipitation reaction. A good agreement is observed between empirical observations and theoretical predictions, although two complicating factors, variations in calcite porosity, and seasonal cessation of the water supply to the samples, both affect the growth rate. Implications for the extraction of palaeoclimate information from stalagmite growth rate are discussed. Copyright (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd.