TY - JOUR A1 - Wegener, Michael A1 - Wirges, Werner A1 - Fohlmeister, Jens Bernd A1 - Tiersch, Brigitte A1 - Gerhard, Reimund T1 - Two-step inflation of cellular polypropylene films: Void-thickness increase and enhanced electromechanical properties N2 - In cellular, electromechanically active polymer films, the so-called ferroelectrets, the cell size and shape distributions can be varied through a controlled inflation process. Up to now, high-pressure treatments were usually performed at elevated temperatures. There are, however, significant experimental limitations and complications if the pressure and temperature treatments are performed at the same time. Here, we demonstrate the controlled inflation of cellular polypropylene films by means of sepal-ate pressure and temperature treatments. Separate procedures are Much easier to implement. Excellent electromechanical properties were achieved with Such a two-step inflation process. The technique has significant potential for inflating large-area transducer films for electromechanical and electroacoustical applications Y1 - 2004 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weber, Michael A1 - Scholz, Denis A1 - Schröder-Ritzrau, Andrea A1 - Deininger, Michael A1 - Spötl, Christoph A1 - Lugli, Federico A1 - Mertz-Kraus, Regina A1 - Jochum, Klaus Peter A1 - Fohlmeister, Jens Bernd A1 - Stumpf, Cintia F. A1 - Riechelmann, Dana F. C. T1 - Evidence of warm and humid interstadials in central Europe during early MISSUE 3 revealed by a multi-proxy speleothem record JF - Quaternary science reviews : the international multidisciplinary research and review journal N2 - Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3, 57-27 ka) was characterised by numerous rapid climate oscillations (i.e., Dansgaard-Oeschger (D/O-) events), which are reflected in various climate archives. So far, MIS 3 speleothem records from central Europe have mainly been restricted to caves located beneath temperate Alpine glaciers or close to the Atlantic Ocean. Thus, MIS 3 seemed to be too cold and dry to enable speleothem growth north of the Alps in central Europe. Here we present a new speleothem record from Bunker Cave, Germany, which shows two distinct growth phases from 52.0 (+0.8, -0.5) to 50.9 (+0.6, -1.3) ka and 473 (+1.0, -0.6) to 42.8 (+/- 0.9) ka, rejecting this hypothesis. These two growth phases potentially correspond to the two warmest and most humid phases in central Europe during MIS 3, which is confirmed by pollen data from the nearby Eifel. The hiatus separating the two phases is associated with Heinrich stadial 5 (HS 5), although the growth stop precedes the onset of HS 5. The first growth phase is characterised by a fast growth rate, and Mg concentrations and Sr isotope data suggest high infiltration and the presence of soil cover above the cave. The second growth phase was characterised by drier, but still favourable conditions for speleothem growth. During this phase, the delta C-13 values show a significant decrease associated with D/O-event 12. The timing of this shift is in agreement with other MIS 3 speleothem data from Europe and Greenland ice core data. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. KW - Speleothems KW - Pleistocene KW - Palaeoclimatology KW - Europe KW - Dansgaard-Oeschger event KW - Marine isotope stage 3 KW - Bunker cave KW - Multi-proxy approach KW - U-Th series Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.09.045 SN - 0277-3791 VL - 200 SP - 276 EP - 286 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Warken, Sophie Friederike A1 - Fohlmeister, Jens Bernd A1 - Schröder-Ritzrauh, Andrea A1 - Constantin, Silviu A1 - Spötl, Christoph A1 - Gerdes, Axel A1 - Esper, Jan A1 - Frank, Norbert A1 - Arps, Jennifer A1 - Terente, Mihai A1 - Riechelmann, Dana Felicitas Christine A1 - Mangini, Augusto A1 - Scholz, Denis T1 - Reconstruction of late Holocene autumn/winter precipitation variability in SW Romania from a high-resolution speleothem trace element record JF - Earth & planetary science letters N2 - We present the first high-resolution trace element (Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca) record from a stalagmite in southwestern Romania covering the last 3.6 ka, which provides the potential for quantitative climate reconstruction. Precise age control is based on three independent dating methods, in particular for the last 250 yr, where chemical lamina counting is combined with the identification of the 20th century radiocarbon bomb peak and Th-230/U dating. Long-term cave monitoring and model simulations of drip water and speleothem elemental variability indicate that precipitation-related processes are the main drivers of speleothem Mg/Ca ratios. Calibration against instrumental climate data shows a significant anti-correlation of speleothem Mg/Ca ratios with autumn/winter (October to March) precipitation (r = -0.61, p < 0.01), which is statistically robust when considering age uncertainties and auto-correlation. This relationship is used to develop a quantitative reconstruction of autumn/winter precipitation. During the late Holocene, our data suggest a heterogeneous pattern of past regional winter hydroclimate in the Carpathian/Balkan realm, along with intermittent weakening of the dominant influence of North Atlantic forcing. In agreement with other regional paleo-hydrological reconstructions, the observed variability reveals periodically occurring strong NW-SE hydro-climate gradients. We hypothesize, that this pattern is caused by shifts of the eastern edge of the area of influence of the NAO across central eastern Europe due to the confluence of North Atlantic forcing, and other climatic features such as the East Atlantic/Western Russia (EAWR) pattern. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. KW - speleothem KW - trace elements KW - proxy calibration KW - precipitation reconstruction KW - Romania KW - North Atlantic forcing Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2018.07.027 SN - 0012-821X SN - 1385-013X VL - 499 SP - 122 EP - 133 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stinnesbeck, Wolfgang A1 - Becker, Julia A1 - Hering, Fabio A1 - Frey, Eberhard A1 - Gonzalez Gonzalez, Arturo A1 - Fohlmeister, Jens Bernd A1 - Stinnesbeck, Sarah A1 - Frank, Norbert A1 - Terrazas Mata, Alejandro A1 - Elena Benavente, Martha A1 - Aviles Olguin, Jeronimo A1 - Aceves Nunez, Eugenio A1 - Zell, Patrick A1 - Deininger, Michael T1 - The earliest settlers of Mesoamerica date back to the late Pleistocene JF - PLoS one N2 - Preceramic human skeletal remains preserved in submerged caves near Tulum in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, Mexico, reveal conflicting results regarding C-14 dating. Here we use U-series techniques for dating a stalagmite overgrowing the pelvis of a human skeleton discovered in the submerged Chan Hol cave. The oldest closed system U/Th age comes from around 21 mm above the pelvis defining the terminus ante quem for the pelvis to 11311 +/- 370 y BP. However, the skeleton might be considerable older, probably as old as 13 ky BP as indicated by the speleothem stable isotope data. The Chan Hol individual confirms a late Pleistocene settling of Mesoamerica and represents one of the oldest human osteological remains in America. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0183345 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 12 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Riechelman, Dana F. C. A1 - Fohlmeister, Jens Bernd A1 - Kluge, Tobias A1 - Jochum, Klaus Peter A1 - Richter, Detlev K. A1 - Deininger, Michael A1 - Friedrich, Ronny A1 - Frank, Norbert A1 - Scholz, Denis T1 - Evaluating the potential of tree-ring methodology for cross-dating of three annually laminated stalagmites from Zoolithencave (SE Germany) JF - Quaternary geochronology : the international research and review journal on advances in quaternary dating techniques N2 - Three small stalagmites from Zoolithencave (southern Germany) show visible laminae, which consist of a clear and a brownish, pigmented layer pair. This potentially provides the opportunity to construct precise chronologies by counting annual laminae. The growth period of the three stalagmites was constrained by the C-14 bomb peak in the youngest part of all three stalagmites and C-14-dating of a piece of charcoal in the consolidated base part of stalagmite Zoo-rez-2. These data suggest an age of AD 1970 for the top laminae and a lower age limit of AD 1973-1682 or AD 1735-1778. Laminae were counted and their thickness determined on scanned thin sections of all stalagmites. On stalagmites Zoo-rez-1 and -2, three tracks were measured near the growth axes, each separated into three sections at prominent anchor laminae (I, II, III). Each section was replicated three times (a, b, c). For Zoo-rez-3, only one track was measured. The total number of laminae counted for Zoo-rez-1 ranges from 138 to 177, for Zoo-rez-2 from 119 to 145, and for Zoo-rez-3 from 159 to 166. The numbers agree well with the range constrained by the bomb peak and the age of the charcoal, which supports the annual origin of the laminae. The replicated measurements of the different tracks as well as the three different tracks on the stalagmites Zoo-rez-1 and-2 were cross-dated using the TSAP-Win (R) tree-ring software. This software is very useful for cross-dating because it enables to insert or delete missing or false laminae as well as identifying common pattern by shifting the series back and forth in time. However, visual inspection of the thin sections was necessary to confirm detection of missing or false laminae by TSAP-Win (R). For all three Zoo-rez speleothems, crossdating of the mean lamina thickness series was not possible due to a missing common pattern. The cross-dating procedure results in three refined chronologies for the three Zoo-rez stalagmites of ranging from AD 1821-1970 (Zoo-rez-1), AD 1835-1970 (Zoo-rez-2), and AD 1808-1970 (Zoo-rez-3). KW - Speleothems KW - Annual laminae KW - Lamina thickness KW - C-14 bomb peak KW - Tree-ring software KW - Cross-dating Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quageo.2019.04.001 SN - 1871-1014 SN - 1878-0350 VL - 52 SP - 37 EP - 50 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Patyniak, Magda A1 - Landgraf, Angela A1 - Dzhumabaeva, Atyrgul A1 - Abdrakhmatov, Kanatbek E. A1 - Rosenwinkel, Swenja A1 - Korup, Oliver A1 - Preusser, Frank A1 - Fohlmeister, Jens Bernd A1 - Arrowsmith, J. Ramon A1 - Strecker, Manfred T1 - Paleoseismic Record of Three Holocene Earthquakes Rupturing the Issyk-Ata Fault near Bishkek, North Kyrgyzstan JF - Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America N2 - The northern edge of the western central Tien Shan range is bounded by the Issyk-Ata fault situated south of Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. Contraction in this thick-skinned orogen occurs with low-strain accumulation and long earthquake recurrence intervals. In the nineteenth to twentieth centuries, a sequence of large earthquakes with magnitudes between 6.9 and 8 affected the northern Tien Shan but left nearly the entire extent of the Issyk-Ata fault unruptured. Here, the only known historic earthquake ruptured in A.D. 1885 (M6.9) along the western end of the Issyk-Ata fault. Because earthquakes in low-strain regions often tend to cluster in time and may promote failure along nearby structures, the earthquake history of the northern Tien Shan represents an exceptional structural setting for studying fault behavior affected by an intraplate earthquake sequence. We present a paleoseismological study from one site (Belek) along the Issyk-Ata fault located east of the A.D. 1885 epicentral area. Our analysis combines a range of tools, including photogrammetry, differential Global Positioning System, 3D visualization, and age modeling with different dating methods (infrared stimulated luminescence, radiocarbon, U-series) to improve the reliability of an event chronology for the trench stratigraphy and fault geometry. We were able to distinguish three different surfacerupturing paleoearthquakes; these affected the area before 10.5 +/- 1.1 cal ka B.P., at similar to 5.6 +/- 1.0 cal ka B.P., and at similar to 630 +/- 100 cal B.P., respectively. Associated paleomagnitudes for the last two earthquakes range between M6.7 and 7.4, with a cumulative slip rate of 0.7 +/- 0.32 mm/yr. We did not find evidence for the A.D. 1885 event at Belek. Our study yielded two main overall results: first, it extends the regional historic and paleoseismic record; second, the documented rupture events along the Issyk-Ata fault suggest that this fault was not affected in its entirety; instead, these events indicate segmented rupture behavior. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1785/0120170083 SN - 0037-1106 SN - 1943-3573 VL - 107 SP - 2721 EP - 2737 PB - Seismological Society of America CY - Albany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Markowska, Monika A1 - Fohlmeister, Jens Bernd A1 - Treble, Pauline C. A1 - Baker, Andy A1 - Andersen, Martin S. A1 - Hua, Quan T1 - Modelling the C-14 bomb-pulse in young speleothems using a soil carbon continuum model JF - Geochimica et cosmochimica acta : journal of the Geochemical Society and the Meteoritical Society N2 - The ‘bomb-pulse’ method is a chronological approach to further constrain the age of speleothems that grew between 1950 CE – present. Establishing dependable chronological constraints is crucial for modern calibration studies of speleothems to instrumental climate records, which provides the basis for paleoclimate interpretations. However, a large unknown is how 14C is transferred from the atmosphere to any individual speleothem owing to the site-specific residence times of organic matter above cave systems. Here, we employ the bomb-pulse method to build chronologies from 14C measurements in combination with a new unsaturated zone C model which considers C decomposition as a continuum, to better understand unsaturated zone 14C dynamics. The bomb-pulse curves of eight speleothems from southern Australia in three contrasting climatic regions; the semi-arid Wellington Caves site, the mediterranean Golgotha Cave site and the montane Yarrangobilly Caves site, are investigated. Overall, the modelled 14C bomb-pulse curves produce excellent fits with measured 14C speleothem data (r2 = 0.82–0.99). The C modelling reveals that unsaturated zone C is predominately young at the semi-arid site, with a weighted-mean residence time of 32 years and that tree root respiration is likely an important source of vadose CO2. At the montane site, ∼39% of C is young (<1 years), but the weighted-mean C ages are older (145–220 years). The mediterranean site has very little contribution from young C (<12%: 0–1 years), with weighted-mean ages between 157 and 245 years, likely due to greater adsorption of organic matter in the upper vadose zone during matrix flow, and remobilisation of C from young syngenetic karst. New end members for low speleothem Dead Carbon Proportion (DCP) are identified (2.19% and 1.65%, respectively) for Australian montane and semi-arid zone speleothems, where oversupply of modern CO2 in the vadose zone leads to lower DCP. It is also demonstrated that DCP can be quite variable over small time scales, that processes may be difficult to untangle and a constant DCP assumption is likely invalid. DCP variability over time is mainly controlled by the changes vadose zone CO2, where vegetation regeneration, wild-fires and karst hydrology play an important role. KW - Carbon 14 KW - speleothems KW - vadose zone KW - modelling Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2019.04.029 SN - 0016-7037 SN - 1872-9533 VL - 261 SP - 342 EP - 367 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lechleitner, Franziska A. A1 - Baldini, James U. L. A1 - Breitenbach, Sebastian Franz Martin A1 - Fohlmeister, Jens Bernd A1 - McIntyre, Cameron A1 - Goswami, Bedartha A1 - Jamieson, Robert A. A1 - van der Voort, Tessa S. A1 - Prufer, Keith A1 - Marwan, Norbert A1 - Culleton, Brendan J. A1 - Kennett, Douglas J. A1 - Asmerom, Yemane A1 - Polyak, Victor A1 - Eglinton, Timothy I. T1 - Hydrological and climatological controls on radiocarbon concentrations in a tropical stalagmite JF - Geochimica et cosmochimica acta : journal of the Geochemical Society and the Meteoritical Society N2 - Precisely-dated stalagmites are increasingly important archives for the reconstruction of terrestrial paleoclimate at very high temporal resolution. In-depth understanding of local conditions at the cave site and of the processes driving stalagmite deposition is of paramount importance for interpreting proxy signals incorporated in stalagmite carbonate. Here we present a sub-decadally resolved dead carbon fraction (DCF) record for a stalagmite from Yok Balum Cave (southern Belize). The record is coupled to parallel stable carbon isotope (delta C-13) and U/Ca measurements, as well as radiocarbon (C-14) measurements from soils overlying the cave system. Using a karst carbon cycle model we disentangle the importance of soil and karst processes on stalagmite DCF incorporation, revealing a dominant host rock dissolution control on total DCF. Covariation between DCF, delta C-13, and U/Ca indicates that karst processes are a common driver of all three parameters, suggesting possible use of delta C-13 and trace element ratios to independently quantify DCF variability. A statistically significant multi-decadal lag of variable length exists between DCF and reconstructed solar activity, suggesting that solar activity influenced regional precipitation in Mesoamerica over the past 1500 years, but that the relationship was non-static. Although the precise nature of the observed lag is unclear, solar-induced changes in North Atlantic oceanic and atmospheric dynamics may play a role. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. KW - Stalagmite KW - Tropics KW - Radiocarbon KW - Trace elements KW - Hydroclimate Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2016.08.039 SN - 0016-7037 SN - 1872-9533 VL - 194 SP - 233 EP - 252 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hua, Quan A1 - Cook, Duncan A1 - Fohlmeister, Jens Bernd A1 - Penny, Dan A1 - Bishop, Paul A1 - Buckman, Solomon T1 - Radiocarbon Dating of a Speleothem Record of Paleoclimate for Angkor, Cambodia JF - Radiocarbon : an international journal of cosmogenic isotope research N2 - We report the chronological construction for the top portion of a speleothem, PC1, from southern Cambodia with the aim of reconstructing a continuous high-resolution climate record covering the fluorescence and decline of the medieval Khmer kingdom and its capital at Angkor (similar to 9th-15th centuries AD). Earlier attempts to date PC1 by the standard U-Th method proved unsuccessful. We have therefore dated this speleothem using radiocarbon. Fifty carbonate samples along the growth axis of PC1 were collected for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) analysis. Chronological reconstruction for PC1 was achieved using two different approaches described by Hua et al. (2012a) and Lechleitner et al. (2016a). Excellent concordance between the two age-depth models indicates that the top similar to 47 mm of PC1 grew during the last millennium with a growth hiatus during similar to 1250-1650 AD, resulting from a large change in measured C-14 values at 34.4-35.2 mm depth. The timing of the growth hiatus covers the period of decades-long droughts during the 14th-16th centuries AD indicated in regional climate records. KW - Angkor KW - chronological construction KW - radiocarbon KW - Southeast Asia KW - tropical speleothems Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2017.115 SN - 0033-8222 SN - 1945-5755 VL - 59 IS - Special Issue 6 / 2 SP - 1873 EP - 1890 PB - The University of Arizona, Department of Geosciences CY - Tucson, Ariz. ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fohlmeister, Jens Bernd A1 - Plessen, Birgit A1 - Dudashvili, Alexey Sergeevich A1 - Tjallingii, Rik A1 - Wolff, Christian Michael A1 - Gafurov, Abror A1 - Cheng, Hai T1 - Winter precipitation changes during the Medieval Climate Anomaly and the Little Ice Age in arid Central Asia JF - Quaternary science reviews : the international multidisciplinary research and review journal N2 - The strength of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is considered to be the main driver of climate changes over the European and western Asian continents throughout the last millennium. For example, the predominantly warm Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) and the following cold period of the Little Ice Age (LIA) over Europe have been associated with long-lasting phases with a positive and negative NAO index. Its climatic imprint is especially pronounced in European winter seasons. However, little is known about the influence of NAO with respect to its eastern extent over the Eurasian continent. Here we present speleothem records (PC, 8180 and Sr/Ca) from the southern rim of Fergana Basin (Central Asia) revealing annually resolved past climate variations during the last millennium. The age control of the stalagmite relies on radiocarbon dating as large amounts of detrital material inhibit accurate 230Th dating. Present-day calcification of the stalagmite is most effective during spring when the cave atmosphere and elevated water supply by snow melting and high amount of spring precipitation provide optimal conditions. Seasonal precipitation variations cause changes of the stable isotope and Sr/ Ca compositions. The simultaneous changes in these geochemical proxies, however, give also evidence for fractionation processes in the cave. By disentangling both processes, we demonstrate that the amount of winter precipitation during the MCA was generally higher than during the LIA, which is in line with climatic changes linked to the NAO index but opposite to the higher mountain records of Central Asia. Several events of strongly reduced winter precipitation are observed during the LIA in Central Asia. These dry winter events can be related to phases of a strong negative NAO index and all results reveal that winter precipitation over the central Eurasian continent is tightly linked to atmospheric NAO modes by the westerly wind systems. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2017.10.026 SN - 0277-3791 VL - 178 SP - 24 EP - 36 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER -