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 -