iup.uni-heidelberg.de
Registration opens: 1 February 2013
Timescales covered
Sub-annual to orbital
Background to the Summer School on Speleothem Science
The Summer School on Speleothem Science is being organized by a group of 20 PhD students who work with speleothems. Meeting in various conferences and workshops or through professional ties, we have kept in touch over the past year and a half, guided by a shared idea: to hold, for the first time, a Summer School on speleothem science. The aim of the Summer School is to share the knowledge each of us gathered in the specific methods we use. The Summer School is aimed at other PhD students, young scientists and undergraduates who are active or otherwise interested in this field of research and to raise interest in the field amongst younger students. This is because we we realized that our field of study is rapidly advancing. During the 4th DAPHNE-workshop in Heidelberg last February 2012, we agreed to hold the Summer School on Speleothem Science in Summer 2013.
Scientific Background
Henderson (2006) states, for paleoclimate, the past two decades have been the age of the ice core. The next two may be the age of the speleothem. The Summer School on Speleothem Science is aimed at an international audience in order to meet the expressed needs of the young scientists in the speleothem research community and provide a comprehensive overview of the most current and innovative techniques. Attendees will be exposed to new methods currently being developed by high-profile senior researchers, and will expand their knowledge in traditional methods (such as speleothem18O or 13C time-series). Lectures held by experts in the field of speleothem research will be combined with discussions and seminars on a range of relevant speleothem related topics, providing a lively and comprehensive Summer School. Practical exercises and experiments will also be held. The Summer School will host poster sessions where the young scientists can present their work to discuss and troubleshoot the challenges of their own research.
Preliminary Schedule
Monday - Geochemistry/Monitoring/Trace-Elements/Proxies- Petrography of speleothems- Metal isotopes in speleothems as source, process and climate indicators- Monitoring - Key parameter, methods, sampling, equipment
Tuesday Oxygen and carbon isotope proxies- Processes from root to cave (C- Isotopes)- Processes from ocean to cave (O- Isotopes)- Processes inside caves affecting the O- and C-isotope composition of CaCO316
Wednesday - Techniques (ICP- MS/SIMS/Laser/Synchrotron)- U-series dating (sample preparation, standards, resolution, precision, developments)- Metals in speleothems - ICP-MS vs. Synchrotron- Stable carbon and oxygen isotopes in speleothems (sample preparation, standards,resolution, precision, developments)- High-resolution proxy records (SIMS/confocal laser)- Fluid Inclusions in speleothems
Thursday Statistics- Age models (incl. workshop)- Time-series analysis (incl. workshop)
Friday Frontiers- Frontiers of Palaeo-Climate Research- Speleothems in the context with other Palaeo- Climate archives- Frontiers of Speleothem Research- Palaeo-Climate Research in the context of Climate Change