Cryogenic cave carbonate and implications for thawing permafrost at Winter Wonderland Cave, Utah, USA.

ABSTRACT: Winter Wonderland Cave contains perennial ice associated with two types of cryogenic cave carbonate (CCC) formed during the freezing of water. CCC_fine is characterized by relatively high δ¹³C values, whereas CCC_coarse exhibits notably low δ¹⁸O values indicating precipitation under (semi)closed-system conditions in a pool of residual water beneath an ice lid. Previous work has concluded that CCC_coarse forms during permafrost thaw, making the presence of this precipitate a valuable indicator of past cryospheric change. Available geochronologic evidence indicates that CCC formation in this cave is a Late Holocene or contemporary process, and field observations suggest that the cave thermal regime recently changed in a manner that permits the ingress of liquid water. This is the first documented occurence of CCC_coarse in the Western Hemisphere and one of only a few locations where these minerals have been found in association with ice. Winter Wonderland Cave is a natural laboratory for studying CCC genesis.

SUBMITTER: Munroe J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7979826 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature