Stalagmites from western Thailand : preliminary investigations and challenges for palaeoenvironmental research
Locating suitable caves and stalagmites for palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic studies can be challenging. Isotopic geochemical analyses, albeit commonly performed for palaeoclimatic reconstruction, are also time consuming and costly. Therefore, petrographic and non‐destructive morphological stu...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2019
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/92355 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/48512 |
| _version_ | 1826117348008919040 |
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| author | Chawchai, Sakonvan Liu, Guangxin Bissen, Raphael Jankham, Kampanart Paisonjumlongsri, Warisa Kanjanapayont, Pitsanupong Chutakositkanon, Vichai Choowong, Montri Pailoplee, Santi Wang, Xianfeng |
| author2 | Asian School of the Environment |
| author_facet | Asian School of the Environment Chawchai, Sakonvan Liu, Guangxin Bissen, Raphael Jankham, Kampanart Paisonjumlongsri, Warisa Kanjanapayont, Pitsanupong Chutakositkanon, Vichai Choowong, Montri Pailoplee, Santi Wang, Xianfeng |
| author_sort | Chawchai, Sakonvan |
| collection | NTU |
| description | Locating suitable caves and stalagmites for palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic studies can be challenging. Isotopic geochemical analyses, albeit commonly performed for palaeoclimatic reconstruction, are also time consuming and costly. Therefore, petrographic and non‐destructive morphological studies on speleothems are desirable to facilitate sample selection for further analysis. In this study, 20 caves were surveyed in Ban Rai district, Uthai Thani province in western Thailand. After external physical observations in the field, three stalagmite samples were collected from Tham Nam Cave to test their potential for palaeoclimatic research. Firstly, the stalagmites were scanned by X‐ray computed tomography (CT scanning) and subsequently the CT images were compared with petrographic inspections. Columnar fabrics show the highest density, whereas closed and open dendritic fabrics have medium and the lowest densities, respectively. Layers near the top and bottom of the three stalagmites were dated by U‐Th mass spectrometric techniques. All three samples were deposited between c. 87 and c. 105 ka ago; therefore, they are probably the oldest stalagmites that have been reported so far from mainland Southeast Asia. However, their physical features indicate that all the samples have suffered from postdepositional dissolution, and are unlikely to be suitable for palaeoclimatic research. The internal dissolution feature of stalagmites, however, cannot be identified by visual inspection of uncut samples. We hereby argue that CT images are useful to characterize stalagmite petrography, in particular fabric, porosity and density. Such features can be used to select the ideal plane of a stalagmite for sectioning, to maximize the chances of robust climatic reconstruction. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T04:25:48Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/92355 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T04:25:48Z |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/923552020-09-26T21:28:48Z Stalagmites from western Thailand : preliminary investigations and challenges for palaeoenvironmental research Chawchai, Sakonvan Liu, Guangxin Bissen, Raphael Jankham, Kampanart Paisonjumlongsri, Warisa Kanjanapayont, Pitsanupong Chutakositkanon, Vichai Choowong, Montri Pailoplee, Santi Wang, Xianfeng Asian School of the Environment Earth Observatory of Singapore Speleothem DRNTU::Engineering::Environmental engineering Paleoclimate Locating suitable caves and stalagmites for palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic studies can be challenging. Isotopic geochemical analyses, albeit commonly performed for palaeoclimatic reconstruction, are also time consuming and costly. Therefore, petrographic and non‐destructive morphological studies on speleothems are desirable to facilitate sample selection for further analysis. In this study, 20 caves were surveyed in Ban Rai district, Uthai Thani province in western Thailand. After external physical observations in the field, three stalagmite samples were collected from Tham Nam Cave to test their potential for palaeoclimatic research. Firstly, the stalagmites were scanned by X‐ray computed tomography (CT scanning) and subsequently the CT images were compared with petrographic inspections. Columnar fabrics show the highest density, whereas closed and open dendritic fabrics have medium and the lowest densities, respectively. Layers near the top and bottom of the three stalagmites were dated by U‐Th mass spectrometric techniques. All three samples were deposited between c. 87 and c. 105 ka ago; therefore, they are probably the oldest stalagmites that have been reported so far from mainland Southeast Asia. However, their physical features indicate that all the samples have suffered from postdepositional dissolution, and are unlikely to be suitable for palaeoclimatic research. The internal dissolution feature of stalagmites, however, cannot be identified by visual inspection of uncut samples. We hereby argue that CT images are useful to characterize stalagmite petrography, in particular fabric, porosity and density. Such features can be used to select the ideal plane of a stalagmite for sectioning, to maximize the chances of robust climatic reconstruction. NRF (Natl Research Foundation, S’pore) Accepted version 2019-06-03T02:55:07Z 2019-12-06T18:21:52Z 2019-06-03T02:55:07Z 2019-12-06T18:21:52Z 2018 Journal Article Chawchai, S., Liu, G., Bissen, R., Jankham, K., Paisonjumlongsri, W., Kanjanapayont, P., . . . Wang, X. (2018). Stalagmites from western Thailand : preliminary investigations and challenges for palaeoenvironmental research. Boreas, 47(1), 367-376. doi:10.1111/bor.12299 0300-9483 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/92355 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/48512 10.1111/bor.12299 en Boreas © 2017 Collegium Boreas. All rights reserved. This paper was published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd in Boreas and is made available with permission of Collegium Boreas. 10 p. application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Speleothem DRNTU::Engineering::Environmental engineering Paleoclimate Chawchai, Sakonvan Liu, Guangxin Bissen, Raphael Jankham, Kampanart Paisonjumlongsri, Warisa Kanjanapayont, Pitsanupong Chutakositkanon, Vichai Choowong, Montri Pailoplee, Santi Wang, Xianfeng Stalagmites from western Thailand : preliminary investigations and challenges for palaeoenvironmental research |
| title | Stalagmites from western Thailand : preliminary investigations and challenges for palaeoenvironmental research |
| title_full | Stalagmites from western Thailand : preliminary investigations and challenges for palaeoenvironmental research |
| title_fullStr | Stalagmites from western Thailand : preliminary investigations and challenges for palaeoenvironmental research |
| title_full_unstemmed | Stalagmites from western Thailand : preliminary investigations and challenges for palaeoenvironmental research |
| title_short | Stalagmites from western Thailand : preliminary investigations and challenges for palaeoenvironmental research |
| title_sort | stalagmites from western thailand preliminary investigations and challenges for palaeoenvironmental research |
| topic | Speleothem DRNTU::Engineering::Environmental engineering Paleoclimate |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/92355 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/48512 |
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