Petrographic comparison of four recent stalagmites from Baradla Cave Hungary - implications for the paleoclimate interpretation

Abstract

Baradla Cave is a world heritage site situated in the northeastern part of Hungary. The cave itself formed supposedly from the Pliocene in Mesozoic marine carbonates and today has a total length of 25 km. The climate of the area is continental most of the precipitation arrives during early-summer, however, the main infiltration period is from November to April when precipitation exceeds evapotranspiration. According to recent monitoring data, temperature in the cave varies around 9.8°C throughout the year while the pCO₂ of the cave air follows a seasonal cycle. The CO₂ mixing ratio is highest (~4200 ppm) during the summer and lowest during in winter (~1600 ppm)