Formación de espeleotemas en el Noreste Peninsular y su relación con las condiciones climáticas durante los últimos ciclos glaciares

Speleothem growing is closely linked to warm climates with a positive hydrological balance. Mild temperatures and hydrological availability are conditions that tend to stimulate soil CO₂ production due to denser vegetation cover and higher microbial activity. In such situations, waters enriched with dissolved carbonate are common and can infiltrate in the karstic system. This study compiles 158 dates from 34 speleothems collected in nine caves in the Northeastern Iberia to distinguish the time intervals with speleothem formation. A clear connection of speleothem growth and interglacial periods is established but precesssional influence is also observed, being periods of maxima insolation those with ideal conditions to produce karstic formations such as speleothems. The Holocene is without doubt the best represented period in the available records. However, last centuries were not characterized by an important development of speleothems in the studied caves.