Perennial cave ice for climate reconstruction

Rock-hosted caves containing perennial ice and snow deposits (thereafter called ice caves), are peculiar phenomena of mid-latitude, mid-altitude mountains. They are generally situated in regions where mean annual air temperature exceeds 0oC. Perennial cave ice accumulations can form only through a peculiar combination of climatic conditions, appropriate cave morphology and hydrological regime.
The ice caves of the temperate climatic zone, similarly to alpine glaciers located close to the snowline, exist in fragile mass and energetic equilibrium with their environment, which is highly vulnerable to climatic changes. Cave ice reacts to any changes in the mass and energetic balance (natural or anthropogenic) in a sensitive manner. Fluctuation of subterranean ice volumes in many ice caves of the world are plausibly related to climatic variables. Ice accumulations in caves preserve a large variety of geochemical information as candidate proxies for both past climate and environmental changes. The most significant one probably is the stable isotopic composition of the ice. We study the present day relationship between the isotopic composition of floor ice and drip water, and some parameters of the local climate (temperature, amount of precipitation, growth rate of ice accumulation).

Studied ice caves:

Focul Viu Ice Cave (Ghetarul de la Focul Viu, Romania)
Bortig Ice Cave (Avenul de la Bortig, Romania)
Ledena Ice Cave (Ledena pecina, Montenegro)
Ledena Pit (Ledena jama, Croatia)
Vukušic Ice Cave (Vukušic sniežnica, Croatia)