Conveners: Dana Riechelmann and Virgil Dragusin

Description: An understanding of the processes that control the speleothem geochemical records is essential for the development of climate and environmental proxies. This is particularly important for locations where processes may be site specific. Cave monitoring is one approach that enables direct measurement of the environmental parameters controlling stable isotope, radiogenic and trace elements from the rain water, through the soil and host rock, to the precipitated calcite . We invite contributions to this session that provide new initiatives and updates on long-term studies, novel findings, and other applications of cave monitoring data.

Conveners: Yanjun Cai and Yassine Ait Brahim

Description: Terrestrial palaeoarchives have revealed pronounced environmental changes throughout the Quaternary due to climate oscillations modulated by orbital variability. Taking advantage of U-series dating approaches, deposits from karst systems could provide absolutely dated records and play an essential role in understanding the processes and dynamics of environmental changes on orbital time scales. We invite studies that present insights into timing, phases, amplitude and mechanisms of past climate variability on orbital timescales using different proxies and archives from karst systems (speleothem, sediments, tufa, and travertine) across the middle Pleistocene and Holocene (using U-Th dating), and in deep time (using U-Pb dating approach)

Conveners: Asfawossen Asrat and Giselle Utida

Description: This session invites contributions presenting new records of millennial- or centennial-scale climate shifts, including but not limited to those featuring temperature, precipitation, sea level, and monsoon intensity, from terrestrial carbonate archives. We welcome studies investigating the timing, phases, amplitude and mechanisms of these climatic changes. We also invite abstracts that leverage decadal, annual or seasonal resolution of speleothem geochemistry (stable isotopes, trace elements, etc.) in order to address any of these topics.

Conveners: Laura Endes and Jasper Wassenburg

Description: As the field of karst research expands, an exciting array of new approaches are becoming available, such as biomarker (e.g. TEX86, fatty acids) or DNA studies, ultra-high resolution methods (e.g. S-µXRF, TEM), and novel isotope systems (e.g. Ca-isotopes, 17O-excess and (dual) clumped isotopes in carbonates). Continuing improvements in U-Th and U-Pb dating are allowing increasingly precise and accurate age control; and new sample preparation developments or lab-controlled precipitation experiments enhance overall accuracy and understanding of collected data. In addition, computers are getting more capable, allowing new kinds of analysis and data processing using techniques such as moisture tagging experiments in isotope-enabled climate models, geochemical and proxy system modeling, and, recently, AI.With these approaches, new insights can be gained, including the re-assessment of more traditional methods, steps towards quantification of speleothem palaeoclimate records, and the reconstruction of previously elusive environmental processes with more confidence. Here we invite contributions that span a wide range of advances, in the field, in the lab and in data processing.

Conveners: Tara Edwards and Georgina Luti

Description: The clastic deposits found within caves can derive from fluvial, lacustrine, glacial, periglacial, aeolian, and biologic (including anthropogenic) processes. These deposits are often viewed as complicated to decipher and date, requiring the application of dating techniques such as palaeomagnetism and cosmogenic burial dating. The issue of dating is of particular importance where caves are host to fossil remains, in such circumstances dating can focus on the fossils themselves, the encasing sediment or any related speleothem material. Here we welcome work on all aspects of deposition, description, dating and interpretation of clastic deposits in karst settings, with an emphasis on their utility as recorders of environmental conditions and/or human history. We also welcome contributions focused on sites of archaeological and palaeontological importance and current or past excavations. Novel archives and approaches, and especially linkages to the speleothem record, are of special interest.

Conveners: Nikita Kaushal and Daniel Boateng

Description: Exploring paleoclimate proxies provides insights into climate variability across various timescales and climate states outside the instrumental period. These records facilitate an understanding of how the climate system responds to forcing, natural variability and paleoenvironment changes, potentially serving as analogs for future climate dynamics.Complementary to these paleoclimate proxies, climate models are essential tools used to explore climate mechanisms and pathways, and to understand large-scale drivers and feedbacks of the global climate system. These models are evaluated using measured proxy data on climate periods outside the recent period to validate their accuracy and reliability. Comparing or integrating paleoclimate data with models can offer holistic insights to climate system dynamics, surpassing what data or models alone can provide.This session aims to highlight recent advances in proxy-model paleoclimate and environmental variables comparison and integration. We invite submissions on interdisciplinary topics related to syntheses of proxies (e.g., speleothem records) and climate models (e.g., isotope-enabled GCMs or models of varied complexities), proxy system modelling (e.g., karst models), data assimilation, transfer function calibration, and understanding of proxy processes (e.g., speleothems variability) on regional-to-global and seasonal-to-orbital scales.

Conveners: Kathleen Wendt and Haiwei Zhang

Description: Karst research has the benefit of several suitable chronometers. Speleothems in particular are recognized by the paleoclimate community for their outstanding age control. Analytical advancements have led to increasingly precise and accurate U-series and U-Pb ages that span the last few decades to millions of years. Here we welcome submissions on all aspects of geochronology, from the classic U-series disequilibria to new dating approaches, method development, the combination of one or more dating techniques, age uncertainty and propagation, age comparison, and influences of diagenetic processes radiometric ages.

Conveners: Kathleen Johnson and  Augusto Auler

Description: KR10 recognises the importance of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) as a crucial foundation for karst research. Related to this, we emphasize the important role of respectful community engagement. Field research activities are widespread in our community, and often take place in remote, environmentally sensitive, and/or international settings. In such cases, close collaboration with local scientists, public officials, and community members at all stages of the research process is critical for ethical speleothem science and for supporting preservation of cave environments. We invite contributions that can showcase JEDI and community-engaged research activities in speleothem science, as well as highlight case studies focused on science communication, outreach, and cave conservation

Conveners: David Dominguez-Villar, Tsilavo Razafimanantsoa

Description: Studies based on carbonate records from the surface of karst regions are receiving increasing attention due to novel methods and the possibility of applying a wider range of analytical techniques compared to other karst records. In this session, research based on freshwater tufa sediments, travertine precipitates, pedogenic carbonates and other external karst deposits are welcome. We also invite researchers to submit contributions on karst denudation, records of unroof caves or the evolution of karst landscapes. We accept studies presenting data on records, monitoring and/or modelling karst processes, as well as those focused on methodological perspectives.