Oxygen isotope composition of subglacially precipitated calcite: Possible paleoclimatic implications
Isotopic analyses of subglacially precipitated calcite from near a modern temperate glacier show that the δ 18 O (= 18 O/ 16 O relative to standard mean ocean water) of the calcite records the δ 18 O of the ice from that glacier. It may therefore be possible to determine the δ 18 O of Pleistocene ice sheets on the basis of isotopic analyses of calcite formed under that ancient ice. This, in turn, would allow estimation of the δ 18 O of Pleistocene oceans and correction of the paleotemperature scale based on foraminiferal oxygen isotopic analyses. Copyright
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