Les spéléothèmes de la grotte Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc : apports chronologiques et paléoclimatiques. Synthèse des travaux publiés

A detailed chronology and paleoclimatic reconstruction of the Chauvet Cave (Ardèche, France) was established through uranium-thorium dating and isotopic analysis of 15 speleothems. The study identified three main phases of speleothem growth: 124.2-99.8 ka (MIS 5), 32.8-22.3 ka (covering MIS 3 and 2), and 15.2-0 ka (Lateglacial to Holocene). A significant growth hiatus during the Last Glacial Maximum (22.1 ± 0.4 to 15.3 ± 0.25 ka) was precisely dated, along with a cave collapse in Salle Hillaire after 7.7 ± 1.6 ka. The first calcite layers on archaeological soil were dated to ~27.8 ± 1.9 ka, confirming earlier radiocarbon dates. Additionally, the cave entrance was found to have closed before 13.1 ± 0.1 ka, aligning with previous estimates of ~22 ka. Over 600 isotopic analyses (δ18O and δ13C) revealed paleoclimatic changes since 15.3 ka, showing similarities and differences with Greenland ice core records and providing precise ages for climatic events during the Bølling-Allerød and Younger-Dryas periods.

Genty, D. (2012). Les spéléothèmes de la grotte Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc : apports chronologiques et paléoclimatiques. Synthèse des travaux publiés. Collection EDYTEM. Cahiers de Géographie, 13(1), 79–88. https://doi.org/10.3406/edyte.2012.1206