Stalagmites Embody Clock-Like Chronicles of Time Over Thousands of Years
PETER DOCKRILL26 APRIL 2021
Deep underground, in mysterious caverns that seem almost measureless to humans, caves have devised their own strange ways of keeping time as the eternities pass by.
Over millennia, a ponderous exchange takes place so slowly, it makes the growing of grass look action-packed in comparison. Hanging from cave ceilings, downward-growing stalactites drip water containing chemicals onto the cave floor, which slowly aggregates into an upward-growing stalagmite.
Scientists have understood the basics of this speleothem relationship for a long time, but we're still discovering just how much of the ancient past is inscribed in these underground formations: echoes of ancient wildfires, sagas of societal collapse, and even grim predictions of our own destiny.
In a new study led by geochemist Andy Baker from UNSW in Australia, researchers have now found that stalagmites don't just record these dramatic instances of sudden and extreme climate events – they also act as natural timekeepers, chronicling the steady passage of time into the layers of rocks they become.
More:
https://www.sciencealert.com/stalagmites-embody-clock-like-chronicles-of-time-over-thousands-of-years
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