Changes in interannual rainfall patterns in Central Asia have serious direct impacts on water resources with enormous consequences in supply of drinking water and electrical power. Especially the region around the Fergana basin is a highly vulnerable region for climate hazards (floods and droughts).

Speleothems formed in caves, such as stalagmites, offer a great potential to provide detailed and accurate records of past climates and the affected environment. Thus, can be accurately dated with the U-Th technique and provide a multitude of environment-dependent proxies. By using stable isotopes (δ¹³C, δ¹⁸O), trace elements and fluid inclusions we can reconstruct climate variability and hydrological changes.

The base of our research is the knowledge about the isotopes of recent precipitation patterns and their transformation into the caves. For this we installed several rainwater sampler and a monitoring system in the caves to investigate changes in temperature, humidity, CO₂ content, drip water, and recent calcite growing.

Partners:
Alexej Dudashvili (Foundation for Preservation and Exploration of Caves in Kyrgyzstan)
Hai Cheng (University Minnesota, Xi'an Jiaotong University)
Christian Wolff (Max Plank Institute of Chemistry, Mainz)
Jens Fohlmeister (University Potsdam, GFZ)

Funding:
GFZ, Global Change Observatory Central Asia