Reconstruction of Brooksville Ridge Cave Temperature

by Amor Elder

Submitted : Fall 2009

A problem was proposed to see if it was possible to use an adjusted Dorale equation to reconstruct the temperature of the Brooksville Ridge Cave, from the Medieval Warming Period to the present. The reconstructed value would be would be compared to the known temperature trend of the selected period of time. If the results of the equation matched the trend, it would indicate that the temperature was the main variable of the cave. If the temperature trend did not match the known value, it would indicate another variable was the main influence of the cave, in this case rain. Using d18O values gathered from a speleothem, and an adjusted Dorale equation, temperature of the cave was approximated. Results of the equation show the temperature trend does not match the known temperature trend, indicating the main variable affecting the d18O values to be rainfall rather than temperature, which corresponds with the cave

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