The review paper presents a historical review of research activities in the field of isotope composition of precipitation in Slovenia. The first investigations of oxygen and hydrogen isotope composition and the tritium activity in precipitation over Slovenia were performed in the frame of tracer experiments conducted in the period 1972–1975 in the Ljubljanica River drainage basin. The first regular and systematic monitoring of isotope composition of precipitation only began in 1981 in Ljubljana but has been extended during the last 35 years to 30 different locations countrywide. We collected information about sampling, analytical methods, available data and their evaluation including calculations of local meteoric water lines. Based on the data, we identify gaps in the research and make recommendations for future monitoring in the frame of the Slovenian Network of Isotopes in Precipitation (SLONIP). The paper is the basis for future isotope in precipitation investigations in Slovenia and for co-operation with Hungarian colleagues in the frame of this project.
COBISS.SI-ID: 2547541
The paper presents the calibration of a speleothem ?18O record from Postojna Cave (Slovenia) with the regional record of ?18O composition of precipitation during the last decades. Using local meteorological data and a regional ?18O record of precipitation, we developed a model that reproduces the cave drip water ?18O signal measured during a two-year period. The model suggests that the average water mixing and transit time in the studied aquifer is 11 months. Additionally, we used an ion microprobe - SIMS analysis to study the ?18O record of the top 500 µm of a speleothem from the studied cave galle-ry. According to U–Th dates and 14C analyses, the uppermost section of the speleothem was formed during the last decades. The ?18O record of the top 500 µm of the speleothem has a significant correlation (r2=0.64; p-value (0.001) with the modelled ?18O record of cave drip water. Therefore, we confirm that the top 500 µm of the speleothem grew between the years 1984 and 2003 and that the speleothem accurately recorded the variability of the ?18O values of regional precipitation filtered by the aquifer. We show that the recorded speleothem ?18O signal is not seasonally biased and that the hydrological dynamics described during monitoring period were stationary during recent decades. This research demonstrates that speleothems with growth rates (50 µm/yr can also be used for calibration studies. Additionally, we show that the fit of measured and modelled proxy data can be used to achieve annually resolved chronologies in speleothems that were not actively growing at the time of collection and/or that do not record annual laminae.
COBISS.SI-ID: 31166503
In the paper presented at the 2nd Slovenian Water Congress, we have presented the development of the Slovenian Network of Isotopes of Precipitation (SLONIP) since 1972 and emphasized the importance of such research for water resources management, climate research and the identification of the geographical origin of food. If we would like to follow global trends, it would be sensible to set up a national network of observations based on the example of developed countries (eg Switzerland and Germany), which would include the systematic monitoring of the isotopic composition of precipitation, surface and groundwater at selected locations.
COBISS.SI-ID: 30485287