Articles | Volume 22, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1163-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1163-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
05 Mar 2025
Research article |
| 05 Mar 2025
| 05 Mar 2025
Bacteria as paleoenvironmental proxies: the study of a cave Pleistocene profile
Cătălina Haidău
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Emil Racovita Institute of Speleology, Bucureşti 050711, Romania
Ionuţ Cornel Mirea
Emil Racovita Institute of Speleology, Bucureşti 050711, Romania
Silviu Constantin
Emil Racovita Institute of Speleology, Bucureşti 050711, Romania
Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, Burgos 09002, Spain
Oana Teodora Moldovan
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, Burgos 09002, Spain
Emil Racovita Institute of Speleology, Cluj-Napoca Department, Cluj-Napoca 400006, Romania
Related authors
No articles found.
Oana Teodora Moldovan, Crin-Triandafil Theodorescu, and Erika Andrea Levei
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2507, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2507, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Biogeosciences (BG).
Short summary
Short summary
This study examines the microbial and geochemical environment surrounding mirabilite deposits in Izvorul Tăușoarelor Cave (Romanian Carpathians). Using a metabarcoding approach, the microbial profiling is unique: sulfur-reducing bacteria were absent in mirabilite samples. The presence of ammonia-oxidising archaea exclusively in the mirabilite area indicates a possible influence from a bat colony, which contributes minimal ammonia that supports the microbial equilibrium for mirabilite growth.
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Short summary
Caves are natural archives for reconstructing past climates and environments. A 480 cm sediment profile was dated at 74.7 ± 12.3 to 56 ± 8 ka, with some sections influenced by Last Glacial Maximum flooding. Bacterial diversity shifts with depth, from soil bacteria in upper layers to thermophilic sulfur bacteria in deeper sediments, possibly linked to historic hot springs or sapropels. This study highlights the potential of bacteria as proxies for reconstructing paleoenvironmental conditions.
Caves are natural archives for reconstructing past climates and environments. A 480 cm sediment...
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