Gruta Rei do Mato stalagmite reveals ancient climate records

Research published in ‘Nature Communications’ reveals that a stalagmite in the Gruta Rei do Mato, located in Sete Lagoas, Brazil, has preserved a continuous climate record spanning from 22,500 to 9,300 years ago. Fluid inclusions within the stalagmite layers act as ‘time capsules,’ allowing scientists to directly measure the cave's temperature at the time each water droplet was trapped.

The study shows that the region experienced a temperature increase of approximately 5.8 °C between the end of the last ice age and the beginning of the Holocene. This warming was driven by natural causes, as there was no human industrial activity or large-scale agriculture at the time.

In contrast, data from a meteorological station in Sete Lagoas indicates that since the 1980s, the region has been warming at a rate of 0.32 °C per decade. This modern rate is nearly three times higher than the most intense deglacial warming recorded in the geological record, which peaked at 0.123 °C per decade.