Microstratigraphic logging of calcite fabrics in speleothems as tool for palaeoclimate studies

morphologies to hydrology and drip-water properties (chemistry, presence of organic compounds, particulate etc.) was compiled by Frisia & Borsato (2010). Yet, there has been little advance in the use of fabrics as a complement to palaeo-proxy datasets since Frisia et al. (2000). Although it has been demonstrated that speleothem fabrics record hydrology, bio-influenced and post-depositional processes that influence the way geochemical proxy data are captured by cave minerals (Fairchild & Baker, 2012) their use is limited by the absence of a system that allows to construct a fabric time series comparable with geochemical time series. Here, a speleothem microstratigraphic log is proposed as a logic system of creating fabric time series. The log is based on the hierarchical coding of fabrics typical of stalagmites and flowstones and builds upon accepted models for their development. The microstratigraphic log relies on the attribution of a progressive number to fabrics as observed by Plane Polarized (PPL) and Cross Polarized Light (XPL) at the optical microscope, which reflects a hierarchic system