Beschreibung:
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Speleothem oxygen isotopic (δ<jats:sup>18</jats:sup>O) records are used to reconstruct past hydroclimate yet records from the same cave do not always replicate. We use a global database of speleothem δ<jats:sup>18</jats:sup>O to quantify the replicability of records to show that disagreement is common worldwide, occurs across timescales and is unrelated to climate, depth or lithology. Our global analysis demonstrates that within-cave differences in mean speleothem δ<jats:sup>18</jats:sup>O values are consistent with those of dripwater, supporting a ubiquitous influence of flowpaths. We present a case study of four new stalagmite records from Golgotha Cave, southwest Australia, where the isotopic differences between them are informed by cave monitoring. It is demonstrated that karst hydrology is a major driver of within-cave speleothem and dripwater δ<jats:sup>18</jats:sup>O variability, primarily due to the influence of fractures on flowpaths. Applying our understanding of water movement through fractures assists in quantitative reconstruction of past climate variability from speleothem δ<jats:sup>18</jats:sup>O records.</jats:p>