Add this to your list of 101 uses for speleothems. Recently, scientists have started to use the oxygen isotope ratio to track changes in the amount of rainfall (heavy rain results in more light oxygen) or changes in where the rain came from-the ocean or inland sources.
* Paleoclimatology: Speleothems http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/Paleoclimatology_Speleothems/ A regional climate model says land cover change in south Florida has created both hotter, drier summers, and more severe freezes in the winter. Check it out, Jon Cradit
