Isotopic characteristics of Slovenian glacier and cave ice as indicators of climatic and hydrological change

Isotope studies of various components of the water cycle are a cornerstone of contemporary climate and environmental research. These studies utilize stable isotope compositions of oxygen and hydrogen in ice, snow and meltwater, along with other parameters, and provide important insights into past and present climate conditions, hydrological processes, ice dynamics, and broader environmental changes. Enhanced understanding of the Earth's climate history derived from isotope analyses contributes significantly to refining predictive climate models and informs sustainable management strategies addressing future climatic, environmental, and water resource challenges.

However, physio-chemical and isotopic data on water cycle components frequently remain scattered, inconsistent, and incomplete, particularly isotope datasets generated from numerous short-term research projects worldwide. Therefore, consolidating and publicly sharing these data is essential, forming a critical foundation for climate-smart sustainable development and informed decision-making.

Climate change, characterized by increasing air temperatures, altered precipitation patterns and diminishing snow cover, has driven unprecedented glacier retreat globally. Such retreat impacts hydrological regimes profoundly, causing water scarcity and heightened drought risk due to reduced meltwater contributions, while concurrently increasing flood risk.

In Slovenia, the Pleistocene glaciation reshaped up to 9% of the landscape. Today, however, only two small glaciers remain – Triglav Glacier and Skuta Glacier. Additionally, more than 200 caves containing permanent ice are documented in the Slovenian Cave Registry. Both glaciers and ice caves are located at relatively low altitudes, rendering them particularly sensitive indicators of recent climate change.

This presentation summarizes past and ongoing isotope investigations focusing on ice from Slovenian glaciers (e.g., Triglav Glacier and Skuta Glacier) and ice caves (e.g., Viševnik Ice Cave, Ivačičeva Cave, Triglav Shaft, Snežna Cave and Paradana Cave). By integrating these results with existing physio-chemical and isotope data from regional precipitation, snow, snowmelt, surface water, and groundwater, this consolidated data offers water resource managers critical insights into hydrological variability and anticipates future changes in Slovenian water sources.

Activities for this presentation were funded by the ARIS (Grants P1-0143, P6-0101, I0-0031, J6-3141, J6-50214) and IAEA (CRP F33031, TC RER7013, TC RER7017).