Can stalagmites predict climate change?
Updated on 02 June 2009
Two Durham scientists recreate Europe's weather history - by examining stalagmites. And they could hold the key to predicting the future of climate change. Tom Clarke reports.
New technology means two scientists may be able to use stalagmite rock formations to forecast what will happen to our climate, as global warming heats the world.
The technology allows the scientists to analyse the chemical make-up of the rock formations in extraordinary detail.
Stalagmites, which take tens of thousands of years to form in the dark depths of caves, could now provide a precise record of the weather stretching back thousands of years.
Our science correspondent, Tom Clarke, travelled with the Durham team to the remote Bear Cave near Kletno in south west Poland, where they collected their stalagmite samples.
