Abstract
This synthesis of thirty-six sites (sixty cores with over 27 000 measurements) located around the world facilitates scientific research on the climate of the last 21 000 years ago obtained from oxygen isotope ( or delta-O-18) measurements. Oxygen isotopes in speleothem calcite record the influence of ambient temperature and the isotopic composition of the source water, the latter providing evidence of hydrologic variability and change. Compared to paleoclimate proxies from sedimentary archives, the age uncertainty is unusually small, around +/−100 years for the last 21 000-year interval. Using data contributed to the World Data Center (WDC) for Paleoclimatology, we have created consistently formatted data files for individual sites as well as composite dataset of annual to millennial resolution. These individual files also contain the chronology information about the sites. The data are useful in understanding hydrologic variability at local and regional scales, such as the Asian summer monsoon and the Intertropical Convergence Zone (as discussed in the underlying source publications), and should also be useful in understanding large-scale aspects of hydrologic change since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM).
Highlights
Speleothems are precipitated calcium carbonate deposits in caves
This linear conversion does not alter the interpretation of any time series; it merely ensures that all units are consistent with the community’s standard
This dataset paper documents a new compilation of speleothem δ18O measurements available at the World Data Center for Paleoclimatology. These data can be interpreted in terms of the climatic and environmental factors influencing isotopic fractionation, as described previously
Summary
Speleothems are precipitated calcium carbonate deposits in caves. Stalagmites grow from the ground up in caves, stalactites are the formations that hang from the ceilings, and flowstones are sheetlike deposits that form on walls and floors. In addition to Rayleigh distillation, the amount effect is caused by the tendency for high-intensity rainfall to have more large raindrops that retain the depleted isotopic composition present higher in the atmosphere, and by decreased reevaporation of falling raindrops in humid conditions [3] In addition to these effects on rainwater composition, other factors influencing speleothem δ18O are ice volume and source (ocean) temperature [5]. The effect of the average 4∘C cooler [6] glacial ocean on isotope fractionation during evaporation from the ocean should be evident in the records that reach the LGM Cave deposits record these δ18O changes in their calcium carbonate. The objective of this dataset paper is to make these data more accessible to the specialist and nonspecialist alike, and the objective of the compilation is to facilitate research on past hydrologic variability
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