Juxtlahuaca Cave, Mexico 2400 Year d18O and Precipitation Reconstruction Lachniet, M.S.; Bernal, J.P.; Asmerom, Y.; Polyak, V.J.; Piperno, D. Lachniet, M.S. Bernal, J.P. Asmerom, Y. Polyak, V.J. Piperno, D. Precipitation Reconstruction drought earth science/paleoclimate/speleothems (depth,null,null,millimeter,null,speleothems,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/climate reconstructions|speleothems (precipitation,delta 18O,null,millimeter,May-Nov,climate reconstructions|speleothems,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/speleothems (delta 18O,calcium carbonate,null,per mil VPDB,null,speleothems,raw,isotope ratio mass spectrometry,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/climate reconstructions|speleothems (age,null,null,year Common Era,null,climate reconstructions|speleothems,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/speleothems (delta 18O,calcium carbonate,null,per mil VPDB,null,speleothems,corrected|smoothed,isotope ratio mass spectrometry,N,smoothed: 5 years and corrected: actual age minus 9 years) earth science/paleoclimate/speleothems (age,null,null,year Common Era,null,speleothems,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/speleothems (age,null,null,calendar year before present,null,speleothems,null,null,N,present defined as 2010.4 CE) earth science/paleoclimate/speleothems (Juxtlahuaca Cave>LATITUDE 17.44>LONGITUDE -99.16) Droughts are a recurring feature of Mexican climate, but few high-resolution data are available to test for climate-change forcing of Mesoamerican civilizations. We present a quantitative 2400 yr rainfall reconstruction for the Basin of Mexico, from a precisely dated and highly resolved speleothem, that documents highly variable rainfall over the past 2400 yr. Dry conditions peaked during a 150-yr-long late Classic (ca. 600–900 CE) (Common Era) mega drought that culminated at 770 CE which followed centuries of climatic drying that spanned the fall of the city of Teotihuacán ca. 550 CE. The wettest conditions in the 1450s CE were associated with flooding in the Basin of Mexico. Our data suggest that rainfall variability was likely forced by the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, and impacts on spring-fed irrigation agriculture may have been a stressor on Mesoamerican civilizations. STUDY NOTES: Stalagmite JX-6 oxygen isotope data (d18O) and rainfall reconstruction from Juxtlahuaca Cave, Mexico for the past 2400 years. The rainfall reconstruction is based on the 5-yr smoothed and 1-yr interpolated d18O data, with ages adjusted 9-years older to account for drip water transit time (see Figure DR2 of Lachniet et al., 2012). Juxtlahuaca Cave, near Colotlipa, Guerrero, Mexico: 17.4°N, 99.2°W, 934 m a.s.l. NCDC-Paleoclimatology https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/paleoclimatology-data - Bauer Bruce Investigator : Lachniet, M.S. Investigator : Bernal, J.P. Investigator : Asmerom, Y. Investigator : Polyak, V.J. Investigator : Piperno, D. 2012-06-04 ONLINE Files online, ASCII https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/12972 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/northamerica/mexico/juxtlahuaca2012.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/northamerica/mexico/juxtlahuaca2012.xls https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/northamerica/mexico/juxtlahuaca2012.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/northamerica/mexico/juxtlahuaca2012.xls English https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/12972 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/northamerica/mexico/juxtlahuaca2012.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/northamerica/mexico/juxtlahuaca2012.xls Lachniet, M.S., J.P. Bernal, Y. Asmerom, V. Polyak, and D. Piperno. 2012. A 2400 yr Mesoamerican rainfall reconstruction links climate and cultural change. Geology, Vol. 40, No. 3, pp259 - 262, March 2012. doi:10.1130/G32471.1 START YEAR: -446 AD * END YEAR: 2010 AD -99.16 17.44 -99.16 17.44