Santiago Cave, Ecuador 94KYr Speleothem d18O Data Mosblech, N.A.S.; Bush, M.B.; Gosling, W.D.; Hodell, D.A.; Thomas, L.; van Calsteren, P.; Correa-Metrio, A.; Valencia, B.G.; Curtis, J.H.; van Woesik, R. Mosblech, N.A.S. Bush, M.B. Gosling, W.D. Hodell, D.A. Thomas, L. van Calsteren, P. Correa-Metrio, A. Valencia, B.G. Curtis, J.H. van Woesik, R. Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) hydrology earth science/paleoclimate/speleothems (delta 18O,calcium carbonate,null,per mil VPDB,null,speleothems,anomalized,isotope ratio mass spectrometry,N,anomalized from overall record mean) earth science/paleoclimate/speleothems (age,null,null,calendar year before present,null,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/speleothems (delta 18O,calcium carbonate,null,per mil VPDB,null,speleothems,anomalized,isotope ratio mass spectrometry,N,anomalized from next oldest sample) earth science/paleoclimate/speleothems (Santiago Cave>LATITUDE -3.0167>LONGITUDE -78.1333) The last glacial period was marked by multiple, abrupt reorganizations of ocean and atmosphere circulation. On thousand-year timescales, slowing of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation was associated with cooling in the high northern latitudes, whereas strengthened circulation was linked to northern warming. In the tropics, these millennial-scale events were primarily reflected in altered patterns of precipitation. These hydrologic fluctuations induced ecological changes in the Atlantic seaboard and the high Andes, but less is known about the Amazon Basin. Here we reconstruct precipitation over Amazonian Ecuador over the past 94,000 years using a d18O record from speleothems collected in Santiago Cave in western Amazonia. We interpret the variability of the d18O record as changes in the source and amount of precipitation. With the exception of the period between 40,000 and 17,000 years ago, abrupt, high-frequency changes coincide with shifts in North Atlantic circulation, indicating a high-latitude influence on Amazonian precipitation over millennial timescales. On longer timescales, the record shows a relationship to precessional changes in the Earth's orbit. In light of the lack of extreme aridity in our records, we conclude that ecosystems in western Amazonia have not experienced prolonged drying over the past 94,000 years. STUDY NOTES: Stacked d18O data from four speleothems collected in 2007 from Santiago Cave in the lowland wet forests of western Amazonia, Ecuador. The composite isotope record consists of 4 speleothems: Sant3 from 6113-9486 years ago (ya); Sant1 from 8449-39460 ya; Sant5 from 35080-46952 ya; and Sant4 from 40193-93974 ya NCDC-Paleoclimatology https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/paleoclimatology-data - Bauer Bruce Investigator : Mosblech, N.A.S. Investigator : Bush, M.B. Investigator : Gosling, W.D. Investigator : Hodell, D.A. Investigator : Thomas, L. Investigator : van Calsteren, P. Investigator : Correa-Metrio, A. Investigator : Valencia, B.G. Investigator : Curtis, J.H. Investigator : van Woesik, R. 2013-02-07 ONLINE Files online, ASCII https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/13733 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/southamerica/ecuador/santiago2012.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/southamerica/ecuador/santiago2012.txt English https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/13733 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/southamerica/ecuador/santiago2012.txt Nicole A.S. Mosblech, Mark B. Bush, William D. Gosling, David Hodell, Louise Thomas, Peter van Calsteren, Alexander Correa-Metrio, Bryan G. Valencia, Jason Curtis, and Robert van Woesik. 2012. North Atlantic forcing of Amazonian precipitation during the last ice age. Nature Geoscience, Vol. 5, No. 11, pp. 817-820. DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1588 START YEAR: 93974 cal yr BP * END YEAR: 6147 cal yr BP -78.1333 -3.0167 -78.1333 -3.0167