Lehman Caves, Nevada 16,000 Year Speleothem Stable Isotope and Elemental Data Steponaitis, E.; Andrews, A.; McGee, D.; Quade, J.; Hsieh, Y.-T.; Broecker, W.S.; Shuman, B.N.; Burns, S.J.; Cheng, H. Steponaitis, E. Andrews, A. McGee, D. Quade, J. Hsieh, Y.-T. Broecker, W.S. Shuman, B.N. Burns, S.J. Cheng, H. earth science/paleoclimate/speleothems (strontium/calcium,calcium carbonate,null,millimole per mole,null,speleothems,raw,inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry|laser ablation,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/speleothems (magnesium/calcium,calcium carbonate,null,mole per mole,null,speleothems,raw,inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry|laser ablation,N,null) 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 13C,calcium carbonate,null,per mil VPDB,null,speleothems,raw,isotope ratio mass spectrometry,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/speleothems earth science/paleoclimate/speleothems earth science/paleoclimate/speleothems (Lehman Caves>LATITUDE 39.0056>LONGITUDE -114.2203) Lake level records point to dramatic changes in Great Basin water balance over the last 25 ka, but the timing and pace of Holocene drying in the region remains poorly documented. Here we present stable isotope and trace metal data from two Lehman Caves, NV speleothems that provide a well-dated record of latest Pleistocene to mid-Holocene hydroclimate in the U.S. Great Basin. Together the stalagmites span the interval between 16.4 ka and 3.8 ka, with a hiatus from 15.0 ka to 12.7 ka. Mg/Ca and d13C covary throughout the records, consistent with control by the extent of degassing and prior calcite precipitation (PCP); measurements of modern cave and soil waters support PCP as the primary control on drip-water trace-element composition. We therefore interpret Mg/Ca and d13C as reflecting infiltration rates, with higher values corresponding to drier periods. Both Mg/Ca and d13C indicate a wet period at the beginning of the record (12.7-8.2 ka) followed by pronounced drying after 8.2 ka. This mid-Holocene drying is consistent with records from around the western United States, including a new compilation of Great Basin lake-level records. The strong temporal correspondence with the collapse of the Laurentide ice sheet over Hudson Bay suggests that this drying may have been triggered by northward movement of the winter storm track as a result of ice sheet retreat. However, we cannot rule out an alternative hypothesis that wet early Holocene conditions are related to equatorial Pacific sea-surface temperature. Regardless, our results suggest that Great Basin water balance in the early Holocene was driven by factors other than orbital changes. STUDY NOTES: Stable isotope (d18O and d13C) and elemental (Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca) records from 2 speleothems (WR11 and CDR3) collected in Lehman Caves, Nevada. NCDC-Paleoclimatology https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/paleoclimatology-data - Bauer Bruce Investigator : Steponaitis, E. Investigator : Andrews, A. Investigator : McGee, D. Investigator : Quade, J. Investigator : Hsieh, Y.-T. Investigator : Broecker, W.S. Investigator : Shuman, B.N. Investigator : Burns, S.J. Investigator : Cheng, H. 2015-07-28 ONLINE Files online, ASCII https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/19038 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/northamerica/usa/nevada/lehman2015cdr3elem.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/northamerica/usa/nevada/lehman2015cdr3iso.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/northamerica/usa/nevada/lehman2015wr11elem.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/northamerica/usa/nevada/lehman2015wr11iso.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/northamerica/usa/nevada/lehman2015cdr3elem.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/northamerica/usa/nevada/lehman2015cdr3iso.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/northamerica/usa/nevada/lehman2015wr11elem.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/northamerica/usa/nevada/lehman2015wr11iso.txt English https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/19038 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/northamerica/usa/nevada/lehman2015cdr3elem.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/northamerica/usa/nevada/lehman2015cdr3iso.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/northamerica/usa/nevada/lehman2015wr11elem.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/northamerica/usa/nevada/lehman2015wr11iso.txt Steponaitis, Elena; Andrews, Alexandra; McGee, David; Quade, Jay; Hsieh, Yu-Te; Broecker, Wallace S.; Shuman, Bryan N.; Burns, Stephen J.; Cheng, Hai2015Mid-Holocene drying of the U.S. Great Basin recorded in Nevada speleothemsQuaternary Science Reviews10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.04.011http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379115001535 START YEAR: 16400 cal yr BP * END YEAR: 3836 cal yr BP -114.2203 39.0056 -114.2203 39.0056