North European Alps Termination-II Stalagmite Stable Isotope Data Moseley, G.E.; Spötl, C.; Cheng, H.; Boch, R.; Min, A.; Edwards, R.L. Moseley, G.E. Spötl, C. Cheng, H. Boch, R. Min, A. Edwards, R.L. earth science/paleoclimate/speleothems (depth,null,null,millimeter,null,speleothems,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/speleothems (age,null,null,calendar year before present,null,speleothems,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/speleothems (age,null,95% confidence interval margin of error,calendar year,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 (Hölloch Cave>LATITUDE 47.38>LONGITUDE 10.15) (Schneckenloch Cave>LATITUDE 47.4333>LONGITUDE 9.8667) Understanding the sequence of events that take place during glacial-interglacial climate transitions is important for improving our knowledge of abrupt climate change. Here, we present a new stacked, high-resolution, precisely-dated speleothem stable isotope record from the northern Alps, which provides an important record of temperature and moisture-source changes between 134 and 111 ka for Europe and the wider North Atlantic realm. The record encompasses the penultimate deglaciation (Termination II (TII)), which lies beyond the limit of radiocarbon dating, thus providing an important new archive for a crucial period of rapid paleoclimate change. Warmer and wetter ice-free conditions were achieved by 134.1 ± 0.7 ka (modelled ages) as indicated by the presence of liquid water at the site. Temperatures warmed further at 133.7 ± 0.5 ka and led into an interstadial, synchronous with slightly elevated monsoon strength during the week monsoon interval. The interstadial experienced an unstable climate with a trough in temperature associated with a slowdown in Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and a reduction in North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) formation. The interstadial ended with a more extreme cold reversal lasting 500 years in which NADW formation remained active but the subpolar gyre weakened allowing cool polar waters to penetrate southwards. The main warming associated with TII was very rapid, taking place between 130.9 ± 0.9 and 130.7 ± 0.9 ka coeval with initial monsoon strengthening. Temperatures then plateaued before being interrupted by a 600-year cold event at 129.1 ± 0.6 ka, associated once again with penetration of polar waters southwards into the North Atlantic and a slowdown in monsoon strengthening. Sub-orbital climate oscillations were thus a feature of TII in the north Atlantic realm, which broadly resemble the Bølling/Allerød-Younger Dryas-8.2 ka event pattern of change observed in Termination I despite monsoon records indicating strong differences between the last and penultimate deglaciation. STUDY NOTES: Northern Alps speleothem stable isotope (d18O and d13C) data from 2 caves, spanning the penultimate deglaciation (Termination II). Data from Schneckenloch Cave, Austria (115.3-134.1kY) and Hölloch Cave, Germany (110.8-131.8kY) with age models. NCDC-Paleoclimatology https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/paleoclimatology-data - Bauer Bruce Investigator : Moseley, G.E. Investigator : Spötl, C. Investigator : Cheng, H. Investigator : Boch, R. Investigator : Min, A. Investigator : Edwards, R.L. 2015-09-15 ONLINE Files online, ASCII https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/19219 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/europe/austria/moseley2015schneckenloch.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/europe/germany/moseley2015holloch.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/europe/austria/moseley2015schneckenloch.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/europe/germany/moseley2015holloch.txt English https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/19219 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/europe/austria/moseley2015schneckenloch.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/europe/germany/moseley2015holloch.txt Gina E. Moseley, Christoph Spötl, Hai Cheng, Ronny Boch, Angela Min, R. Lawrence Edwards2015Termination-II interstadial/stadial climate change recorded in two stalagmites from the north European AlpsQuaternary Science Reviews10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.07.012http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379115300512 START YEAR: 134085 cal yr BP * END YEAR: 110844 cal yr BP 9.8667 47.38 10.15 47.4333