Western Australia 40,000 Year Stalagmite Stable Isotope Data Denniston, R.F.; Asmerom, Y.; Polyak, V.J.; Wanamaker, A.D.; Ummenhofer, C.C.; Humphreys, W.F.; Cugley, J.; Woods, D.; Lucker, S. Denniston, R.F. Asmerom, Y. Polyak, V.J. Wanamaker, A.D. Ummenhofer, C.C. Humphreys, W.F. Cugley, J. Woods, D. Lucker, S. earth science/paleoclimate/speleothems (age,null,null,calendar year before present,null,speleothems,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/speleothems (depth,null,null,millimeter,null,speleothems,null,null,N,distance from base) 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 (sample identification,null,null,null,null,speleothems,null,null,C,stalagmite name) 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 (Cave KNI-51>LATITUDE -15.18>LONGITUDE 128.37) (Ball Gown Cave>LATITUDE -17.333333>LONGITUDE 124.083333) Recent studies of stalagmites from the Southern Hemisphere tropics of Indonesia reveal two shifts in monsoon activity not apparent in records from the Northern Hemisphere sectors of the Austral-Asian monsoon system: an interval of enhanced rainfall at ~19 ka, immediately prior to Heinrich Stadial 1, and a sharp increase in precipitation at ~9 ka. Determining whether these events are site-specific or regional is important for understanding the full range of sensitivities of the Austral-Asian monsoon. We present a discontinuous 40 kyr carbon isotope record of stalagmites from two caves in the Kimberley region of the north-central Australian tropics. Heinrich stadials are represented by pronounced negative carbon isotopic anomalies, indicative of enhanced rainfall associated with a southward shift of the intertropical convergence zone and consistent with hydroclimatic changes observed across Asia and the Indo-Pacific. Between 20 and 8 ka, however, the Kimberley stalagmites, like the Indonesian record, reveal decoupling of monsoon behavior from Southeast Asia, including the early deglacial wet period (which we term the Late Glacial Pluvial) and the abrupt strengthening of early Holocene monsoon rainfall. STUDY NOTES: Stable isotope (d18O and d13C) data from stalagmites collected in 2 caves (Ball Gown Cave and Cave KNI-51) in tropical Western Australia for the past 40,000 years. Kimberley composite stalagmite record utilized in Denniston et al. 2017 Late Glacial through Holocene paleomonsoon reconstruction. NCDC-Paleoclimatology https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/paleoclimatology-data - Bauer Bruce Investigator : Denniston, R.F. Investigator : Asmerom, Y. Investigator : Polyak, V.J. Investigator : Wanamaker, A.D. Investigator : Ummenhofer, C.C. Investigator : Humphreys, W.F. Investigator : Cugley, J. Investigator : Woods, D. Investigator : Lucker, S. 2017-11-02 ONLINE Files online, ASCII https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/22990 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/australia/ballgown2017iso.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/australia/kni-51-2017iso.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/australia/ballgown2017iso.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/australia/kni-51-2017iso.txt English https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/22990 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/australia/ballgown2017iso.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/australia/kni-51-2017iso.txt R.F. Denniston, Y. Asmerom, V.J. Polyak, A.D. Wanamaker Jr., C.C. Ummenhofer, W.F. Humphreys, J. Cugley, D. Woods, S. Lucker2017Decoupling of monsoon activity across the northern and southern Indo-Pacific during the Late GlacialQuaternary Science Reviews176101-10510.1016/j.quascirev.2017.09.014https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379117305681 START YEAR: 39971 cal yr BP * END YEAR: 304 cal yr BP 124.083333 -17.333333 128.37 -15.18