noaa-cave-16403 Ashalim Cave, Israel Plio-Pleistocene Speleothem Stable Isotope Data Vaks, A.; Woodhead, J.; Bar-Matthews, M.; Ayalon, A.; Cliff, R.A.; Zilberman, T.; Matthews, A.; Frumkin, A. Ashalim Cave, Israel Plio-Pleistocene Speleothem Stable Isotope Data 2014-03-28 NCDC-Paleoclimatology ONLINE Files Pending https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/16403 Investigator A. Vaks Investigator J. Woodhead Investigator M. Bar-Matthews Investigator A. Ayalon Investigator R.A. Cliff Investigator T. Zilberman Investigator A. Matthews Investigator A. Frumkin earth science paleoclimate speleothems age,null,null,million years ago,null,speleothems,null,null,N,null earth science paleoclimate speleothems sample identification,null,null,null,null,speleothems,null,null,C,null earth science paleoclimate speleothems age,null,95% confidence interval margin of error,calendar kiloyear,null,speleothems,null,null,N,null earth science paleoclimate speleothems delta 13C,calcium carbonate,null,per mil PDB,null,speleothems,raw,isotope ratio mass spectrometry,N,null earth science paleoclimate speleothems age,null,null,calendar kiloyear before present,null,speleothems,null,null,N,null earth science paleoclimate speleothems age at sample start,null,null,calendar kiloyear,null,speleothems,null,null,N,null earth science paleoclimate speleothems age at sample end,null,null,calendar kiloyear before present,null,speleothems,null,null,N,null earth science paleoclimate speleothems age,null,unspecified margin of error,million year,null,speleothems,null,null,N,null earth science paleoclimate speleothems delta 18O,calcium carbonate,null,per mil PDB,null,speleothems,raw,isotope ratio mass spectrometry,N,null earth science paleoclimate speleothems carbon isotopes earth science paleoclimate speleothems oxygen isotopes geoscientificInformation hydrology 3100000 cal yr BP 115500 cal yr BP Complete 30.9434 30.9434 34.7396 34.7396 400 400 Continent Asia Western Asia Middle East Israel Ashalim Cave>LATITUDE 30.9434>LONGITUDE 34.7396 None Please cite original publication, online resource, dataset and publication DOIs (where available), and date accessed when using downloaded data. If there is no publication information, please cite investigator, title, online resource, and date accessed. The appearance of external links associated with a dataset does not constitute endorsement by the Department of Commerce/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of external Web sites or the information, products or services contained therein. For other than authorized activities, the Department of Commerce/NOAA does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. These links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this Department of Commerce/NOAA Web site. English DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/paleoclimatology-data DATA Center Contact Bruce Bauer bruce.a.bauer@noaa.gov paleo@noaa.gov 303-497-6280 303-497-6513

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Boulder CO 80305-3328 USA online ASCII A. Vaks, J. Woodhead, M. Bar-Matthews, A. Ayalon, R.A. Cliff, T. Zilberman, A. Matthews, A. Frumkin 2013 Earth and Planetary Science Letters 368 88-100 10.1016/j.epsl.2013.02.027 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012821X13000940

The Middle-Late Pliocene climate was 2-3°C warmer than today, but with similar levels of atmospheric CO2. This period reflects climate conditions expected in the near future, and is therefore an important target for current data-modeling studies. This study reconstructs the Pliocene-Quaternary evolution of arid conditions on the northern margin of the Saharan-Arabian desert, using radiometrically (U-Pb) dated periods of speleothem deposition from three caves of the Negev Desert, Israel. Speleothem growth started between ~3.75 and ~3 Ma, at the end of the first significant tectonic uplift of the western shoulder of the Dead Sea Rift. Major speleothem deposition, indicating wet conditions, occurred during the Pliocene around ~3.1 Ma, with subsequent aridity during the last 3 Myr, punctuated by short wet episodes - the Pleistocene Negev Humid Periods (NHP). The oldest dated NHP occurred between ~1.7 and ~1.25 Ma, and other short humid episodes continued intermittently later. Speleothem d18O values (-6.9 per mil to -11.2 per mil) show that the humid episodes were associated with periods of low global ice volume and warm temperatures. After correction for rainfall d18O changes associated with ice volume and temperature effects, the observed relative constancy of speleothem d18O values from Pliocene to Late Pleistocene indicates rainfall was from a common source, most probably the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The humid Pliocene conditions could be generated by more southerly position of the Mediterranean coast (allowing the access of Mediterranean precipitation to the Negev), as well as by warmer Atlantic Sea Surface Temperatures, that weakened the Azores High Pressure Cell. Maximum amounts of precipitation were 500-600 mm/a during the Pliocene and >300 mm/a during Pleistocene NHP. The Pliocene and the earliest Pleistocene NHP are associated with formation of lakes in the Negev. Low 87Sr/86Sr ratios of ~0.7078 in the Pliocene speleothems are indicative of low dust supply, low water residence time in the vadose zone and relatively high weathering rates of the cave host rock. Increase of 87Sr/86Sr ratios to 0.7082-0.7083 in the Pleistocene suggest an increased supply of desert dust, high water residence time in the vadose zone and reduced host rock weathering. STUDY NOTES: Stable isotope (d18O and d13C) data from speleothems collected in Ashalim Cave, Negev Desert, Israel.

GET DATA https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/asia/israel/ashalim2013.xls Excel Data File; Ashalim Cave Stable Isotope Data GET DATA https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/speleothem/asia/israel/ashalim2013.txt Data File; Ashalim Cave Stable Isotope Data USA/NOAA DIF Version 9.8.4 2018-12-11 2018-12-11