NALPS19: sub-orbital-scale climate variability recorded in northern Alpine speleothems during the last glacial period ...

• Main Authors: Moseley, Gina E., Spötl, Christoph, Brandstätter, Susanne, Erhardt, Tobias, Luetscher, Marc, Edwards, R. Lawrence
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2020
• Subjects: 550 Earth sciences & geology; Greenland; Greenland ice cores
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.7892/boris.138471; https://boris.unibe.ch/138471/

Sub-orbital-scale climate variability of the last glacial period provides important insights into the rates at which the climate can change state, the mechanisms that drive such changes, and the leads, lags, and synchronicity occurring across different climate zones. Such short-term climate variability has previously been investigated using δ¹⁸O from speleothems (δ¹⁸Ocalc) that grew along the northern rim of the Alps (NALPS), enabling direct chronological comparisons with δ¹⁸O records from Greenland ice cores (δ¹⁸Oice). In this study, we present NALPS19, which includes a revision of the last glacial NALPS δ¹⁸Ocalc chronology over the interval 118.3 to 63.7 ka using 11, newly available, clean, precisely dated stalagmites from five caves. Using only the most reliable and precisely dated records, this period is now 90 % complete and is comprised of 16 stalagmites from seven caves. Where speleothems grew synchronously, the timing of major transitional events in δ¹⁸Ocalc between stadials and interstadials (and ...