Reconstruction of MIS 5 climate in the central Levant using a stalagmite from Kanaan Cave, Lebanon

摘要

Lying at the transition between the temperate Mediterranean domain andsubtropical deserts, the Levant is a key area to study the palaeoclimaticresponse over glacial–interglacial cycles. This paper presents a preciselydated last interglacial (MIS 5) stalagmite (129–84 ka) from the KanaanCave, Lebanon. Variations in growth rate and isotopic records indicate awarm humid phase at the onset of the last interglacial at ~ 129 ka that lasted until ~ 125 ka. A gradual shift in speleothemisotopic composition (125–122 ka) is driven mainly by the δ18Osource effect of the eastern Mediterranean surface waters during sapropel 5 (S5). The onset of glacial inception began after ~ 122 ka,interrupted by a short wet pulse during the sapropel 4 (S4) event. Low growth rates andenriched oxygen and carbon values until ~ 84 ka indicate atransition to drier conditions during Northern Hemisphere glaciation.