# River Thames Enamel Amino Acid Data during the Pleistocene #----------------------------------------------------------------------- # World Data Service for Paleoclimatology, Boulder # and # NOAA Paleoclimatology Program #----------------------------------------------------------------------- # Template Version 4.0 # Encoding: UTF-8 # Data License: CC BY 4.0 # NOTE: Please cite original publication, NOAA Landing Page URL, dataset and publication DOIs (where available), and date accessed when using downloaded data. # If there is no publication information, please cite investigator, study title, NOAA Landing Page URL, and date accessed. # # Description/Documentation lines begin with '#' followed by a space # Data lines have no '#' # # NOAA_Landing_Page: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/paleo-search/study/44541 # Landing_Page_Description: NOAA Landing Page of this file's parent study, which includes all study metadata. # # Study_Level_JSON_Metadata: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/metadata/published/paleo/json/noaa-other-44541.json # Study_Level_JSON_Description: JSON metadata of this data file's parent study, which includes all study metadata. # # Data_Type: Other Collections # # Dataset_DOI: 10.25921/hsdk-d588 # # Science_Keywords: #--------------------------------------- # Resource_Links # # Data_Download_Resource: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/aar/dickinson2024/dickinson2024-grays.txt # Data_Download_Description: NOAA Template File; Grays Amino Acids Data # #--------------------------------------- # Contribution_Date # Date: 2026-03-25 #--------------------------------------- # File_Last_Modified_Date # Date: 2026-05-22 #--------------------------------------- # Title # Study_Name: River Thames Enamel Amino Acid Data during the Pleistocene #--------------------------------------- # Investigators # Investigators: Dickinson, Marc R. (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0465-1612); Penkman, Kirsty E.H. (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6226-9799) #--------------------------------------- # Description_Notes_and_Keywords # Description: # Provided Keywords: Aminostratigraphy, Geochronology, Great Britain, Intra-crystalline protein decomposition (IcPD), Pleistocene, Racemisation, Elephant, Horse, Bison #--------------------------------------- # Publication # Authors: Dickinson, M.R., Adams, N.F., Scott, K., Lister, A.M., Penkman, K.E.H. # Published_Date_or_Year: 2024 # Published_Title: Amino acid dating of Pleistocene mammalian enamel from the River Thames terrace sequence: a multi-taxon approach # Journal_Name: Quaternary Geochronology # Volume: 82 # Edition: # Issue: # Pages: 101543 # Report_Number: # DOI: 10.1016/j.quageo.2024.101543 # Online_Resource: # Full_Citation: # Abstract: Amino acid geochronology can provide effective relative dating frameworks for the Pleistocene and has enabled correlation of terrestrial deposits to the global climatic fluctuations described by the marine oxygen isotope record. Using methods developed for the analysis of intra-crystalline amino acids in tooth enamel, we aimed to construct an enamel-based amino acid geochronology for the terrace deposits in the valley of the River Thames in southern Britain using different mammalian taxonomic groups: elephant, horse and bison. To achieve this, chiral amino acid analysis was applied to 58 elephantid, 21 horse and 15 bison teeth from 10 horizons in the Upper Thames Valley, three in the Lower Thames Valley and one from a Thames tributary in the Lea Valley. We evaluate differences in the rates of amino acid breakdown between the taxa and establish which species are similar enough to enable comparison for relative dating purposes. The relative dating of the river terrace deposits is in good agreement with the terrace stratigraphy, biostratigraphy, and other independent estimates of age for all three taxonomic groups. These frameworks demonstrate the potential of enamel-based amino acid geochronologies for relative dating of Middle–Late Pleistocene deposits in the UK, and establish an aminostratigraphic framework from which the dating of other tooth material can be refined. Enamel offers an opportunity to evaluate the age of sites where shell material is absent or poorly preserved. It can also, crucially, provide direct relative dating of mammalian fossils, which are often the focus of study in terms of their evolution, distributional changes or extinction. Direct dating negates the risk that the mammal fossils themselves might be reworked, or of different ages to shell, sediments or other dated material in the same deposits; it also enables archived samples with insecure provenance (e.g. from early 17th-19th century collections) to be directly dated. #--------------------------------------- # Funding_Agency # Funding_Agency_Name: UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) # Grant: NE/S010211/1 #--------------------------------------- # Funding_Agency # Funding_Agency_Name: European Union Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme # Grant: 865222 #--------------------------------------- # Site_Information # Site_Name: Grays, Lower Thames # Location: United Kingdom # Northernmost_Latitude: 51.47833 # Southernmost_Latitude: 51.47833 # Easternmost_Longitude: 0.30264 # Westernmost_Longitude: 0.30264 # Elevation_m: #--------------------------------------- # Data_Collection # Collection_Name: Grays Amino Acids Dickinson2024 # First_Year: # Last_Year: # Time_Unit: # Core_Length_m: # Parameter_Keywords: others # Notes: #--------------------------------------- # Chronology_Information # Chronology: #--------------------------------------- # Variables # PaST_Thesaurus_Download_Resource: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/paleo-search/skos/past-thesaurus.rdf # PaST_Thesaurus_Download_Description: Paleoenvironmental Standard Terms (PaST) Thesaurus terms, definitions, and relationships in SKOS format. # # Data variables follow that are preceded by "##" in columns one and two. # Variables list, one per line, shortname-tab-var components: what, material, error, units, seasonality, data type, detail, method, C or N for Character or Numeric data) # ## LAB_NUMBER sample identification,,,dimensionless,,other collections,,,C, ## SAMPLE_ID sample identification,,,dimensionless,,other collections,,,C, ## GENUS sample identification,,,dimensionless,,other collections,,,C,genus of sample ## SPECIES sample identification,,,dimensionless,,other collections,,,C,species of sample ## FAA_replicate_no. number of samples,,,count,,other collections,,,N,number of analytical replicates measured for each FAA sample; FAA: free amino acid fraction; opercula ## FAA_Asx_D/L_x aspartic acid and asparagine,tooth enamel,,fraction,,other collections,,,N,free amino acid fraction: aspartic acid/ asparagine mean; high-performance liquid chromatography N ratio of D- to L-aspartic acid; reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography ## FAA_Asx_D/L_sigma aspartic acid and asparagine,tooth enamel,one standard deviation,fraction,,other collections,,,N,free amino acid fraction: aspartic acid/ asparagine 1 standard deviation ## FAA_Glx_D/L_x glutamic acid and glutamine,tooth enamel,,fraction,,other collections,,,N,free amino acid fraction: glutamic acid/ glutamine mean ## FAA_Glx_D/L_sigma glutamic acid and glutamine,tooth enamel,one standard deviation,fraction,,other collections,,,N,free amino acid fraction: glutamic acid/ glutamine 1 standard deviation ## FAA_Ala_D/L_x alanine,tooth enamel,,fraction,,other collections,,,N,free amino acid fraction: alanine mean ## FAA_Ala_D/L_sigma alanine,tooth enamel,one standard deviation,fraction,,other collections,,,N,free amino acid fraction: alanine 1 standard deviation ## FAA_Phe_D/L_x phenylalanine,tooth enamel,,fraction,,other collections,,,N,free amino acid fraction: phenylalanine mean ## FAA_Phe_D/L_sigma phenylalanine,tooth enamel,one standard deviation,fraction,,other collections,,,N,free amino acid fraction: phenylalanine 1 standard deviation ## THAA_replicate_no. number of samples,tooth enamel,,count,,other collections,,,N,number of analytical replicates measured for THAA each sample; THAA: total hydrolysable amino acid fraction ## THAA_Asx_D/L_x aspartic acid and asparagine,tooth enamel,,fraction,,other collections,,,N,total hydrolysable amino acid fraction: aspartic acid/ asparagine mean ## THAA_Asx_D/L_sigma aspartic acid and asparagine,tooth enamel,one standard deviation,fraction,,other collections,,,N,total hydrolysable amino acid fraction: aspartic acid/ asparagine 1 standard deviation ## THAA_Glx_D/L_x glutamic acid and glutamine,tooth enamel,,fraction,,other collections,,,N,total hydrolysable amino acid fraction: glutamic acid/ glutamine mean ## THAA_Glx_D/L_sigma glutamic acid and glutamine,tooth enamel,one standard deviation,fraction,,other collections,,,N,total hydrolysable amino acid fraction: glutamic acid/ glutamine 1 standard deviation; ## THAA_Ala_D/L_x alanine,tooth enamel,,fraction,,other collections,,,N,total hydrolysable amino acid fraction: alanine mean ## THAA_Ala_D/L_sigma alanine,tooth enamel,one standard deviation,fraction,,other collections,,,N,total hydrolysable amino acid fraction: alanine 1 standard deviation ## THAA_Phe_D/L_x phenylalanine,tooth enamel,,fraction,,other collections,,,N,total hydrolysable amino acid fraction: phenylalanine mean ## THAA_Phe_D/L_sigma phenylalanine,tooth enamel,one standard deviation,fraction,,other collections,,,N,total hydrolysable amino acid fraction: phenylalanine 1 standard deviation #------------------------ # Data: # Data lines follow (have no #) # Data line format - tab-delimited text, variable short name as header # Missing_Values: NaN LAB_NUMBER SAMPLE_ID GENUS SPECIES FAA_replicate_no. FAA_Asx_D/L_x FAA_Asx_D/L_sigma FAA_Glx_D/L_x FAA_Glx_D/L_sigma FAA_Ala_D/L_x FAA_Ala_D/L_sigma FAA_Phe_D/L_x FAA_Phe_D/L_sigma THAA_replicate_no. THAA_Asx_D/L_x THAA_Asx_D/L_sigma THAA_Glx_D/L_x THAA_Glx_D/L_sigma THAA_Ala_D/L_x THAA_Ala_D/L_sigma THAA_Phe_D/L_x THAA_Phe_D/L_sigma 12241, 12242 NaN Palaeoloxodon antiquus 2 0.26 0.00 0.08 0.00 0.22 0.00 0.22 0.01 2 0.31 0.01 0.11 0.00 0.21 0.01 0.13 0.00 11552, 11553 GSM 115520 Palaeoloxodon antiquus 2 0.22 0.00 0.07 0.00 0.22 0.00 0.24 0.01 2 0.26 0.00 0.09 0.00 0.22 0.01 0.12 0.01