Northwest Scotland Stalagmite Data to 3600 BP: Readme file --------------------------------------------------------------------- NOAA Paleoclimatology Program and World Data Center for Paleoclimatology, Boulder --------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: PLEASE CITE ORIGINAL REFERENCE WHEN USING THIS DATA!!!!! NAME OF DATA SET: Northwest Scotland Stalagmite Data to 3600 BP LAST UPDATE: May 2002 (See also Proctor 2000 for earlier published data) CONTRIBUTORS: Andy Baker, Chris Proctor (University of Newcastle, UK) Bill Barnes (University of Exeter, UK) IGBP PAGES/WDCA CONTRIBUTION SERIES NUMBER: 2002-028 SUGGESTED DATA CITATION: Baker, A., Proctor, C., and Barnes, W., 2002, Northwest Scotland Stalagmite Data to 3600 BP, IGBP PAGES/World Data Center A for Paleoclimatology Data Contribution Series #2002-028. NOAA/NGDC Paleoclimatology Program, Boulder CO, USA. ORIGINAL REFERENCE: Proctor, C.J., A. Baker, and W.L. Barnes, 2002. A Three Thousand Year Record of North Atlantic Climate. Climate Dynamics, Volume 19, Numbers 5-6, pp.449-454. ADDITIONAL REFERENCES: Baker A, Smart PL, Edwards RL & Richards DA (1993). Annual growth banding in a cave stalagmite. Nature, 364, 518-520. Baker A, Caseldine CJ, Gilmour MA, Charman D, Proctor CJ, Hawkesworth CJ & Phillips N, (1999) Stalagmite luminescence and peat humification records of palaeomoisture for the last 2,500 years. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 165, 157-162. Christopher J. Proctor, Andy Baker, William L. Barnes and Mabs A. Gilmour, 2000. A thousand year speleothem proxy record of North Atlantic climate from Scotland. Climate Dynamics, Volume 16, Issue 10/11, pp 815-820. Trouet, V., J. Esper, N.E. Graham, A. Baker, J.D. Scourse, and D.C. Frank. 2009. Persistent Positive North Atlantic Oscillation Mode Dominated the Medieval Climate Anomaly. Science, Vol. 324, pp. 78-80, 3 April 2009 DOI: 10.1126/science.1166349 GEOGRAPHIC REGION: Northwest Scotland, UK PERIOD OF RECORD: 3600 BP to the present LIST OF FILES: Readme_assynt96.txt (this file), assynt96.xls (Microsoft Excel format), assynt96.txt (Tab-delimited ASCII text). ABSTRACT: Annual band counting on three radiometrically dated stalagmites from NW Scotland, provides a record of growth rate variations for the last 3000 years. Over the period of instrumental meteorological records we have a good historical calibration with local climate (mean annual temperature/mean annual precipitation), regional climate (North Atlantic Oscillation) and sea surface temperature (SST; strongest at 65-70°N, 15-20°W), although the correlation with the latter breaks down prior to the instrumental record. This suggests that the climatic factors that force NW Scottish climate and therefore our stalagmite growth varied through time, and include winter NAO strength, the strength of the thermohaline circulation and possibly solar output. Spectral analysis was performed on the stalagmite growth rate time series. A spectral frequency of 50-70 years is predominant in two stalagmites that were deposited from 1000 to 3000 BP; a slightly longer frequency of 72-94 years is dominant from 1000 BP to present. These are the same as that observed in ocean GCM output for the North Atlantic region SSTs. Our stalagmites provide high resolution, precisely dated evidence of a similar periodicity predominating over the last 3000 years in a climate proxy record known to be sensitive to changes in forcing functions relevant to the North Atlantic sector. DESCRIPTION: Dataset name: Stalagmite SU-96-7, SU-96-1 and SU-96-2 Location: Uamh an Tartair, part of the Cnoc nan Uamh cave system, 3 km east of Inchnadamph in Assynt, Northwest Scotland UK National Grid Reference NC 276 206 58° 09' N 04° 59'W 220 m a.s.l. Note: This dataset is that used by Trouet et al (2009). Variable Names: Annual Band width (microns) Additional site information: Uamh an Tartair is overlain by moorland with thin peat between 0.1 and 0.6 metre thick. This area of moorland has remained undisturbed within historical times and analysis of cores from the peat has provided a dated 2000 year record of humification and vegetation from the site (Baker et al., 1999, EPSL) and a 1000 year record of climate (Proctor et al, 2000). This dataset extend that of Proctor et al.(2000) with the addition of two further stalagmites that extend the growth rate record back to 3600 BP. Data are presented as both the annual growth rate recorded from lamina thickness, as well as a decadal smoothed value. In addition, the mean of all three stalagmites is calculated. In Proctor et al (2000) we presented a historical calibration of growth rate with climate. This could be applied to the series here using the equation: Annual band width = -206 + 68200 (T/P) (r=0.77) Annual band width (microns), T = mean annual temperature (°C) and P = mean annual precipitation (mm)