Kalahroud Cave is located in central Iran, ~50 km north of Isfahan. The landscape is a typical mountain desert morphology of cuestas dissected by ravines and gorges created during rare surface run-off events; crest lines are ~2800 m asl and lowlands at ~2100 m asl. Kalahroud Cave (4500 m of mapped passages, ~60 m deep) is entered through breakdown in the eastern wall of a gorge. The host rock is a Cretaceous limestone and mudstone formation 60 m in thickness, underlain by sandstones and conglomerates and overlain by weakly permeable calcareous marl strata, all dipping 15-20o. Below the entrance breakdown, two corrosion notch chambers give access to a rectilinear, quasi-horizontal maze of joint-guided passages extending ~500 m eastwards. Rock solution morphology created by slowly flowing phreatic waters predominates (solution pockets, partitions, paragenetic forms, etc). Seven shafts are known that discharged water into the maze and chambers from inaccessible passages below. From XRD analysis, the paragenetic sediments derive from the mudstone interbeds. There are small displays of frostwork, helictites and thin flowstones typical of vadose speleothem deposition in arid caves. Below the level of the corrosion notch, more complex sub-aqueous and shelfstone calcites are overlain by accumulations of calcite rafts up to 70 cm in depth. Raft deposition continues today. It is proposed that the cave is of hypogene origin, serving to discharge interformational groundwaters into the gorge, and becoming de-watered as the latter was deepened. The corrosion notches are due to cessation of deepening. From U series dating, the modern phase of raft deposition began about 10,000 years ago. The sequence and ages of older events will be investigated in future work.

The history of sea level in regions impacted by glacio-isostasy provides constraints on past ice-sheet distribution and on the characteristics of deformation of the planet in response to loading. The Western North Atlantic–Caribbean region, and Bermuda in particular, is strongly affected by the glacial forebulge that forms as a result of the Laurentide ice-sheet present during glacial periods. The timing of growth of speleothems, at elevations close to sea level can provide records of minimum relative sea level (RSL). In this study we used U–Th dating to precisely date growth periods of speleothems from Bermuda which were found close to modern-day sea level. Results suggest that RSL at this location was above modern during MIS5e, MIS5c and MIS5a. These data support controversial previous indications that Bermudian RSL was significantly higher than RSL at other locations during MIS 5c and MIS 5a. We confirm that it is possible to explain a wide range of MIS5c-a relative sea levels observed across the Western North Atlantic–Caribbean in glacial isostatic adjustment models, but only with a limited range of mantle deformation constants. This study demonstrates the particular power of Bermuda as a gauge for response of the forebulge to glacial loading, and demonstrates the potential for highstands at this location to be significantly higher than in other regions, helping to explain the high sea levels observed for Bermuda from earlier highstands.

This article presents isotopic measurements (δ18O and δD) of precipitation and cave drip water from two sites in southern France in order to investigate the link between rainfall and seepage water, and to characterize regional rainfall isotopic variability. These data, which are among the longest series in France, come from two rainfall stations in south-west France (Le Mas 1996–2012, and Villars 1998–2012; typically under Atlantic influence), and from one station in the south-east (Orgnac 2000–2012; under both Mediterranean and Atlantic influence). Rainfall isotopic composition is compared to drip water collected under stalactites from the same sites: Villars Cave (four drip stations 1999–2012) in the south-west, and Chauvet Cave (two drip stations 2000–2012) in the south-east, near Orgnac. The study of these isotopic data sets allows the following conclusions to be drawn about the rainfall/drip water relationships and about rainfall variability: (1) the cave drip water isotopic composition does not show any significant changes since the beginning of measurements; in order to explain its isotopic signature it is necessary to integrate weighted rainfall δ18O of all months during several years, which demonstrates that, even at shallow depths (10–50 m), cave drip water is a mixture of rain water integrated over relatively long periods, which give an apparent time residence from several months to up to several years. These results have important consequences on the interpretation of proxies like speleothem fluid inclusions and tree-ring cellulose isotopic composition, which are used for paleoclimatic studies; (2) in the Villars Cave, where drip stations at two different depths were studied, lower δ18O values were observed in the lower galleries, which might be due to winter season overflows during infiltration and/or to older rain water with a different isotopic composition that reaches the lower galleries after years; (3) local precipitation is characterized by local meteoric water lines, LMWL, with δ18O/δD slopes close to 7 in both areas, and correlations between air temperature and precipitation δ18O are low at both monthly and annual scales, even with temperature weighted by the amount of precipitation; (4) the mesoscale climate model REMOiso, equipped with a water isotope module, allows the direct comparison of modeled and observed long term water isotope records. The model slightly overestimates rainfall δ18O at the respective sampling stations. However, it simulates very well not only the seasonal rainfall isotopic signal but also some intra-seasonal patterns such as a typical double-peak δ18O pattern in winter time.

Three new U-series ages from coral fragments found in the Belmont Formation of Bermuda fall in a range of similar to 198 ka to similar to 196 ka. These late MIS 7 ages are consistent with those of similar to 201 ka and similar to 199 ka measured in a previous study. The disputed interpretation of the Belmont Formation as a unit that is allostratigraphically distinct from subsequent MIS 5e deposits, of the Rocky Bay Formation, is vindicated by a minimum age of 196 +/- 3 Ka for the total of 6 coral fragments it has yielded. Emergent marine deposits of the Belmont Formation include sedimentary lithofacies that are considered to be reliable relative sea level indicators. Prominent among these is a facies representing the "beach step": a feature that develops sub-tidally, directly at the base of the swash zone. From this facies, and others preserved along 6 km of Belmont Formation coastal exposure, it is concluded that MIS 7 relative mean sea level reached +4.5 m, and likely peaked at or above +6.0 m, relative to present sea level at Bermuda. Lower MIS 7 sea level positions that are evidenced and that have been quoted, in the past, are considered transitory positions, not maxima. The MIS 7 sea-level elevations on Bermuda, reconstructed in this study, are above the majority of those reported from elsewhere in the world. This challenges the long-standing notion of Bermuda as a vertically stable "tide-gauge", but is consistent with glacio-hydroisostatic models which predict land-mass subsidence at intermediate field sites, such as Bermuda, at the end of long interglacials. However, because of evidence of instability at Bermuda in the form of seismic activity and faulting, which require further investigation, judgement is reserved on the global implications of this palaeo-sea-level anomaly. (c) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

ABSTRACTA new record from the heart of the Moroccan Middle Atlas cedar forests spans the last 18 000 years and provides valuable insight into our understanding of the natural vegetation and environmental changes. The approach is based on the study of pollen content, geochemical elements and grain size analysis. The pollen data indicate that the vegetation was dominated by herbaceous plants until 9000 BP. Such open landscape allowed greater soil erosion and an input of chemical elements from the watershed. After 9000 BP, tree cover, mainly oak, increased slightly and was accompanied by a higher taxonomic diversity. However, several steppe elements remain well represented in the area until 5000 BP, which suggests that the climate was rather dry during the first part of the Holocene. After 6000 BP, the climate became more favourable to expansion of the forest ecosystems, including Cedrus atlantica, thereby reducing erosion. A strong reduction of the tree pollen percentages is recorded after 2000 BP, which may be related to increasing human activities during the Roman period. These forest changes are concomitant with an increase of lead and copper concentrations in the record, probably related to Roman metalworking activities.

The Almonda karstic system is an extensive network of cavities associated with the spring of the Almonda River. Among those of archaeological interest, the lowermost, 5-15 m above the current spring, contain deposits of Upper Palaeolithic and Holocene age. Higher up in a 70 m high escarpment, the labyrinth of passages features several collapsed cave entrances, two of which have been cleared for archaeological excavation: the Gruta da Aroeira/Galerias Pesadas/Brecha das Lascas complex of Acheulean localities, and the Middle Palaeolithic site of Gruta da Oliveira. U-series dating of speleothems associated with these deposits places the Acheulean of the Almonda beyond 390 ka, dates the palaeophreatic level of similar to 40 m above the extant outlet back to a time before 200 ka, and constrains the accumulation of the Gruta da Oliveira sediment fill to between 23 ka and at least 102 ka. Bones from Gruta da Oliveira layer 8, which contains the uppermost human occupation of the site, were dated to the 34-40 ka range by U-series (Diffusion/Adsorption), in good agreement with available radiocarbon results. Combined with evidence from other sections of the system, these results set at half a million years ago or more the earliest human settlement of the Atlantic facade of Iberia, provide the first secure chronometric evidence for the emergence of the Acheulean in the peninsula (during Marine Isotope Stage 12 at the latest), and support the regional persistence of a Neanderthal-associated Middle Palaeolithic beyond 41.5 ka (the time of emergence elsewhere in western and central Europe of the Protoaurignacian, widely assumed to be modern human-related). U-series dating of speleothems collected in the inner passages of the system suggests uninterrupted speleothem formation through the Middle and Upper Pleistocene, enabling the construction of a high-resolution continental palaeonvironmental record for comparison with the evidence from the deep sea cores obtained off the Portuguese coast. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.

This study focuses on an earlier MIS (marine isotopic stage) 6 flowstone deposit (Vil-car-1 core, Villars Cave, SW-France) that recorded millennial scale climatic events. This speleothem provides a high resolution record of the penultimate glacial period on mid-latitude land. The flowstone high growth rate and the episodes with depleted calcite δ13Cc values suggest that marine isotopic substage 6e environmental conditions were relatively warm and humid. Its δ13Cc profile clearly displays five main climatic oscillations from 177 to 165ka, correlated with stadial–interstadial events. Similarly to the MIS3 period, the transitions in between those interstadials and stadials are characterised by abrupt changes and intra-interstadial variability is observed.

We present a review of 13 speleothems from Europe, Asia and South America, covering the penultimate deglaciation and the last interglacial.We highlight the similarities and regional differences in the growth rate and the calcite δ 18 O records in these cave deposits.

The Vil-car-1 flowstone core from Villars cave (SW France) provides one of the first European speleothem records extending back to 180 ka, based on U-Th TIMS and MC-ICP-MS measurements. The core offers a continuous record of Termination II and the Last Interglacial. The penultimate deglaciation is characterized by a prominent 5 parts per thousand depletion in calcite delta O-18. Determining which specific environmental factors controlled such a large oxygen isotopic shift offers the opportunity to assess the impact of various factors influencing delta O-18 variations in speleothem calcite.Oxygen isotope analyses of fluid inclusions indicate that drip water delta O-18 remained within a very narrow range of +/- 1 parts per thousand from Late MIS6 to the MIS5 delta O-18 optimum. The possibility of such a stable behaviour is supported by simple calculations of various effects influencing seepage water delta O-18.Although this could suggest that the isotopic shift in calcite is mainly driven by temperature increase, attempts to quantify the temperature shift from Late MIS6 to the MIS5 delta O-18 optimum by assuming an equilibrium relationship between calcite and fluid inclusion delta O-18 yield unreasonably high estimates of similar to 20 degrees C warming and Late MIS6 cave temperatures below 0 degrees C; this suggests that the flowstone calcite precipitated out of thermodynamic equilibrium at this site.Using a method proposed by Guo et al. (submitted for publication) combining clumped isotope measurements, fluid inclusion and modern calcite delta O-18 analyses, it is possible to quantitatively correct for isotopic disequilibrium and estimate absolute paleotemperatures. Although the precision of these absolute temperature reconstructions is limited by analytical uncertainties, the temperature rise between Late MIS6 and the MIS5 optimum can be robustly constrained between 13.2 +/- 2.6 and 14.6 +/- 2.6 degrees C (1 sigma), consistent with existing estimates from Western Europe pollen and sea-surface temperature records. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Our understanding of monsoon circulation timing's at the orbital scale is currently a matter of debate. Here, we compare previous and recently published results of Indian, East Asian, West African and East African monsoon variability. We note different timings between the East African, West African, Indian and East-Asian monsoon systems for the most recent 45 ka, where the age models are constrained by AMS dating. On this basis, we construct different orbital forcing "reference curves" and apply them to the 200 ka time period for the different monsoon systems. Our results indicate that the 'global monsoon' concept at the orbital scale is a misnomer. We find real regional differences in the timing of the monsoon response to orbital forcing and differences in the weight of precession and obliquity in the monsoon records. This work highlights the necessity of studies aimed at understanding the underlying physics of these regional response patterns. This is crucial to a better understanding of monsoon dynamics and improved climate model simulations and comparisons with proxy data. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The oxygen isotope composition of speleothems is an important proxy of continental paleoenvironments, because of its sensitivity to variations in cave temperature and drip water delta O-18. Interpreting speleothem delta O-18 records in terms of absolute paleotemperatures and delta O-18 values of paleo-precipitation requires quantitative separation of the effects of these two parameters, and correcting for possible kinetic isotope fractionation associated with precipitation of calcite out of thermodynamic equilibrium. Carbonate clumped-isotope thermometry, based on measurements of Delta(47) (a geochemical variable reflecting the statistical overabundance of (CO)-C-13-O-18 bonds in CO2 evolved from phosphoric acid digestion of carbonate minerals), potentially provides a method for absolute speleothem paleotemperature reconstructions independent of drip water composition. Application of this new technique to karst records is currently limited by the scarcity of published clumped-isotope studies of modern speleothems. The only modern stalagmite reported so far in the literature yielded a lower Delta(47) value than expected for equilibrium precipitation, possibly due to kinetic isotope fractionation.Here we report Delta(47) values measured in natural speleothems from various cave settings, in carbonate produced by cave precipitation experiments, and in synthetic stalagmite analogs precipitated in controlled laboratory conditions designed to mimic natural cave processes. All samples yield lower Delta(47) and heavier delta O-18 values than predicted by experimental calibrations of thermodynamic equilibrium in inorganic calcite. The amplitudes of these isotopic disequilibria vary between samples, but there is clear correlation between the amount of Delta(47) disequilibrium and that of delta O-18. Even pool carbonates believed to offer excellent conditions for equilibrium precipitation of calcite display out-of-equilibrium delta O-18 and Delta(47) values, probably inherited from prior degassing within the cave system.In addition to these modern observations, clumped-isotope analyses of a flowstone from Villars cave (France) offer evidence that the amount of disequilibrium affecting Delta(47) in a single speleothem can experience large variations at time scales of 10 kyr. Application of clumped-isotope thermometry to speleothem records calls for an improved physical understanding of DIC fractionation processes in karst waters, and for the resolution of important issues regarding equilibrium calibration of Delta(47) in inorganic carbonates. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

We present a new mid-latitude speleothem record of millennial-scale climatic variability during OIS3 from the Villars Cave that, combined with former published contemporaneous samples from the same cave, gives a coherent image of the climate variability in SW-France between similar to 55 ka and similar to 30 ka. The 0.82 m long stalagmite Vil-stm27 was dated with 26 TIMS U-Th analyses and its growth curve displays variations that are linked with the stable isotopes, both controlled by the climatic conditions. It consists in a higher resolved replicate of the previously published Vil-stm9 and Vil-stm14 stalagmites where Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) events have been observed. The good consistency between these three stalagmites and the comparison with other palaoeclimatic reconstructions, especially high resolution pollen records (ODP 976 from the Alboran Sea, Monticchio Lake record from southern Italy) and the nearby MD04-2845 Atlantic Ocean record, permits to draw a specific climatic pattern in SW-France during the 063 and to see regional differences between these sites. Main features of this period are: 1) warm events corresponding to Greenland Interstadials (GIS) that are characterized by low speleothem delta C-13, high temperate pollen percentages, warm temperatures and high humidity; among these events, GIS#12 is the most pronounced one at Villars characterized by an abrupt onset at similar to 46.6 ka and a duration of about 2.5 ka. The other well individualized warm event coincides with GIS#8 which is however much less pronounced and occurred during a cooler period as shown by a lower growth rate and a higher delta C-13; 2) cold events corresponding to Greenland Stadials (GS) that are clearly characterized by high speleothem delta C-13, low temperate pollen abundance, low temperature and enhanced dryness, particularly well expressed during GS coinciding with Heinrich events H5 and H4. The main feature of the Villars record is a general cooling trend between the DO#12 event similar to 45.5 ka and the synchronous stop of the three stalagmites at similar to 30 ka +/- 1, with a first well marked climatic threshold at similar to 41 ka after which the growth rate and the diameter of all stalagmites slows down significantly. This climatic evolution differs from that shown at southern Mediterranean sites where this trend is not observed. The similar to 30 ka age marks the second climatic threshold after which low temperatures and low rainfalls prevent speleothem growth in the Villars area until the Lateglacial warming that occurred at similar to 16.5 +/- 0.5 ka. This 15 ka long hiatus, as the older Villars growth hiatus that occurred between 67.4 and 61 ka, are linked to low sea levels, reduced ocean circulation and a southward shift of the Polar Front that likely provoked local permafrost formation. These cold periods coincide with both low summer 65 degrees N insolation, low atmospheric CO2 concentration and large ice sheets development (especially the Fennoscandian). (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

(1) LSCE UMR CEA/CNRS/UVSQ 1572, LSCE, Gif sur Yvette, France (karine.wainer@cea.fr), (2) LSCE UMR CEA/CNRS/UVSQ 1572, LSCE, avenue de la Terrasse, Gif sur Yvette, France, (3) Departement of Sedimentology and Marine Geology, Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, (4) Carnegie institution of Washington, Geophysical laboratory, Washington DC , USA

(1) (mathieu@daeron.fr) Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, France, (2) Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, USA, (3) Division of Geological & Planetary Sciences, Caltech, USA, (4) Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, France, (5) Fakultät für Geound Atmosphärenwissenschaften, Universität Innsbruck, Austria, (6) ADES GDR 440, Université de Bordeaux 3, France, (7) NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, USA