Articles | Volume 7, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-7-335-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-7-335-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
07 Aug 2025
Research article |
| 07 Aug 2025
| 07 Aug 2025
Radiometric dating of Middle Pleistocene carbonates: assessing consistency and performance of the U–Th and U–Pb dating methods
Timothy J. Pollard
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
Jon D. Woodhead
School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
Russell N. Drysdale
School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
R. Lawrence Edwards
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Xianglei Li
Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China
Ashlea N. Wainwright
School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
Mathieu Pythoud
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Hai Cheng
Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
John C. Hellstrom
School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
Ilaria Isola
Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse, IGG-CNR, Pisa, Italy
Eleonora Regattieri
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia INGV, Pisa, Italy
Giovanni Zanchetta
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
Dylan S. Parmenter
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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Celia Campa-Bousoño, Miguel Iglesias, Iñaki Vadillo, Lucía Ojeda, Jorge Pisonero, Hai Cheng, R. Lawrence Edwards, and Heather Stoll
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-3717, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-3717, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Climate of the Past (CP).
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To understand how rainfall changed in southern Iberia during the shift from the Medieval Climate Anomaly to the Little Ice Age, we studied yearly layers preserved in a stalagmite from Ardales Cave, southern Spain. The record shows repeated shifts between wetter and drier periods, including major droughts around 1125, 1250, 1500, and 1560 CE. It also reveals intervals of more variable rainfall, suggesting changing influence from Atlantic and Mediterranean weather patterns.
Jonathan L. Baker, Alexandre Honiat, Peter M. Wynn, Jens Fohlmeister, Martin Trüssel, Samuel Hollowood, Jiaoyang Ruan, Regina Mertz-Kraus, R. Lawrence Edwards, and Christoph Spötl
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2840, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2840, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Climate of the Past (CP).
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A paleoclimate record from Betten Cave in the Swiss Alps is presented, which comprises four stalagmites that grew between 415 and 360 thousand years ago. During this time, the vegetated alpine valley was gradually inundated by an advancing glacier. Meltwater from the base of the glacier fed the cave system and prevented it from freezing. Evidence of the glacier and its weathering of the rock surface is recorded by trace metals and isotopic signatures in sulphate minerals in the stalagmites.
Laura Endres, Carlos Pérez-Mejías, Ruza Ivanovic, Lauren Gregoire, Anna L. C. Hughes, Hai Cheng, and Heather Stoll
Clim. Past, 22, 797–824, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-22-797-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-22-797-2026, 2026
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Stable isotope data of a precisely dated stalagmite from northwestern Iberia indicate gradual North Atlantic meltwater input during the last glacial maximum, followed by abrupt surges early in the last deglaciation. The first abrupt surge was decoupled from first cooling about 810 years later – unlike later events – which reveals that the Atlantic circulation’s sensitivity to meltwater is variable and related to the evolving background climate boundary conditions.
Maddalena Passelergue, Isabelle Couchoud, Russell N. Drysdale, John Hellstrom, Dirk L. Hoffmann, and Alan Greig
Clim. Past, 22, 315–338, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-22-315-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-22-315-2026, 2026
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The Holocene is marked at 8.2 ka by a North Atlantic freshening event. We investigate its climatic impact in SW France using high-resolution speleothem multiproxy analysis. While the event is seen in some European records, no clear signal appears in SW France. This may reflect either limited regional impact, and/or low speleothem sensitivity to this North Atlantic event, possibly masked by Mediterranean influences.
Hu Yang, Xiaoxu Shi, Xulong Wang, Qingsong Liu, Yi Zhong, Xiaodong Liu, Youbin Sun, Yanjun Cai, Fei Liu, Gerrit Lohmann, Martin Werner, Zhimin Jian, Tainã M. L. Pinho, Hai Cheng, Lijuan Lu, Jiping Liu, Chao-Yuan Yang, Qinghua Yang, Yongyun Hu, Xing Cheng, Jingyu Zhang, and Dake Chen
Clim. Past, 21, 1263–1279, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-1263-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-1263-2025, 2025
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For 1 century, the hemispheric summer insolation is proposed as a key pacemaker of astronomical climate change. However, an increasing number of geologic records reveal that the low-latitude hydrological cycle shows asynchronous precessional evolutions that are very often out of phase with the summer insolation. Here, we propose that the astronomically driven low-latitude hydrological cycle is not paced by summer insolation but by shifting perihelion.
Juan Luis Bernal-Wormull, Ana Moreno, Yuri Dublyansky, Christoph Spötl, Reyes Giménez, Carlos Pérez-Mejías, Miguel Bartolomé, Martin Arriolabengoa, Eneko Iriarte, Isabel Cacho, Richard Lawrence Edwards, and Hai Cheng
Clim. Past, 21, 1235–1261, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-1235-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-1235-2025, 2025
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In this paper we present a record of temperature changes during the last deglaciation and the Holocene using isotopes of fluid inclusions in stalagmites from the northeastern region of the Iberian Peninsula. This innovative climate proxy for this study region provides a quantitative understanding of the abrupt temperature changes in southern Europe in the last 16 500 years before present.
Calla N. Gould-Whaley, Russell N. Drysdale, Pauline C. Treble, Jan-Hendrik May, Stacey C. Priestley, John C. Hellstrom, Christopher R. Vardanega, and Clare C. Buswell
Clim. Past, 21, 857–876, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-857-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-857-2025, 2025
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Climate change is causing enhanced aridity across many regions of the globe, leading to increased reliance on groundwater resources. We need to understand how groundwater recharge behaves in arid regions over long timescales; unfortunately, arid landscapes tend to preserve very little evidence of their climatic past. We present evidence to suggest that carbonate formations that grow in groundwater can be used as archives of past groundwater recharge in Australia's arid zone.
Judit Torner, Isabel Cacho, Heather Stoll, Ana Moreno, Joan O. Grimalt, Francisco J. Sierro, Joan J. Fornós, Hai Cheng, and R. Lawrence Edwards
Clim. Past, 21, 465–487, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-465-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-465-2025, 2025
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We offer a clearer view of the timing of three relevant past glacial terminations. By analyzing the climatic signal recorded in stalagmite and linking it with marine records, we revealed differences in the intensity and duration of the ice melting associated with these three key deglaciations. This study shows that some deglaciations began earlier than previously thought; this improves our understanding of natural climate processes, helping us to contextualize current climate change.
Hubert B. Vonhof, Sophie Verheyden, Dominique Bonjean, Stéphane Pirson, Michael Weber, Denis Scholz, John Hellstrom, Hai Cheng, Xue Jia, Kévin Di Modica, Gregory Abrams, Marjan A. P. van Nunen, Joost Ruiter, Michèlle van der Does, Daniel Böhl, and Jeroen H. J. L. van der Lubbe
Clim. Past, 20, 2741–2758, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2741-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2741-2024, 2024
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The sedimentary sequence in Scladina Cave (Belgium) is well-known for its rich archeological assemblages and its numerous faunal remains. Of particular interest is the presence of a nearly complete jaw bone of a Neanderthal child. In this study, we present new uranium series ages of stalagmites from the archeological sequence that allow more precise dating of the archeological finds. One key result is that the Neanderthal child may be slightly older than previously thought.
Biagio Giaccio, Bernd Wagner, Giovanni Zanchetta, Adele Bertini, Gian Paolo Cavinato, Roberto de Franco, Fabio Florindo, David A. Hodell, Thomas A. Neubauer, Sebastien Nomade, Alison Pereira, Laura Sadori, Sara Satolli, Polychronis C. Tzedakis, Paul Albert, Paolo Boncio, Cindy De Jonge, Alexander Francke, Christine Heim, Alessia Masi, Marta Marchegiano, Helen M. Roberts, Anders Noren, and the MEME team
Sci. Dril., 33, 249–266, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-33-249-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-33-249-2024, 2024
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A total of 42 Earth scientists from 14 countries met in Gioia dei Marsi, central Italy, on 23 to 27 October 2023 to explore the potential for deep drilling of the thick lake sediment sequence of the Fucino Basin. The aim was to reconstruct the history of climate, ecosystem, and biodiversity changes and of the explosive volcanism and tectonics in central Italy over the last 3.5 million years, constrained by a detailed radiometric chronology.
Paul Töchterle, Anna Baldo, Julian B. Murton, Frederik Schenk, R. Lawrence Edwards, Gabriella Koltai, and Gina E. Moseley
Clim. Past, 20, 1521–1535, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1521-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1521-2024, 2024
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We present a reconstruction of permafrost and snow cover on the British Isles for the Younger Dryas period, a time of extremely cold winters that happened approximately 12 000 years ago. Our results indicate that seasonal sea ice in the North Atlantic was most likely a crucial factor to explain the observed climate shifts during this time.
Pengzhen Duan, Hanying Li, Zhibang Ma, Jingyao Zhao, Xiyu Dong, Ashish Sinha, Peng Hu, Haiwei Zhang, Youfeng Ning, Guangyou Zhu, and Hai Cheng
Clim. Past, 20, 1401–1414, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1401-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1401-2024, 2024
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We use multi-proxy speleothem records to reveal a two droughts–one pluvial pattern during 8.5–8.0 ka. The different rebounded rainfall quantity after two droughts causes different behavior of δ13C, suggesting the dominant role of rainfall threshold on the ecosystem. A comparison of different records suggests the prolonged 8.2 ka event is a globally common phenomenon rather than a regional signal. The variability of the AMOC strength is mainly responsible for these climate changes.
Mauro Antonio Di Vito, Ilaria Rucco, Sandro de Vita, Domenico Maria Doronzo, Marina Bisson, Mattia de' Michieli Vitturi, Mauro Rosi, Laura Sandri, Giovanni Zanchetta, Elena Zanella, and Antonio Costa
Solid Earth, 15, 405–436, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-405-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-15-405-2024, 2024
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We study the distribution of two historical pyroclastic fall–flow and lahar deposits from the sub-Plinian Vesuvius eruptions of 472 CE Pollena and 1631. The motivation comes directly from the widely distributed impact that both the eruptions and lahar phenomena had on the Campanian territory, not only around the volcano but also down the nearby Apennine valleys. Data on about 500 stratigraphic sections and modeling allowed us to evaluate the physical and dynamical impact of these phenomena.
Candan U. Desem, Patrice de Caritat, Jon Woodhead, Roland Maas, and Graham Carr
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 1383–1393, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1383-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1383-2024, 2024
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Lead (Pb) isotopes form a potent tracer in studies of provenance, mineral exploration and environmental remediation. Previously, however, Pb isotope analysis has rarely been deployed at a continental scale. Here we present a new regolith Pb isotope dataset for Australia, which includes 1119 large catchments encompassing 5.6 × 106 km2 or close to ~75 % of the continent. Isoscape maps have been produced for use in diverse fields of study.
Miguel Bartolomé, Ana Moreno, Carlos Sancho, Isabel Cacho, Heather Stoll, Negar Haghipour, Ánchel Belmonte, Christoph Spötl, John Hellstrom, R. Lawrence Edwards, and Hai Cheng
Clim. Past, 20, 467–494, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-467-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-467-2024, 2024
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Reconstructing past temperatures at regional scales during the Common Era is necessary to place the current warming in the context of natural climate variability. We present a climate reconstruction based on eight stalagmites from four caves in the Pyrenees, NE Spain. These stalagmites were dated precisely and analysed for their oxygen isotopes, which appear dominated by temperature changes. Solar variability and major volcanic eruptions are the two main drivers of observed climate variability.
Heather M. Stoll, Chris Day, Franziska Lechleitner, Oliver Kost, Laura Endres, Jakub Sliwinski, Carlos Pérez-Mejías, Hai Cheng, and Denis Scholz
Clim. Past, 19, 2423–2444, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2423-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2423-2023, 2023
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Stalagmites formed in caves provide valuable information about past changes in climate and vegetation conditions. In this contribution, we present a new method to better estimate past changes in soil and vegetation productivity using carbon isotopes and trace elements measured in stalagmites. Applying this method to other stalagmites should provide a better indication of past vegetation feedbacks to climate change.
Giselle Utida, Francisco W. Cruz, Mathias Vuille, Angela Ampuero, Valdir F. Novello, Jelena Maksic, Gilvan Sampaio, Hai Cheng, Haiwei Zhang, Fabio Ramos Dias de Andrade, and R. Lawrence Edwards
Clim. Past, 19, 1975–1992, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1975-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1975-2023, 2023
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We reconstruct the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) behavior during the past 3000 years over northeastern Brazil based on oxygen stable isotopes of stalagmites. Paleoclimate changes were mainly forced by the tropical South Atlantic and tropical Pacific sea surface temperature variability. We describe an ITCZ zonal behavior active around 1100 CE and the period from 1500 to 1750 CE. The dataset also records historical droughts that affected modern human population in this area of Brazil.
Anika Donner, Paul Töchterle, Christoph Spötl, Irka Hajdas, Xianglei Li, R. Lawrence Edwards, and Gina E. Moseley
Clim. Past, 19, 1607–1621, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1607-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1607-2023, 2023
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This study investigates the first finding of fine-grained cryogenic cave minerals in Greenland, a type of speleothem that has been notably difficult to date. We present a successful approach for determining the age of these minerals using 230Th / U disequilibrium and 14C dating. We relate the formation of the cryogenic cave minerals to a well-documented extreme weather event in 1889 CE. Additionally, we provide a detailed report on the mineralogical and isotopic composition of these minerals.
Charlotte Honiat, Gabriella Koltai, Yuri Dublyansky, R. Lawrence Edwards, Haiwei Zhang, Hai Cheng, and Christoph Spötl
Clim. Past, 19, 1177–1199, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1177-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1177-2023, 2023
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A look at the climate evolution during the last warm period may allow us to test ground for future climate conditions. We quantified the temperature evolution during the Last Interglacial using a tiny amount of water trapped in the crystals of precisely dated stalagmites in caves from the southeastern European Alps. Our record indicates temperatures up to 2 °C warmer than today and an unstable climate during the first half of the Last Interglacial.
Timothy Pollard, Jon Woodhead, John Hellstrom, John Engel, Roger Powell, and Russell Drysdale
Geochronology, 5, 181–196, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-5-181-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-5-181-2023, 2023
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When using the uranium–lead (U–Pb) radiometric dating method on very young materials (e.g. Quaternary age zircon and carbonate minerals), it is important to accurately account for the production and decay of intermediate
daughterisotopes in the uranium-series decay chain. DQPB is open-source software that allows users to easily perform such calculations for a variety of sample types and produce publication-ready graphical outputs of the resulting age information.
Hege Kilhavn, Isabelle Couchoud, Russell N. Drysdale, Carlos Rossi, John Hellstrom, Fabien Arnaud, and Henri Wong
Clim. Past, 18, 2321–2344, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-2321-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-2321-2022, 2022
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The analysis of stable carbon and oxygen isotopic ratios, trace element ratios, and growth rate from a Spanish speleothem provides quantitative information on past hydrological conditions during the early Holocene in south-western Europe. Our data show that the cave site experienced increased effective recharge during the 8.2 ka event. Additionally, the oxygen isotopes indicate a change in the isotopic composition of the moisture source, associated with the meltwater flux to the North Atlantic.
Paul Töchterle, Simon D. Steidle, R. Lawrence Edwards, Yuri Dublyansky, Christoph Spötl, Xianglei Li, John Gunn, and Gina E. Moseley
Geochronology, 4, 617–627, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-617-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-4-617-2022, 2022
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Cryogenic cave carbonates (CCCs) provide a marker for past permafrost conditions. Their formation age is determined by Th / U dating. However, samples can be contaminated with small amounts of Th at formation, which can cause inaccurate ages and require correction. We analysed multiple CCCs and found that varying degrees of contamination can cause an apparent spread of ages, when samples actually formed within distinguishable freezing events. A correction method using isochrons is presented.
Cinthya Esther Nava Fernandez, Tobias Braun, Bethany Fox, Adam Hartland, Ola Kwiecien, Chelsea Pederson, Sebastian Hoepker, Stefano Bernasconi, Madalina Jaggi, John Hellstrom, Fernando Gázquez, Amanda French, Norbert Marwan, Adrian Immenhauser, and Sebastian Franz Martin Breitenbach
Clim. Past Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2021-172, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2021-172, 2022
Manuscript not accepted for further review
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We provide a ca. 1000 year long (6.4–5.4 ka BP) stalagmite-based reconstruction of mid-Holocene rainfall variability in the tropical western Pacific. The annually laminated multi-proxy (δ13C, δ18O, X/Ca, gray values) record comes from Niue island and informs on El Nino-Southern Oscillation and South Pacific Convergence Zone dynamics. Our data suggest that ENSO was active and influenced rainfall seasonality over the covered time interval. Rainfall seasonality was subdued during active ENSO phases
Kathleen A. Wendt, Xianglei Li, R. Lawrence Edwards, Hai Cheng, and Christoph Spötl
Clim. Past, 17, 1443–1454, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1443-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1443-2021, 2021
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In this study, we tested the upper limits of U–Th dating precision by analyzing three stalagmites from the Austrian Alps that have high U concentrations. The composite record spans the penultimate interglacial (MIS 7) with an average 2σ age uncertainty of 400 years. This unprecedented age control allows us to constrain the timing of temperature shifts in the Alps during MIS 7 while offering new insight into millennial-scale changes in the North Atlantic leading up to Terminations III and IIIa.
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Short summary
The uranium–thorium (U–Th) and uranium–lead (U–Pb) radiometric dating methods are both suitable for dating carbonate samples ranging in age from about 400 000 to 650 000 years. Here we test agreement between the two methods by dating speleothems (i.e. secondary cave mineral deposits) that are well-suited to both methods. We demonstrate excellent agreement between them and discuss their relative strengths and weaknesses.
The uranium–thorium (U–Th) and uranium–lead (U–Pb) radiometric dating methods are both suitable...
