Lying at the transition between the temperate Mediterranean domain and subtropical deserts, the Levant is a key area to study the palaeoclimatic response over glacial-interglacial cycles. This paper presents a precisely dated last interglacial (MIS 5) stalagmite (129-84 ka) from the Kanaan Cave, Lebanon. Variations in growth rate and isotopic records indicate a warm humid phase at the onset of the last interglacial at ∼ 129 ka that lasted until ∼ 125 ka. A gradual shift in speleothem isotopic composition (125-122 ka) is driven mainly by the δ18O source 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 and enriched oxygen and carbon values until ∼ 84 ka indicate a transition to drier conditions during Northern Hemisphere glaciation.
CITATION STYLE
Nehme, C., Verheyden, S., Noble, S. R., Farrant, A. R., Sahy, D., Hellstrom, J., … Claeys, P. (2015). Reconstruction of MIS 5 climate in the central Levant using a stalagmite from Kanaan Cave, Lebanon. Climate of the Past, 11(12), 1785–1799. https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1785-2015
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