Steidle, Simon Dominik; Dublyansky, Yuri; Roman, Marco; Moseley, Gina Elaine; Wendt, Kathleen A; Edwards, R Lawrence; Spötl, Christoph (2026): Th-U ages over the last 112,000 years from Devils Hole calcite (NV, USA) for palaeo water table reconstruction [dataset]. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.988350
Always quote citation above when using data! You can download the citation in several formats below.
Published: 2026-01-09 • DOI registered: 2026-01-27
Abstract:
U-series measurements to constrain the age of Devils Hole cave 2's submerged calcite (Nevada, USA). Samples originate from 9 horizontally drilled cores of 0.5 to 1.3m length and 2.5cm diameter. They were taken from the hanging wall at elevations between +3.2 m and +9.9 m relative to the modern water table. Sampling was done between the years 2015 and 2023. Samples for dating are all taken from mammillary calcite which precipitates from the groundwater underneath the water table. The sequence of mammillary calcite and Folia which only grows at the water table surface allow to reconstruct a water table history. Depending on the sequence of mammillary calcite and Folia, samples represent the following types: ( i ) the water table increased above this elevation, ( d ) the water table decrease to below this elevation, ( b ) water table rose briefly above this elevation and then dropped below it again, ( x ) water table was above this elevation (see method section of Steidle et al. (2024) for details). 230Th/U ages were calculated. The updated record of water-table changes enables a comparison with sea-level records between 120,000 to 70,000 years ago, revealing concurrent changes in both during this period. This strengthens the hypothesis that orbital-scale water-table changes are closely linked to ice-sheet expansion during Marine Isotope Stage 5. New water table markers of the last 60,000 years further support increased pluvial conditions during Heinrich events.
Supplement to:
Steidle, Simon Dominik; Dublyansky, Yuri; Roman, Marco; Moseley, Gina Elaine; Wendt, Kathleen A; Edwards, R Lawrence; Spötl, Christoph (2026): Timing and amplitude of hydroclimate changes during the last glacial cycle in southwestern North America. Quaternary Science Reviews, 377, 109865, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.109865
References:
Steidle, Simon Dominik; Wendt, Kathleen A; Dublyansky, Yuri; Edwards, R Lawrence; Li, Xianglei; McClure, Gracelyn; Moseley, Gina Elaine; Spötl, Christoph (2024): Moisture availability and groundwater recharge paced by orbital forcing over the past 750,000 years in the southwestern USA. Communications Earth & Environment, 5(1), 376, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01550-0
Funding:
Austrian Science Fund (FWF), grant/award no. P26305: Condensation-corrosion speleogenesis above a carbonate-saturated aquifer: Devils Hole Ridge, Nevada
Austrian Science Fund (FWF), grant/award no. P32751: A 800,000 year-long record of paleoclimate from Devils Hole
National Science Foundation (NSF), grant/award no. 2202913: Testing Interpretations of the Oxygen Isotopic Composition of Asian Cave Calcite at Abrupt, Millennial, and Orbital Timescales
Coverage:
Latitude: 36.416000 * Longitude: -116.283000
Date/Time Start: 2023-02-11T14:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2023-02-11T14:00:00
Minimum Elevation: 722.2 m * Maximum Elevation: 728.9 m
Event(s):
DevilsHole_F * Latitude: 36.416000 * Longitude: -116.283000 * Date/Time: 2023-02-11T14:00:00 * Elevation: 722.2 m * Method/Device: Speleothem sample (SPS) * Comment: Elevation (in m; relative to modern day water table): 3.2
Comment:
Kathleen A. Wendt was supported by the Heising-Simons Foundation
Parameter(s):
| # | Name | Short Name | Unit | Principal Investigator | Method/Device | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Event label | Event | Steidle, Simon Dominik | core | ||
| 2 | Sample code/label | Sample label | Steidle, Simon Dominik | Unique sample name | ||
| 3 | Comment | Comment | Steidle, Simon Dominik | note | ||
| 4 | ELEVATION | Elevation | m a.s.l. | Steidle, Simon Dominik | Geocode | |
| 5 | DISTANCE | Distance | cm | Steidle, Simon Dominik | Geocode – Position of the sample within the core from the top | |
| 6 | Uranium-238 | 238U | µg/kg | Steidle, Simon Dominik | ppb | |
| 7 | Uranium-238, uncertainty | 238U unc | ± | Steidle, Simon Dominik | ||
| 8 | Thorium-232 | 232Th | ng/kg | Steidle, Simon Dominik | ppt | |
| 9 | Thorium-232, uncertainty | 232Th unc | ± | Steidle, Simon Dominik | ||
| 10 | Thorium-230/Thorium-232 atomic ratio | 230Th/232Th atom | Steidle, Simon Dominik | |||
| 11 | Thorium-230/Thorium-232 atomic ratio, uncertainty | 230Th/232Th atom unc | ± | Steidle, Simon Dominik | ||
| 12 | δ234 Uranium | δ234U | ‰ | Steidle, Simon Dominik | Measured | |
| 13 | δ234 Uranium, uncertainty | δ234U unc | ± | Steidle, Simon Dominik | Measured | |
| 14 | Thorium-230/Uranium-238 activity ratio | (230Th/238U) | Steidle, Simon Dominik | |||
| 15 | Thorium-230/Uranium-238 activity ratio, uncertainty | (230Th/238U) unc | ± | Steidle, Simon Dominik | ||
| 16 | Age, dated | Age dated | ka | Steidle, Simon Dominik | Age, 230Th/U, not corrected for detrital 230Th | |
| 17 | Age, dated, uncertainty | Age dated unc | ± | Steidle, Simon Dominik | Age, 230Th/U, not corrected for detrital 230Th | |
| 18 | Age, dated | Age dated | ka | Steidle, Simon Dominik | Age, 230Th/U, not corrected for detrital 230Th | |
| 19 | Age, dated, uncertainty | Age dated unc | ± | Steidle, Simon Dominik | Age, 230Th/U, not corrected for detrital 230Th | |
| 20 | δ234 Uranium (0) | δ234U (0) | ‰ | Steidle, Simon Dominik | Corrected | |
| 21 | δ234 Uranium (0), uncertainty | δ234U (0) unc | ± | Steidle, Simon Dominik | Corrected | |
| 22 | Calendar age | Cal age | ka BP | Steidle, Simon Dominik | Age, 230Th/U, corrected for detrital 230Th | before the year 1950 CE |
| 23 | Calendar age, uncertainty | Cal age unc | ± | Steidle, Simon Dominik | Age, 230Th/U, corrected for detrital 230Th | before the year 1950 CE |
| 24 | Type | Type | Steidle, Simon Dominik | marker type; b: Brief rise of the water table; i: increase of WT; d: decrease of WT; x: submergence |
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0)
Status:
Curation Level: Enhanced curation (CurationLevelC)
Size:
1070 data points