Citation:

PANGAEA.988350

Name: Th-U ages over the last 112,000 years from Devils Hole calcite (NV, USA) for palaeo water table reconstruction
Published: 2026-01-09
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Keywords: Devils Hole; Great Basin; groundwater table; palaeoclimate; speleothem; Th-U ages

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Published: 2026-01-09 • DOI registered: 2026-01-27

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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.

Keyword(s):

Devils Hole; Great Basin; groundwater table; palaeoclimate; speleothem; Th-U ages

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

DevilsHole_H * Latitude: 36.416000 * Longitude: -116.283000 * Date/Time: 2023-02-11T14:00:00 * Elevation: 728.9 m * Method/Device: Speleothem sample (SPS) * Comment: Elevation (in m; relative to modern day water table): 9.9

DevilsHole_I * Latitude: 36.416000 * Longitude: -116.283000 * Date/Time: 2023-02-11T14:00:00 * Elevation: 727.3 m * Method/Device: Speleothem sample (SPS) * Comment: Elevation (in m; relative to modern day water table): 8.3

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

Data

Download dataset as tab-delimited text — use the following character encoding:

1 Event (core)	2 Sample label (Unique sample name)	3 Comment (note)	4 Elevation [m a.s.l.]	5 Distance [cm] (Position of the sample within...)	6 238U [µg/kg] (ppb)	7 238U unc [±]	8 232Th [ng/kg] (ppt)	9 232Th unc [±]	10 230Th/232Th atom	11 230Th/232Th atom unc [±]	12 δ234U [‰] (Measured)	13 δ234U unc [±] (Measured)	14 (230Th/238U)	15 (230Th/238U) unc [±]	16 Age dated [ka] (Age, 230Th/U, not corrected f...)	17 Age dated unc [±] (Age, 230Th/U, not corrected f...)	18 Age dated [ka] (Age, 230Th/U, not corrected f...)	19 Age dated unc [±] (Age, 230Th/U, not corrected f...)	20 δ234U (0) [‰] (Corrected)	21 δ234U (0) unc [±] (Corrected)	22 Cal age [ka BP] (before the year 1950 CE, Age,...)	23 Cal age unc [±] (before the year 1950 CE, Age,...)	24 Type (marker type; b: Brief rise of...)
DevilsHole_H	SS29		9.9	0.1	1641.4	2.1	1982	40	1.72E-2	3.46E-4	1479.9	2.2	1.2587	0.0020	71.337	0.173	71.325	0.173	1810	3	71.255	0.173	b
DevilsHole_H	SS28		9.9	2.0	1593.3	2.1	867	18	4.26E-2	8.64E-4	1360.2	2.2	1.4074	0.0024	89.128	0.245	89.122	0.245	1749	3	89.052	0.245	b
DevilsHole_I-bis	SS33		8.3	0.4	1955.3	17.7	3624	80	3.96E-3	9.42E-5	1666.4	2.3	0.4446	0.0057	19.529	0.271	19.509	0.271	1761	3	19.439	0.271	b
DevilsHole_I-bis	SS34		8.3	0.9	1866.3	466.5	1294	324	9.52E-3	1.95E-4	1682.6	5.6	0.4003	0.0015	17.334	0.080	17.327	0.081	1767	6	17.257	0.081	b
DevilsHole_I-bis	SS35		8.3	1.4	1357.2	1.6	6598	132	1.69E-3	3.41E-5	1693.6	2.5	0.4990	0.0010	21.876	0.054	21.826	0.065	1801	3	21.756	0.065	b
DevilsHole_I-bis	SS36		8.3	4.9	1674.5	1.8	2237	45	6.60E-3	1.33E-4	1661.7	2.4	0.5352	0.0008	23.920	0.045	23.906	0.046	1778	3	23.836	0.046	i
DevilsHole_I-bis	SS37	omitted due to d234Ui out of bounds	8.3	9.3	3967.1	12.9	29190	592	1.44E-3	2.94E-5	1518.6	3.9	0.6430	0.0024	31.197	0.144	31.117	0.154	1658	4	31.047	0.154	b
DevilsHole_I-bis	SS38	omitted due to d234Ui out of bounds	8.3	9.7	1835.4	3.5	8225	165	3.30E-3	6.64E-5	1559.7	2.8	0.8970	0.0021	44.942	0.138	44.895	0.142	1770	3	44.825	0.142	b
DevilsHole_I-bis	SS31		8.3	15.0	1435.8	2.1	1380	28	1.65E-2	3.32E-4	1569.6	2.6	0.9622	0.0017	48.637	0.121	48.627	0.122	1800	3	48.557	0.122	b
DevilsHole_I-bis	SS30		8.3	13.9	1554.2	2.3	7300	146	3.68E-3	7.39E-5	1566.5	2.5	1.0482	0.0020	54.054	0.142	54.006	0.146	1824	3	53.936	0.146	b
DevilsHole_I-bis	SS1		8.3	19.5	698.8	0.9	6755	135	2.07E-3	4.16E-5	1504.3	2.4	1.2147	0.0023	67.196	0.189	67.096	0.202	1818	3	67.026	0.202	d
DevilsHole_I-bis	SS2		8.3	19.9	461.3	0.5	5761	115	1.63E-3	3.27E-5	1493.7	2.3	1.2318	0.0020	68.822	0.172	68.693	0.194	1813	3	68.623	0.194	x
DevilsHole_I-bis	SS3		8.3	20.1	469.8	37.6	6604	529	1.51E-3	3.05E-5	1476.0	2.6	1.2907	0.0027	73.907	0.231	73.762	0.253	1818	3	73.692	0.253	x
DevilsHole_I-bis	SS40	omitted due to d234Ui out of bounds	8.3	23.8	453.8	0.5	7133	143	1.15E-3	2.32E-5	1461.9	2.4	1.0992	0.0017	60.476	0.150	60.309	0.191	1733	3	60.239	0.191	b
DevilsHole_I-bis	SS41		8.3	24.8	431.9	0.6	38961	781	2.73E-4	5.49E-6	1350.3	2.7	1.4964	0.0028	98.002	0.326	97.053	0.745	1776	5	96.983	0.745	b
DevilsHole_I	SS21		8.3	1.2	1438.4	2.0	2422	49	8.95E-3	1.81E-4	1602.2	2.5	0.9142	0.0020	45.057	0.127	45.040	0.127	1819	3	44.970	0.127	b
DevilsHole_I	SS22	omitted due to d234Ui out of bounds	8.3	1.9	1447.9	2.0	4037	81	6.44E-3	1.30E-4	1600.8	2.4	1.0895	0.0023	55.746	0.161	55.718	0.163	1873	3	55.648	0.163	b
DevilsHole_I	SS23		8.3	2.1	1407.4	1.8	990	20	2.11E-2	4.29E-4	1601.9	2.5	0.9011	0.0020	44.297	0.127	44.290	0.127	1815	3	44.220	0.127	b
DevilsHole_I	SS24		8.3	4.4	1556.6	2.4	631	13	3.77E-2	7.64E-4	1589.7	3.3	0.9263	0.0021	46.035	0.145	46.031	0.145	1810	4	45.961	0.145	b
DevilsHole_I	SS25		8.3	4.8	1601.5	2.1	541	11	5.29E-2	1.07E-3	1578.3	2.7	1.0848	0.0020	56.070	0.148	56.066	0.148	1849	3	55.996	0.148	b
DevilsHole_I	SS4		8.3	7.5	1475.7	2.0	1447	29	1.82E-2	3.65E-4	1518.5	2.8	1.0791	0.0019	57.395	0.150	57.385	0.151	1785	3	57.315	0.151	i
DevilsHole_I	SS5		8.3	7.6	1526.5	1.7	358	7	7.57E-2	1.53E-3	1519.1	2.4	1.0778	0.0015	57.293	0.119	57.290	0.119	1786	3	57.220	0.119	b
DevilsHole_I	SS6		8.3	12.0	783.3	1.0	14051	282	1.21E-3	2.44E-5	1470.0	2.4	1.3201	0.0023	76.427	0.206	76.242	0.244	1823	3	76.172	0.244	i
DevilsHole_I	SS7		8.3	12.8	1814.2	3.3	663	13	6.32E-2	1.28E-3	1372.6	2.9	1.4014	0.0034	87.902	0.341	87.898	0.341	1759	4	87.828	0.341	b
DevilsHole_I	SS8		8.3	14.4	569.6	1.1	568	11	2.34E-2	4.73E-4	1347.4	3.6	1.4163	0.0031	90.658	0.354	90.647	0.354	1740	5	90.577	0.354	i
DevilsHole_I	SS9		8.3	15.9	1504.9	2.5	2227	45	1.68E-2	3.40E-4	1259.2	2.5	1.5093	0.0032	105.646	0.390	105.630	0.390	1696	4	105.560	0.390	b
DevilsHole_S	SS188		8.1	4.4	1248.2	2.4	347	10	5.68E-2	1.58E-3	1581.3	3.1	0.9568	0.0031	48.041	0.199	48.038	0.199	1811	4	47.966	0.199	b
DevilsHole_S	SS187		8.1	5.1	1389.1	2.8	303	10	7.20E-2	2.30E-3	1579.6	3.2	0.9535	0.0029	47.882	0.187	47.879	0.187	1808	4	47.807	0.187	b
DevilsHole_S	SS186		8.1	5.7	1395.1	2.8	495	14	4.38E-2	1.22E-3	1579.7	3.2	0.9430	0.0031	47.249	0.202	47.245	0.202	1805	4	47.173	0.202	b
DevilsHole_S	SS185		8.1	6.5	1351.2	2.9	618	14	3.44E-2	7.95E-4	1575.4	3.2	0.9549	0.0029	48.062	0.193	48.057	0.193	1804	4	47.985	0.193	b
DevilsHole_S	SS184		8.1	6.9	1641.1	3.5	1948	40	1.35E-2	2.78E-4	1571.8	3.2	0.9687	0.0031	48.985	0.201	48.973	0.201	1805	4	48.901	0.201	b
DevilsHole_S	SS183		8.1	9.9	1411.3	3.1	708	15	3.49E-2	7.58E-4	1527.6	3.2	1.0633	0.0034	56.097	0.240	56.092	0.240	1790	4	56.020	0.240	d
DevilsHole_S	SS182		8.1	10.7	1482.3	3.7	1066	22	2.47E-2	5.14E-4	1524.0	3.4	1.0777	0.0036	57.144	0.256	57.136	0.256	1791	4	57.064	0.256	i
DevilsHole_S	SS181		8.1	12.3	503.3	0.6	42744	857	2.41E-4	4.85E-6	1503.2	2.7	1.2415	0.0026	69.176	0.212	68.298	0.656	1823	5	68.226	0.656	d
DevilsHole_S	SS180	omitted due to d234Ui out of bounds	8.1	14.7	520.4	0.6	2791	56	4.86E-3	9.88E-5	1478.5	2.7	1.5825	0.0043	98.026	0.420	97.973	0.421	1949	4	97.901	0.421	i
DevilsHole_S	SS179		8.1	14.4	386.0	1.0	26285	531	3.58E-4	7.27E-6	1364.9	5.8	1.4769	0.0054	95.230	0.617	94.516	0.793	1782	9	94.444	0.793	b
DevilsHole_U	SS175		7.4	2.1	485.8	1.1	45283	911	2.22E-4	4.50E-6	1507.2	4.6	1.2567	0.0041	70.137	0.348	69.175	0.762	1832	7	69.103	0.762	d
DevilsHole_N	SS18	omitted due to trace element composition	6.8	1.4	422.2	0.4	20143	404	2.10E-4	4.23E-6	1666.5	2.5	0.6081	0.0012	27.480	0.068	26.983	0.358	1798	3	26.913	0.358	b
DevilsHole_N	SS20	omitted due to d234Ui out of bounds	6.8	2.8	464.2	0.5	4476	90	1.17E-3	2.35E-5	1692.9	2.8	0.6838	0.0013	30.976	0.074	30.878	0.101	1847	3	30.808	0.101	b
DevilsHole_N	SS17	omitted due to trace element composition	6.8	3.4	1447.8	1.8	1278	26	1.31E-2	2.64E-4	1630.3	2.4	0.7003	0.0014	32.685	0.082	32.676	0.082	1788	3	32.606	0.082	b
DevilsHole_N	SS16		6.8	7.8	746.2	1.0	7198	144	2.61E-3	5.25E-5	1250.7	2.5	1.5288	0.0029	108.396	0.368	108.292	0.375	1698	4	108.222	0.375	b
DevilsHole_T	SS174	omitted due to d234Ui out of bounds	6.6	0.8	542.5	0.8	20933	420	3.29E-4	6.63E-6	1672.1	3.2	0.7703	0.0018	35.768	0.108	35.373	0.299	1848	4	35.301	0.299	b
DevilsHole_T	SS173		6.6	1.3	1097.8	3.7	14721	299	1.04E-3	2.14E-5	1617.7	5.1	0.8496	0.0037	41.036	0.230	40.897	0.250	1816	6	40.825	0.250	b
DevilsHole_T	SS172		6.6	2.1	404.9	1.0	7845	158	8.84E-4	1.80E-5	1578.9	5.3	1.0393	0.0037	53.170	0.269	52.971	0.303	1834	6	52.899	0.303	b
DevilsHole_T	SS171		6.6	2.3	1112.6	3.3	7138	144	2.65E-3	5.43E-5	1551.5	5.1	1.0329	0.0044	53.480	0.311	53.413	0.314	1804	6	53.341	0.314	d
DevilsHole_T	SS170		6.6	3.5	873.0	2.0	6285	127	2.92E-3	5.91E-5	1467.9	4.0	1.2735	0.0039	72.929	0.340	72.854	0.343	1803	5	72.782	0.343	i
DevilsHole_J	SS26		5.6	2.6	431.0	0.5	64540	1293	1.44E-4	2.89E-6	1452.6	2.6	1.3058	0.0026	76.057	0.233	74.487	1.135	1792	7	74.417	1.135	i
DevilsHole_J	SS27		5.6	13.8	765.5	0.9	4416	89	4.14E-3	8.32E-5	1327.9	2.3	1.4500	0.0022	94.976	0.255	94.914	0.259	1736	3	94.844	0.259	b
DevilsHole_F	SS10		3.2	5.1	1768.4	2.7	85	2	5.02E-1	1.05E-2	1307.5	2.4	1.4637	0.0029	97.602	0.321	97.601	0.321	1722	3	97.531	0.321	i
DevilsHole_F	SS11		3.2	7.2	1905.6	3.3	20	0	2.27E0	5.20E-2	1291.2	2.5	1.4616	0.0030	98.467	0.342	98.467	0.342	1705	4	98.397	0.342	b
DevilsHole_F	SS14		3.2	8.4	509.9	0.7	135	3	9.44E-2	1.97E-3	1281.4	2.7	1.5131	0.0027	104.408	0.346	104.405	0.346	1720	4	104.335	0.346	d
DevilsHole_F	SS12		3.2	10.4	439.9	0.5	1193	24	9.37E-3	1.89E-4	1222.3	2.3	1.5411	0.0029	112.075	0.384	112.045	0.385	1677	4	111.975	0.385	x
DevilsHole_F	SS13	omitted due to d234Ui out of bounds	3.2	10.5	565.2	0.7	787	16	1.85E-2	3.75E-4	1265.0	2.3	1.5621	0.0027	110.930	0.353	110.915	0.354	1730	4	110.845	0.354	i