MIS 5 speleothem growth phases in the central Eastern Desert of Egypt

This data set presents Th/U ages from a speleothem deposit in the Eastern Desert of Egypt at Saqia Cave and mean values of δ13C and δ18O for the respective speleothem growth phases. The presence and absence of speleothem deposition in (hyper-) arid environments can be regarded as an on-off situation. Deposition take place during phases of sufficient water availability and vegetation growth (“on”), whereas speleothem growth is absent under an arid climate (“off”). δ13C and δ18O isotope composition of each dated section is used for insights into the moisture source in the Eastern Desert and possible changes in the dominance of C3/C4 type vegetation.

Sample collection was done as part of the Collaborative Research Centre 806 “Our Way to Europe”. Uranium-series dating was conducted at the Institute for Environmental Physics at Heidelberg University with isotope measurements using either thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (TIMS Finnigan MAT 262 RPQ) or multi-collector inductively coupled-plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS, Thermo Scientific Neptune Plus. Measurement of δ13C and δ18O using a KIEL IV carbonate device connected to a MAT253 gas mass spectrometer installed at the Institute for Geology and Mineralogy in Cologne.

Th/U ages range from 185.7 ± 4.3 ka to 83.2 ± 2.1 ka, with most of the dating's fall into MIS 5 (18 out of 21) and cover all substages of MIS 5.

The δ18O signature from Saqia Cave ranges between −10.90‰ and −11.73‰ with a mean of −11,22 ± 0,29‰. δ13C is more variable ranging between −2,58‰ and −7.07‰ with a mean value of −5.67 ± 1.2‰. δ13C values during MIS 5e are lower during MIS 5e and higher during MIS 5d and 5b, although absolute lowest δ13C values from one sample of −7.6‰ exists during MIS 5d.