SISALv3: A global speleothem stable isotope and trace element database

Abstract. Paleoclimate information on multiple climate variables at different spatiotemporal scales is increasingly important to understand environmental and societal responses to climate change. A lack of high-quality reconstructions of past hydroclimate has recently been identified as a critical research gap. Speleothems, with their precise chronologies, widespread distribution, and ability to record changes in local to regional hydroclimate variability, are an ideal source of such information. Here we present a new version of the Speleothem Isotopes Synthesis and AnaLysis database (SISALv3), which has been expanded to include trace element ratios and Sr-isotopes as additional, hydroclimate-sensitive geochemical proxies. The oxygen and carbon isotope data included in previous versions of the database have been substantially expanded. SISALv3, contains speleothem data from 364 sites from across the globe, including 94 Mg/Ca, 83 Sr/Ca, 51 Ba/Ca, 25 U/Ca, 29 P/Ca and 14 Sr-isotope records. The database also has increased spatiotemporal coverage for stable oxygen (831) and carbon (588) isotope records compared to SISALv2. Additional meta information has been added to improve machine-readability and filtering of data. Standardized chronologies are included for all new entities together with the originally published chronologies. The SISALv3 database thus constitutes a unique resource of speleothem paleoclimate information that allows regional-to-global paleoclimate analyses based on multiple geochemical proxies, allowing more robust interpretations of past hydroclimate and comparisons with isotope-enabled climate models and other earth system and hydrological models.