Constraints on hydrological and paleotemperature variations in the Eastern Mediterranean region in the last 140 ka given by the δD values of speleothem fluid inclusions

Speleothem fluid inclusions potentially provide vital data on the palcohydrological conditions in glacial and interglacial periods. We show here that deltaD analyses of fluid inclusions from speleothems in three caves in the Eastern Mediterranean region (Israel) provide a basis for understanding hydrological and temperature variations in the last 140 ka. Using measured deltaD fluid inclusion values and temperature ranges constrained by the present-day Mediterranean Meteoric Water Line (MMWL) and the global MWL, we show a strong compatibility between the land and marine temperature records, with the highest land temperatures occurring at 120-130ka (17-22degreesC) and the present (18degreesC) and the lowest temperatures during the LGM, about 10degreesC lower than present. Interglacial waters are constrained to follow the MMWL and most glacial waters also plot close to the MMWL, with a slight shift towards the MWL. However, during two remarkable brief periods at the termination of the LGM, the waters plot on the MWL, suggesting that both sharp cooling and an increase in relative humidity above the EM Sea reduced d-cxcess values to those of the global system. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.