SISAL

Introduction

SISAL (Speleothem Isotope Synthesis and Analysis) is an international working group of the Past Global Changes (PAGES) project. Stable isotope records from speleothems provide information on past climate changes, particularly information that can be used to reconstruct past changes in precipitation and atmospheric circulation. The working group aims to provide a comprehensive compilation of speleothem isotope records for climate reconstruction and model evaluation. The second version of the SISAL database contains oxygen and carbon isotope measurements from 673 individual speleothem records from 293 cave systems worldwide. This is a dynamic compilation, meaning that new datasets that meet the criteria for inclusion can be added and included in subsequent versions. See the criteria and data submission sections below for details.

## Conversion to LiPD

This compilation has been converted from its original format into LiPD programmatically using code at https://github.com/nickmckay/sisal2lipd. Additionally, many of the datasets have been annotated with additional metadata, including describing the climate interpretation, and adjusted to match the LiPDverse vocabulary.

Data

Data access and LiPDverse visualizations are available here.

Publications

The SISAL database is described in a series of publications. Key papers describing the database versions and methodologies include: - Atsawawaranunt, K., et al. (2018). Earth System Science Data, 10(3), 1687-1713. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-1687-2018 - Comas-Bru, L., et al. (2019). Climate of the Past, 15(4), 1557-1579. https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1557-2019 - Comas-Bru, L., et al. (2020). Earth System Science Data, 12(4), 2579-2606. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2579-2020

How to cite this compilation

To assure traceability, any presentation, report, or publication that uses the SISALv2 database should cite Atsawawaranunt et al. (2018), Comas-Bru et al. (2019) and Comas-Bru et al. (2020).

If using individual sites, the literature citations for published work provided in the database should also be cited. See the reference page for details. Some unpublished records are also included, and we encourage users to contact data creators and/or contributors when unpublished records are used on an individual basis.

Criteria for inclusion

The SISAL database is intended to broadly capture speleothem data, so has minimal criteria for inclusion:

1. Archive Type: Records must be from speleothems.
2. Proxy Type: Records must contain δ18O and/or δ13C data.

Adding data to this compilation

If you’re interested in adding a dataset to this compilation, whether it’s a new study you’re involved with, or an older record that was previously overlooked or unavailable, follow these steps:

1. Check that the data meet the criteria for inclusion in the study.
2. If the dataset is not already formatted as a LiPD file, please do so using the interactive web tool at LiPD.net, and download the resulting file.
3. We are working on formalizing this process, but for now, please email the SISAL Leadership and/or Nick McKay, attach the dataset(s), and explain why the record should be added.

For more information, take a look at the frequently asked questions.

Long-term archival

The SISALv2 database is archived at the University of Reading’s research data archive and is available here.