Sea-land paleoclimate correlation in the Eastern Mediterranean region during the late Holocene

The oxygen isotopic compositions (δ¹⁸O) of the epipelagic foraminifera Globigerinoides ruber (G. ruber) and of carbonate cave deposits (speleothems) from the Eastern Mediterranean (EM) region. Israel, are linked through the hydrological cycle. The Soreq speleothem δ¹⁸O record matches the marine δ¹⁸O_G.ruber record for the EM Sea during the last 3600 years, with an almost constant Δδ¹⁸_{G.ruber-speleothems} of 5.54 ± 0.26‰, similar to the present-day offset. Thus, a link between land and marine isotopic records is established. Both of these can be considered reliable recorders of the climatic conditions that prevailed in the land-locked EM region during the late Holocene. Several climatic events are documented during the Holocene, superimposed on a general aridity trend that started ∼8000 yr BP. Among these climatic events are three humid events, at ∼3200, ∼1300, and ∼700 yr BP, the last one being associated with the global Medieval Warm Period humid event. Three dry events occured, at 2100, 900, and 300 yr BP, the last one coinciding with the Little Ice Age.