The structure and timing of Termination I in the Central Mediterranean from a multiproxy speleothem record from Sicily (Southern Italy)

The transition from the Last Glacial period to the Holocene (T-I) represents the major global climatic reorganisation of occurred in the recent Earth’ history. T-I shows a complex reorganization of ocean-atmospheric climatic system and is pervasively characterised by abrupt climatic changes driven by the instability of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets and the impact on the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. The iconic climatic phases recognised in Northern Europe and Greenland ice core records are generally recognised also in the Mediterranean region, but structure, timing and eventual regional differences are poorly understood. Here we present a high-resolution multi-proxy speleothem record (stalagmite V3) from Abisso del Vento (Madonie Mountains, Northern Sicily) that spans over the T-I interval (from ca. 20 ka to 10.5 ka BP), comprising stable isotope (δ¹⁸O, δ¹³C) and trace element (Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca) records. Despite V3 proxy data shows the general climatic pattern recognised in Greenland ice cores some differences are observed, especially during the Greenland Interstadial 1 (GI1). Comparisons with various continental and marine records highlight the complexity of the Mediterranean region during T-I, and V3 offers a robustly dated multiproxy records to clarify this complexity.