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Speleothem

Speleothems are mineral deposits formed from groundwater within underground caverns. Stalagmites, stalactites, and other forms may be annually banded or contain compounds that can be radiometrically dated. The thickness of these depositional layers or isotopic records can be used to determine past climate conditions.

Theater, Carlsbad Caverns

Accessing Data at the World Data Service for Paleoclimatology

Search Speleothem Data

Search through speleothem studies by Investigator, Title, Location Name, Parameters, and Latitude/Longitude Bounds.

Launch Speleothem Data Search

Search All Paleoclimatology Data

Access a free text search of our entire archive.

Launch Paleo Data Search

Interactive Map

Select study locations by region, proximity to a point, or text-based attributes.

Launch Interactive Map

Google Earth Map

Locate and download speleothem studies using a Google Earth map interface. Google Earth must be installed to use this search tool.

Download .KMZ File

NCEI Paleo Web Service

Use the NCEI Paleo Web Service to access speleothem study metadata records.

API Documentation

Contributing Data

To contribute to the speleothem archive, review our instructions for contributing data. Prospective data providers can email paleo@noaa.gov to submit data and study description information.

Other Resources

Additional sources of data and information on speleothems:

Trieste 2008 Workshop Report on Speleothems