Quaternary QUEST was led by Dr Tim Lenton at UEA, with a team of 10 co-investigators at the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Reading, Leeds, Bristol, Southampton and at UEA. This dataset contains FAMOUS (FAst Met Office/UK Universities Simulator) glacial cycle model data from 150,000 years ago to present. The project team aimed to compile a synthesis of palaeodata from sediments and ice cores, improve the synchronization of these records with each other, and use this greater understanding of the Earth’s ancient atmosphere to improve Earth system models simulating climate over very long timescales. A combined long-term data synthesis and modelling approach has helped to constrain some key mechanisms responsible for glacial-interglacial CO2 change, and Quaternary QUEST have narrowed the field of ocean processes that could have caused glacial CO2 drawdown.

Quaternary QUEST was led by Dr Tim Lenton at UEA, with a team of 10 co-investigators at the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Reading, Leeds, Bristol, Southampton and at UEA. This dataset collection contains glacial and isotope model data. Over the last million years, the Earth has experienced a sequence of temperature oscillations between glacial and interglacial states, linked to variations in the Earth’s orbit around the sun. These climate oscillations were accompanied by changes in atmospheric CO2, but the fundamental reasons for this relationship are still unresolved. This project team aimed to compile a synthesis of palaeodata from sediments and ice cores, improve the synchronization of these records with each other, and use this greater understanding of the Earth’s ancient atmosphere to improve Earth system models simulating climate over very long timescales. A combined long-term data synthesis and modelling approach has helped to constrain some key mechanisms responsible for glacial-interglacial CO2 change, and Quaternary QUEST narrowed the field of ocean processes that could have caused glacial CO2 drawdown.

Quaternary QUEST was led by Dr Tim Lenton at UEA, with a team of 10 co-investigators at the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Reading, Leeds, Bristol, Southampton and at UEA. This dataset contains the Quaternary QUEST marine isotope data compilation for the last 150,000 years. The project team aimed to compile a synthesis of palaeodata from sediments and ice cores, improve the synchronization of these records with each other, and use this greater understanding of the Earth’s ancient atmosphere to improve Earth system models simulating climate over very long timescales. A combined long-term data synthesis and modelling approach has helped to constrain some key mechanisms responsible for glacial-interglacial CO2 change, and Quaternary QUEST have narrowed the field of ocean processes that could have caused glacial CO2 drawdown.

The dataset comprises of X ray fluorescence log ratio time series data for two sediment cores from Lago Pato, a small lake basin at 51.3003 S, 72.6786 W and approx 33 m a.s.l., which is topographically separated from Lago del Toro in Torres del Paine (TdP). The data are used to constrain glacier dynamics and lake level change in the TdP and Ultima Esperanza region over the last approx 30,000 cal a BP (30 ka). LP08 was extracted from the current depocentre in November 2007 to March 2008. LP16 was extracted the terrestrial shoreline in November 2015. This project was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) through the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and an UGent BOF bilateral collaboration project. RMcC was supported by Programa Regional R17A10002 and R20F0002 (PATSER) ANID. We gratefully acknowledge the University of Magallanes (UMAG) and the University of Santiago (Carolina Diaz) for assistance with fieldwork; the NERC/SUERC AMS Radiocarbon Facility for providing initial range-finder radiocarbon dates; the NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory (NIGL, now National Environmental Isotope Facility, NEIF, at the British Geological Survey) and Melanie Lang for stable carbon isotope analysis; Aberystwyth University (David Kelly), Durham University (Neil Tunstall and Christopher Longley) and Edinburgh University (Chris Hayward) for use of their core scanning and microprobe facilities and technical support.

The dataset comprises of site data and multiproxy analyses of the LP16 lake sediment cores extracted from Lago Pato, a small lake basin at 51.3031 S, 72.6816 W and approx 33 m a.s.l., which is topographically separated from Lago del Toro in Torres del Paine (TdP). The data are used to constrain glacier dynamics and lake level change in the TdP and Ultima Esperanza region over the last approx 30,000 cal a BP (30 ka). Data for the LP16 sediment record consist of downcore measurements of biology, chronology, geochemistry, sedimentology proxy data collected extracted a current terrestrial shoreline in November 2015. This project was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) through the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and an UGent BOF bilateral collaboration project. RMcC was supported by Programa Regional R17A10002 and R20F0002 (PATSER) ANID. We gratefully acknowledge the University of Magallanes (UMAG) and the University of Santiago (Carolina Diaz) for assistance with fieldwork; the NERC/SUERC AMS Radiocarbon Facility for providing initial range-finder radiocarbon dates; the NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory (NIGL, now National Environmental Isotope Facility, NEIF, at the British Geological Survey) and Melanie Lang for stable carbon isotope analysis; Aberystwyth University (David Kelly), Durham University (Neil Tunstall and Christopher Longley) and Edinburgh University (Chris Hayward) for use of their core scanning and microprobe facilities and technical support.

The dataset comprises of GPS site data, bathymetric data from Lago Pato, a small lake basin at 51.3003 S, 72.6786 W and approx 33 m a.s.l., water chemistry collected from lakes in the region made in 2007 and precipitation data generated from the ERA-INTERIM model for Lago Pato. The data are used to help constrain glacier dynamics and lake level change in the TdP and Ultima Esperanza region over the last approx 30,000 cal a BP (30 ka). This project was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) through the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and an UGent BOF bilateral collaboration project. RMcC was supported by Programa Regional R17A10002 and R20F0002 (PATSER) ANID. We gratefully acknowledge the University of Magallanes (UMAG) and the University of Santiago (Carolina Diaz) for assistance with fieldwork; the NERC/SUERC AMS Radiocarbon Facility for providing initial range-finder radiocarbon dates; the NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory (NIGL, now National Environmental Isotope Facility, NEIF, at the British Geological Survey) and Melanie Lang for stable carbon isotope analysis; Aberystwyth University (David Kelly), Durham University (Neil Tunstall and Christopher Longley) and Edinburgh University (Chris Hayward) for use of their core scanning and microprobe facilities and technical support.