Global distribution of centennial-scale records for Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3: a database

To provide an overview on the spatial distribution of centennial-scale climate records of MIS 3 glacial, terrestrial and marine sites have been compiled in three tables according to their temporal resolution and publication status. For a total of 183 sites, detailed information on their geographical setting, the available proxy data, and "average" climate conditions during the interstadial and stadial phases of Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles are presented. Marine records are the most abundant with nearly twice as many sites as the ice core and terrestrial sites combined. The spatial distribution of all records is biased towards the northern hemisphere, for the marine records especially towards the North Atlantic region. Terrestrial records cluster in western Europe. the western United States, and China. Spatial gaps and potential future sites for high-resolution climate studies are also discussed. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.