A speleothem record of Holocene paleoclimate from the northern Wasatch Mountains, southeast Idaho, USA

A speleothem stable isotope record from Minnetonka Cave, located in the northern Wasatch Mountains, is shown to be a winter season biased record of Holocene paleoclimate. The season-specific sensitivity of the record provides an opportunity to more robustly evaluate long-term variability in large-scale Pacific teleconnection patterns such as ENSO and PDO, as precipitation anomalies associated with these teleconnection patterns occur primarily in winter. Seasonal climate composite maps of high and low snowpack years at the study site demonstrate that winter precipitation is strongly linked to the relative strength of the Aleutian Low and the associated changes from/to more meridional or more zonal steering level wind patterns. Minnetonka Cave data suggest wetter/cooler than modern early Holocene winters, and a dry middle Holocene with a consistent warming trend from 7400 to 3800 BP. After ∼4000 BP, data suggest a return to wetter and/or colder than modern winters for much of the late Holocene. Prolonged winter-dry intervals are identified from 7400 to 6000 BP and ∼4200 BP.